The metabolic syndrome and cognitive dysfunctions are common in patients with schizophrenia, yet there is no general consensus concerning the effects of the components of the metabolic syndrome on various cognitive domains. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between components of the metabolic syndrome and cognition in patients with schizophrenia. Components of the metabolic syndrome and neurocognitive functioning were assessed in 68 patients with schizophrenia. The Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) was used to assess neurocognition. Hyperglycemia and hypertension were the only components of the metabolic syndrome found to be associated with cognitive functioning. Patients with schizophrenia who were hypertensive showed cognitive impairments in 2 domains, with a negative association found between hypertension and verbal memory (P = 0.047) and verbal fluency (P = 0.007). Hyperglycemia was associated with higher scores on verbal memory (P = 0.01) and verbal fluency (P<0.001). It appears that medical treatment of certain components of the metabolic syndrome could affect cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia.
Previous studies have been shown that exercise can improve short-term spatial learning, memory and synaptic plasticity impairments in sleep deprived female rats. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of treadmill exercise on sleep deprivation (SD) induced impairment in hippocampal dependent long-term memory in female rats. Intact and ovariectomized female rats were used in the current study. Exercise protocol was 4 weeks treadmill running. Twenty four hour SD was induced by using multiple platform apparatus after learning phase. Spatial learning and long-term memory was examined by using the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test. Our results indicated that sleep deprivation impaired long term memory in the intact and ovariectomized female rats, regardless of reproductive status (p<0.05) and treadmill exercise compensated this impairment (p<0.05). In conclusion the results of the current study confirmed the negative effect of SD on cognitive functions and regular exercise seems to protect rats from these factors, however more investigations need to be done.
Background: Migraine headaches have been associated with sensory hyperactivity and anomalies in social/emotional responses. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential involvement of orexin 1 receptors (Orx1R) within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the modulation of pain and psychosocial dysfunction in a nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced rat model of migraine. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were injected with NTG (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) every second day over nine days to induce migraine. The experiments were done in the following six groups (6 rats per group): untreated control, NTG, NTG plus vehicle, and NTG groups that were post-treated with intra-BLA microinjection of Orx1R antagonist 20, and 40 nM). Thermal hyperalgesia was assessed using the hot plate and tail-flick tests. Moreover, the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) tests were used to assess anxiety-like behaviors. The animals' sociability was evaluated using the three-chamber social task. The NTG-induced photophobia was assessed using a light-dark box. Results: We observed no change in NTG-induced thermal hyperalgesia following administration of 20, and 40 nM). However, SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM) aggravated the NTG-induced anxiogenic responses in both the EPM and OF tasks. The NTG-induced social impairment was overpowered by SB-334867 at all doses. Time spent in the dark chamber of light-dark box was significantly increased in rats treated with SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM/rat). Conclusions: The findings suggest a role for Orx1R within the BLA in control comorbid affective complaints with migraine in rats.
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