mohammadreza afarinesh

This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of royal jelly (RJ) on hippocampal neurons in an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model with pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures by assessing luteinizing (LH) and follicle-stimulating (FSH) hormones.

Fifty-six female rats (n=7/group) were divided into groups receiving saline (CTL, OVX, RJ, and OVX-RJ) and those undergoing PTZ-induced seizures (PTZ, PTZ-OVX, PTZ-RJ, and PTZ-OVX-RJ). OVX rats underwent bilateral ovary removal, followed by a 15-day RJ treatment at 300 mg/kg. The seizure model commenced 24 hours after the final RJ dose. Serum LH and FSH levels were measured, and Golgi staining assessed hippocampal neuron morphology.

The RJ group exhibited elevated LH and FSH levels compared to CTL. However, the PTZ-RJ group showed no significant changes in these hormones relative to the PTZ and CTL groups. In OVX-RJ rats, LH and FSH levels decreased compared to the RJ group, while PTZ-OVX-RJ rats showed increased levels. Dendritic spines remained unchanged in both the RJ and PTZ-RJ groups compared to the CTL and PTZ groups, respectively. Notably, OVX-RJ exhibited reduced spines compared to the RJ group, while PTZ-OVX-RJ showed an increase.

RJ may protect against estrogen deficiency and seizure-related adverse effects on hippocampal neurons in OVX rats, highlighting its potential as a beneficial dietary supplement.

Alzheimer's disease represents the most prevalent form of dementia, characterized by a gradual decline in memory function. This study aimed to examine the impact of 12 weeks of resistance training combined with sumac supplementation on various inflammatory and apoptotic markers in the serum of male rats exhibiting Alzheimer's disease.

In this experimental study, 35 rats were randomly divided into five groups: control, Alzheimer's, Alzheimer's + sumac supplement, Alzheimer's + resistance training, and Alzheimer's + resistance training + sumac supplement. To induce Alzheimer's, 8 mg/kg of trimethyltin chloride was administered to the rats along with 200μl of normal saline. Sumac was added to the food of the subjects at a rate of 10% and was freely available to them. Resistance training was performed for 12 weeks, five times a week, in the form of climbing a ladder with weights attached to their tails, one meter long, with 26 steps and an angle of 85 degrees. Then, the rats were sacrificed and blood samples were taken. IL-18 and Cas3 were examined using the ELISA method. IL-18 and Cas3 were examined using ELISA. The data results were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test at a significance level (p<0.0001) using SPSS software version 16.

The findings indicated that a period of resistance training along with sumac supplementation significantly reduced the levels of interleukin 18 and caspase 3 (p<0.0001). However, sumac supplementation alone, as well as resistance training alone, significantly reduced the expression of caspase 3 protein (p<0.0001), but had no significant effect on the levels of interleukin 18 (p<0.05).

Our findings showed that resistance training combined with sumac supplementation can improve the levels of inflammatory and apoptotic indices.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, which is associated with progressive loss of memory and reaction to the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training with sumac intake on the serum levels of SIR3, SIR4 and AMPK in Alzheimer's male rats.

In this experimental study, male Wistar rats with an age of 8-10 weeks and an average weight of 230±30 grams were randomly divided into five groups: control, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's disease with sumac supplementation, Alzheimer's disease with resistance training, and Alzheimer's disease with resistance training. Received sumac supplements were divided. To induce Alzheimer's disease, 8 mg/kg of trimethyl tin chloride along with 200 microliters of normal saline were injected intraperitoneally to mice. Resistance training was performed for 12 weeks and 5 days a week on a special rat ladder. 48 hours after the last training session, a blood sample was taken. Serum levels of SIR3, SIR4 and AMPK were evaluated by ELISA method. To check the changes between the control group and other groups using the independent T-test and to check the difference between the other groups using the one-way analysis of variance test and if significant, using the Tukey post hoc test, by SPSS version 29 software at a significance level of P< 0.05 used.

The results of this research showed that 12 weeks of resistance training increases the levels of SIR3 (P< 0.036), SIR4 (P< 0.029) and AMPK (P< 0.447) compared to the Alzheimer group. In addition, adding sumac to the resistance training program had a significant effect on the levels of SIR3 (P< 0.078), SIR4 (P< 0.024) and AMPK (P< 0.002).

Our results suggest that resistance training is associated with the improvement of sirtuin 3, sirtuin 4 and adenosine monophosphate kinase levels in Alzheimer's rats and receiving sumac antioxidant compound leads to doubling of these responses.

Bcl-2 and Bax are factors affecting the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a period of resistance training along with sumac supplementation on Bcl-2 and Bax variables in Alzheimer's rats. In this experimental study, 35 rats were randomly divided into five control groups, Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's disease with sumac supplement, Alzheimer's disease with resistance training, and Alzheimer's disease with resistance training and sumac supplement consumption. Then, an amount of 8 mg/kg of trimethyltin chloride was injected into mice to induce Alzheimer's disease. Resistance exercises were performed for 12 weeks and blood samples were taken. The variables were analyzed by ELISA method. One-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05 was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that a period of resistance training along with receiving sumac supplement, as well as receiving sumac alone caused a significant decrease in Bax protein expression (p<0.001) and an increase in Bcl-2 protein expression (p<0.001) in all researched groups (p<0.05). The resistance training program along with the consumption of sumac supplement can reduce the expression of Bax protein and increase the expression of Bcl-2 protein in all research groups. This increase can probably reduce the progression of Alzheimer's disease or slow down its process.

Opioids can lead to mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment. Valproic acid (VPA) has neuroprotective effects that can prevent neural degeneration. This study aims to examine the impact of VPA on learning, social interaction, and depression in mice dependent on morphine.

Subjects were divided into four groups and received injections of saline, VPA, morphine, or a combination of VPA and morphine for eight days. Behavioral tests were conducted on day 8, and then administration of VPA and morphine was stopped, leading to spontaneous withdrawal syndrome. Behavioral tests were repeated on day 11, and histological analysis was performed on the hippocampus.

The preference index (PI%) decreased in the novel object recognition test in the VPA and morphine sulfate (MOR) groups compared to the control (CTL) group in the chronic phase. The concomitant administration of VPA and morphine caused an increase in social interaction criteria in both the chronic and withdrawal phases. The decrease in immobility time in the VPA and MOR + VPA groups compared to the CTL group in the withdrawal phase was not statistically significant in the tail suspension test (TST). In Nissl staining, the combination of MOR + VPA led to a significant decrease in the DC/All cell ratio compared to the individual MOR and VPA groups (P < 0.05).

VPA may improve social relationships and depression indices during morphine withdrawal. VPA may potentially mitigate the cellular changes in the CA1 of the hippocampus induced by morphine.

Stem cells (SCs) can improve the functional defects of brain injury. Rodents use their whiskers to get tactileinformation from their surroundings. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the transplantation of SCs into thelesioned barrel cortex can help neuronal function in the contralateral cortex. Sixteen male Wistar rats (200-230 g) were used in this experimental study. We induceda mechanical lesion in the right barrel cortex area of rats by removing this area by a 3 mm skin punch. Four groupscontaining one intact group of rats: group 1: control, and three lesion groups, group 2: lesion+un-differentiated dentalpulp SCs (U-DPSCs), group 3: lesion+differentiated dental pulp SCs (D-DPSCs), and group 4: cell medium (vehicle)that were injected in the lesion area. Three weeks after transplantation of SCs or cell medium, the rats’ responses ofleft barrel cortical neurons to controlled deflections of right whiskers were recorded by using the extracellular single-unitrecordings technique. The results showed that the neural spontaneous activity and response magnitude of intact barrel cortexneurons in the lesion group decreased significantly (P<0.05) compared to the control group while ON and OFF responseswere improved in the D-DPSCs (P<0.001) group compared to the vehicle group three weeks after transplantation. Transplantation of dental pulp mesenchymal SCs significantly improved the neural responses of the leftbarrel cortex that was depressed in the vehicle group.

The whisker movements in rodents project sensory information to the barrel cortex, allowing the animal to perceive its environment. Deprivation of whiskers may affect the animal's instinctive behavior towards the left or right side of the body. This study examined the impact of two months of whisker deprivation on brain hemisphere dominance and tissue level differentiation in rats.

Firstly, male Wistar rats were unilaterally deprived of whiskers (left or right) and bilaterally from birth to 60 days old. Then, the animals' preference was then studied using the tail suspension test at one month old, and the difference in roughness of two-month-old animals was evaluated using the tactile discrimination test.

Animals with unilateral whisker deprivation (right or left) showed a more tendency to turn left compared to the control and bilateral whisker-deprived groups. Additionally, the ability to distinguish roughness in both unilateral and bilateral whisker-deprived groups was impaired compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Deprivation of whiskers reduces touch discriminations and can affect rats' preference for lateral superiority instinctive behavior.

Success in anesthesia administration relieves the perception of pain during surgery. Lidocaine is the most commonly used local anesthetic agent in clinical medicine. Moreover, anesthetic agents’ temperature changes can influence cell membrane permeability. Here, the effectiveness of different temperatures of Lidocaine (Lid.) on anesthesia success rate has been investigated in rats.

Wistar male rats were pretreated by fast injection of lidocaine or saline into the hind paw or intradermal cheek at Room Temperature (RT) and Body Temperature (BT) (22°C and 37°C, respectively). Then, rat behaviors were evaluated by formalin-induced hind paw pain and orofacial pain tests, respectively. Moreover, using a single-unit recording technique, the spontaneous activity of the marginal nerve was recorded at room temperature in the RT-Lid. and BT-Lid. groups.

Data analysis revealed that lidocaine had significant antinociceptive effects in both the BT-Lid. and RT-Lid. groups compared to the control groups (P<0.05). Also, the number of spikes in the BT-Lid. and RT-Lid. groups were significantly lower than their baselines (P<0.05). However, lidocaine at body temperature decreased the total time spent licking the hind paw, the number of lip rubbings, and the number of spikes firing by about 10%-15% compared to room temperature.

In both behavioral and neural levels of the study, our results showed that an increase in the temperature of lidocaine toward body temperature could increase anesthesia success rate compared to administration of lidocaine at room temperature. These findings can be considered in the treatment of patients.

Beta-adrenergic receptors in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) have been associated with stress, learning, and memory. In this study, we tested the effects of intra-BLA microinfusions of the β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, salbutamol, on spatial, passive avoidance memory and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in response to stress.

Forty male rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=8/per group): control, sham, stress, salbutamol+control, and salbutamol+stress. Bilateral cannulation was performed in the BLA, by using stereotaxic apparatus. Then, the rats were transferred to the communication box and foot-shock stress induction continued for four consecutive days. Five minutes before stress, salbutamol (4 µl/side) was injected bilaterally into the BLA. Barnes maze and shuttle box were examined for spatial and passive avoidance memory, respectively. The field potential recording was also used to investigate LTP in the CA1 neurons of the hippocampus.

The results of the passive avoidance test showed that bilateral injection of salbutamol in the BLA five minutes before stress increased step-through latency time significantly compared to the stress group. Barnes maze results showed that intra-BLA microinfusions of salbutamol before stress, reduced the latency time, the number of errors, and the distance traveling to achieve the target hole compared to the stress group. Field potential recording revealed that salbutamol injection before stress decreased the population spike amplitude significantly and caused fEPSP slope 60 minutes after high-frequency stimulation compared to the stress groups.

It seems that the salbutamol in the BLA can improve memory deficits induced by stress.

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) is implicated in stress-related disorders such as anxiety-like behavior. Substantial data exist demonstrating a close relationship between anxiety and adrenergic receptor function in patients with anxiety disorders; however, little is known about the effects of the β1 adrenergic receptor in the BLA on anxiety. This experiment examined the effects of the β1 adrenergic receptor in the BLA on anxiety-like behavior. Male Wistar rats were exposed to foot-shock stress four consecutive days that were uncontrollable. The β1-adrenoreceptor agonist (dobutamine; 0.5μl/side) or antagonist (atenolol; 0.25μl/side) bilaterally infused into the BLA five minutes before foot-shock stress. Anxiety-like behaviors were assessed 24h after four consecutive day’s uncontrollable stress using elevated plus-maze (EPM) and open field test (OFT). Findings of EPM revealed that foot-shock stress leads to anxiogenic effect with reduction the time spent and the number of entries into the open arms and increased head-dipping. Intra-BLA infusions of atenolol before stress affected animal behavior differently, such that it significantly increased the time spent and the number of entries into the open arms and decreased head-dipping. Also, OFT results showed the intra-BLA infusion of atenolol increased the time periods spent in the center, number of center entries and reduced the number of rearing as compared with the stress group. These results suggest that the anxiety-like behavior observed after the foot-shock stress is mediated, in part, by exaggerated β1 adrenergic receptor acting at the BLA.

This applied research is the first practical study of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Iran. We examined the effect of a well-designed foreign language learning setting in facilitation of social skills and willingness to communicate in children with ASD. A mixed-method research design was used. Using stratified sampling, a limited sample of 18 students were chosen from Kerman Province, southeastern Iran in 2014 categorized in three levels of ASD for each group of experimental and control; matched pairs were used to ensure homogeneity of participants in two groups. Each participant received 15 sessions with totaling 67 h of language learning. First 10 sessions were in the form of tutorials and the last 5 sessions were held in the form of paired classes with a peer. Before and after the sessions, caregivers and parents completed a questionnaire on students' social skills; the English instructor also rated participants' willingness to communicate. Teaching a foreign language had a positive main effect on social skills from caregivers’ and parents’ view compared to those of controls, significantly (P<0.05). From the instructor's view, there was additionally a significant improvement in the students with ASD’s willingness to communicate in classroom settings compared to the control group (P<0.05). Optimum foreign language pedagogy for students with ASD is applied as an effective context enhancing children’s capabilities in social skills and willingness to communicate, provoked through a motivational foreign setting modulation in a novel environment. Suggestions on enhancing joint attention during the curriculum are provided.

Noise pollution is an unwanted inevitable distribution of the modern and industrialized life of mankind. With the expansion of urban life, humans are daily exposed to noise pollution which can cause anxiety and disorders in cognitive activities. The present study was aimed to investigate the impact of sub-chronic urban traffic noise pollution on learning, memory and anxiety-like behavior in adult male rats. Thirty two adult male Wistar rats (weighing 275-300g) were used in the present experimental study. The animals were divided into two groups: the control and the noise-exposed. The rats in the test group were exposed to a 90dB noise recorded from a crowded street traffic for 6h/10 days. Control rats were intact. Morris water maze (MWM) and an elevated plus maze (EPM) were used to assess spatial learning and memory and anxiety-like behavior in rats. The findings displayed that both control and noise-exposed group improved their maze steering over 4 days of experiment in MWM; however, noise-exposed group had more latency and traveled-distance in MWM to find the hidden platform in probe trial compared to those of control (P<0.05). Moreover, noise-exposed group showed a significant increase in weight gain compared to the control group (P<0.05). In addition, the spent time in open arm of the EPM was significantly decreased compared to controls (P<0.05). Urban traffic noise pollution for a short-term period causes a meaningful increase on weight gain, disorders in retrieval memory and increase in anxiety-like behavior in rats.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of chronic whisker deprivation on possible alterations to the development of nitrergic neurons in the whisker part of the somatosensory (wS1) and motor (wM1) cortices in offspring with congenital hypothyroidism (CH).
In the experimental study, CH was induced by adding propylthiouracil to the rats drinking water from embryonic day 16 to postnatal day (PND) 60. In whisker-deprived (WD) pups, all the whiskers were trimmed from PND 1 to
60. Nitrergic interneurons in the wS1/M1 cortices were detected by NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry staining technique in the control (Ctl), Ctl, Hypo and Hypo groups.
In both wS1 and wM1 cortices the number of nitrergic neurons was significantly reduced in the Hypo and Hypo groups compared to Ctl and Ctl groups, respectively (P Our results suggest that both congenital hypothyroidism and whisker deprivation may disturb normal development of the wS1 and wM1 cortical circuits in which nitrergic neurons are involved.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and pain can be appeared repeatedly following traumatic events. Although in acute stress condition, pain perception significantly covered by stress, few studies have discussed the changes in pain perception in a PTSD stress conditioning. In the present study, changes of facial acute pain and allodynia have been investigated in an animal model of PTSD.

Male Wistar rats were divided to two groups as control and under stress. PTSD was induced by single prolonged stress (SPS) method and confirmed by elevated plus maze (EPM) and rats plasma corticostrone levels. Acute facial pain and allodynia were evaluated by the eye wiping test and von frey test in the experimental groups.

SPS rats spent less time and made a fewer entries into the open arms of EPM (p < 0.05). The corticostrone level was significantly decreased in Stress + DEXA group compared to the Control + DEXA (p < 0.05). The number of eye wiping was significantly decreased in SPS-induced rats compared to the control (p < 0.001). The response threshold of applying von frey filament in face of SPS-induced rats was significantly increased compared to the control (p < 0.001).

Acute pain perception and allodynia of face area of rats was reduced in SPS-induced animals. Increased endogenous opioids in PTSD condition may lead to this observation.

The rodent somatosensory barrel cortex is an ideal model to examine the effect of experience-dependent plasticity on developing brain circuitry. Sensory deprivation such as whisker deprivation may affect neuroanatomical aspects of the brain during developmental processes. The present study designed to investigate the possible effects of whisker deprivation on the morphometric characteristics of NADPH-d positive neurons in the barrel field cortex of adolescent rats. Pups were divided into the intact (n=4) and whisker-deprived groups (n=4). In whisker-deprived group, the total whiskers of subjects were trimmed every other day from postnatal day (PND) 0 to PND 60. NADPH-d histochemistry reaction was processed to quantitatively analyze the feature of NADPH-d containing neurons of barrel cortex. Our results showed that the number of NADPH-d positive neurons remained unchanged in whisker-deprived group compared to controls. The mean soma diameter, dendritic length and the number of 3rd order processes were significantly decreased in the whisker-deprived rats (p<0.05). Our results indicate that postnatal whisker deprivation possibly alter NADPH-d/NOS neuronal features in the barrel cortex. The functional implications of these data may relate the plasticity of synaptic receptive field and developmental brain circuits.

The long time use of opium has some effects on serums biochemical factors، the determination of this variation is a new approach in understanding off addiction and relive of drug abuser health. Hence in this study، these indicators in person who were withdrawing of opium have been studied. In this cross-sectional study bloods biochemical factors such as fasting blood sugar (FBS)، sodium (Na)، calcium (Ca)، uric acid (UA)، blood urea nitrogen (BUN)، creatinine، cholesterol، triglyceride، total protein، and fibrinogen in three groups serum were studied: (1) Who had been permanent opium users more than 2 years (case). (2) Dependent person who has taken one month addiction withdrawal course (control). (3) A healthy group that had been demographically similar to the other groups. According to these study findings، FBS serum level in the case group is lower than control group. Serum level of Na، creatinine، and blood triglyceride (TG) in case study are higher than group control. Concentration of potassium، Ca، UA، BUN، cholesterol، total serum protein، fibrinogen، and thrombin time in case study and group control showed no significant difference. Also، in withdrawing case serum level of Na، Ca، UA، BUN، creatinine، and TG significantly increase and thrombin time decrease. According to this study not only the longtime use of opium but also opium with drawerin opium dependent people can change their serum biochemical factors. So recognition، treatment، and prevention of this change could be a new step in improving of health and condition of patients.

Smoking opium/cigarette is a global health concern. The aim of this study was to examine learning and memory of rat male offsprings whose mothers had been exposed to either opium or morphine with nicotine during pregnancy. Wistar rats were used for the experiments. In the female rats, opium, morphine and nicotine dependencies were induced by daily injections of drug solution for 10 days before mating. Spatial memory was tested by Morris water maze test in male pups at the postnatal day 60. The duration that took until the rats found the platform in the maze and also their swimming speed were recorded. An increase in the platform finding duration was observed for the pups of dependent mothers in comparison with the control in the training trial (P<0.05). Prenatal exposure to opium/morphine and nicotine significantly decreased the time spent in the trigger zone to find the hidden platform (P<0.05) but had no significant effect on the swimming speed in the probe test. However, no significant difference was observed in the learning and memory behavior of offspring whose mothers received morphine, opium, nicotine or the co-administration of either morphine or opium with nicotine. The present study showed that the opium, morphine and nicotine abuse and co-administration of opium/morphine with nicotine during pregnancy may cause deficits in spatial learning of male rat offspring. Based on our data, no synergistic effects of co-drug administration were observed on learning and memory in male rat offspring.

Objective(s)The objective of this study was to determine the effect of aqueous extract of Origanum vulgare L. ssp. Viridis (ORG) on discrimination learning and long term potentiation (LTP) in CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. Materials and MethodsA group of adult male Wistar rats weighing 275±25 g received aqueous extract of ORG (150, 300, 450 mg/kg/day) by intraperitoneal injection for one week, and the other group received saline (n= 6). A wooden T-maze was used to evaluate the discrimination learning. In electrophysiological experiments, the effect of ORG leaves extract on induction and maintenance of long term potentiation (LTP) in CA1 hippocampus area was determined. LTP was evaluated in CA1 region after high-frequency stimulation (200 Hz) of the Schaffer collaterals. Also, serum antioxidant levels were analyzed in the two groups (n= 4).ResultsStatistical analysis showed significant decreases in the number of total (significantly at the dose of 300 and 450 mg/kg) and wrong (significantly at the dose of 300 mg/kg) entrance into opposite box of T-maze procedure in ORG-treated animals (P< 0.05). In electrophysiological study, the rats which had received ORG (150, 300, and 450 mg/kg) showed an increase in both population spike amplitude (59.7±14.1%, 85±14.7% and 49.3±8.7% respectively, compared to 39±9.2% increase in saline group) and maintenance of LTP in hippocampus CA1 after high frequency stimulation in Schaffer collateral pathway. In serum antioxidant assay, level of antioxidants in ORG groups (300 and 450 mg/kg) remarkably increased in comparison to saline group (P< 0.05 and P< 0.001, in turn).ConclusionOur results suggest that Origanum aqueous extract can improve the learning criteria in rats.

Long-term use of opioids has acute effects on homeostasis of the body. Discovering the impacts of opioids on hematological parameters of narcotics withdrawal and dependents blood may be helpful in recognizing the homeostasis condition of their body for the useful treatment.In this study a cross-sectional method was applied. The abusers of opium and heroin for more than two consecutive years were considered as opium and heroin dependent groups, respectively. The dependent people, who passed the 1-month withdrawal period, entered the study as opium and heroin withdrawal groups. In this study, hematological factors of heroin and opium dependent and withdrawal groups were investigated.The RBC count remained unchanged in all groups. The WBC count had a significant increase in opium dependent group but in heroin dependent group and withdrawal group there was no significant difference. HGB level had a significant increase only in opium and heroin withdrawal groups. The percentage of HCT had a significant increase in all groups. The MCV increased in heroin and opium dependent groups. MCH level increased significantly in heroin and opium withdrawal groups. MCHC level had a significant increase in all groups. Neutrophil and lymphocyte counts in heroin and opium addicted groups significantly decreased. Platelet, neutrophil and monocyte counts significantly increased in opium dependent group. Monocyte countshowed a significant reduction in heroin withdrawal group. Eosinophil count showed no difference in any of the groups.The current study indicated that not only the chronic and long-term use of opium and heroin, also withdrawal of addicted people could change hematological parameters related to human serum.