The aim of this experimental study was to assess the spine development in growing rats following pinealectomy or partial sensorimotor cortical area damage. A total of 68 Wistar albino rats (Rattus norvegicus v. alba f. domestica) aged 3–4 weeks were divided into four groups. In group 1 (n = 22) pinealectomy was performed, in group 2 (n = 24) the sensorymotor cortical area 2 × 1 × 1 mm below the coronal suture was removed. Sham operation consisted of a craniotomy (n = 11) and a craniotomy with a durotomy (n = 11). All surgeries were performed from the left side. The rats were killed four months after surgery and radiography was then made. Scoliosis, C2-T7 lordosis and T7-S1 kyphosis were measured.The brains of rats after sensorimotor cortical area removal were isolated and investigated including histological examination (light microscope). Scoliosis of 9–14 degrees (mean value 10.8) was developed in five animals after pinealectomy; in rats after removal of the sensorimotor cortical area scoliosis of 10–24 degrees (mean value 15.9) was observed in eight animals. The scoliotic curves were non structural. Our results indicate the importance of cortical area damage, together with craniotomy and durotomy in the development of growing rat spine. These damages could cause a disorder of balance between smaller inhibitory and greater facilitating area of central nervous system, controlling the muscular tone and resulting in the development of increased lordosis and kyphosis and non structural scoliosis due to muscle imbalance. Thus the new hypothesis of scoliosis aetiology was introduced.
- Keywords
- duratomie,
- MeSH
- Animal Experimentation MeSH
- Craniotomy MeSH
- Spine pathology growth & development MeSH
- Pinealectomy * adverse effects MeSH
- Rats, Wistar MeSH
- Sensorimotor Cortex * surgery physiopathology MeSH
- Scoliosis * etiology MeSH
- Spinal Curvatures MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
The present study tested the hypothesis that cross-fostering influences the development of rat pups. Mothers were exposed daily to injection of methamphetamine (M) (5 mg/kg) or saline for 9 weeks: 3 weeks prior to impregnation, throughout gestation and lactation periods. Control females animals without any injections were used. On postnatal day (PD) 1, pups were cross-fostered so that each mother received four pups of her own and eight pups from the mothers with the other two treatments. Offspring were tested for sensorimotor development in preweaning period by using tests of: negative geotaxis, tail pull, righting reflexes, rotarod and bar-holding. Further, the pups were weighed daily. Our results showed that birth weight in prenatally M-exposed pups was lower than in control or saline-exposed pups. Prenatally M-exposed pups gained less weight than control or saline-exposed pups regardless of postnatal treatment and sex. Further, our data demonstrated that prenatal and postnatal M exposure impairs sensorimotor functions in most of the tests. On the other hand, the negative effect of prenatal M exposure was partially suppressed in prenatally M-exposed pups by cross-fostering to control dams. Our hypothesis that cross-fostering may affect postnatal development of pups was confirmed.
- MeSH
- Sodium Chloride administration & dosage pharmacology MeSH
- Behavior, Animal drug effects MeSH
- Financing, Organized MeSH
- Rats MeSH
- Locomotion drug effects MeSH
- Methamphetamine administration & dosage pharmacology MeSH
- Disease Models, Animal MeSH
- Substance-Related Disorders MeSH
- Reflex drug effects MeSH
- Central Nervous System Stimulants administration & dosage pharmacology MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects etiology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Rats MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
Methamphetamine (MA) is an addictive psychostimulant with significant potential for abuse. Previous rat studies have demonstrated that MA use during pregnancy impairs maternal behavior and induced delayed development of affected pups. The offspring of drug-addictive mothers were often neglected and exposed to neonatal stressors. The present study therefore examines the effect of perinatal stressors combined with exposure to prenatal MA on the development of pups and maternal behavior. Dams were divided into three groups according to drug treatment during pregnancy: controls (C); saline (SA, s.c., 1 ml/kg); MA (s.c., 5 mg/ml/kg). Litters were divided into four groups according to postnatal stressors: controls (N); maternal separation (S); maternal cold-water stress (W); maternal separation plus cold-water stress (SW). The pup-retrieval test showed differences among postnatally stressed mothers and non-stressed controls. The righting reflex on a surface revealed delayed development of pups prenatally exposed to MA/SA and postnatal stress. Negative geotaxis and Rotarod results confirmed that the MA group was the most affected. Overall, our data suggests that a combination of perinatal stress and prenatal MA can have a detrimental effect on maternal behavior as well as on the sensorimotor development of pups. However, MA exposure during pregnancy seems to be the decisive factor for impairment.
- MeSH
- Rats MeSH
- Maternal Deprivation MeSH
- Maternal Behavior drug effects physiology psychology MeSH
- Methamphetamine toxicity MeSH
- Rotarod Performance Test methods psychology MeSH
- Random Allocation MeSH
- Animals, Newborn MeSH
- Substance-Related Disorders complications physiopathology psychology MeSH
- Rats, Wistar MeSH
- Stress, Psychological complications physiopathology psychology MeSH
- Psychomotor Performance drug effects physiology MeSH
- Central Nervous System Stimulants toxicity MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects chemically induced physiopathology psychology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Rats MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
The healthy development of the fetus depends on the exact course of pregnancy and delivery. Therefore, prenatal hypoxia remains between the greatest threats to the developing fetus. Our study aimed to assess the impact of prenatal hypoxia on postnatal development and behavior of the rats, whose mothers were exposed to hypoxia (10.5 % O2) during a critical period of brain development on GD20 for 12 h. This prenatal insult resulted in a delay of sensorimotor development of hypoxic pups compared to the control group. Hypoxic pups also had lowered postnatal weight which in males persisted up to adulthood. In adulthood, hypoxic males showed anxiety-like behavior in the OF, higher sucrose preference, and lower levels of grimace scale (reflecting the degree of negative emotions) in the immobilization chamber compared to the control group. Moreover, hypoxic animals showed hyperactivity in EPM and LD tests, and hypoxic females had reduced sociability compared to the control group. In conclusion, our results indicate a possible relationship between prenatal hypoxia and changes in sociability, activity, and impaired emotion regulation in ADHD, ASD, or anxiety disorders. The fact that changes in observed parameters are manifested mostly in males confirms that male sex is more sensitive to prenatal insults.
- MeSH
- Acid-Base Equilibrium MeSH
- Maze Learning MeSH
- Behavior, Animal * MeSH
- Gestational Age MeSH
- Fetal Hypoxia complications physiopathology MeSH
- Disease Models, Animal MeSH
- Motor Activity MeSH
- Rats, Wistar MeSH
- Food Preferences MeSH
- Sensorimotor Cortex growth & development MeSH
- Sex Factors MeSH
- Social Interaction MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Reflex, Startle MeSH
- Age Factors MeSH
- Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Research increasingly suggests that nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. One important line of evidence comes from genetic studies, which have repeatedly detected an association between the neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase (nNOS or NOS1) and schizophrenia. However, the pathogenetic pathways linking nNOS, NO, and the disorder remain poorly understood. A deficit in sensorimotor gating is considered to importantly contribute to core schizophrenia symptoms such as psychotic disorganization and thought disturbance. We selected three candidate nNOS polymorphisms (Ex1f-VNTR, rs6490121 and rs41279104), associated with schizophrenia and cognition in previous studies, and tested their association with the efficiency of sensorimotor gating in healthy human adults. We found that risk variants of Ex1f-VNTR and rs6490121 (but not rs41279104) were associated with a weaker prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex, a standard measure of sensorimotor gating. Furthermore, the effect of presence of risk variants in Ex1f-VNTR and rs6490121 was additive: PPI linearly decreased with increasing number of risk alleles, being highest in participants with no risk allele, while lowest in individuals who carry three risk alleles. Our findings indicate that NO is involved in the regulation of sensorimotor gating, and highlight one possible pathogenetic mechanism for NO playing a role in the development of schizophrenia psychosis.
- MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Exons MeSH
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide * MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Minisatellite Repeats MeSH
- Nitric Oxide physiology MeSH
- Prepulse Inhibition genetics MeSH
- Schizophrenia genetics MeSH
- Sensory Gating genetics MeSH
- Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I genetics MeSH
- Reflex, Startle genetics MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
Botulinum toxin type A (BoNT) is considered an effective therapeutic option in cervical dystonia (CD). The pathophysiology of CD and other focal dystonias has not yet been fully explained. Results from neurophysiological and imaging studies suggest a significant involvement of the basal ganglia and thalamus, and functional abnormalities in premotor and primary sensorimotor cortical areas are considered a crucial factor in the development of focal dystonias. Twelve BoNT-naïve patients with CD were examined with functional MRI during a skilled hand motor task; the examination was repeated 4 weeks after the first BoNT injection to the dystonic neck muscles. Twelve age- and gender-matched healthy controls were examined using the same functional MRI paradigm without BoNT injection. In BoNT-naïve patients with CD, BoNT treatment was associated with a significant increase of activation in finger movement-induced fMRI activation of several brain areas, especially in the bilateral primary and secondary somatosensory cortex, bilateral superior and inferior parietal lobule, bilateral SMA and premotor cortex, predominantly contralateral primary motor cortex, bilateral anterior cingulate cortex, ipsilateral thalamus, insula, putamen, and in the central part of cerebellum, close to the vermis. The results of the study support observations that the BoNT effect may have a correlate in the central nervous system level, and this effect may not be limited to cortical and subcortical representations of the treated muscles. The results show that abnormalities in sensorimotor activation extend beyond circuits controlling the affected body parts in CD even the first BoNT injection is associated with changes in sensorimotor activation. The differences in activation between patients with CD after treatment and healthy controls at baseline were no longer present.
- MeSH
- Afferent Pathways diagnostic imaging drug effects MeSH
- Botulinum Toxins, Type A therapeutic use MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Oxygen blood MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging methods MeSH
- Statistics, Nonparametric MeSH
- Neuromuscular Agents therapeutic use MeSH
- Image Processing, Computer-Assisted MeSH
- Psychomotor Performance drug effects MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Sensorimotor Cortex diagnostic imaging drug effects MeSH
- Torticollis * diagnostic imaging drug therapy physiopathology MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Methamphetamine (MA) is one of the most abused psychostimulants in the Czech Republic and worldwide. Previous studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of maternal drug abuse. However, the father's contribution as a parent and donor of the half genetic information is unclear. The present study aimed to examine the effect of paternal MA exposure on behavioral development and locomotor activity in rat offspring. MA was administrated subcutaneously for 30 days at a dose of 5 mg/kg to adult male rats. The impact of paternal MA exposure on rat pups was investigated using behavioral tests during development and locomotor activity tests in adulthood. Prior to testing, adult offspring were exposed to an acute challenge dose of MA (1 mg/kg) to examine the possible sensitizing effect of the paternal treatment. Our results found no significant differences in behavioral development or locomotor activity in adulthood of offspring linked to paternal MA application. These results differ from the effects induced by maternal MA application. Further, our results demonstrated a significant increase in locomotor activity on the Laboras test after acute MA application. When comparing sex differences, females showed more activity than males in adulthood, whereas males were more active during development.
- MeSH
- Behavior, Animal drug effects MeSH
- Rats MeSH
- Locomotion drug effects MeSH
- Methamphetamine toxicity MeSH
- Rotarod Performance Test MeSH
- Paternal Exposure * MeSH
- Sex Characteristics MeSH
- Reflex, Righting drug effects MeSH
- Rats, Wistar MeSH
- Sensorimotor Cortex drug effects growth & development MeSH
- Sex Factors MeSH
- Central Nervous System Stimulants toxicity MeSH
- Age Factors MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Rats MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Comparative Study MeSH
- MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Motor Skills MeSH
- Reflex physiology MeSH
- Sensorimotor Cortex growth & development MeSH
- Vestibular System * embryology growth & development MeSH
- Vestibulocochlear Physiological Phenomena MeSH
- Child Development MeSH
- Check Tag
- Child MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Review MeSH
The present study examined the hypothesis that the extension of noxious effect of methamphetamine (MA) on maternal behavior and postnatal development on the pups may differ in dependence with time of application. Female rats were injected with MA (5 mg/kg) or saline during first (embryonic day (ED) 1-11) or second (ED 12-22) half of gestation. Our results demonstrated that MA exposure on ED 12-22 led to decreased birth weight and weight gained during lactation period relative to rats treated on ED 1-11. Both sexes treated prenatally with MA on ED 1-11 opened eyes earlier compared to animals treated on ED 12-22. As a matter of sensorimotor development application of MA on ED 1-11 impaired the righting reflex, while MA exposure on ED 12-22 impaired the performance of beam balance test in male rats. There were no differences in maternal behavior. Therefore, it seems that MA exposure in the first half of the gestation impaired the early sensorimotor development that is under control of the brain stem, while the MA exposure in the second half of gestation affected the beam balance performance that is dependent on the function of the cerebellum.
- MeSH
- Maternal Behavior drug effects MeSH
- Methamphetamine administration & dosage MeSH
- Rotarod Performance Test MeSH
- Random Allocation MeSH
- Animals, Newborn MeSH
- Rats, Wistar MeSH
- Growth and Development drug effects MeSH
- Central Nervous System Stimulants administration & dosage MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Pregnancy MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
