Recent studies have reported that cognitive inflexibility associated with impairments in a frontal-striatal circuit and parietal region is a core cognitive deficit of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, few studies have examined progressive changes in these regions following clinical improvement in obsessive-compulsive symptoms. To determine if treatment changes the aberrant activation pattern associated with task switching in OCD, we examined the activation patterns in brain areas after treatment. The study was conducted on 10 unmedicated OCD patients and 20 matched controls using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. Treatment improved the clinical symptoms measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale and behavioral flexibility indicated by the switching cost. At baseline, OCD showed significantly less activation in the dorsal and ventral frontal-striatal circuit and parietal regions under the task-switch minus task-repeat condition compared with controls. After treatment, the neural responses in the ventral frontal-striatal circuit in OCD were partially normalized, whereas the activation deficit in dorsal frontoparietal regions that mediate shifting attention or behavioral flexibility persisted. It is suggested that altered brain activation in ventral frontal-striatal regions in OCD patients is associated with their cognitive flexibility and changes in these regions may underlie the pathophysiology of OCD.
Adult ; Basal Ganglia/*metabolism ; Behavioral Symptoms/drug therapy ; Female ; Frontal Lobe/*drug effects/physiopathology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/*drug therapy/physiopathology ; Parietal Lobe/*drug effects/physiopathology

Adult ; Anticonvulsants ; therapeutic use ; Brain ; drug effects ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Carbamazepine ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Myoclonus ; diagnosis ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVEOur previous work suggested that sensitivity of hippocampal neurons is changed in process of epileptic activities, and closely parallel to the dynamic characteristic of epileptic activity of the neurons. This study investigated the sensitivity of epileptic brain to vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) in epileptic process.

METHODSEpileptic model was evoked by penicillin. Left vagal nerves were stimulated to inhibit the seizures induced by penicillin. The electrocorticography (ECoG) and electromyography (EMG) were recorded to analyze inhibiting effect of VNS in epileptic process.

RESULTSIt was found that VNS could inhibit the seizures caused by penicillin, and the inhibiting effect of VNS to seizures increased as the vagal nerve stimulating time prolonged. It was also found that the inhibiting effect of VNS to seizures decreased in epileptic process.

CONCLUSIONThe results suggested that the sensitivity of epileptic brain to VNS was different in epileptic process. The inhibiting effect of VNS to seizure decreased as the development of seizures.

Action Potentials ; physiology ; Animals ; Electric Stimulation ; Electroencephalography ; Electromyography ; Epilepsy ; chemically induced ; prevention & control ; Frontal Lobe ; physiopathology ; Male ; Motor Cortex ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Neural Inhibition ; physiology ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Parietal Lobe ; physiopathology ; Penicillins ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Seizures ; chemically induced ; prevention & control ; Vagus Nerve ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of Baisong tablet on the behaviors and CRHmRNA expression in the chronic stress rats.

METHODRats were exposed to different ways of chronic stress. Body weight and behaviors were investigated during the whole procedure, the CRHmRNA expressions in the hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex were semiquantified by the RT-PCR method.

RESULTIn comparision with the normal group, rats exposed to chronic stress showed decreased body weight and a significant reduction of consumption of sucrose solution, and the duration of immobility during the forced swimming test was increased significantly. The chronic stress rats was in depression of behavior. CRHmRNA expression in the brain of the chronic stress rats was upregulated significantly, while it was downregulated in the groups of Baisong tablet and the group of fluoxetin.

CONCLUSIONBaisong tablet has the effect of antidepressant, and it may be related to the effect of the downregulated CRHmRNA expression in brain.

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Depression ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Drug Combinations ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Frontal Lobe ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Male ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Rats ; Stress, Psychological ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Tablets ; Tribulus ; chemistry

This study is to offer a clinical pain-depression dyad therapy of ferulic acid, the pain-depression dyad induced by reserpine was established and the dose-effect relationship of ferulic acid on ameliorating pain-depression dyad was explored. Mice were randomly divided into control group, reserpine + vechile and reserpine + ferulic acid (5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg x kg(-1)) groups. The reserpine treated mice were tested with thermal hyperalgesia, mechanicial allodynia and forced swimming tests, and the SOD and NO levels of hippocampus and frontal cortex were measured. Moreover, the HPLC-ECD was used to detect the changes of central monoamines concentrations. Compared with control group, reserpine can induce a significant decrease in the nociceptive threshold and increase in the immobility time of the forced swimming test. The results suggested that reserpine significantly increased the level of nitrite in hippocampus and frontal cortex and reduced the levels of SOD, 5-HT and NE in these two brain regions. However, these indexes can be a dose-dependently reversed by ferulic acid (5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg x kg(-1)). Ferulic acid can reverse pain-depression dyad, especially at the dose of 80 mg x kg(-1). In addition, it can influence oxidative stress and monoamine level.
Animals ; Antidepressive Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Coumaric Acids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Depression ; chemically induced ; complications ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Dopamine ; metabolism ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Frontal Lobe ; metabolism ; Hippocampus ; metabolism ; Hyperalgesia ; physiopathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Norepinephrine ; metabolism ; Pain ; chemically induced ; complications ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Pain Measurement ; Random Allocation ; Reserpine ; adverse effects ; Serotonin ; metabolism ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Swimming ; physiology