Interference of ethanol and methylmercury in the developing central nervous system

Silver exposure in developing zebrafish produces persistent synaptic and behavioral changes

“…Recent data show that 5HT also plays a critical role in reward-based learning [13], and similar to our findings, elevations in 5HT during development enhance fear-based learning in rodents [12]; importantly, in the rodent studies, learning improvements were tied specifically to fear or avoidance behaviors and thus were not indicative of a general increase in cognitive ability [12]. Our conclusions are further bolstered by findings that developmental exposure to neurotoxicants including other heavy metals, elevates adult anxiety-like behaviors and enhances performance in tasks linked to anxiety [18,20,23]. Importantly, activation of 5HT pathways during development leads to permanent changes in anxiety, while similar changes later in life have no persistent effects [11], thus highlighting the susceptibility of neurodevelopment to toxicants like Ag + .…”

“…Here, we extended our studies to determine whether these lower Ag + concentrations produce synaptic and behavioral changes extending into adulthood. For our evaluations, we focused on two monoamine neurotransmitters, dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-hydroxytrypamine, 5HT), and used a behavioral test that links anxiety to learning, an approach chosen because developmental exposure to other heavy metals augments anxiety-like behaviors in adult rodents [18,20]. DA and 5HT levels and turnover are readily measurable in the adult zebrafish brain [4,6,7,16] and play a role in tasks reflecting both learning and anxiety [2,6,7], with responses similar to those of mammals in models of spatial memory and aversive stimuli [19,22].…”

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Identification of gene expression profile in the rat brain resulting from acute alcohol intoxication

“…In clinical practice, it has been discovered that acute alcohol intoxication can damage the neuronal membrane, weaken the function of the central nervous system and slow down brain activity by activating inhibitory neurons and inhibiting activated neurons [4,5]. Further studies have revealed that acute alcohol intoxication may be involved in alcoholic psychosis and alcoholic encephalopathy, suggesting that it may cause irreversible damage to central nervous system [6,7]. Recently, pathophysiology and etiology of acute alcohol intoxication through experimental practice on rodent models have gotten much attention, among which rat models have been universally adopted to discover the influence of acute alcohol intoxication on the central nervous system (CNS) [8,9].…”

Effects of Periconception Cadmium and Mercury Co-Administration to Mice on Indices of Chronic Diseases in Male Offspring at Maturity

“…Similar locomotor activity observed between male offspring of treated and control dams suggest increased anxiety-like behavior was not linked to lethargy or reduced activity of offspring. In previous studies, increased anxiety-like behavior was observed with administration of Hg either at a very high dose, such as 8.0 mg/kg body weight on gestational day 8 (Maia et al 2009), or administration later in gestation corresponding to the stage of organ and nervous system development where Cd and Hg might have direct impacts on offspring behavior. For instance, offspring of pregnant mice fed a diet corresponding to Hg at a daily dose of 0.01 mg/kg body weight from gestational days 8 to 18 spent less time in the open field area suggesting increased anxiety-like behavior (Montgomery et al 2008).…”