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Query: UNIPROT:Q86TM3 (cage)
 29,987 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Mating with intromission induces a prolonged preovulatory LH surge in the estrous female ferret but inhibits LH secretion in the male. We used the dual immunocytochemical localization of Fos (as a marker of neural activation) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) to determine whether neurons containing norepinephrine or other catecholamines are activated after mating. Breeding male ferrets were allowed to intromit with estrous females; both animals were perfused 90 min after the onset of intromission. Other male and female ferrets were perfused 90 min after being placed in a cage in which an opposite-sex ferret in breeding condition had previously been housed for 48 h. Control ferrets of each sex were perfused 90 min after being placed alone in a clean testing cage. Mating with intromission significantly augmented the percentage of TH-immunoreactive (TH-IR) neurons colabeled with nuclear Fos-like immunoreactivity (Fos-IR) in both the A6 and the rostral A2 midbrain catecholamine cell groups in females, but not males. Exposure to chemosensory cues alone also increased the percentage of Fos-IR TH neurons in the rostral A2, but not the A6, cell group in females. Chemosensory cues alone did not affect the percentage of double-labeled neurons in either cell group in males. These activated midbrain TH-IR neurons are most likely noradrenergic, and their activation in estrous females may facilitate the mediobasal hypothalamic release of LHRH required for the preovulatory LH surge. In both sexes, mating with intromission, but not chemosensory cues alone, augmented the percentage of periglomerular TH-IR neurons in the main olfactory bulb (MOB) that were colabeled with Fos-IR. These activated TH-IR neurons in the MOB are most likely dopaminergic. Their role in the neural response to mating is currently unknown.
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PMID:Sexually dimorphic activation of midbrain tyrosine hydroxylase neurons after mating or exposure to chemosensory cues in the ferret. 916 92

The activation of different neuroendocrine subsystems depends on the individual perception and coping with the challenging situation, the formulation of these relations by J.P. Henry represents a most useful concept also for the assessment of welfare consequences of particular caging variables. We investigated effects of cage enrichment on behaviour and neuroendocrine activations of male laboratory mice. Mice in enriched cages behaved more aggressive, lacked stable dominance hierarchies and exhibited neuroendocrine alterations depending on their individual social position. Subdominant passive mice were characterized by an augmented adrenal capacity to synthesize epinephrine despite low activities of the tyrosine hydroxylase. Dominant mice showed elevated circulating corticosterone concentrations despite high tyrosine hydroxylase-activities. Findings showed a dissociation of neurosympathetic and adrenomedullary components in subdominant passive mice and a simultaneous activation of sympathetic adrenomedullary and hypothalamo-adrenocortical components in dominant mice. Within the conceptual framework of the Henry model this would suggest different deteriorations of welfare in dominant and subdominant passive mice. In the situation of intensified aggression in the enriched cages the increased epinephrine synthesis in subdominant mice reflect their more frequent receipt of attacks and the elevated corticosterone secretion in dominant mice reflect their hindered ability to control the dominant position.
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PMID:Effects of cage enrichment on territorial aggression and stress physiology in male laboratory mice. 940 11

Although the role of dopamine dysfunction is well established in Parkinson's disease, the effect of nigrostriatal degeneration on motor performance during normal aging is less well understood. In this study, aged rhesus monkeys (25-27 years old) displayed significant impairments relative to young (3-5 years old) cohorts in motor function as assessed on a fine motor task and home cage activity. Additionally, the clinical motor function of aged monkeys was impaired relative to young monkeys as assessed on a clinical rating scale. Unbiased stereologic measurements of the substantia nigra revealed a significant age-related loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir; 50.3%) and dopamine transporter-immunoreactive (DAT-ir; 33.2%) nigral neurons. The monkeys performance on the fine motor task and on the clinical rating scale was correlated with TH-ir neuronal counts. The number of DAT-ir nigral neurons was correlated with activity and clinical rating scale scores. Our results suggest that age-related motor impairments in nonhuman primates are associated with spontaneous decreases in TH-ir and DAT-ir nigral cells. The correlation of motor deficits with the loss of TH-ir and DAT-ir nigral neurons suggests that aged nonhuman primates may provide a useful model for mimicking changes seen in human aging and early Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:Age-related declines in nigral neuronal function correlate with motor impairments in rhesus monkeys. 982 52

The effect of exercise on blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) was investigated assuming a mechanism involving calcium-dependent dopamine synthesis in the brain. Male SHR (13 weeks of age) were forced to run for 1 h at a speed of 10 m/min using a programmed motor-driven wheel cage. Systolic blood pressure was reduced after running, and this effect of exercise was decreased by prior intracerebroventricular administration of EDTA (1 nmol/rat), alpha-methyltyrosine (inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase, 1 mg/rat), sulpiride (D2 receptor antagonist, 50 microg/rat) or eticlopride (D2 receptor antagonist, 100 microg/rat), but was not changed by administration of SCH 23390 (D1 receptor antagonist, 30 microg/rat). Also, the calcium levels in the serum and brain were increased by exercise. Combining these results with our previous reports, it is suggested that exercise leads to an increase in the serum calcium level and subsequently an increase in the brain calcium level. This, in turn, leads to increased brain dopamine synthesis through a calmodulin-dependent system, with the increased dopamine levels inhibiting sympathetic nerve activity via the dopamine D2 receptor in the brain and causing a reduction in blood pressure.
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PMID:Rectifying effect of exercise on hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats via a calcium-dependent dopamine synthesizing system in the brain. 1009 21

Mating in female rats induces an acute prolactin (PRL) release within 60 min and twice-daily surges of PRL throughout the first 10 days of pregnancy to maintain luteal function. Little is known about the brain mechanism whereby the vaginocervical stimulation is processed to induce PRL release. Our recent results revealed an increase in Fos expression in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) following mating in the intact estrous rat, suggesting that a neuronal network in the brain area may participate in conveying and integrating the genitosensory stimulation. To further investigate the phenotype of activated neurons in the ARC, the present study examined whether beta-endorphin (beta-END) and/or dopamine (DA) neurons are activated by mating, and if so, whether activation is involved in the mating-induced acute release of PRL and the establishment of the twice-daily surges of PRL. In experiment 1, proestrous rats receiving intromissions (mated group) from males or mounts without intromission (mounted group) were sacrificed along with rats taken directly from their home cage (control group) 60 min after the beginning of mating or mounting. Expression of Fos in beta-END neurons and expression of fos-related antigen (FRA) in DA neurons, which were labeled by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) antibody in the ARC were examined by double-label immunocytochemistry. In experiment 2, proestrous females with indwelling atrial catheters were mated with males. Naloxone (10 microl/min, 2 mg/10 min), an opiate antagonist, or saline was infused before, during and after mating. Blood samples were collected during the mating session and also at several times 3 days after mating. The results showed that mating induced a significant increase in the percentage of beta-END/Fos colabeled neurons and a significant decrease in the number of beta-END cells in all subdivisions of the ARC. In contrast, neither the percentage of FRA/TH colabeled cells nor the number of TH cells was influenced by mating. Mating induced an acute increase in PRL release in saline-treated control animals within 30 min and a subsequent diurnal surge (18.00 h) and a nocturnal surge of PRL (2.00 h) 3 days after mating. Naloxone infusion during mating blocked the mating-induced acute PRL response and the diurnal surge of PRL 3 days after mating, but affected neither the nocturnal surge of PRL nor the incidence of pregnancy. These results demonstrate that (1) beta-END neurons but not DA neurons in the ARC are activated in response to mating in proestrous rats, and (2) the mating-induced activation of beta-END neurons may participate in the acute response of PRL release to mating and the memory mechanism for the establishment of the diurnal PRL surge, but not the nocturnal PRL surge in early pregnancy. These results lead to a conclusion that endogenous opioid peptides may be involved in the neuronal transmission of genitosensory stimulation to induce PRL secretion.
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PMID:Involvement of endogenous opioidergic neurons in modulation of prolactin secretion in response to mating in the female rat. 1094 Jul 35

The effects of treadmill exercise training on prepro-galanin (GAL) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene expression in the locus coeruleus (LC) were examined. Male Fischer-344 rats (n=9) were assigned to 6 weeks of treadmill running. An additional group of animals comprised the sedentary home cage control group (n=9). Levels of GAL and TH messenger RNA (mRNA) in the LC were measured using in situ hybridization histochemistry with autoradiography. Levels of GAL mRNA were higher in treadmill trained animals compared to sedentary animals, but there was no effect of treadmill running on TH mRNA. These results suggest that gene expression for galanin is responsive to repeated exercise stress and may have a neuromodulatory role in LC-noradrenergic adaptation to treadmill exercise training.
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PMID:Prepro-galanin messenger RNA levels are increased in rat locus coeruleus after treadmill exercise training. 1116 40

Central catecholaminergic systems play an important role in the control of reproductive activities including sexual behavior, luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin secretion. It has been reported that catecholaminergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (A6) are activated by mating in rabbits and ferrets, animals known as reflex ovulators. This study used Fos as a marker of neuronal activity to examine whether brainstem catecholaminergic neurons are activated by mating in the spontaneous ovulator, the female rat. Proestrous rats receiving intromissions (mated group) from males or mounts-without-intromission (mounted group) were sacrificed along with rats taken directly from their home cage (control group) 90 min after the beginning of mating or mounting. Double-label immunocytochemistry was used to examine the expression of c-Fos in catecholaminergic neurons labeled by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) antibody, or adrenergic neurons labeled by phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase (PNMT) antibody. Double label immunofluorescent immunohistochemistry was used to determine the number of neurons containing the estrogen receptor (ERalpha) that were activated by mating in these brain areas. The results showed that mating-with-intromissions induced a significant increase in the percentage of TH/Fos colabeled neurons in both A1 and A2 cells compared to mounting-without-intromission or control. In both these areas, over 50% ERalpha-ir neurons were activated after mating while mounting-without-intromission did not affect the percentage of colabeled Fos/ERalpha neurons. In A6 region, neither the expression of Fos nor the percentage of TH/Fos colabeled cells was influenced by either mating or mounting compared to controls. The percentage of PNMT-containing neurons colabeled with Fos was not different in C1 and C2 among the three experimental groups. The results indicate that catecholaminergic neurons were activated by mating in A1 and A2 but not in adjoining adrenergic C1 and C2 cells. In contrast to the findings that catecholaminergic neurons in A6 are activated by mating in induced ovulators, mating did not affect neuronal activity in A6 neurons in the female rat. In A1 and A2 areas, a high percentage of neurons containing ERalpha were activated by mating suggesting both tactile and hormonal information may converge on these populations of neurons. The activated catecholaminergic neurons in A1 and A2 may be an important pathway by which sensory information generated during sexual interaction modulates both behavior and pituitary function.
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PMID:Mating-activated brainstem catecholaminergic neurons in the female rat. 1125 Nov 89

Aggression in group-housed male mice is known to be influenced by both cage size and group size. However, the interdependency of these two parameters has not been studied yet. In this study, the level of aggression in groups of three, five, or eight male BALB/c mice housed in cages with a floor size of either 80 or 125 cm(2)/animal was estimated weekly after cage cleaning for a period of 14 weeks. Furthermore, urine corticosterone levels, food and water intake, body weight, and number of wounds were measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, testosterone levels, and weight of spleen, thymus, testes, and seminal vesicles were determined. Results indicate a moderate increase of intermale aggression in larger cages when compared to the smaller cages. Aggression in groups of eight animals was considerably higher than in groups of three animals. The increase of agonistic behavior was observed both in dominant and subordinate animals. Physiological parameters indicate differences in stress levels between dominant and subordinate animals. It is concluded that aggressive behavior in group-housed male BALB/c mice is best prevented by housing the animals in small groups of three to five animals, while decreasing floor size per animal may be used as a temporary solution to decrease high levels of aggression in an existing social group.
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PMID:Modulation of aggression in male mice: influence of group size and cage size. 1133 99

Abnormal circling behavior in rodents is usually attributed to vestibular dysfunction. In rats, all circling mutants described previously have inner ear defects resulting in auditory and vestibular dysfunctions. Here, we describe a new mutant rat with abnormal spontaneous circling behavior but normal auditory and vestibular functions. The new circling mutant rat was discovered in progeny of an apparently normal black-hooded (BH) rat inbred line [BH.7A(LEW)/Won] and was termed ci3, because we recently found two other mutant circling rats (ci1 and ci2) in a Lewis (LEW) inbred rat strain. The ci3 mutant is characterized by circling behavior and locomotor hyperactivity, which occur in phases or bursts either spontaneously or in response to stress, e.g., when rats are transferred to a new environment. Video monitoring of undisturbed rats in their home cage during the light and dark periods showed that circling behavior is much more intense during the dark period, i.e., during the active phase of the animals. Most ci3 rats show a lateral preference in their rotational behavior, i.e., they either rotate to the left or to the right. Brainstem auditory evoked potential testing and different tests of vestibular function did not disclose any auditory or marked vestibular defects in ci3 rats. Furthermore, no morphological abnormalities were seen during histological examination of the cochlear and vestibular nuclei in the brainstem. Neurochemical determination of dopamine and dopamine metabolite levels in striatum, nucleus accumbens and substantia nigra showed that ci3 rats have a significant asymmetry in striatal dopamine in that dopamine levels were significantly lower in the hemisphere contralateral to the preferred direction of turning. Consistent with this finding, immunohistological examination of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area yielded a significant laterality in the medial part of substantia nigra pars compacta with a lower density of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons in the contralateral hemisphere of mutant circling rats, while no laterality was seen in unaffected rats of the background strain [BH.7A(LEW)/Won].Thus, the novel mutant ci3 rat exhibits several features which clearly differ from previously described circling rat or mouse mutants. The behavioral phenotype occurs in the absence of auditory or obvious vestibular defects and is most likely a consequence of lateralized abnormalities found in the nigrostriatal circuit. Apart from the use of ci3 rats for studying the functional lateralization of brain functions, the ci3 mutant may serve as a new model for movement disorders with abnormal lateralization.
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PMID:A novel black-hooded mutant rat (ci3) with spontaneous circling behavior but normal auditory and vestibular functions. 1172 Jul 85

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) use has risen among women of childbearing age. Consequently, there is a substantial risk for fetal exposure from women who are, or become pregnant while abusing MDMA. However, attempts to demonstrate that prenatal MDMA results in neurochemical alterations in rat models have failed. MDMA administration to neonatal rats (third trimester equivalent) results in significant and persistent neurochemical and behavioral alterations, yet human epidemiologic data suggest that the vast majority of prenatal exposure is limited to the first trimester. The following study was conducted to reexamine the potential for prenatal MDMA administration to produce lasting postnatal neurochemical and behavioral alterations using a new rodent model. Pregnant rats were administered twice-daily injections of MDMA (15 mg/kg sc) or saline from embryonic days (E) 14-20. Prenatally exposed pups were examined on postnatal days (P) 3 and 21. At P3, MDMA offspring showed reductions in the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid which persisted through P21, along with reductions in the serotonin (5-HT) metabolite, 5-HIAA. Prenatally exposed MDMA animals at P21 also had reduced dopamine and 5-HT turnover in the nucleus accumbens. Increases in tyrosine hydroxylase fiber density were found in the frontal cortex, striatum and nucleus accumbens of MDMA animals. In addition, prenatal MDMA significantly increased locomotor activity of P21 pups in a 20-min novel cage environment. These findings provide the first evidence of lasting neurochemical and behavioral alterations following prenatal MDMA. Further investigation is warranted to elucidate possible mechanisms of action and to monitor children gestationally exposed to MDMA.
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PMID:Prenatal 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) alters exploratory behavior, reduces monoamine metabolism, and increases forebrain tyrosine hydroxylase fiber density of juvenile rats. 1297 64


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