Assessment of neonatal rat's activity by the automated registration of the animal entries in the squares of a testing arena

Menshanov, Petr N.; Дыгало, Н. Н.

doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2007.04.014

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In our neonates, we did not observe a loss of the righting reflex, but—as mentioned—a delay in its execution. We did not observe any hyperactivity during the first postnatal week, even if clonidine has been shown to induce motor activity of rat P6 pups [31] . We must also bear in mind that clonidine treatment has been associated with neuronal death in the rostral brainstem, and this may affect related regions or make the whole system function slower.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

Clonidine Treatment Delays Postnatal Motor Development and Blocks Short-Term Memory in Young Mice

Calvino-Núñez

Domínguez-del-Toro

2014

PLoS ONE

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During the development of the nervous system, the perinatal period is particularly sensitive as neuronal connections are still forming in the brain of the neonate. Alpha2-adrenergic receptors are overexpressed temporarily in proliferative zones in the developing brain, reaching a peak during the first postnatal week of life. Both stimulation and blocking of these receptors during this period alter the development of neural circuits, affecting synaptic connectivity and neuronal responses. They even affect motor and cognitive skills later on in the adult. It's especially important to look for the early neurological consequences resulting from such modifications, because they may go unnoticed. The main objective of the present study has been to reaffirm the importance of the maturation of alpha-adrenergic system in mice, by carrying out a comprehensive examination of motor, behavioral and cognitive effects in neonates, during early postnatal development, following chronic administration of the drug Clonidine, an alpha2 adrenergic system agonist. Our study shows that mice treated postnatally with clonidine present a temporal delay in the appearance of developmental markers, a slow execution of vestibular reflexes during first postnatal week of life and a blockade of the short term memory in the novel object recognition task. Shortly after the treatment the startle response is hyperreactive.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%