Dóra Zelena

• Managing Director at University of Pecs

Although the early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are widely studied, the significant ambiguity and heterogeneity in symptoms require the comparison of available models, approaches, and the search for common denominators and key indicators. Early ASD symptoms in animal models include impaired somatic development (e.g., delayed eye opening)...

Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) has a regulatory role in both acute and chronic stress, suggesting its potential contribution to stress-related disorders such as depression. However, not all individuals with depression respond equally to stressors. We aimed to determine whether the PrRP system could underlie stress coping, an important aspect of...

Background/Objectives: Beneficial effects of neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) on cognition, emotions and behavior have been previously reported, suggesting its potential in the prevention and treatment of various neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to investigate...

The RFamide peptide family is a group of proteins that share a common C-terminal arginine–phenylalanine–amide motif. To date, the family comprises five groups in mammals: neuropeptide FF, LPXRFamides/RFamide-related peptides, prolactin releasing peptide, QRFP, and kisspeptins. Different RFamide peptides have their own cognate receptors and are prod...

The urocortin 1 (UCN1)–expressing centrally projecting Edinger–Westphal (EWcp) nucleus is influenced by circadian rhythms, hormones, stress, and pain, all known migraine triggers. Our study investigated EWcp's potential involvement in migraine. Using RNAscope in situ hybridization and immunostaining, we examined the expression of calcitonin gene–re...

Social behavior is important for our well-being, and its dysfunctions impact several pathological conditions. Although the involvement of glutamate is undeniable, the relevance of vesicular glutamate transporter type 3 (VGluT3), a specific vesicular transporter, in the control of social behavior is not sufficiently explored. Since midbrain median r...

Tanulmányunkban megvizsgáltuk, hogy a Covid-19 járvány változtatott-e a diplomás nők egészségmagatartási szokásain, mindezt főváros és vidék összehasonlításában. Célunk az volt, hogy feltárjuk, hogy a pandémia okozta lezárások, valamint a karanténhelyzet hatással volt-e a nők dohányzási, alkoholfogyasztási, kávézási, illetve sportolási szokásaira?...

According to previous studies, the median raphe region (MRR) is known to contribute significantly to social behavior. Besides serotonin, there have also been reports of a small population of dopaminergic neurons in this region. Dopamine is linked to reward and locomotion, but very little is known about its role in the MRR. To address that, we first...

According to previous studies the median raphe region (MRR) is known to contribute significantly to social behavior. Beside serotonin, there are reports of a small population of dopaminergic neu-rons in this region. Dopamine is linked to reward and locomotion, but very little has been known about its role in the MRR. To address that, we first confi...

Learning and memory are important in everyday life as well as in pathological conditions. The median raphe region (MRR) contributes to memory formation; however, its precise role and the neurotransmitters involved have yet to be elucidated. To address this issue, we stimulated the MRR neurons of mice by chemogenetic technique and studied them in th...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rather common, presenting with prevalent early problems in social communication and accompanied by repetitive behavior. As vasopressin was implicated not only in salt-water homeostasis and stress-axis regulation, but also in social behavior, its role in the development of ASD might be suggested. In this review, we...

Preclinical studies on rodents should follow the 3R principle minimising the suffering of the animals. To do so, some researchers use inhalation anaesthetic induction even before intraperitoneal injection. However, several studies suggested that both interventions might influence the behaviour of the animals. We aimed to test whether intraperitonea...

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disorder (AD) is increasing worldwide, and the co-morbid anxiety is an important, albeit often neglected problem, which might appear early during disease development. Animal models can be used to study this question. Mice, as prey animals, show an innate defensive response against a predator odor, providing a valuable...

The extinction of conditioned fear is frequently used in laboratories as a model for human exposure therapy and is crucial for studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the efficacy of specific protocols can vary greatly, and the underlying brain mechanisms are not sufficiently clarified. To address this issue, variable starting tim...

To reduce obesity and cardiovascular risk, a combination of low carbohydrate diet and sport is a good choice in otherwise healthy individuals. However, among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), consuming a minimum of 130 g carbohydrates per day is recommended, and the desire to exercise decreased as well. We wanted to demonstrate that a...

Stress disorders impair sleep, quality of life, however, their pathomechanisms are unknown. Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) is a stress mediator, therefore, we hypothesised that PrRP may be involved in the development of stress disorders. PrRP is produced by the medullary A1/A2 noradrenaline (NA) cells, which transmit stress signals to forebrain...

Normal biological rhythms, including sleep, are very important for a healthy life and their disturbance may induce—among other issues—memory impairment, which is a key problem of many psychiatric pathologies. The major brain center of circadian regulation is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and vasopressin (AVP), which is one of its main neurotransmitt...

The centrally projecting Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EWcp) is involved in stress adaptation. Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) mRNA was previously shown to be expressed abundantly in mouse and human EWcp urocortin 1 (UCN1) positive neurons and reacted to chronic stress. Since UCN1 neurons are deeply implicated in stress-related disorders...

Observations of women and clinicians indicated that the prevalence of menstrual cycle problems has escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was not clear whether the observed menstrual cycle changes were related to vaccination, the disease itself or the COVID-19 pandemic-induced psychological alterations. To systematically analyze this q...

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, being highly prevalent in elderly women. The advanced progression may be due to decreased hormone synthesis during post-menopause as estradiol and progesterone both have neuroprotective potentials. We aimed to confirm that female hormone depletion aggravates the progression of dementia in a t...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common form of dementia. Approximately 50% of AD patients show anxiety and depressive symptoms, which may contribute to cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate whether the triple-transgenic mouse (3xTg-AD) is a good preclinical model of this co-morbidity. The chara...

Social touch is an essential component of communication. Little is known about the underlying pathways and mechanisms. Here, we discovered a novel neuronal pathway from the posterior intralaminar thalamic nucleus (PIL) to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) involved in the control of social grooming. We found that the neurons in the PIL and MPOA were n...

Selegiline, also known as L-deprenyl, and (2R)-1-(1-benzofuran-2-yl)-N-propylpentane-2-amine (BPAP) were found to induce enhancement of monoamine neurotransmission in low and very low doses. In addition, these enhancers may modify glutamatergic neurotransmission. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that under stress conditions,...

Background: Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a cation channel, is expressed predominantly in primary sensory neurons, but its central distribution and role in mood control are not well understood. We investigated whether TRPA1 is expressed in the urocortin 1 (UCN1)-immunoreactive centrally projecting Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EWcp),...

Estrogen is one of the most important female sex hormones, and is indispensable for reproduction. However, its role is much wider. Among others, due to its neuroprotective effects, estrogen protects the brain against dementia and complications of traumatic injury. Previously, it was used mainly as a therapeutic option for influencing the menstrual...

The psychoendocrine evaluation of lamb development has demonstrated that maternal deprivation and milk replacement alters health, behavior and endocrine profiles. While lambs are able to discriminate familiar and non‐familiar conspecifics (mother or lamb), only lambs reared with their mother develop such clear social discrimination or preference. L...

The relevance of vasopressin (AVP) of magnocellular origin to the regulation of the endocrine stress axis and related behaviour is still under discussion. We aimed to obtain deeper insight into this process. To rescue magnocellular AVP synthesis, a vasopressin-containing adeno-associated virus vector (AVP-AAV) was injected into the supraoptic nucle...

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (Pa) are in the position to integrate stress-related information and initiate adaptive neuroendocrine-, autonomic-, metabolic- and behavioral responses. In addition to hypophyseotropic cells, CRH is widely expressed in the CNS, however their involvement in org...

Social touch is an important form of communication, it is still unknown how it is processed. Here, we discovered a functional role for a neuronal pathway projecting from the posterior intralaminar thalamic nucleus (PIL) to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) in controlling social contact. Neurons in the PIL and the MPOA were activated by physical conta...

Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory amino acid in the central nervous system. Neurons using glutamate as a neurotransmitter can be characterised by vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs). Among the three subtypes, VGLUT3 is unique, co-localising with other “classical” neurotransmitters, such as the inhibitory GABA. Glutamate, manipulated b...

Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a nonselective cation channel, contributes to several (patho)physiological processes. Smell loss is an early sign in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases; therefore, we focused on its role in olfaction and social behaviour with the aim t...

Using adenoviruses for therapy became well accepted due to some vaccines against COVID-19 pandemic. Actually, not the native viruses, but a recombinant form lacking fertility—a so called vector—is used with the aim to transfer genetic materials to adult cells. Decades of research preceded this development. Although the most important field of utili...

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a well-known inhibitory neurotransmitter implicated in numerous physiological and pathological behaviors including social interest. Dysregulation of the median raphe region (MRR), a main serotoninergic nucleus, is also characterized by increased social problems. As the majority of MRR cells are GABAergic, we aimed...

Aims: Median raphe region (MRR) is an important bottom-up regulatory center for various behaviors as well as vegetative functions, but detailed descriptions and links between the two are still largely unexplored. Methods: Pharmacogenetics was used to study the role of MRR in social (sociability, social interaction, resident intruder test) and em...

Anxiety and trauma-related disorders are characterized by significant alterations in threat detection, resulting in inadequate fear responses evoked by weak threats or safety stimuli. Recent research pointed out the important role of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) in threat anticipation and fear modulation under ambiguous threats, hence...

The role of preoptic GABAergic inhibitory neurons was addressed in parenting, anxiety and depression. Pup exposure and forced swimming resulted in similar c-Fos activation pattern in neurons expressing vesicular GABA transporter in the preoptic area with generally stronger labeling and different distributional pattern in females than in males. Chem...

Vasopressin is a ubiquitous molecule playing an important role in a wide range of physiological processes thereby implicated in the pathomechanism of many disorders. Its effect is well characterized through V2 receptors, which regulates the water resorption in kidney, while its vasoconstrictory effect through V1a receptor also received a lot of att...

Stress adaptation is of utmost importance for the maintenance of homeostasis and, therefore, of life itself. The prevalence of stress-related disorders is increasing, emphasizing the importance of exploratory research on stress adaptation. Two major regulatory pathways exist: the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical axis and the sympathetic adreno...

Due to its various function vasopressin has been associated with many psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Our previous study confirmed that vasopressin-deficient (di/di) Brattleboro rat can be a good genetic model for schizophrenia. Our present aim was to confirm whether the treatment effects of marketed antipsychotics are similar in di...

In adults, vasopressin exerts an anxiogenic effect, but less is known about the perinatal period. As a sign of distress, rat pups emit ultrasonic vocalizations when they are separated from their mothers, known as maternal separation-induced ultrasonic vocalization (MS-USV). Previously, reduced MS-USV was reported in 7–8-day-old genetically vasopres...

Significance Unconscious reactions to threat orchestrated by subcortical brain structures are critical to save the individual at peril. The innate behavioral responses can be modulated by associative learning processes in which the amygdaloid complex gates active motor commands to avoid danger. At the cellular level, glutamatergic neurotransmission...

Excessive fear learning and generalized, extinction-resistant fear memories are core symptoms of anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Despite significant evidence from clinical studies reporting hyperactivity of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) under these conditions, the role of BNST in fear learning and expression is still not clarifie...

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis is one of the main components of stress adaptation. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) coming from the nucleus paraventricularis hypothalami (PVN) is the canonical central regulator of the axis. This CRH acts on the CRH-R1 receptors of the pituitary, and, through adrenocorticotropin, stimulates gluc...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with a wide range of behavioural disturbances and serious consequences for both patient and society. One of the main reasons for unsuccessful therapies is insufficient knowledge about its underlying pathomechanism. In the search for centrally signalling molecules that mig...

Development of anxiolytics requires animal models; therefore anxious (AX) and nonanxious (nAX) mice have been selectively bred based upon their adult behaviour in reaction to handling. Since inadequate response to postnatal challenges may have lifelong consequences, we aimed to determine whether alterations in postnatal stress-coping may contribute...

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is triggered by traumatic events in 10-20% of exposed subjects. N-linked glycosylation, by modifying protein functions, may provide an important environmental link predicting vulnerability. Our goals were (1) to find alterations in plasma N-glycome predicting stress-vulnerability; (2) to investigate how trauma a...

Excessive fear learning and extinction-resistant fear memories are core symptoms of anxiety and trauma-related disorders. Despite significant evidence from clinical studies reporting hyperactivity of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) under these conditions, the role of BNST in fear learning and expression is still not clarified. Here, we t...

Despite recent advancements in the pharmacologic and endoscopic management of gastrointestinal ulceration, it is still associated with high mortality. Therefore, it is important to understand mucosal protective mechanisms. Somatostatin, present in the endocrine cells & sensory nerves, and its analogues reduce mucosal blood flow, pepsin and gastric...

Chronic hypernatremia activates the central osmoregulatory mechanisms and inhibits the function of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. Noradrenaline (NE) release into the periventricular anteroventral third ventricle region (AV3V), the supraoptic (SON) and hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei (PVN) from efferents of the caudal ventrolater...

Introduction Gastrointestinal ulceration is associated with high mortality despite advanced management, therefore, understanding of the mucosal protective mechanisms is important. Somatostatin is present in the endocrine cells and sensory nerves, and its analogues were shown to reduce mucosal blood flow, pepsin and gastric acid secretion. Our group...

Based on the type-I cannabinoid receptor (CB1) content of hypophysiotropic axons and the involvement of tanycytes in the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, we hypothesized that endocannabinoids are involved in the tanycyte-induced regulation of TRH release in the median eminence (ME). We demonstrated that CB1-immunoreactiv...

Keeping tabs on bad experiences Identifying the neural basis underlying how we acquire, process, and store negative experiences could help the search for effective treatments for mood disorders. Szőnyi et al. used a range of neuroscientific tools to elucidate the role of a specific neural circuit that originates in the median raphe region of the mu...

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that vesicular glutamate transporter 3 (VGluT3) deficiency is associated with cognitive impairments. Male VGluT3 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice were exposed to a behavioral test battery covering paradigms based on spontaneous exploratory behavior and reinforcement-based learning tests....

Since gastrointestinal ulceration is still associated with high mortality despite advancements in the endoscopic and pharmacological management, precise understanding of the mucosal defensive and protective mechanisms is important. The neuropeptide somatostatin is present in the endocrine cells and sensory nerves, is analogues were shown to reduce...

Animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder are useful tools to reveal the neurobiological basis of the vulnerability to traumatic events, and to develop new treatment strategies, as well as predicting treatment response contributing to personalized medicine approach. Different models have different construct, face and predictive validity and th...

Weaning is actually a maternal separation, characterized by maternal reduction of resources, therefore is both psychologically and energetically stressful to the offspring. Weaning is an important period of life and its timing may influence the resilence for later stress. One of the most important stress‐related disorder is gastric ulceration. Wean...

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is less referred in relationship with emotions than other parts of the brain (e.g. cortex, thalamus, amygdala), most probably because of the difficulty to reach and manipulate this small and deeply lying structure. After defining how to evaluate emotions, we have reviewed the literature and summarized data of the PAG c...

Animals and humans with genetic hormone deficiency are useful models for studies of hormone action and regulation. In this sense, the accidental discovery of the Brattleboro rat resulted in a valuable tool for studying the role of vasopressin, an ancient, widely distributed signalling molecule involved in different physiological processes. Brattleb...

Serotonergic mechanisms hosted by raphe nuclei have important roles in affiliative and agonistic behaviours but the separate roles of the two nuclei are poorly understood. Here we studied the roles of the dorsal (DR) and median raphe region (MRR) in aggression by optogenetically stimulating the two nuclei. Mice received three 3 min-long stimulation...

An important question in behavioral neurobiology is how particular neuron populations and pathways mediate the overall roles of brain structures. Here we investigated this issue by studying the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), an established locus of inhibitory control of aggression. We established in male rats that dominantly distinct mPFC neuron...

Glutamatergic neurons, characterized by vesicular glutamate transporters (VGluT1-3) provide the main excitation in the brain. Their disturbances have been linked to various brain disorders, which could be also modeled by the contextual fear test in rodents. We aimed to characterize the participation of VGluT3 in the development of contextual fear t...

Maintenance of the homeostasis in a constantly changing environment is a fundamental process of life. Disturbances of the homeostatic balance is defined as stress response and is induced by wide variety of challenges called stressors. Being the main excitatory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system glutamate is important in the adaptation p...

Optogenetics was the method of the year in 2010 according to Nature Neuroscience. Since then, this method has become widespread, the use of virally delivered genetic tools has extended to other fields such as pharmacogenetics, and optogenetic techniques have become frequently applied in genetically manipulated animals for in-vivo circuit analysis a...

Serotonergic and glutamatergic neurons of median raphe region (MRR) play a pivotal role in the modulation of affective and cognitive functions. These neurons synapse both onto themselves and remote cortical areas. P2X7 receptors (P2rx7) are ligand gated ion channels expressed by central presynaptic excitatory nerve terminals and involved in the reg...

Parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (PTH2R) and its ligand, tuberoinfundibular peptide of 39 residues (TIP39) have been implicated in the maintenance of homeostasis including body temperature in males. The system was recently shown to be activated in mothers. Therefore, we addressed some of its functions during pregnancy and lactation, comparing PTH2R-k...

The median raphe region (MRR) is believed to control the fear circuitry indirectly, by influencing the encoding and retrieval of fear memories by amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Here we show that in addition to this established role, MRR stimulation may alone elicit the emergence of remote but not recent fear memories. We substituted e...

Representative video of the locomotion on day 1. Video shows one representative example from the stimulation control (see methods; this is a case of no stimulation) and another from the central stimulation group (see methods; intermittent stimulation at 50Hz theta burst frequency). (AVI)

Behavioral effects of intermittent 50Hz theta bursts and continuous 20Hz stimulation. (a) Time course of exploration and ambulation shown in time-bins representing the stimulation and non-stimulation periods of intermittent stimulation at 50Hz theta burst frequency. (b) Exploration and ambulation in mice submitted to continuous 20Hz stimulation in...

Representative pictures of the periaqueductal gray after c-Fos immunohistochemistry. Pictures were taken around -4.36 mm from the Bregma. Scalebar is 100μm. Group1: home cage controls; Group2: no ChR2 controls (transferred for 5 min to the conditioning cage, no ChR2 expression); Group3: no light controls (cage transfer, robust ChR2 expression, not...

Behavior in control groups was not different from that seen in intact mice. The scale of Y-axes is similar to those used for experimental groups (see Figs 1 and 3). (a) No rhythmic changes in exploration or ambulation were observed. Note that the scoring of behavior was time-structured in all groups as for effective intermittent stimulations (as in...

Representative pictures of the locomotion on day 1. Track visualization of the distance travelled during the fear conditioning. Higher velocity is indicated by bright color (yellow), slower movements or rest is signed by dark red (a,b). Heat maps represent the average time spent (s) at each location (c,d), blue meaning less time and red marking the...

Raw data of the experiment. File contains all data underlying the findings described in the manuscript and grouped by the number of the figures. (XLS)

Escalated or abnormal aggression induced by early adverse experiences is a growing issue of social concern and urges the development of effective treatment strategies. Here we report that synergistic interactions between psychosocial and biological factors specifically ameliorate escalated aggression induced by early adverse experiences. Rats reare...

The transgenic mouse technology is widespread in the analysis of physiological functions; however, until now 22.0% of the tested null mutations were found to be lethal. The complete lack of vasopressin (AVP) also resulted in preweaning lethality. It is surprising to take into consideration the viability of the AVP natural mutant Brattleboro rats. T...

Cyclophilin D (cypD) modulates the properties of the permeability transition pore, a phenomenon implicated in the manifestation of many diseases including aging. Here, we examined the effects of partial or complete deletion of cypD on i) lifespan, ii) forebrain protein expression of 18 aging markers as well as regional expression of GFAP, mGluR1, a...

Background and purpose: Weaning is an important period of life and its timing may influence the resilence for later stress. One of the most important stress-related disorder is gastric ulceration. Methods: Therefore we aimed to investigate the sensitivity of gastric mucosa to cold (at 16°C) water immersion stress (WIS for 3h) in adult (75-day-ol...

Stress is an important pathogenic factor in many disorders and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis is one of the main components of stress-adaptation. The endhormones of the axis are glucocorticoids, however, the pituitary component of the axis, adrenocorticotropin is a potent regulator of mineralocorticoid secretion as well. The primary...

Corticosterone is the main glucocorticoid hormone in rodents with adrenal cortex origin. According to textbook knowledge its secretion is under the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis. More specifically, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), secreted from the corticotroph cells of the anterior pituitary is the primary secretagogue of co...

The word "stress" has a negative meaning to most of us. However, by its very nature, stress is an adaptive reaction of the body. The sympathoadrenomedullary system (SAS) and the hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenocortical axis (HPA) are the basic components of stress-adaptation. The HPA axis is regarded to have bigger role in chronic stress, while SAS is...

Aims: In vasopressin-deficient rat pups stressor-induced adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and corticosterone elevations markedly dissociate. We have shown recently that during the postnatal period mineralocorticoid secretion is more sensitive to stressor exposure than that of glucocorticoids. We have therefore hypothesized that in vasopressin-deficient...

Stress and related disorders are in the focus of interest and glutamate is one of the most important neurotransmitters that can affect these processes. Glutamatergic neurons are characterized by vesicular glutamate transporters (VGluT1-3) among which vGluT3 is unique contributing to the non-canonical, neuromodulatory effect of glutamate. We aimed t...

Rationale: Calcium-permeable (GluA2 subunit-free) AMPA receptors (CP-AMPAR) play prominent roles in fear extinction; however, no blockers of these receptors were studied in tests relevant to extinction learning so far. Methods: The CP-AMPAR antagonist IEM-1460 was administered once before extinction trainings, which were started either 1 or 28 d...

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a mesencephalic brain structure involved in the expression of numerous behaviours such as maternal, sexual and emotional. Histological approaches showed the PAG is composed by subdivisions with specific cell organisation, neurochemical composition and connections with the rest of the brain. The comparison of studies...

The transgenic mouse technology is widespread, however, untill now 22.0 % of tested null mutations was found to be lethal. The complete lack of vasopressin (AVP) resulted also in preweaning lethality. It is surprising take into consideration the viability of the AVP mutant Brattleboro rats. Thus, AVP is essential for survival, but which of its ubiq...

Vasopressin, a nonapeptide, signaling both as hormone in the blood and neuromodulator/neurotransmitter in the brain is considered to be causally involved in the pathological changes underlying anxiety and depression. In the present review we summarize experimental data obtained with Brattleboro rats as a model of congenital vasopressin-deficiency t...

Vasopressin can contribute to the development of stress-related psychiatric disorders, anxiety and depression. Although these disturbances are more common in females, most of the preclinical studies have been done in males. We compared female vasopressin-deficient and +/+ Brattleboro rats. To test anxiety we used open-field, elevated plus maze (EPM...

Rationale Depression is highly prevalent in diabetes (DM). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is mainly regulated by the endoplasmic reticulum chaperon sigma-1 receptor (S1R) plays a relevant role in the development of depression. Objectives We studied the dose-dependent efficacy of S1R agonist fluvoxamine (FLU) in the prevention of DM-...

A disturbance of sensorimotor gating measured by prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle (PPI) is one of the best tests of the schizophrenia-like behavior. Vasopressin was implicated in the development of schizophrenia; therefore, the naturally occurring vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro rat has been suggested to be a reliable non-pharmacological a...