Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0241981 (loss of balance)
 452 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The present study investigated the effects of the non-competitive NMDA antagonist MK-801 (0.04-0.16 mg/kg), on antipredator defensive reactions of male and female rats in three paradigms comprising the Anxiety/Defense Test Battery (A/DTB). In order to facilitate interpretation of data from the above study, the behavioral effects of the compound were also assessed in the non-threatening environment of the home cage. The data indicate a marked gender difference in the locomotor effects of the compound with females, but not males, showing a dose-dependent increase in general locomotor activity, a decrease in freezing, and a loss of balance at the highest dose, in both non-threatening and threatening contexts. The behavioral profile for males in the A/DTB included decreased orientation to and proxemic avoidance of the cat stimulus or stimulus site, and increased transits and eating in the cat situation. Contacts with the cat odor stimulus were increased, as was normal, curved back, locomotion in this test. In the absence of non-specific locomotor effects for males, this profile for the A/DTB provides convincing evidence for anxiety/fear reduction with MK-801. While locomotor effects tended to mask the putative anxiolytic properties of the compound in females, evidence remains from behavioral changes not attributable to a locomotor influence to indicate anxiety/fear reduction in this sex.
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PMID:MK-801 produces a reduction in anxiety-related antipredator defensiveness in male and female rats and a gender-dependent increase in locomotor behavior. 152 85

The sensitivity of several inbred strains of mice was assessed for ethanol's effects on activity, body temperature, ataxia, balance, and the righting reflex. Genotypic correlations among the mean responses for the strains were estimated as indexes of pleiotropic influences of genes on drug responses. Three major groups of genetic influence were detected: (a) hypothermic sensitivity to ethanol, (b) activity change (increase after ethanol), and (c) high basal activity. In the first group of variables, strains that had large reductions in body temperature after being given ethanol had high baseline temperatures, pronounced ataxic response to ethanol, and a long-lasting loss of righting reflex. Home cage baseline activity was negatively correlated with body temperature variables. The second group of variables was composed largely of ethanol-induced increases and decreases in activity, which were negatively intercorrelated. Strains with larger increases in activity showed more rapid loss of balance after ethanol. The third group of variables indicated that high levels of basal activity in an open field and in the home cage were determined by the action of common genes. Strains with higher basal activity levels had reduced sensitivity to ambulatory ataxia following ethanol. Thus, there were substantial pleiotropic effects of common genes on several behavioral responses to ethanol in inbred mice. Conversely, the three major groups were not systematically correlated with one another to a major extent. This suggests the influence of three reasonably distinct sets of genes on these responses to ethanol.
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PMID:Sensitivity to ethanol in inbred mice: genotypic correlations among several behavioral responses. 684 90