There is collecting evidence suggesting that the process of chromatin remodeling such as changes in histone acetylation contribute to the formation of stress-related memory. Recently, the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO), a major subdivision of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), was shown to be involved in antidepressant-like actions through epigenetic mechanisms. Here, we further investigated the e...

Flavone, dextrose and long swim stress exhibited antinociception. Degree of antinociception was greater with long swim stress as compared to flavone or dextrose. Combination of these treatments resulted in potentiation of antinociception. Naloxone (opioid antagonist; 5 mg/kg i.p.) antagonised flavone or long stress induced antinociception showing opioid medicated mechanism, however, failed to r...

Treatment with different antidepressants is invariably accompanied by the down-regulation of the 5-hydroxytryptamine2A (5-HT2A) receptor. To determine whether receptor down-regulation is an essential part of antidepressant action, we manipulated levels of the 5-HT2A receptor by using a nonpharmacological approach. Here, we report that down-regulation of the 5-HT2A receptor by intracerebroventri...

Previous studies have shown that intracellular calcium ion dysfunction may be an etiological factor in affective illness. Nimodipine (NMD) is a Ca(2+) channel blocker that has been extensively investigated for therapy of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. In this work, we have evaluated the antidepressant-like activity of nimodipine encapsulated into liposomes (NMD-Lipo) in mice through ta...

The antidepressant-like activity of magnesium, the non-specific N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor antagonist, in the mice forced swim test was demonstrated previously. In the present study, the effects of this biometal were studied in the rat forced swim test. Magnesium (MgCl2) at doses ranging from 15 to 50 mg Mg/kg reduced the immobility time in the forced swim test, thus exerting antid...

Coxsackievirus B-3 myocardiopathy was induced in weanling mice by intraperitoneal and intracerebral inoculations of the Nancy strain. Acute mortality was 5.5%. The cardiomyopathy is characterized by an early phase lasting about 9 days with myocardial necrosis, associated inflammation, and healing by fibrosis and calcification involving 25 to 50% of the contractile fibers in each affected mouse....

Lithium inhibits IMPase (inositol monophosphatase) activity, as well as inositol transporter function. To determine whether one or more of these mechanisms might underlie lithium's behavioural effects, we studied Impa1 (encoding IMPase) and Smit1 (sodium-myo-inositol transporter 1)-knockout mice. In brains of adult homozygous Impa1-knockout mice, IMPase activity was found to be decreased; howev...

Recent preclinical and clinical data indicate beneficial role of zinc in the antidepressant treatment. To evaluate the mechanism of interaction between zinc and antidepressants, in the present study we examined the brain zinc, imipramine and desipramine concentrations in mice treated with combinations of zinc and imipramine and subjected to the forced swim test. We have chosen doses of zinc (10...

The present study evaluated 17beta-estradiol (17betaE(2)) (2.5 mg/kg sc) effects on bilateral OBX-induced behavioral changes and oxidative stress. OBX in male Wistar rats produced an increase in lipid peroxidation products and a decline in reduced glutathione (GSH) content and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, together with an increase in caspase-3 activity. Additionally, OBX triggered ...

Introduction: As stress affects the brain both physiologically and chemically, researchers try to find novel anti-stress compounds with beneficial therapeutic effects. In this regard, the effect of stress and its modulation by Morin hydrate was studied using different acute models in mice. Methods: The models employed were anoxic tolerance, swimming endurance, and acute restraint test. Morin h...