The methanolic leaf extract of Thuja occidentalis was evaluated for possible sedative activities in mice. Sedative activity was evaluated by using hole cross, open field, thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time and elevated-plus maze (EPM) tests at 200mg/kg and 400 mg/kg.  The extract decreased the locomotor activity of mice in hole cross, open field and EPM test and showed the remarka...

It has been shown that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) of rats contains nitrergic neurons, which are activated during animal exposure to aversive stimuli. The BNST is also populated by glutamatergic and corticotrophin releasing factor (CRFergic) neurons, which in turn are activated under stressful situations. Here we investigated the anxiogenic-like effects of intra-BNST injectio...

Hypokinesia is a widespread risk factor for the pathogenesis in a variety of organsystems, particularly for disorders of the central nervous system. For the aging population hypokinesia is frequently the main life-style; hypokinesis by the interruption of selfmotion, restriction of spatial and head direction provide a type of cognitive paralysis. We have investigated learning of spatial form ra...

herbal based remedies are used worldwide to treat psychiatric disorders. the aim of this study was to analyse the essential oil composition of achillea wilhemsii c. koch (asteraceae) and to evaluate its anxiolytic effects in the elevated plus maze (epm) model of anxiety in rat. gas chromatography/mass spectrometry ( gc/ms) analysis of the essential oil showed that the main compounds of the oil ...

OBJECTIVE Parkia biglobossa stem bark decoction is a popular medicinal plant preparation used as calming agent for tensed patients in traditional medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of aqueous stem bark extract of Parkia biglobossa (AEPB) and its active fraction AEPBF3 on anxiety, spontaneous alternation behavior, and locomotor activity. The open field apparatus was used...

Background: There are reports in traditional medicine about the effectiveness of Ocimum basilicum (OB) in the treatment of anxiety. The Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM) has been predominantly used to investigate anxiety levels in rodents. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of extract of OB on rat behavior in the EPM test. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar...

The present study investigated the effects of protein malnutrition and environmental stimulation on biochemical and behavioral parameters in rats. The concentrations of polyamines in the frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, as well as plasma corticosterone levels, were measured. The exploratory behavior was analyzed using the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test. Rats received either 16% (well-n...

We compared the effects of environmental enrichment (EE) and tactile stimulation (handling [H]) during a critical period of development of the central nervous system (CNS) on behavior in malnourished (M; 6% protein) and control (C; 16% protein) rats in the elevated plus maze (EPM) on postnatal day 36 (P36) and P37. The stimulation occurred during two different periods of development: P8-21 (lac...

BACKGROUND Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors in the central nervous system have been shown to stimulate neuronal functions and increase neurogenesis in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. MATERIAL/METHODS The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of zaprinast, a PDE5 inhibitor, and rolipram, a PDE4 inhibitor, on learning and memory in elevated plus maze (EPM) and passive avoidance (P...

Lactating rats show less noise-induced freezing and fewer inhibitory responses on the 6th day post-delivery when submitted to water and food deprivation in a classical conflict paradigm. Lactating mice go more often to the illuminated chamber in a light-dark cage and stay longer in it than virgin females. The present study was designed to assess the influence of this physiological state, i.e. l...