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Biomedical subjects

H Maldonado

Publications and source records attributed to H Maldonado.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Central effect of morphine pretreatment on short- and long-term habituation to a danger stimulus in the crab Chasmagnathus.

Morphine is believed to inhibit the crab's escape response to a danger stimulus due to central drug action. To test alternative explanations of such an effect in terms of afferent and/or efferent impairment, experiments were conducted using the crab's optokinetic response as indicator. Doses of morphine with maximal detrimental effect on the escape response (75-100 micrograms/g) showed no effect on the optokinetic response, both by measuring the crab's eyestalk displacement and by recording its body rotation, supporting the hypothesis of a morphine central action on the danger-induced escape response. As regards the effect on habituation, a 75 micrograms morphine/g injection administered 30 min before the first trial produced a parallel shift of the short-term (within-session) habituation curve, suggesting a modulatory central drug action that would mimic a putative endogenous opioid action. A 100 morphine micrograms/g dose injected 30 min before training sharply reduced reactivity during training and impaired the acquisition of long-term (between-session) habituation. It may be speculated that the decrease in the danger meaning of the stimulus due to morphine explains both effects in terms of a stimulation impairment during training.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Effect of naloxone pretreatment on habituation in the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus.

On sudden presentation of a passing shadow, the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus reacts with an escape response that habituates after repeating the same stimulus. In a first series of experiments, a range of naloxone (NX) doses (0.8, 2.4, 3.2, and 6.2 micrograms/g) was injected into crabs 15 min before one 15-trial habituation session. An enhancing effect of 3.2 micrograms NX/g on responsiveness appeared over trials, that cannot be explained either by a ceiling effect or by a delay in peak drug action. Two doses below 3.2 microgram/g and one dose above had no significant effect. Results from a second series of experiments showed that the 3.2 microgram NX/g effect vanishes after 15 trials (1 h after injection). The hypothesis that crab's habituation involves the action of an endogenous opioid mechanism is put forward to account for the naloxone pretreatment effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Multidisciplinary analysis of patients with extratemporal complex partial seizures. II. Predictive value of semiology.

Eight patients were diagnosed as having extratemporal seizures based on their ictal electroclinical manifestations. The correlation between the focus based on semiology and that based on intracranial electrographic recording and surgical excision was excellent in five, good in three. The electroclinical manifestations of seizures are important data to consider in the diagnosis and treatment of extratemporal seizure foci.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed1990

Retrograde amnesia in praying mantis after two successive learning processes.

Learning and memory consolidation was investigated in the mantis Stagmatoptera biocellata, by two successive trainings: a) the attack (A) avoidance training in which animals were not allowed to catch a mobile star, followed by the deimatic reaction (DR) avoidance training of not displaying this defensive response, or b) DR-avoidance training followed by A-avoidance training. The results showed that the presence and the 1 of A-avoidance learning and DR-avoidance learning did not affect the learning of the other training. Total retention of A-avoidance memory was demonstrated when A-avoidance training was given first, whereas DR-avoidance memory was significantly lost (716%) when the DR-avoidance training was given first. The retroactive forgetting of DR-avoidance memory is considered as retrograde amnesia rather than retroactive memory inhibition because it depends on the activity during A-avoidance training (number of attacks) and not the quantity of A-avoidance learning. The magnitude of the amnesic effect due to this distracting activity in the A-avoidance training appears to be remarkably similar to that reported in a previous work using nitrogen-induced anoxia as the amnesic factor.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Improvement in the healing of colonic anastomoses by vitamin B5 and C supplements. Experimental study in the rabbit].

To study the effects of vitamins B5 and C on the healing process of colonic anastomoses, 3 groups of 20 rabbits were given daily either placebo (group A), or vitamin B5 (100 mg/kg: group B) or vitamin C (100 mg/kg: group C). After 8 days of supplementation, via a midline incision and under general anaesthesia, 2 colonic segments were removed, and the continuity was restored. On the 3rd post-operative day, the rabbits were killed and the anastomoses were removed. Mechanical properties of both normal colon and anastomoses were determined by using bursting pressure tests, number of burst anastomoses, fibroblast count, hydroxyproline concentration and determination by microanalysis of trace element content: Mg, P, S, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn. Vitamin B5 (p = 0.03) and vitamin C (p less than 0.01) both decreased the number of burst anastomoses. Furthermore the required bursting pressure values were higher with vitamin C (p = 0.01) than in controls. Both vitamins restored normal Zn levels at the anastomotic site, whereas these levels decreased on the 3rd post-operative day during the normal healing process of colonic anastomosis. Moreover, vitamins B5 and C increased Fe, Cu and Mn levels, which are intimately all involved in collagen synthesis. Vitamins B5 and C enhance the colonic wound healing process in the rabbit, acting together in synergy in vivo as well as in vitro, as previously demonstrated.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1990

[Brunn's nests as a cause of benign tumor of the bladder in children].

This report concerns the case of a male patient admitted for an operation due to vesicoureteral reflux. During the operation a sessile tumor was discovered in the interior of the bladder at the level of the neck. The tumor corresponded histologically to a mucous polyp with Brunn's nests in the interior. The following are commented on: the extreme rarity of the case, the histopathological characteristics of this abnormal epithelial proliferation which is produced as an exaggerated response to an irritative stimulus and its non-malignant nature.

Epithelium↗
PubMed1989

Danger stimulus-induced analgesia in the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus.

When a danger stimulus (a passing shadow) is presented to the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus, an escape response is elicited that habituates after repeated stimulation. Results from previous work suggest that this habituation might be mediated by endogenous opiates and, thus, that after an habituation session an analgesic effect on the response to a painful stimulus should be found. The purpose here was to test this contention. Each crab was lodged in an actometer where two 2-trial sessions with electrical shock stimulation were given (SS1, SS2), the intersession interval being 60 or 105 min, and the response activity recorded. In some experiments, repeated shadow stimulation was inserted during the interval, and the response activity also recorded. In Expt. 1, shadow sessions of 15 and 30 trials were tested and a significant decrease of the reactivity to the shock was only shown with 30 trials. In Expt. 2, crabs were immediately injected after SS1 with distilled water (d.w.) or naloxone (NX) (3.2 micrograms/g), and a shadow session of 30 trials was given to half of the d.w. animals and to half of the NX ones. NX injected crabs showed an increased responsiveness to the danger stimulus during the shadow session but no inhibitory effect on pain reactivity to the subsequent painful stimulus. Issues concerning dependence of the analgesia on danger stimulus iteration and on stimulus controllability, as well as the opioid nature of the analgesia, are discussed.

Analgesia↗
PubMed1989

Opioid action on response level to a danger stimulus in the crab (Chasmagnathus granulatus).

When a passing shadow is presented to the crab (Chasmagnathus granulatus), an escape response is elicited that habituates after repeated stimulation. Results of previous papers suggest that this habituation might be mediated by endogenous opiates, entailing the postulate that opiates may inhibit the response to a danger stimulus. This contention is tested herein. Two trials (T1, T2) of shadow stimulation were given 30 min apart, and the response activity was recorded. In Experiment 1 a range of morphine doses (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 micrograms/g) were injected into crabs immediately after T1. Analysis of the M response values showed a morphine dose-dependent reduction in the crab's reactivity to the danger stimulus in T2. In Experiment 2, groups of crabs were injected with 1 of 4 solutions; saline, 70 micrograms/g morphine, 70 micrograms/g morphine plus 1.6 micrograms/g naloxone. Results suggest that morphine acts through an opiate receptor to inhibit the crab's response level to a danger stimulus. Three possible mechanisms of the morphine effect are discussed, and the most viable one suggests a central site of action.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Habituation in the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus: effect of morphine and naloxone.

The escape response decrement shown by the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus as a consequence of repeated shadow presentation, meets five of the seven tested parametric criteria of habituation. Results concerning stimulus generalization and dishabituation strongly suggest that neither motor fatigue nor sensory adaptation can account for the response waning. The effects of morphine and naloxone on performance were also studied. Neither 50 nor 5 micrograms morphine/g exerted any modulatory effect on memory retention. A dose of 50 micrograms morphine/g produced an anterograde detrimental effect on responsiveness but no long-term training effects could be detected after the drug's period of action. A dose of naloxone of 1.6 micrograms/g did not antagonize the effect of morphine. The potential value of the response habituation as a model for studying both habituation dynamics and the mechanisms that subserve it, and also for elucidating the effects of opiates on this memory process, is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Passive avoidance learning in the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus.

Male crabs Chasmagnathus granulatus were trained by means of a method similar to the standard inhibitory avoidance technique widely used in vertebrates. Each crab was placed in the dark compartment (DC) of a double-chamber device, allowed to move towards the light compartment (LC) and latency to enter measured. Experimental crabs received a shock in LC, but controls were not punished. After 1 min, both experimental and control crabs were free to return to DC. On completion of 1, 2, 3 or 24 hr intertrial interval in DC a retention test was administered and latency to enter LC was measured. A single trial was proven enough to establish a LC-shock association that was detected up to 3 hr later, but no retention was proved after 24 hr. Memory was disrupted when crabs were removed from the apparatus during the 3 hr intertrial interval. Similarities and differences between the passive avoidance method used with crabs and that used with vertebrates are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of morphine and naloxone on a defensive response of the crab Chasmagnathus granulatus.

Male crabs (Chasmagnathus granulatus) exhibited a defensive response (DR) to an electric shock (8 V, 50 Hz, 1 sec). The DR so elicited was used as a model for studying the antinociceptive effect of morphine. Injections of morphine-HCl (MP) (25, 50, 100 and 150 micrograms/g) were administered and the DR was examined at 2, 7.5, 15, 30, 45 and 75 min post-injection. (a) MP produced a dose-dependent reduction of the crab's sensitivity to the nociceptive stimulus. (b) A 100 micrograms/g dose of MP caused a 50% response inhibition with an injection-shock interval of 30 minutes, but no inhibition occurred when the same dose was administered with 1.6 micrograms/g of naloxone-HCl, suggesting that MP acts through an opiate receptor. (c) The ED50 at 2 min post-injection was roughly 33 micrograms/g and the threshold dose was estimated to be 6.8 micrograms/g. These doses are lower than ED50 values reported for other arthropods (90 to 930 micrograms/g) and approach those of vertebrates. (d) The peak MP effect was reached quickly, within 2 min post-injection. The duration of the MP effect was calculated to be 45.0-75.0 min depending on the dose, and an indirect estimate of half-life elimination was 15.7 min. These values are remarkably lower than those reported for vertebrates. The shorter duration of the MP peak effect is attributable to a greater permeability of the arthropod blood-brain barrier as compared to that of vertebrates.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Synaptic inhibition and cell communication; impairment of cell-to-cell coupling produced by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the somatic musculature of Ascaris lumbricoides.

The influence of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (10(-5) M) on the electrical coupling of giant somatic muscle cells of Ascaris lumbricoides was investigated. GABA enhanced the resting potential of the cells and abolished the spike activity. The coupling coefficient (V2/V1) was reduced by 58.8% while the input resistance (Rin) was decreased by 38.8%. The decline in Rin was not related to unlinearity of the current-voltage relation. As the time constant of cell membrane was reduced by 28.4% by the addition of GABA the effect of the neurotransmitter on cell-to-cell coupling seems to be mainly related to a decrease in resistance of the non-junctional membrane due to an increase in chloride conductance.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1984

Opiate receptor in praying mantis: effect of morphine and naloxone.

A praying mantis displays a "frightening reaction" called deimatic reaction (DR), any time that it is faced with a patterned visual stimulus that represents a potential damage for the insect. Results of the present paper show that the DR could be also elicited by an actual noxious (an electrical shock) and that this response is similar to that elicited by a potential nociceptive stimulus (a patterned visual stimulus). The DR elicited by the electric shock was used as a model for studying the analgesic effect of opiates. The mantis was placed in an apparatus that allowed us to give the insect an electrical shock and to measure the strength of its DR. During a first session the voltage threshold necessary to induce a full DR was determined, and then, the insect was injected with a certain solution. The voltage threshold was tested one, two and four hours after injection. Mantises that were injected with only distilled water showed no changes in their voltage threshold during the three tests. Injections of 300, 350 and 400 micrograms/g of morphine-HCl increased the voltage threshold in both a time-dependent and a dose related manner. A dose of 350 micrograms/g of morphine-HCl produced 50% of response inhibition after two hours of injections and is referred to as the median antinoxious dose ( AD50 ). Sixteen micrograms/g of naloxone given in conjunction with an AD50 of morphine, partially blocked the effect of morphine during the first hour and fully blocked it during the second hour. Thirty-two micrograms/g of naloxone fully blocked the morphine effect during the first and the second hour. However, more than 48 micrograms/g of naloxone alone also increased the voltage threshold in insects, similar to those described for vertebrates.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Vestibular-oculomotor interaction in cat eye-head movements.

When cats make slow scanning head movements, intersaccadic counterrotary eye movements are driven by the vestibulo-ocular reflex, but reset or forward saccades are not directly affected by vestibular afference. When the movements are rapid (approximately 200 deg./sec), large (greater than 40 degrees), and executed in single step shifts gaze (whether in the dark or during visual fixation shifts between known targets), there is no longer any clear vestibular effect on any eye movements during the gaze shift. The vestibulo-ocular reflex is active only at the beginning of head rotation and again at its termination as the gaze reaches its goal, even in the absence of vision. It is postulated that head-in-space and eye-in-orbit movements are perfectly monitored to adjust the amplitude of gaze shifts, despite the lack of overt vestibular effects on eye movements.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The stinging response of the honeybee: effects of morphine, naloxone and some opioid peptides.

Changes in responsiveness for the stinging reaction of honeybees fixed in a holder after receiving 3 electrical shocks delivered with 1 min interval, was registered and used as measurement for the effect of 2 microliter of different solutions injected. Every shock consisted of a train of pulses of 1 msec each, delivered for 2 sec at a frequency of 100 Hz. Injection of morphine-HCl (50 to 200 n-moles/bee) produced a dose dependent reduction of the honeybee stinging response to the electrical shocks. The morphine dose that produced a 50% inhibition of the response (D50) was 148 n-moles/bee (927 micrograms/g), i.e., a value far greater than that reported for vertebrates in behavioral test of analgesia. Naloxone 1.1 micrograms/g produces a significant reduction of morphine D50 effect and at 4-5 micrograms/g, a full disinhibition. Thus, whereas the D50 of morphine for honeybees is far greater than that for vertebrates, the doses of naloxone that antagonize morphine are similar for bees and vertebrates. Possible explanations of this difference are mentioned. Injections of met-enkephalin, leu-enkephalin, kyotorphin and (D-Ala2) methionine-enkephalinamide, given in doses of 200 n-moles/bee, an amount greater than that of the morphine D50, exhibited no effect on the stinging response.

Animals↗