Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health - Research Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/269

Filters

2013 2
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
Author: van den Buuse, Maarten × End date: 2013 × Start date: 2013 × Type: Journal Article × Subject: Schizophrenia ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Modafinil disrupts prepulse inhibition in mice: Strain differences and involvement of dopaminergic and serotonergic activation
    Kwek, P ; van den Buuse, M (ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2013-01-15)
    Modafinil is a wakefulness-promoting agent with possible beneficial effects for the management of addiction and in psychiatric conditions, but also with abuse potential of its own. The mechanism of action of modafinil remains unclear. We studied pharmacological mechanisms in the effect of modafinil on prepulse inhibition (PPI), a model of sensorimotor gating. Mice were tested in automated startle boxes after administration of modafinil and antagonist drugs. Oral administration of 100mg/kg of modafinil, but not lower doses, caused a significant reduction of PPI in C57Bl/6 mice, but not Balb/c mice. This effect of modafinil could be blocked by co-treatment with the dopamine D(2) receptor antagonist, haloperidol, and the serotonin (5-HT) 2A receptor antagonist, ketanserin, but not the 5-HT(1A) receptor antagonist, WAY100,635. At 30mg/kg, which did not influence PPI, modafinil inhibited PPI disruption caused by the dopamine transporter inhibitor, GBR12909. There was no interaction between modafinil and the serotonin transporter inhibitor, fluoxetine. There were no consistent effects of modafinil on startle amplitude. These results show that oral modafinil treatment may cause disruption of PPI in mice. This effect was strain-dependent, involving dopamine D(2) and 5-HT(2A) receptor activation, and was likely mediated by an interaction with the dopamine transporter. These results extend our insight into the behavioral effects of modafinil and could be of importance for the clinical use of this agent as they may indicate an increased risk of side-effects in conditions where PPI is already reduced, such as in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
  • Item
    No Preview Available
    Sex-dependent alterations in BDNF-TrkB signaling in the hippocampus of reelin heterozygous mice: a role for sex steroid hormones
    Hill, RA ; Wu, Y-WC ; Gogos, A ; van den Buuse, M (WILEY, 2013-08)
    Neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia may be caused by a combination of gene × environment, gene × gene, and/or gene × sex interactions. Reduced expression of both Reelin and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been associated with schizophrenia in human post-mortem studies. However, it remains unclear how Reelin and BDNF interact (gene × gene) and whether this is sex-specific (gene × sex). This study investigated BDNF-TrkB signaling in the hippocampus of male and female Reelin heterozygous (Rln(+/-) ) mice. We found significantly increased levels of BDNF in the ventral hippocampus (VHP) of female, but not male Rln(+/-) compared to wild-type (WT) controls. While levels of TrkB were not significantly altered, phosphorylated TrkB (pTrkB) levels were significantly lower, again only in female Rln(+/-) compared to WT. This translated to downstream effects with a significant decrease in phosphorylated ERK1 (pERK1). No changes in BDNF, TrkB, pTrkB or pERK1/2 were observed in the dorsal hippocampus of Rln(+/-) mice. Ovariectomy (OVX) had no effect in WT controls, but caused a significant decrease in BDNF expression in the VHP of Rln(+/-) mice to the levels of intact WT controls. The high expression of BDNF was restored in OVX Rln(+/-) mice by 17β-estradiol treatment, suggesting that Rln(+/-) mice respond differently to an altered estradiol state than WT controls. In addition, while OVX had no significant effect on TrkB or ERK expression/phosphorylation, OVX + estradiol treatment markedly increased TrkB and ERK1 phosphorylation in Rln(+/-) and, to a lesser extent in WT controls, compared to intact genotype-matched controls. These data may provide a better understanding of the interaction of Reelin and BDNF in the hippocampus, which may be involved in schizophrenia.