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Biomedical subjects

C Castellano

Publications and source records attributed to C Castellano.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

Effects of pre- and post-trial caffeine administrations on simultaneous visual discrimination in three inbred strains of mice.

BALB/cJ, DBA/2J, and C57BL/6J mice were injected with caffeine and tested, in the five choice Yerkes-Thompson Bryant-Bovt Nitti apparatus for patterns discrimination, in two sets of experiments. In the first the patterns were opposite oriented oblique bars, in the second U-shaped figures, one opened toward the right, the other toward the left. As concerns the saline injected animals in both sets of experiments, the BALB mice showed the highest learning abilities; in the second set the C57 strain, whose performance had not been different from that of the DBA mice in the first set, performed at the lowest level. Pre- and post-trial caffeine (5 mg/kg) administrations were followed by performance impairment in the BALB strain, while performance improvements were evident in the drugged animals belonging to the other two strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Improvement of shuttle-box performance of mice by combinations of benzodiazepines and morphine given during training.

Chlorodiazepoxide, diazepam and morphine, given alone or in combination, were tested in naive mice subjected to five 100-trial avoidance sessions in the shuttle-box. When given alone before each training session all three drugs improved avoidance behaviour. However, facilitation of avoidance responding was much more evident when either benzodiazepine derivative was given in combination with morphine.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Effects of heroin, alone or in combination with other drugs, on the locomotor activity in two inbred strains of mice.

The locomotor activity of C57Bl/6J and DBA/2J mice was studied, under the influences of heroin, amphetamine, strychnine, or ethanol, and of combinations of the opiate with each one of the other drugs. Heroin treatment was followed by the typical "running fit" in the C57 mice, while the DBA strain was unaffected. Amphetamine enhanced the activity in the C57 strain only. The combination of heroin with amphetamine or ethanol increased the locomotor activity only in the DBA strain, while heroin + strychnine exerted a clear stimulating effect on the activity of the C57 mice. The strychnine + heroin mixture was more toxic than heroin alone when the lethal doses (LD50) were determined in the 2 strains.

Amphetamine↗
PubMed1976

Effects of caffeine on discrimination learning, consolidation, and learned behavior in mice.

Three sets of experiments were carried out in a Y water maze in which mice had to swim toward the light or the dark, in two different procedures. The first procedure involved, orientation toward a light source (L procedure), corresponding to natural preference, the latter involved orientation toward the dark (D procedure), corresponding to the acquisition of a new pattern of behavior. In pretrial drug treatments caffeine was administered to two groups of naive mice, tested under one of two experimental conditions. Posttrial drug treatments were made in animals learning the D procedure. Pretrained mice in the L or D procedure were finally injected with increasing doses of the drug. The results show that caffeine administration to naive animals was followed, in the D procedure, by a facilitation of learning and consolidation processes, and in the L procedure by improvements of the natural tendencies. Behavioral disruption followed treatment with the drug in mice pretrained in the D procedure, while only very high doses caused disruption in mice pretrained in the L procedure.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Effects of nicotine on discrimination learning, consolidation and learned behaviour in two inbred strains of mice.

DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice were injected with nicotine, and tested in a Y water maze in two procedures: the L procedure, coresponding to innate behavior, in which the animals must swim towards the light, and the D procedure, corresponding to the acquisition of a new pattern of behavior, in which they must swim toward the dark. Three sets of experiments were carried out: 1. In the pre-trial experiments, nicotine administration improved the innate tendencies of both strains, while the acquisition of a new behavior was facilitated in the C57 and impaired in the DBA mice. 2. In the post-trial experiments (D procedure), nicotine administration induced clear facilitating effects on the consolidation processes of the C57, while impairing these processes in the DBA strain. 3. The only effect evident, following nicotine administration, before the highest doses were reached, in the trained mice of both strains, was a performance impairment of the DBA mice trained in the L procedure.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

Early malnutrition and postnatal changes in brain and behavior in the mouse.

The effects of early undernutrition were studied by rearing mice in small, intermediate or large litters (respectively 4, 8 or 16 pups). Measures of reflexes and electrocorticographic activity applied from birth to weaning indicated that malnutrition resulted in a clear ontogenetic retardation which was followed by permanent body and brain stunting. The mice from the large litters were characterized by increased exploratory activity and by lower avoidance learning ability as measured 45 days after nutritional rehabilitation.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Morphine sensitivity and tolerance: a genetic investigation in the mouse.

Sensitivity and tolerance to morphine were determined in 2 strains of mice, BALB/cBy and C57BL/6By, their reciprocal F1 hybrids and seven of their recombinant inbred strains. Sensitivity was established based on locomotor activity following the administration of saline, 10 or 20 mg/kg of morphine hydrochloride while tolerance was established according to the "hot plate" method following the single or repeated administration of saline, 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg of morphine hydrochloride. Results indicate that both sensitivity and tolerance to morphine are genotype-dependent and their inheritance is characterized by dominance or partical dominance. Further clarification of the genetic relationship of sensitivity, tolerance and analgesia to morphine must await analysis of the brain morphine-binding protein currently being conducted.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1975

Effects of morphine and heroin on discrimination learning and consolidation in mice.

Morphine and heroin were administered to mice learning to swim toward a light source (L procedure) or toward the dark (D procedure), in a Y water maze, under pre and post-trial drug treatment conditions. In the pre-trial experiments a clear disrupting effect on performance with the two procedures followed administration of both drugs, but for the L performance never fell below the 50% level of correct choices. Analysis of the performance within each session demonstrated a disruption in the long term memory consolidation mechanism. The administration of naloxone, or alternatively, discontinuation of the treatment, was followed by a gradual improvement, in performance by the treated animals. In both procedures, a performance disruption also followed the administration of the drugs immediately after each experimental session.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

A genetic analysis of morphine-induced running and analgesia in the mouse.

A genetic analysis of morphine-induced analgesia and activity was conducted in mice belonging to the strains BALB/cJ, C57BL/6J, DBA/2J and to their F1 and backcross progenies. The results support previous findings showing that a negative correlation is evident between these two behavioral measures and support that their mode of inheritance is characterized by dominance or partial dominance. The biometric analysis conducted on the parental, F1 hybrid and backcross populations indicates very clearly that the effects of morphine are genetically determined.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1975

Morphine-induced running analgesia in two strains of mice following septal lesions or modification of brain amines.

Groups of two inbred strains of mice (C 57 B1/6J and DBA/2J) with septal and control lesions were tested for morphine-induced analgesia and running activity (running fit). As previously observed the effects of morphine on the running fit and analgesia were strain-dependent and a negative strain correlation was evident between the two measures in C 57 and DBA operated control mice which are characterized by different brain levels and turnover of cholinergic and adrenergic mediators. Septal lesions, which cause a reduction in the levels of acetylcholine in the brain areas which receive a cholinergikc input from the septum, anatogonized morphine analgesia in both strains while the running fit syndrome was unaffected. Pharmacological manipulation of brain catecholamines did not interfer with morphine-induced analgesia. The effacts of different pharmacological agents with interfere with noradrenaline synthesis and catecholamine oxidation were assessed in the two strains which are characterized by presence (C 57) or absence (DBA) of increased motor activity following the injection of morphine. The results argue against an exclusive association of morphine-induced motor activity with noradrenergic mechanism.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1975

Effects of genetic and nutritional factors on post-natal reflex and behavioral development in the mouse.

The development of a number of reflex activities, of the electrocorticogram (ECoG), and measures of brain and body weight were assessed at different ages from birth to maturity in mice belonging to Swiss-Webster stock and two inbred strains (C57BL/6J and SEC/1Re). The animals also were tested at 60 days of age for exploratory activity and avoidance behavior. These effects of postnatal undernutrition on the measures of reflex and ECoG activity, brain and body weight and avoidance learning were determined at different ages after birth and in adult animals following dietary rehabilitation. Undernutrition during suckling period was introduced by increasing the litter size from 4 pups to 8 or 16 pups per litter. The results indicate that early malnutrition delayed the development of the reflex and ECoG activities and permanently altered brain growth and avoidance learning. The effects were different, depending on the genotype considered. The data indicate that strains characterized by a slower development of brain function do not show early signs of brain malfunction following undernutrition.

Age Factors↗