Touqeer Ahmed

• Bachelor of Pharmacy, PhD, Post-docs (KIST, South Korea and RIKEN, Japan)
• Professor at National University of Sciences and Technology

Aversive experiences powerfully regulate memory formation, and memory strength is proportional to the intensity of these experiences. Inhibition of the neural circuits that convey aversive signals when they are predicted by other sensory stimuli is hypothesized to set associative memory strength. However, the neural circuit mechanisms that produce...

Recent industrialization has increased human exposure to bio-available aluminum (Al). If more Al enters the brain than leaves, Al concentration will rise in the brain leading to neurodegenerative disorders. The aim of the present study was to determine Al concentration, neurodegeneration, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) gene expression...

The mediodorsal thalamic nucleus has been implicated in the control of memory processes. However, the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. Here we provide evidence for bidirectional modulation of fear extinction by the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus. Mice with a knockout or mediodorsal thalamic nucleus-specific knockdown of phospholipase C β4...

Curcuminoids (a mixture of curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin) share vital pharmacological properties possessed by turmeric, a well known curry spice, considered useful in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to evaluate if curcuminoids possess acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and memory enhancing activities....

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease. There are a limited number of therapeutic options available for the treatment of AD. Curcuminoids (a mixture of bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and curcumin) is the main chemical constituent found in turmeric, a well known curry spice, having potential in the treatment of AD. The obje...

Aluminum is a potent neurotoxin, responsible for memory impairment and cognitive dysfunction. The neurotoxic effect of aluminum on cognitive impairment is well documented, however, exposure to aluminum in a time-dependent manner and post-exposure self-recovery still needs to be elaborated. This research aimed to (1) study the time-dependent effect...

Social hierarchies are important for individual’s well-being, professional and domestic growth, harmony of the society, as well as survival and morbidity. Studies have revealed sexual dimorphism in the social abilities; however, data is limited on the sex-specific effects of various drugs used to treat psychiatric disorders and social deficits. The...

Social behavior is a complex term which involves different interactions between various individuals of a community. It is controlled by different neurotransmitter systems in a sexually dimorphic way. Certain environmental factors, like stress, cause various neurological disorders with associated social abnormalities in a sexually dimorphic way. Mul...

Aluminum is a ubiquitous metal that causes multiple brain pathologies such as, cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer’s disease like symptoms. Exposure to aluminum through drinking water is responsible for hampering learning and memory. This study aimed to compare (1) the time-dependent effect of aluminum exposure (keeping total exposure of 5850 mg/kg...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious global risk factor leading to the onset of cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases. Cognitive and memory impairment following a TBI is associated with the dysregulation of cholinergic neurotransmission in the brains of subjects. The extent of memory impairment following a TBI is linked with the...

Background Increased exposure of humans to toxic metals and high fat diet (HFD) consumption severely damages brain health. Natural plant extracts have shown huge potential to treat multiple human diseases. Objective The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of Shogaol (an active component of ginger) in neuroinflammation and...

Alteration in DNA methylation after aluminum exposure has been shown to contribute in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study is aimed to determine the effect of Al exposure (42 and 60 days) on learning and memory and the expression of proteins involved in DNA methylation (MBD1, MBD2, MBD3, MeCP2 (methyl CpG binding protein 2), DnMT1 a...

Episodic memory retrieval is fundamental for daily activities of humans and animals. Muscarinic cholinergic signaling is important for memory functioning and shows gender-dependent response in episodic memory retrieval. Dopamine D2 receptors influence memory formation and retrieval by influencing cholinergic signaling in the brain. This study aimed...

Background : Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known as rosemary, is a medicinal herb that presents significant biological properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-depressant activities. Recent findings correlate impaired adult neurogenesis, which is crucial for the maintenance of synaptic plasticity a...

Background Neurogenesis, the key mechanism to generate new neurons from existing stem cell niches continues throughout the life in the adult mammalian brain, although decelerate with aging or the progression of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In the past few years, impaired adult hippocampal neurogenesis emerged as a cont...

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is becoming a serious problem for developing countries as the lifespan of populations increases. Exercise is known to be clinically beneficial for MCI patients. Somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) may be a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for this population. The objective of this study was to determine...

Nutrition plays a strong role in aging. Therefore, the absorption and metabolism of nutrients along with diet are a strong risk factor for aging related diseases. The nutritional requirements for the elderly are different as compared to the younger adults due to factors like drug and nutrient interactions, aging associated conditions, socioeconomic...

Age-related diseases occur frequently in the older population which signifies age as a major risk factor for old age disorders. Aging itself is not a disease but there are certain manifestations associated with aging that contribute to age-related diseases. There are many underlying causes that exacerbate age-related disorders, they include, inflam...

Aging is known to be one of the major risk factors in many neurodegenerative diseases (ND) whose prevalence is estimated to rise in the coming years due to the increase in life expectancy. Examples of neurodegenerative diseases include Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s diseases, along with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Spinocerebellar ata...

Numerous studies have identified an association between age-related cognitive impairment (CI) and oxidative damage, accumulation of metals, amyloid levels, tau, and deranged lipid profile. There is a concerted effort to establish the reliability of these blood-based biomarkers for predictive diagnosis of CI and its progression. We assessed the seru...

Constant audiovisual exposure from digital media devices can cause overstimulation (OS) of the infant brain, which negatively impacts cognition. Curcuminoids (Cur, the principal component of turmeric) have shown neuroprotective qualities, however, their effects on overstimulated brain are unknown. This study aimed to determine the effects of audiov...

Aluminum (Al) is known for its neurotoxicity for over a century and is reported to have specifically high toxicity for cholinergic system. The effect of Al on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors is widely reported, but its effect on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) is less well known. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of A...

Autophagy is an important biological mechanism involved in the regulation of numerous funda- mental cellular processes that are mainly associated with cellular growth and differentiation. Autophagic pathways are vital for maintaining cellular homeostasis by enhancing the turnover of nonfunctional proteins and organelles. Neuronal cells, like other...

Background: Hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are key players of learning and memory. Despite their established role in memory processes, the contribution of muscarinic receptor activity in these brain regions during memory retrieval remains elusive. This study was aimed to assess the role of hippocampal CA1 and medial entorhinal cortex muscarinic...

In recent decades, humans’ exposure to metals have increased due to industrialization and socioeconomic trends have caused increased high fat diet (HFD) consumption. Concurrently, metals and HFD are risk factors for health, and in particular, the cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of metals and HFD treatment on n...

JAK/STAT transduction pathway is a highly conserved pathway implicated in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, survival and apoptosis. Dysregulation of this pathway is involved in the onset of autoimmune, haematological, oncological, metabolic and neurological diseases. Over the last few years, the research of anti-neuroinflammatory...

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is becoming an emerging problem for developing countries where there is an increase in expected age. There is no specific curative therapeutic treatment available for these patients. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate short and long-term changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) param...

Objectives:Physical activity and cognitive training are effective to enhance cognition in older patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Xbox 360 Kinect cognitive games are a combination of physical activity and cognitive training.The objective of this study was to determine the short- and long-termeffects of Xbox 360 Kinect cognitive games o...

Background: Aluminum (Al) causes neurodegeneration and its toxic effects on cholinergic system in the brain is well documented. However, it is unknown whether and how Al changes oscillation patterns, driven by the cholinergic system, in the hippocampus. Objective: We studied acute effects of Al on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs)-media...

The present study investigates the neuroprotective effects of Foeniculum vulgare seeds in a lead (Pb)-induced brain neurotoxicity mice model. The dried seeds extract of Foeniculum vulgare was prepared with different concentrations of organic solvents (ethanol, methanol, n-hexane). The in vitro antioxidant activity of Foeniculum vulgare seed extract...

Stress induces retrograde amnesia in humans and rodents. Muscarinic antagonism under normal physiological conditions causes gender dependent impairment in episodic memory retrieval. We aimed to explore the gender dependent role of muscarinic receptors in memory retrieval under sub-chronic stress condition. Male and female mice were trained for Morr...

The deficit in the visuospatial skills, thinking, learning and memory is termed as cognitive impairment. Human exposure to heavy metals is a potential risk factor for developing cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate the possible association between the concentration of heavy metals and the extent of cognitive impairment. Blood sampl...

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is becoming a serious problem for developing countries with growing age of the population. There is no specific curative treatment for these patients. The objective of this study was to determine the short and long-term effects of aerobic exercise on electroencephalogram parameters and cognition of MCI patients. METH...

Objective: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Syzygium aromaticum (S. aromaticum) extract (500 mg/kg) on AlCl3 (300 mg/kg)-induced mouse model of oxidative stress and neurotoxicity. Methods: An ethanolic extract of S. aromaticum seeds was prepared and the active compounds were identified using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. BAL...

Lead (Pb), a ubiquitous heavy metal and a known neurotoxicant, produces adverse effects on the brain via increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and causes oxidative stress. In this study we examined the neuroprotective effects of the ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa L. seeds on Pb induced oxidative stress in the developing brain o...

In the present paper, we will discuss on the importance of autophagy in the central nervous system, and outline the relation between autophagic pathways and the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. The potential therapeutic benefits of naturally occurring phytochemicals as pharmacological modulators of autophagy will also be addressed. Our...

Lead (Pb), a ubiquitous heavy metal and a known neurotoxicant, produces adverse effects on brain via increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and causes oxidative stress. In this study we examined the neuroprotective effects of ethanolic extract of Nigella sativa lin seeds on Pb induced oxidative stress in developing brain of mice. Mic...

Aluminum (Al) is known for its neurotoxic effects on cholinergic system; however, the exact mechanism is unknown. We studied the neurotoxic mechanisms of Al on cholinergic system. Mice were treated with AlCl3 (250mg/kg) through oral route for 42 days. Learning and memory, acetylcholine levels, gamma oscillations were assessed in Al-treated animals....

Background and Objective: It is believed in South-Asian traditions that a small dose of over-night soaked almonds taken in empty stomach have the potential to improve memory. This study aimed to investigate the comparative efficacy of whole and soaked almonds together with vitamin E estimation, given with or without food, for their memory protectiv...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly and is characterized by progressive cognitive and memory deficits. The pathological hallmarks of AD include extracellular senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. Although several mechanisms have been used to explain the underlying pathogenesis of AD, current...

Aluminum is associated with etiology of many neurodegenerative diseases specially Alzheimer’s disease. Chronic exposure to aluminum via drinking water results in aluminum deposition in the brain that leads to cognitive deficits. The study aimed to determine the effects of aluminum on cholinergic biomarkers, i.e., acetylcholine level, free choline l...

The phenomenon of utilizing information acquired in the past to make decision and performance in present depends on memory retrieval, which is affected in retrograde amnesia. Role of cholinergic receptors in memory retrieval is not much explored. In this study we evaluated the gender specific role of cholinergic receptors, i.e. muscarinic and nicot...

Neurodegenerative diseases, namely Alzheimer`s disease and Parkinson's disease represent a deleterious impact worldwide. Despite extensive preclinical and clinical research in neurodegenerative disorders, therapeutic strategies aimed at the prevention and chronic treatment of neurodegenerative conditions have not been successfully translated to the...

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of turmeric (20mg/kg) on learning and memory and cholinergic system in a mouse model of stress along with cholinergic blockade. Methods: Restrained stress was induced and cholinergic receptors were blocked using scopolamine in mice. Animals were treated with turmeric (turmeric rhizome powder which...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, and it has only a limited treatment choice in modern therapeutics. Hence, newer and alternate treatment options with high efficacy and good safety profiles are being explored. Turmeric possesses multiple medicinal uses in a variety of diseases, including AD. Curcuminoids, a mixture of cu...

We describe different neuropharmacological effects of Verbena officinalis crude extract (Vo.Cr). Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures, elevated plus maze, light–dark box (LDB), open field and thiopental-induced sleeping test models were employed to evaluate Vo.Cr actions in mice. Vo.Cr dose-dependently (100–500 mg/Kg) delayed onset time of myo...

Among naturally occurring isoflavones, soy isoflavones are an important class with various biological activities. Due to their phytoestrogenic structure, their effects on the brain are profound- thus making the neurobiological effects of these compounds an active area of research. One such compound is daidzein, which has been reported to affect var...

Background: Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and loss of cholinergic neurons. Literature review: The localization of Aβ plaques particularly in the cholinergic neuron-rich areas has led to the discovery that Aβ binds to α7 nicotinic acetylcho...

Aim: The study aim to explore the neuroprotective effect of BP extract (12.5mg/kg/day) on memory enhancement and its role on expression of Amyloid precursor proteins (APP) isoforms (APP770 and APP695) in AlCl3-induced toxicity (250mg/ml). The study also includes the isolation and identification of pure compound from BP, which could be the lead che...

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of old age dementia. The formation of amyloid plaques (Aβ), neurofibrillary tangles and loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons are the hallmark events in the pathology of AD. Literature review: Cholinergic system is one of the most important neurotransmitter system involved in lea...

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers disease (AD) are multifaceted and there are currently a limited number of therapeutic strategies available to treat them. Aspirin is known to act on multiple therapeutic targets and is a successful anti-inflammatory agent in various tissues. The present study aimed to ascertain the performance of aspir...

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that disease-related neurodegeneration seems to be a multifactorial process that involves different cytotoxic pathways converging in cell death. Neuropathological evidence indicates that neuroinflammation, excitotoxicity, redox-active metals, increased reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, abnormalities in the act...

The prevalence of mental diseases, especially neurodegenerative disorders, is ever-increasing, while treatment options for such disorders are limited and insufficient. In this scarcity of available medication, it is a feasible strategy to search for potential drugs among natural compounds, such as those found in plants. One such plant source is the...

Aluminum is known to exert neurotoxic effects associated with various neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ibuprofen is a well-known non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which has demonstrated potential efficacy in the treatment of numerous inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders, including AD. The present study ai...

Cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes are expressed in the brain; however, their role in hippocampus-dependent and cortex-dependent cognitive functions remains to be fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to comparatively investigate the effects of piroxicam, a selective COX-I inhibitor, and celecoxib, a selective COX‑II inhibitor, on cognitive...

The abundance of scientific evidence has shown that many synthetic drugs can cause serious adverse effects in patients. Recently, the search of natural therapeutic agents with low adverse effects has attracted much attention. In particular, considerable interest has focused on edible and medicinal plants, which play an important role in human diet,...

The excessive production of reactive oxygen species in nervous tissues is considered one of the major risk factors of neurodegenerative diseases. During the last two decades, much attention has been paid to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of natural products and compounds isolated from natural products which are often characterized b...

Unlabelled: Aluminium metal (Al) has been implicated in the etiology of many neurodegenerative diseases, most commonly the Alzheimer's disease (AD). Al causes biochemical defects by affecting the neurotransmitters level, causes conformational changes in amyloid β protein and increases amyloid accumulation in brain. Aim: This study was aimed at e...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. There is limited choice in modern therapeutics, and drugs available have limited success with multiple side effects in addition to high cost. Hence, newer and alternate treatment options are being explored for effective and safer therapeutic targets to address AD. Turmeric possesses mult...

This study determined that Ibuprofen has remarkable effect on pre-frontal mediated learning and memory and higher cognitive functions like organizational behavior and working memory, as observed by the results of behavioral tests.

Since the time started scientists are interested to study the neural basis of the cognitive functions. Nowadays various tools are used by the neuroscientists to study functional properties of neurons. Electrophysiology is one such valuable tool, and it has been utilized since long for the assessment of functional neural response. Multiple electroph...

Curcuminoids are vital constituent of turmeric, with therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Electrically, stimulus train-elicited plastic changes in hippocampal CA1 excitability were used as an experimental paradigm to study the effects of curcuminoid mixture and individual components on functional failure induced by Aβ pept...

Curcuminoid is a mixture of curcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin and demethoxycurcumin having therapeutic potential in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where neuronal death takes place through multiple pathways. We aimed to investigate rescuing potential of curcuminoid mixture and its individual components on fas receptor pathway in βamyloid+ibotenic acid-infus...

Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale) has been used for centuries to treat dementia in South Asia. This study was undertaken to possibly justify its use. A 70% aqueous/methanolic extract of dried ginger (Zo.Cr) was used. Zo.Cr tested positive for the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids, secondary amines, phenols, alkaloids and saponins. When tested o...