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Locomotor Impairment (locomotor + impairment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Locomotor impairment of gravid lizards: is the burden physical or physiological?

JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
Olsson
Pregnancy is associated with reduced locomotor performance in several reptile species, but the reasons for this reduction remain unclear. Previous authors generally have assumed that the decreased maternal mobility is due to the physical burden of the clutch, but our data on a viviparous Tasmanian scincid lizard (Niveoscincus microlepidotum) suggest a different interpretation. Running speeds of gravid female skinks decrease during gestation (as litter mass increases), but this locomotor impairment is due to physiological changes associated with pregnancy, rather than simple physical burdening. Maternal running speeds are unrelated to litter masses, and do not increase in the week after parturition. Females with very large abdominal fat-bodies (due to ad libitum feeding in the laboratory), equivalent in mass to the litter, nonetheless run rapidly. If the locomotor ,costs' of reproduction reflect all-or-none physiological changes associated with pregnancy, then the magnitude of such costs may correlate only weakly with the actual level of reproductive investment. Because life-history models predict that the relationship between fecundity and ,cost' has important evolutionary consequences, our results highlight the need to clarify the causal basis for locomotor impairment in gravid reptiles. [source]

Carbamazepine Enhances Discriminative Memory in a Rat Model of Epilepsy

EPILEPSIA, Issue 11 2004
Rosane B. Bernardi
Summary:,Purpose:,Seizures and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the main causes for cognitive impairment in persons with epilepsy. It is still a matter of debate whether carbamazepine (CBZ) improves cognition because of its own psychotropic effects or because it is more effective to treat temporal epilepsy. Our objective was to analyze the performance of CBZ-treated or nontreated pilocarpine epileptic rats in an object-recognition test. Methods:,Twelve chronic pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats were treated with CBZ, 40 mg/kg, or saline, t.i.d. for 8 days. Twenty-one nonepileptic controls were treated with CBZ or saline. On day 8 of treatment, all rats were tested with an object-recognition paradigm. Results:,No locomotor impairment was detected in chronic epilepsy or CBZ treatment, as exploration during training was not affected. Exploratory behaviors during the choice session were not decreased in rats treated with CBZ; therefore CBZ does not compromise procedural memory. Epileptic rats showed a nonsignificant change in the discrimination performance, and prolonged treatment with CBZ in epileptic rats induced a significant increase in object discrimination during the choice session. Conclusions:,Even though pilocarpine-induced epileptic animals do not show compromised performance in the spontaneous object-recognition test, prolonged CBZ treatment has a positive effect on a simple object-discrimination task. These results may be associated with the psychotropic effects of CBZ. [source]

Possible involvement of GABAergic modulation in the protective effect of gabapentin against immobilization stress-induced behavior alterations and oxidative damage in mice

FUNDAMENTAL & CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
Anil Kumar
Abstract Introduction Acute stress may be experienced in response to an immediate physical, emotional or psychological stimulus. Stress has been known to affect several brain activities and promote long-term changes in multiple neural systems. In the present study, we investigated the possible involvement of GABAergic modulation in the protective effect of gabapentin in acute immobilization-induced behavioral alterations and oxidative damage in mice. Materials and methods Mice were immobilized for periods of 6 h. Animals were divided into different groups, consisting of six in each. Various GABAergic modulators were administered either alone or in their combinations, 30 min before subjecting the animals for immobilization stress. Various behavioral tests (mirror chamber, actophotometer) followed by oxidative parameters (malondialdehyde level, glutathione, catalase, nitrite and protein) were assessed in animals. Results Six hours acute immobilization stress caused significant locomotor impairment, anxiety-like behavior in mice. Biochemical analyses also revealed an increase malondialdehyde, nitrite level and depletion of glutathione and catalase activity in 6 h stressed brains. Pretreatment with gabapentin (50 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly improved ambulatory movements, anti-anxiety effect (decreased time latency to enter in mirror chamber, increased number of entries and duration in mirror chamber) and antioxidative activity in stressed mice (P < 0.05). Further, picrotoxin (1.0 mg/kg) blocked and muscimol (0.05 mg/kg) potentiated the protective action of gabapentin (50 mg/kg). Results of both behavior as well as biochemical alterations in combination studies were significant as compared to their effect per se (P < 0.05). Conclusion Results of present study suggest GABAergic modulation might be involved in the protective effect of gabapentin against immobilization-induced behavior alteration and oxidative damage in mice. [source]