Around 3-8% of all women in reproductive age suffer from premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) which disenables them to live an ordinary life during the luteal phase (premenstrual phase) of the menstrual cycle. Throughout the premenstrual phase these women experience emotional, cognitive and physiological changes. Hitherto, the etiology of this disorder is unknown. Some consider the source of ...

BACKGROUND Cogent evidence has shown that schizophrenia vulnerability is enhanced by psychosocial stress in adolescence, yet the underpinnings of this phenomenon remain elusive. One of the animal models that best capture the relationship between juvenile stress and schizophrenia is isolation rearing (IR). This manipulation, which consists in subjecting rats to social isolation from weaning thro...

Neuroactive steroids may be synthesised in the brain either de novo from cholesterol or from blood-borne precursors. Concentrations of a GABAA receptor agonist, allopregnanolone, in the fetal brain exceed those in the circulation, and are markedly higher than adult brain concentrations. We used fetal hypophysectomy or adrenalectomy to elucidate the contribution of hypothalamic-pituitary factors...

Tetramethylenedisulfotetramine (TETS) is a potent convulsant that is considered a chemical threat agent. We characterized TETS as an activator of spontaneous Ca²⁺ oscillations and electrical burst discharges in mouse hippocampal neuronal cultures at 13-17 days in vitro using FLIPR Fluo-4 fluorescence measurements and extracellular microelectrode array recording. Acute exposure to TETS (≥ 2 µM) ...

In addition to an action on metabolism, anabolic/androgenic steroids also increase sex drive and mental acuity. If abused, such steroids can cause irritability, impulsive aggression, and signs of major depression [Pearson, H. (2004) Nature 431, 500-501], but the mechanisms that produce these symptoms are unknown. The present study investigates behavioral and neurochemical alterations occurring ...