OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between the electroencephalograph (EEG) changes of temporal association cortex (TeA) and the drug-seeking behavior in heroin-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) rats. METHODS: The rats were randomly divided into an operated control group and a heroin-induced CPP group after the electrodes were buried in TeA by stereotactic technology. The TeA EEG was recorded by the CPP video system combining with the EEG wireless telemetry, where the rats stayed in black or white chambers, shuttling from black to white chambers or from white to black chambers. RESULTS: Compared with the operated control group, the percentage of TeA θ waves was increased significantly when staying in black or white chambers in the heroin-induced CPP group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the operated control group, when rats shuttling between the 2 chambers, the TeA δ waves were reduced (P<0.01), but β waves, β2 waves in particular, were increased (P<0.01) in the heroin-induced CPP group (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with staying in the black chamber, when heroin-induced CPP rats were shuttling between black and white chambers, the right TeA θ waves were reduced, and β waves, β2 waves in particular, were increased (P<0.01). Compared staying in the white chamber with shuttling between white and black chambers in the heroin induced CPP rats, the right TeA θ waves, but not β waves, were reduced (P<0.01). CONCLUSION The EGG changes on the right TeA in the heroin-induced CPP rats, including the increased fast waves (β, β2) and the reduced slow wave (θ), may be related to drug-seeking behaviors.
Animals ; Conditioning, Psychological ; drug effects ; Drug-Seeking Behavior ; Electroencephalography ; Heroin ; Rats ; Telemetry ; Temporal Lobe ; drug effects

Animals ; Electromagnetic Fields ; adverse effects ; Male ; Mice ; Sexual Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Spermatogenesis ; radiation effects

It is known that stimulation of the α(2A)-adrenoceptors (α(2A)-ARs) by the selective α(2A)-AR agonist guanfacine produces an important and beneficial influence on prefrontal cortical (PFC) cognitive functions such as spatial working memory and selective attention. However, it is unclear whether stimulation of the α(2A)-ARs has a similar effect on fear conditioning that involves the amygdala and hippocampus. Here, we show that systemically administered guanfacine significantly enhances spatial learning of rats in the Lashley maze: compared with controls, the rats treated with guanfacine required significantly fewer trials and made significantly fewer errors to reach learning criterion. However, guanfacine produced no effect on acquisition of contextual and auditory fear memories. The present study suggests that beneficial effect of α(2A)-AR stimulation is task-dependent: guanfacine improves spatial learning but not fear conditioning.
Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Conditioning (Psychology) ; drug effects ; Fear ; drug effects ; Guanfacine ; pharmacology ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Rats ; Spatial Behavior ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo find out whether and how the newly invented technique-bionic glue affects the main pest of wolf berry-Paratrioza sinica and its natural enemies Tamarixia lyciumi and Chrysopa septempunctata.

METHODSpraying bionic glue in field when wolf berry just geminated, investigated the adults and nymphs of P. sinica and it's natural enemies: adults of T. lyciumi and eggs of C. septempunctata.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONBionic glue can significantly reduce the population number of P. sinica, but with little impacts on its natural enemies of T. lyciumi and C. septempunctata, and more experiments are need for further research.

Adhesives ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Bees ; drug effects ; Biomimetic Materials ; pharmacology ; Hemiptera ; drug effects ; Ovum ; drug effects ; Population Dynamics ; Predatory Behavior

Acrylamide is a common chemical material, extensively used in industry and scientific experiments. Recently, it has been reported that starchy food cooked at high temperature can produce acrylamide. Acrylamide monomer has several toxic effects and the extensive concern for its toxicity has arisen with the finding of acrylamide formation in some processed foods. Researches have shown that acrylamide monomer can cause reproductive toxicity, including toxic effects on male reproductive behavior, male reproductive endocrine function and spermatogenesis. The mechanisms may include the effects of acrylamide on Leydig cells, the formation of motor protein/ chromosomal/DNA alkylation and damage by oxidative stress.
Acrylamide ; toxicity ; Animals ; Genitalia, Male ; drug effects ; physiology ; Male ; Sexual Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; physiology ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects

OBJECTIVETo explore the changes in spatial learning performance and long-term potentiation (LTP) which is recognized as a component of the cellular basis of learning and memory in normal and lead-exposed rats after administration of melatonin (MT) for two months.

METHODSExperiment was performed in adult male Wistar rats (12 controls, 12 exposed to melatonin treatment, 10 exposed to lead and 10 exposed to lead and melatonin treatment). The lead-exposed rats received 0.2% lead acetate solution from their birth day while the control rats drank tap water. Melatonin (3 mg/kg) or vehicle was administered to the control and lead-exposed rats from the time of their weaning by gastric gavage each day for 60 days, depending on their groups. At the age of 81-90 days, all the animals were subjected to Morris water maze test and then used for extracellular recording of LTP in the dentate gyrus (DG) area of the hippocampus in vivo.

RESULTSLow dose of melatonin given from weaning for two months impaired LTP in the DG area of hippocampus and induced learning and memory deficit in the control rats. When melatonin was administered over a prolonged period to the lead-exposed rats, it exacerbated LTP impairment, learning and memory deficit induced by lead.

CONCLUSIONMelatonin is not suitable for normal and lead-exposed children.

Animals ; Female ; Lead ; toxicity ; Learning ; drug effects ; Long-Term Potentiation ; drug effects ; Male ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Melatonin ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Rats ; Spatial Behavior ; drug effects

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Biogenic Monoamines ; metabolism ; Brain ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Formaldehyde ; toxicity ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C

AIMTo study the effects of puerarin on learning-memory behavior of aging mice induced by D-galactose and its possible mechanism of action.

METHODSThe aging mice were induced by s.c. 0.12 g.kg-1 D-galactose for 6 weeks. The aging mice were treated with three doses of puerarin once a day for 5 weeks. The spontaneous behavior and the learning memory behavior were tested in the aging mice using open field and Y-maze at the next day after the last treatment. The structure of Gray I synaptic interface in the CA3 area of the hippocampus was quantitatively analyzed by electronic microscope and computer image processing appliance.

RESULTSCompared with the D-galactose control group, puerarin (60 mg.kg-1) was shown to increase significantly the spontaneous behavior and explorative response in the open field, and improve remarkablely the learning and memory ability of the aging mice induced by D-galactose. Meanwhile, the thickness of post-synaptic density (PSD) was increased, and the width of the synaptic cleft in the hippocampus CA3 area was shortened.

CONCLUSIONPuerarin showed an improvement effect against the memory impairment in the modelling aging-mice induced by D-galactose. A pathological alteration of synaptic interface structure in hippocampus of the mice may be involved in the effect.

Aging ; drug effects ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Female ; Galactose ; pharmacology ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; pathology ; Isoflavones ; pharmacology ; Male ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memory ; drug effects ; Mice ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation ; Synapses ; drug effects ; pathology

This study was designed to examine the effects of recombinant human growth hormone replacement on somatic growth and cognitive function in hypophysectomized (HYPOX) female Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats (5 per group) were randomized by weight to 3 experimental groups: group 1, administered 200 microgram/kg of GH once daily for 9 days; group 2, administered 200 microgram/kg of GH twice daily; and group 3, administered saline daily. Somatic growth was evaluated by measurement of body weight daily and of the width of the proximal tibial growth plate of the HYPOX rats. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The results indicated that GH replacement therapy in HYPOX rats promoted an increase in the body weight and the width of the tibial growth plate in a dose-dependent manner. On the third day of the MWM test, the escape latency in the GH-treated groups 1 and 2 was significantly shorter than that in the control rats (P<0.001 and P=0.032, respectively), suggesting that rhGH improved spatial memory acquisition in the MWM test. Therefore it is concluded that rhGH replacement therapy in HYPOX rats stimulates an increase in somatic growth in a dose-dependent manner and also has beneficial effects on cognitive functions.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Female ; Growth/*drug effects ; Growth Plate/drug effects/pathology ; Human Growth Hormone/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Humans ; *Hypophysectomy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spatial Behavior/*drug effects

The effects of ginsenosides on the actions of morphine are summarized. It mainly focuses on the antagonistic effects of ginsenosides on morphine-induced changes of animal behaviors, neural system functions and cell signaling transduction.
Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Ginsenosides ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Morphine ; antagonists & inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Morphine Dependence ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; metabolism ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects