Haloperidol is a potent dopamine receptor antagonist and used to treat psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. Recent clinical and preclinical studies demonstrated the overactivity of the nitric oxide (NO) system in schizophrenia. Neonatal ventral hippocampal (nVH) lesions in rats have been widely used as a neurodevelopmental model that mimics schizophrenia-like behaviors. Here, we investigate first whether the nVH lesion causes changes in NO levels in different limbic brain regions in young adults, postnatal day (PD) 81, and second, whether haloperidol treatment from PD60 to PD81 reverses these changes, by determining the accumulation of nitrites. The results show that NO levels at the level of the prefrontal cortex, occipital cortex, and cerebellum are higher in the nVH lesion animals, and that the haloperidol, in part, attenuates these altered NO levels. The NO levels observed in the nVH lesion animals with and without haloperidol treatment may be relevant to behaviors observed in schizophrenia.
We aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal administration of valproic acid (VPA) (500 mg/kg) at embryonic day 12.5 on the anatomical properties of the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala, at three different ages: immediately after weaning (postnatal day 21 [PD21]), prepubertal (PD35), and postpubertal (PD70) ages in a rat model of autistic spectrum disorder. Quantitative analysis of the thickness of the prefrontal cortex revealed a reduced size at all study ages in the cingulate 1 area of the prefrontal cortex and CA1 of the dorsal hippocampus in prenatally exposed animals compared to controls. At the level of the basolateral amygdala, a reduction in the size was observed at PD35 and PD70 in the VPA group. In addition, a reduced thickness was observed in the prelimbic region of the prefrontal cortex in VPA animals at PD35. Interestingly, no differences in cortical thickness were observed between control and VPA animals in the infralimbic region of the prefrontal at any age. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to VPA differentially alters cortical limbic regions anatomical parameters, with implication in the autistic spectrum disorder.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.