Effect of p-Chlorophenylalanine on Avoidance Learning of Two Differentially Housed Mouse StrainsValzelli, Luigi; Pawłowski, Leszek
doi: 10.1159/000117673pmid: 155223
The effect of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) has been studied on the acquisition of avoidance learning and on brain concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and tryptophan of differentially housed male mice of Albino Swiss and DBA strains. The results obtained do not support the hypothesis that learning ability varies inversely with the concentration of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine. PCPA can appear as influencing learning ability of different strains of mice differentially housed, depending more on the emotional baseline of the animals than on brain 5-hydroxytryptamine modification.
Aggressiveness by Isolation and Brain Serotonin Turnover Changes in Different Strains of MiceValzelli, Luigi; Bernasconi, Sergio
doi: 10.1159/000117674pmid: 571055
In the framework of aggressive behavior a great amount of studies deal with altered brain monoamine levels or turnover. The involvement of brain serotonergic mechanisms in aggression has been demonstrated in the majority of the studies. In the present work, the biochemical and behavioral changes induced by prolonged socioenvironmental isolation in seven strains of mice were studied. Brain serotonin turnover varies significantly only in those strains which react to isolation with a constant degree of aggressiveness and there appears to exist an inverse correlation between these two parameters. Nevertheless a certain degree of aggression may develop even in the absence of alterations of brain serotonin turnover. Still the intensity of serotonin turnover decrease seems to represent a good indicator of the magnitude of the aggressive reaction.
Functional Interhemispheric Differences in Relation to Various Psychopathological Components of the Depressive SyndromesMonakhov, K.; Perris, C.; Botskarev, V.K.; von Knorring, L.; Nikiforov, A.I.
doi: 10.1159/000117676pmid: 431803
Previous investigations from our laboratory have suggested a possible interhemispheric difference in brain functioning in relation to the severity of a depressive psychopathological process. The present study has been carried out to extend the previous fìndings to comprise a more detailed symptom analysis of the depressive syndrome, several EEG characteristics, and a new method of EEG analysis. 22 depressed patients, most of them previously untreated, participated in the study. The patients were rated by means of a highly reliable rating scale for depression, and an EEG record was obtained from each of them. Analysis of possible relationships among clinical symptoms and EEG characteristics from different parts of the brain showed a complex pattern, quite different for each symptom. First when a systemic structural analysis of the EEG was performed by means of a special computer program, differential EEG syndromes could be identifìed. Patients with a high level of anxiety-depression showed a more pronounced functional involvement of the left precentral region than less severely ill patients.
The Profile and Severity of Lithium-Induced Side Effects in Mentally Healthy SubjectsBech, P.; Thomsen, J.; Prytz, S.; Vendsborg, P.B.; Zilstorff, K.; Rafaelsen, O.J.
doi: 10.1159/000117678pmid: 372839
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design various side effects (= unwanted effects) during 6 months of therapeutic serum lithium levels (0.7–1.1 mmol/l) to non-psychiatric patients were studied. The side effects were measured by self-rating scales and independent observer rating scales administered every 2–4 weeks throughout the study. After months of treatment, lithium induced hand tremor and thirst/polyuria; however, without any relationship to the serum levels of lithium. The frequency of tremor was highest in patients above the age of 60 years. No initial sedative-like lithium effect was found.
Mortality on LithiumGlen, A.I.M.; Dodd, M.; Hulme, E.B.; Kreitman, N.
doi: 10.1159/000117679pmid: 431804
A register of patients receiving lithium in the Edinburgh and Lothian area of Scotland has been kept by the Medical Research Council Brain Metabolism Unit since 1967. Using this register, information was obtained on 784 patients receiving lithium for a period of up to 115 months (97.4% of the population available for study). 33 patients died during the period of study due predominantly to cardiovascular causes or to suicide. There was nothing to suggest that long-term exposure caused more deaths than short-term exposure and the pattern of mortality resembled that found in other studies of manic-depressive illness, i.e. the majority of deaths occurred in the early stages of follow-up.
Bromolysergide and Methysergide Protection against ECS-induced Retrograde AmnesiaMontanaro, N.; Dall’Olio, R.; Gandolfì, O.
doi: 10.1159/000117680pmid: 34806
Bromolysergide (BOL 148) and methysergide (UML 491), 2 mg/kg intraperitoneally, and saline were administered to rats 45 min before one-trial passive-avoidance conditioning followed by electroconvulsive shock (ECS) or sham-ECS (ECS). On test session (24 h later), the groups treated with both BOL 148 and UML 491 exhibited a clear-cut retention in comparison to saline-ECS rats. On the other hand, all drugged groups, regardless of their submission to ECS, showed a little less pronounced consolidation than saline-ECS rats. The antiamnestic effect brought about by the two drugs was discussed in terms of receptor antagonism against ECS-released brain serotonin, whereas the lower passive-avoidance level observed in treated animals was considered in relation to a possible antipunishment effect of antiserotoninergic treatment.