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Biomedical subjects

C Castellano

Publications and source records attributed to C Castellano.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Lack of morphine-induced hyperactivity in C57BL/6 mice following striatal kainic acid lesions.

Bilateral injection of kainic acid (0.15 micrograms/0.3 microliters) into the striatum (caudatus/putamen) of C57BL/6 mice prevented stimulation of locomotor activity by morphine (20 mg/kg, i.p.). This effect was specific to morphine since mice with the same lesion did not show any impairment of amphetamine (2 mg/kg)-induced locomotor hyperactivity. Histological inspections showed neuron damage also in the nucleus accumbens, while hippocampus was not damaged by kainic acid. Moreover, mice with kainic acid lesions in the hippocampus were more stimulated by morphine, compared with the morphine-injected sham lesion group. The results, which suggest the existence of non-catecholaminergic mediations in the locomotor effects of morphine, are discussed in terms of opioid systems in the brain.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1981

Cross-tolerance between D-amino acids and morphine in mice.

The effects of morphine administration on analgesia and running activity were studied in DBA/2 (DBA) and C57BL/6 (C57) mice respectively, injected with D-amino acids (D-AA) for 5 days. The results indicate a clear cross-tolerance between D-AA and morphine in DBA mice when analgesia is considered, while the stimulating effect of the opiate is not modified after D-AA pretreatment in the C57 strain.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Behavioral effects of opiates: a pharmacogenetic analysis.

A number of studies are reviewed in relation to a pharmacogenetic approach to the effect of opiates. The behavioral effects of morphine and heroin in different species or strains of animals are considered. In particular, a number of behavioral, neurophysiological, and biochemical correlates of the opiates in different inbred strains of mice are cited. Recent studies concerning the effects of opiates on behavior have utilized the C57BL/6J and the DBA/2J strains, which are characterized by different brain levels and turnover of cholinergic and adrenergic mediators. It has been shown that the effects of opiates on running activity and on analgesia are strain-dependent, and a negative correlation is evident between the two measures in the strains considered. Experiments carried out on mice with septal lesions and on normal mice have confirmed that the motor and analgesic effects of morphine in the mouse are two distinct phenomena, which may be explained through different neurophysiological and biochemical models. Differences between the strains considered have also been observed when the ECoG response to morphine administration has been investigated. The results of these experiments have suggested: 1. The existence of a correlation between behavioral activation and sleep-like ECoG patterns. 2. The existence of a similarity between the effects of the anticholinergic drugs and those of morphine, since a dissociation between ECoG and behavior became evident following morphine administration. Some studies have also suggested that the environmental factors play an important role in determining the stimulating effects of morphine. This effect was absent in "experience" mice (i.e., in subjects already tested in the apparatus), as compared with naive "inexperienced" animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Differential effects of opiate agonists-antagonists on morphine-induced hyperexcitability and analgesia in mice.

The effects of two opiate agonists-antagonists, butorphanol (4.0 and 8.0 mg/kg) and buprenorphine (0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg), were assessed on locomotor activity and analgesia in DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice. Different behavioral effects were evident in these strains, which might be characterized by different reactions to the effects of opiates and by differences in endorphin distributions and opiate receptor populations. In particular, buprenorphine acted as an agonist-antagonist to morphine in both strains while a dissociation of butorphanol effects was evident, depending on the strain considered. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1981

Strain-dependent effects of naloxone on discrimination learning in mice.

The effects of post-trial naloxone administration were studied in two inbred strains of mice. C57BL/6 (C57) and DBA/2 (DBA), tested in two different experimental conditions. These were a Y-water maze (requiring escape from water) and the Yerkes--Thompson--Bovet-Nitti apparatus for pattern discrimination (requiring escape from electric shock). Two series of experiments were carried out. In the first series, naloxone improved acquisition in DBA and impaired acquisition in C57 mice either trained to swim towards tha dark or to discriminate between oblique bars. Light-oriented behavior, perhaps due to non-conditioned tendencies, was improved in the Y-water maze following naloxone administration on both strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Strain dependent effects of the enkephalin analogue FK 33-824 on locomotor activity in mice.

Administration of the enkephalin analogue FK 33-824 was followed in the DBA/2 (DBA) strain by dose related depressant effects which, after the injection of 40 mg/kg, were still present 6 hrs after treatment; on the contrary, in the C57BL/6 (C57) strain, activity levels were enhanced by treatment, except for the dose of 40 mg/kg, which induced a short lasting behavioral stimulation followed by activity depression and catatonia and later on again by behavioral stimulation. All the effects of FK were naloxone reversible. Cross tolerance between FK and morphine was moreover observed both as concerns the excitatory effects (C57 strain) and the depressant effects (DBA strain) evident following their acute administration. The results are discussed in terms of differences in type, number and/or distribution of the receptors responsible, in the two strains, for the behavioral responses to opiate administration.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Development of morphine-induced changes of activity in the mouse.

The development of spontaneous activity in response to morphine administration was studied at different postnatal ages in C57BL/6 mice. Morphine induced hyperactivity at all ages except in 3-week-old mice, in which a catatonic effect is evident. The results indicate that the neurophysiological and inhibitory systems responsible for the non-analgesic effects of morphine are not characterized by the same developmental pattern.

Aging↗
PubMed1980

Dose-dependent effects of heroin on memory in two inbred strains of mice.

Heroin was administered to DBA/2 and C57BL/6 mice, trained in the five-choice Yerkes-Thompson-Bryant-Bovet-Nitti apparatus for pattern discrimination, in two sets of experiments. In a first set, pretrial administrations of heroin (0.1, 0.25, or 0.5 mg/kg) improved performance in both strains. In a second set, heroin (0.5 mg/kg) immediately following each training session were followed by performance improvements in both strains, while the performance of C57 mice was improved and that of the DBA mice was impaired by 5 mg/kg of opiate. No effect was evident in this set of experiments when heroin was injected 2 h after each session, suggesting that effects of the pretrial treatments were due to influences of the opiate on the consolidation processes of the strains tested.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Strain dependent effects of ketamine on locomotor activity and antinociception in mice.

The effects of ketamine (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg) on locomotor activity and response to nociceptive stimuli were investigated in the inbred strains of mice: BALB/c (BALB), C57BL/6 (C57) and DBA/2 (DBA). In the BALB and in the C57 mice ketamine exerted activity stimulating effects, which were already present at doses lower than those inducing antinociception. Locomotor depressent effects were evident in the DBA mice following the administration of doses higher than those necessary to induce analgesia. It is suggested that: (1) ketamine affects locomotor activity and response to painful stimuli through different mechanisms, (2) the brain regional and biochemical differences reported for the strains considered may account for their different responses to ketamine administtation.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1979

Effects of LSD-25 on avoidance behavior and locomotor activity in mice.

C57BL/6(C57) mice were tested in a shuttle box under the influence of LSD-25 in two sets of experiments. In the first set, the pretrial administrations of LSD (0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg) were followed by dose-related performance improvements. In the second set, the posttrial administration of LSD (0.2 mg/kg) immediately after each experimental session improved the performances of the mice. No effect was evident when the hallucinogen was injected 2 h after training, thus showing that LSD improved the memory processes of the C57 mice in these experimental conditions. Dose-related activity depressant effects were evident in a third set of experiments, carried out in a toggle-floor box.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Effects of mescaline and amphetamine on simultaneous visual discrimination in two inbred strains of mice.

The effects of mescaline and amphetamine were investigated in BALB/cJ (BALB) and C57BL/6J (C57) mice using the five-choice Yerkes--Thompson Bryant--Bovet-Nitti apparatus for patterns discrimination. Two sets of experiments were carried out. In the first set, pretrial administration of mescaline (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) was followed by performance improvements in the C57 mice, while performances of the BALB strain were impaired by the treatment, as compared with those of the saline-injected (4 ml/kg) controls. The pretrial administration of amphetamine (0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 mg/kg) improved performances of both strains. In a second set of experiments, the same effects as in the pretrial experiments were observed in both strains following administration of mescaline (20 mg/kg) and amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg) immediately after each experimental session. No effect was evident when the drugs were injected 2 h after training, suggesting that effects of the pretrial treatments were due to influences of mescaline and amphetamine on the consolidation processes of the two strains of mice tested.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Ontogeny of behavioral development, arousal and stereotypes in two strains of mice.

A number of reflexes and amphetamine-induced locomotor and stereotyped behavior were assesses in 8, 16, 32, 90 and 360 day old C57BL/6J and SEC/1ReJ inbred mice. The data indicate that C57 mice are more precocious for a number of neuronal and behavioral mechanisms while SEC mice are less mature at birth. In addition, there are appreciable fluctuations of these behavioral patterns throughout life. A rise in arousal levels was evident in both strains between 8 and 16 days and between 32 and 90 days of age. Three-hundred-sixty days old mice presented a general decrease in the levels of arousal. These findings are discussed in terms of neuronal and behavioral plasticity and in relation to the ontogeny of the different catecholaminergic systems which modulate excitory and inhibitory different behavioral patterns at different ages.

Aging↗
PubMed1977

Effects of chlorpromazine and imipramine on discrimination learning, consolidation, and learned behavior in two inbred strains of mice.

Chlorpromazine and imipramine were administered to DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice swimming in a Y water maze toward a light source (L Procedure, corresponding to innate tendency) or towards the dark (D Procedure, corresponding to the acquisition of a new pattern of behavior). In two sets of experiments the drugs were administered to naive mice before and after each training session, respectively. In both strains, in the pretrial experiments, the innate tendencies were improved by both drugs; the acquisition of a new pattern of behavior was improved following imipramine but impaired following chlorpromazine. In the posttrial experiments (D procedure) the consolidation processes of both strains were improved following imipramine and impaired following chlorpromazine. In a third set of experiments imipramine was administered to previously trained mice of both strains and chlorpromazine to previously trained C57 mice. In both procedures the administration of increasing doses of both drugs was followed by a progressive lenghtening of the swimming times in the previously trained C57 mice; performance disruptions were evident in both procedures in trained DBA mice mice following imipramine.

Animals↗