Carnosine is a dipeptide formed of the amino acids β-alanine and histidine. Only a limited number of studies have examined the effects of carnosine on sympathetic nerve activation and anxiety. The present study was undertaken to determine the dose-related effects of carnosine on anxiety in the elevated T-maze test (ETM) with electrodermal activity (EDA). Carnosine was injected in three groups o...

BACKGROUND Vetiveria zizanioides (VZ) (family: Poaceae), an aromatic plant commonly known as "Vetiver" has been used for various ailments. Concerning the various ailments being listed as the traditional uses of VZ, no mention about anxiety and memory was found. OBJECTIVE The present study examined the anxiolytic and memory enhancing activity of ethanolic extract of V. zizanioides (EEVZ) dried...

Anxiety related disorders are the most common mental illnesses and major cause of disability in man. Anxiolytic activity of methanol extract of leaves of A. brasiliana (L.) Kuntze (MEAB) was evaluated using hole board (HB), open field (OF), elevated plus maze (EPM) and light/dark exploration test (LDE) in mice. Its locomotor activity was studied using actophotometer and anticonvulsant effect wa...

Nicotine, the major addictive substance in tobacco, increases the activity of the central amygdala (CeA). Amygdala is directly implicated in anxiety modulation and sends projections to the vicinity of the midbrain dopamine neurons, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA) which is a key area that controls nicotine dependence processes. In this study, the role of dopamine D(1) and D(2)/(3) rec...

Anxiety-related behaviors increase histamine and dopamine release in the brain. On the other hand, central histamine counteracts reward and reinforcement processes mediated by the mesolimbic dopamine system. We investigated the effects of the histaminergic system and dopamine D2 receptors agents and their interactions on anxiety-related behaviors using the elevated plus-maze (EPM). The intra-hi...

INTRODUCTION In this study, we investigated the role of N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the ventral hippocampus (VH) and their possible interactions with GABAA system on anxiety-like behaviors. METHODS We used an elevated-plus maze test (EPM) to assess anxiety-like behaviors and locomotor activity in male Wistar rats. RESULTS The results showed that intra-VH infusions of different ...

Background: Testosterone level in men decreases with aging (andropause) and androgen deficiency is responsible for a variety of behavioral symptoms such as anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Pistacia atlantica (bane) fruit extract on anxiety-like behavior in intact and gonadectomized rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, adult male rats were divided into tw...

Apomorphine is a potent dopamine receptor agonist which has been used as a neuro-protective agent in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. SCH-23390 is a synthetic compound that presents selective D1 dopamine receptors antagonist activity and possesses pharmacologic effects similar to standard antipsychotics. Aim: Experimental researches on the effects of two substances acting on dopamine recep...

BACKGROUND Preclinical evidence suggests that commonly used anesthetic agents induce long-lasting neurobehavioral changes when administered early in life, but there has been virtually no attention to the neurodevelopmental consequences for the fetus of maternal anesthesia. This study tested the hypothesis that fetal rats exposed to isoflurane during maternal anesthesia on gestational day 14, wh...

Forty nine adult male Sprague Dawley rats were selected for rapid learning in a T-maze to study the effects of BR-16A, a herbal preparation on ECS-induced retrograde amnesia. Half the rats received 200 mg/kg BR-16A and the other half received vehicle alone. The rats were trained to run into the enclosed chamber of either the left or the right arm on a T-maze; a food pellet served as a reward in...