Research Interests:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of a treadmill training program on regeneration in young (3-month-old) and mature (13-month-old) rats with sciatic nerve crush using functional, electrophysiological, and... more
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of a treadmill training program on regeneration in young (3-month-old) and mature (13-month-old) rats with sciatic nerve crush using functional, electrophysiological, and morphometric analyses. When compared to both the young and mature untrained injury groups, those groups that underwent a treadmill training showed improved sensorimotor function evaluated by narrow
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Aging, Treatment Outcome, Animals, and 14 moreMale, Nerve Regeneration, Rats, Functional Recovery, Peripheral Nerve, Age Factors, Sciatic Nerve, Wistar Rats, Action potential, Action Potentials, Training Program, Neurosciences, Nerve Injury, and Peripheral nerve injuries
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Nutrition and Dietetics, Humans, Diabetes mellitus, Female, Male, and 6 moreDiabetic Foot, Aged, Pressure, Middle Aged, Adult, and Foot
Research Interests:
Extra-pyramidal symptoms (EPS) such as akinesia, dystonia, gait alteration and tremors are observed when dopamine D2-receptors are blocked by pharmacological agents such as haloperidol. These alterations produce a Parkinson disease-like... more
Extra-pyramidal symptoms (EPS) such as akinesia, dystonia, gait alteration and tremors are observed when dopamine D2-receptors are blocked by pharmacological agents such as haloperidol. These alterations produce a Parkinson disease-like state (PLS). Physical exercise has been proven to improve gait and locomotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease; we sought to elucidate the effects of physical exercise on PLS induced by chronic administration of haloperidol in rats. We used 48 rats distributed into four groups: Control, Exercise, Haloperidol, and Hal+Exe. All the animals received a daily injection of saline or haloperidol for 30 days, and the exercise groups underwent a daily 30-minute exercise protocol for 20 days. The animals were subjected to the ink-paw test, bar test and open-field test throughout the training period. The haloperidol-induced akinesia increased throughout the days of injections, but exercise was shown to alleviate it. The assessment showed shortened stride length and increased stance width with the use of haloperidol, which were significantly alleviated by exercise. These results indicate that exercise could be an interesting approach towards reducing unwanted EPS caused by haloperidol.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Image Analysis, Immunohistochemistry, Dopamine, Brain, and 18 moreCalibration, Animals, Animal Model, Substantia nigra, Tyrosine Hydroxylase, Enzyme, Rats, Degeneration, Wistar Rats, Densitometry, Ventral Tegmental Area, Somatic Cell Count, Quantitative Evaluation, Neurosciences, Optical Microscope, Tissue Fixation, Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), and Software Package
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Kinetics, Immunohistochemistry, Hippocampus, Brain, and 16 moreAnimals, Male, Astrocyte, Phosphorylation, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, Rats, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Wistar Rats, Protein Phosphorylation, Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis, Primary Culture, Neurosciences, Vimentin, Time Course, Immunoblotting, and Gliosis
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Plasticity, Sex, Immunohistochemistry, Synaptic Plasticity, and 18 moreSexual dimorphism, Brain, Progesterone, Female, Animals, Astrocyte, Amygdala, Astrocytes, Sex Steroids, Rats, Rat, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Wistar Rats, P, Neurosciences, Estradiol, Estrous cycle, and Ovariectomy
The present study investigated the long-lasting effects of prenatal repeated restraint stress on social behavior and anxiety, as well as its repercussions on oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP)-positive neurons of the paraventricular (PVN)... more
The present study investigated the long-lasting effects of prenatal repeated restraint stress on social behavior and anxiety, as well as its repercussions on oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP)-positive neurons of the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei from stressed pups in adulthood. Female Wistar rats were exposed to restraint stress in the last 7 days of pregnancy. At birth, pups were cross-fostered and assigned to the following groups: prenatally non-stressed offspring raised by prenatally non-stressed mothers (NS:NS), prenatally non-stressed offspring raised by prenatally stressed mothers (S:NS), prenatally stressed offspring raised by prenatally non-stressed mothers (NS:S), prenatally stressed offspring raised by prenatally stressed mothers (S:S). As adults, male prenatally stressed offspring raised both by stressed mothers (S:S group) and non-stressed ones (NS:S group) showed impaired social memory and interaction. In addition, when both adverse conditions coexi...
Research Interests:
The ultrastructure of the reproductive gland, dorsal body (DB), of Megalobulimus abbreviatus was analysed. Electron microscope immunohistochemistry was used to detect FMRFamide-like peptides in the nerve endings within this gland. Nerve... more
The ultrastructure of the reproductive gland, dorsal body (DB), of Megalobulimus abbreviatus was analysed. Electron microscope immunohistochemistry was used to detect FMRFamide-like peptides in the nerve endings within this gland. Nerve backfilling was used in an attempt to identify the neurons involved in this innervation. In M. abbreviatus, the DB has a uniform appearance throughout their supraesophageal and subesophageal portions. Dorsal body cells have several features in common with steroid-secreting gland cells, such as the presence of many lipid droplets, numerous mitochondria with tubular cristae and a developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum cisternae. Throughout the DB in M. abbreviatus numerous axonal endings were seen to be in contact with the DB cells exhibiting a synaptic-like structure. The axon terminals contained numerous electron-dense and scanty electron-lucid vesicles. In addition, the DB nerve endings exhibited FMRFamide immunoreactive vesicles. Injection of neura...
Research Interests:
The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the central nervous system (CNS) of the Megalobulimus oblongus was demonstrated by using Koelle and Friedenwald's procedure. The AChE positive reaction was revealed in the nervous cell bodies and... more
The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the central nervous system (CNS) of the Megalobulimus oblongus was demonstrated by using Koelle and Friedenwald's procedure. The AChE positive reaction was revealed in the nervous cell bodies and processes in the different ganglia of the CNS. The largest number of strong positive neuronal subsets reside in pedal and buccal ganglia. Other positive cell bodies are also located in clusters in the left portion of the visceral ganglion, meso and postcerebrum, and pleural ganglia. In some neurons the enzymatic reaction only appeared at trophospongium level. The neuropilian synaptic areas also exhibited AChE reactivity. These data provide further evidence that AChE is present in neuronal bodies of the CNS of this pulmonate snail, and in some areas is probably involved in cholinergic circuits.
Research Interests:
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas produced through the action of nitric oxide synthase that acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) of adult gastropod mollusks. There are no known reports of the presence of NOS-containing... more
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas produced through the action of nitric oxide synthase that acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) of adult gastropod mollusks. There are no known reports of the presence of NOS-containing neurons and glial cells in young and adult Megalobulimus abbreviatus. Therefore, NADPH-d histochemistry was employed to map the nitrergic distribution in the CNS of young and adult snails in an attempt to identify any transient enzymatic activity in the developing CNS. Reaction was observed in neurons and fibers in all CNS ganglia of both age groups, but in the pedal and cerebral ganglia, positive neurons were more intense than in other ganglia, forming clusters symmetrically located in both paired ganglia. However, neuronal NADPH-d activity in the mesocerebrum and pleural ganglia decreased from young to adult animals. In both age groups, positive glial cells were located beneath the ganglionic capsule, forming a network and surrounding the neuronal...
Research Interests:
The effects of anoxic exposure and the post-anoxia aerobic recovery period on carbohydrate metabolism in the central nervous system (CNS) of the land snail Megalobulimus oblongus, an anoxia-tolerant land gastropod, were studied. The... more
The effects of anoxic exposure and the post-anoxia aerobic recovery period on carbohydrate metabolism in the central nervous system (CNS) of the land snail Megalobulimus oblongus, an anoxia-tolerant land gastropod, were studied. The snails were exposed to anoxia for periods of 1.5, 3, 6, 12, 18, or 24 hr. In order to study the post-anoxia recovery phase, snails exposed to a 3-hr period of anoxia were returned to aerobic conditions for 1.5, 3, 6, or 15 hr. Glycogen and glucose concentrations in the CNS, hemolymph glucose concentration, and glycogen phosphorylase (active form, GPa) activity in the CNS were analyzed. Anoxia does not significantly affect the concentration of CNS glucose but induces hyperglycemia and a reduction of CNS GPa activity. The glycogen concentration was decreased at 12 hr of anoxia; however, by 18 and 24 hr in anoxia, the glycogen content was not significantly different from basal control values. During the post-anoxia period, the reduction in GPa activity and ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Electron Microscopy, Hippocampus, Animals, Male, and 13 moreCell Death, Glial Cell, Medical Physiology, Rats, Time Factors, Necrosis, Veterinary Anatomy and Embryology, Cerebral Ischemia, Wistar Rats, Transmission Electron Microscope, Reperfusion injury, Neuropil, and Neurosciences
Seven days after transection of the sciatic nerve NADPH-diaphorase activity increased in the small and medium neurons of the dorsal root ganglia of the turtle. However, this increase was observed only in medium neurons for up to 90 days.... more
Seven days after transection of the sciatic nerve NADPH-diaphorase activity increased in the small and medium neurons of the dorsal root ganglia of the turtle. However, this increase was observed only in medium neurons for up to 90 days. At this time a bilateral increase of NADPH-diaphorase staining was observed in all areas and neuronal types of the dorsal horn, and in positive motoneurons in the lumbar spinal cord, ipsilateral to the lesion. A similar increase was also demonstrable in spinal glial and endothelial cells. These findings are discussed in relation to the role of nitric oxide in hyperalgesia and neuronal regeneration or degeneration.
Research Interests: Turtle, Female, Animals, Spinal Cord, Male, and 5 moreTurtles, Nerve Regeneration, Dorsal root ganglia, Hyperalgesia, and Axotomy
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the major component of intermediate glial filaments in the central nervous system of many vertebrates and invertebrates. In vertebrates, this protein is mainly expressed in mature astrocytes and... more
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the major component of intermediate glial filaments in the central nervous system of many vertebrates and invertebrates. In vertebrates, this protein is mainly expressed in mature astrocytes and provides structural cell stability. The highly conserved structure and glial specificity of this protein have allowed studies of ontogeny and phylogeny using antibodies. The present study
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Using an immunohistochemical procedure and optical densitometry, the distribution of neurons containing serotonin (5-HT) was investigated in the pedal ganglia of Megalobulimus abbreviatus after thermal “non-functional stimulus” (22 °C)... more
Using an immunohistochemical procedure and optical densitometry, the distribution of neurons containing serotonin (5-HT) was investigated in the pedal ganglia of Megalobulimus abbreviatus after thermal “non-functional stimulus” (22 °C) and stressful thermal conditions (50 °C).The animals were sacrificed at different times (3 h, 6 h and 24 h) following these stimuli. In control animals, the results showed the location of
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was immunohistochemically investigated in the frog spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia after axotomy. In normal ganglia, moderate NPY-like immunoreactivity (NPY-IR) prevailed in large and medium cells. In the spinal... more
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) was immunohistochemically investigated in the frog spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia after axotomy. In normal ganglia, moderate NPY-like immunoreactivity (NPY-IR) prevailed in large and medium cells. In the spinal cord, the NPY-IR was densest in the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. Other fibers and neurons NPY-IR were observed in the dorsal and ventral terminal fields
Research Interests:
This study aimed at identifying the effects of neonatal handling (H) and maternal separation (MS) on two paradigms of fear, learned and innate, and on the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive cells in adult life. Wistar rats were... more
This study aimed at identifying the effects of neonatal handling (H) and maternal separation (MS) on two paradigms of fear, learned and innate, and on the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive cells in adult life. Wistar rats were daily handled with a brief maternal separation, maternal separated for 3h or left undisturbed during the first 10 days of life. Behavioural responses
Research Interests: Animal Behavior, Fear, Immunohistochemistry, Quantitative analysis, Emotions, and 16 moreDopamine, Classical Conditioning, Animals, Male, Reaction Time, Open Field, Substantia nigra, Tyrosine Hydroxylase, Rats, Maternal Behavior, Wistar Rats, Quantitative Analysis, Ventral Tegmental Area, Exploratory Behavior, Somatic Cell Count, and Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc)
Using immunohistochemistry and optical densitometry, somatostatin (SOM), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were investigated in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the frog Rana catesbeiana after sciatic... more
Using immunohistochemistry and optical densitometry, somatostatin (SOM), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were investigated in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the frog Rana catesbeiana after sciatic nerve transection. In control animals, the densest network of the SOM-, CGRP- and GABA-like immunoreactive fibers was located in the dorsal part of the lateral funiculus. SOM and GABA-like fibers were
Research Interests:
In Megalobulimus abbreviatus, the ultrastructural features and the contractile proteins of columellar, pharyngeal and foot retractor muscles were studied. These muscles are formed from muscular fascicles distributed in different planes... more
In Megalobulimus abbreviatus, the ultrastructural features and the contractile proteins of columellar, pharyngeal and foot retractor muscles were studied. These muscles are formed from muscular fascicles distributed in different planes that are separated by connective tissue rich in collagen fibrils. These cells contain thick and thin filaments, the latter being attached to dense bodies, lysosomes, sarcoplasmic reticulum, caveolae, mitochondria and glycogen granules. Three types of muscle cells were distinguished: T1 cells displayed the largest amount of glycogen and an intermediate number of mitochondria, suggesting the highest anaerobic metabolism; T2 cells had the largest number of mitochondria and less glycogen, which suggests an aerobic metabolism; T3 cells showed intermediate glycogen volumes, suggesting an intermediate anaerobic metabolism. The myofilaments in the pedal muscle contained paramyosin measuring between 40 and 80nm in diameter. Western Blot muscle analysis showed a 46-kDa band that corresponds to actin and a 220-kDa band that corresponds to myosin filaments. The thick filament used in the electrophoresis showed a protein band of 100kDa in the muscles, which may correspond to paramyosin.
Research Interests: Locomotion, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Mitochondria, Energy Metabolism, Organelles, and 16 moreAnaerobic Metabolism, Collagen, Animals, Connective tissue, Glycolysis, Medical Physiology, Snails, Actin Cytoskeleton, Feeding Behavior, Western blot, Tropomyosin, Species Specificity, Glycogen, Contractile Proteins, Biochemistry and cell biology, and Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Research Interests: Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Cognition, Plant Biology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Phytomedicine, and 13 morePhytotherapy, Brain, Mice, Animals, Male, Acetylcholinesterase, Frontal Cortex, Plant Roots, Cholinesterase inhibitors, Plant extracts, Western blot, Protein isoforms, and Medicinal Plant
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Treatment Outcome, Dopamine, Brain, and 17 moreOmega-3 fatty acids, Animals, Male, Fish Oil, Neurons, Tyrosine Hydroxylase, Lipid peroxidation, Rats, Neuronal Activity, Wistar Rats, Indexation, Ventral Tegmental Area, Neurosciences, Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substance, Apomorphine, Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), and Motor activity
The purpose of this study was to provide evidence that treadmill step training is capable of attenuating muscle atrophy and may regulate brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in soleus muscle after complete spinal cord transection... more
The purpose of this study was to provide evidence that treadmill step training is capable of attenuating muscle atrophy and may regulate brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in soleus muscle after complete spinal cord transection (SCT) at T8-T9 in rats. Five days after SCT, spinal animals started a 9-week step-training program on a treadmill with partial body weight support and manual step help. The muscular trophism was studied by analyzing muscle weight and myofiber cross-sectional area of the soleus, while Western blot analysis was used to detect BDNF expression in the same muscle. Step training, initiated immediately after SCT in rats, may partially impede/revert muscular atrophy in chronic paralyzed soleus muscle. Moreover, treadmill step training promoted upregulation of the BDNF in soleus muscle, which was positively correlated with muscle weight and myofiber cross-sectional size. These findings have important implications for the comprehension of the neurobiological substrate that promotes exercise-induced effects on paralyzed skeletal muscle and suggests treadmill training is a viable therapeutic approach in spinal cord injuries.
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Skeletal muscle biology, Spinal Cord Injury, and 16 moreExercise therapy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Paraplegia, Chronic Disease, Animals, Spinal Cord, Male, Skeletal Muscle, Rats, Cross Section, Western blot, Wistar Rats, Spinal Cord Injuries, Exercise Test, Training Program, and Neurosciences
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Science, Plasticity, Adaptation, Aging, and 18 moreDendritic Spines, Hypothalamus, Stress response, Animals, Male, Neuronal Plasticity, Young Adult, Amygdala, Neural plasticity, Rats, Rat, Brain Structure, Wistar Rats, Neural pathways, Adaptive Response, Physical Restraint, Neurosciences, and Control Group
Research Interests:
To evaluate the effects of endurance, resistance, and a combination of both types of exercise training on hindlimb motor function recovery and nerve regeneration after experimental sciatic nerve lesion in rats. Sciatic nerve crush was... more
To evaluate the effects of endurance, resistance, and a combination of both types of exercise training on hindlimb motor function recovery and nerve regeneration after experimental sciatic nerve lesion in rats. Sciatic nerve crush was performed on adult male rats, and after 2 weeks of the nerve lesion, the animals were submitted to endurance, resistance, and a combination of endurance-resistance training programs for 5 weeks. Over the training period, functional recovery was monitored weekly using the Sciatic Functional Index (SFI) and histological and morphometric nerve analyses were used to assess the nerve regeneration at the end of the trainings. The SFI values of the endurance-trained group reached the control values from the first posttraining week and were significantly better than both the resistance-trained group at the first, second, and third posttraining weeks and the concurrent training group at the first posttraining week. At the distal portion of the regenerating sciatic nerve, the endurance-trained group showed a greater degree of the myelinated fiber maturation than the sedentary, resistance-trained, and concurrent training groups. Furthermore, the endurance-trained group showed a smaller percentage area of endoneurial connective tissue and a greater percentage area of myelinated fibers than the sedentary group. These data provide evidence that endurance training improves sciatic nerve regeneration after an experimental traumatic injury and that resistance training or the combination of 2 strategies may delay functional recovery and do not alter sciatic nerve fiber regeneration.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The present study investigated the long-lasting effects of prenatal repeated restraint stress on social behavior and anxiety, as well as its repercussions on oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP)-positive neurons of the paraventricular (PVN)... more
The present study investigated the long-lasting effects of prenatal repeated restraint stress on social behavior and anxiety, as well as its repercussions on oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP)-positive neurons of the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei from stressed pups in adulthood. Female Wistar rats were exposed to restraint stress in the last 7 days of pregnancy. At birth, pups were cross-fostered and assigned to the following groups: prenatally non-stressed offspring raised by prenatally non-stressed mothers (NS:NS), prenatally non-stressed offspring raised by prenatally stressed mothers (S:NS), prenatally stressed offspring raised by prenatally non-stressed mothers (NS:S), prenatally stressed offspring raised by prenatally stressed mothers (S:S). As adults, male prenatally stressed offspring raised both by stressed mothers (S:S group) and non-stressed ones (NS:S group) showed impaired social memory and interaction. In addition, when both adverse conditions coexisted (S:S group), increased anxiety-like behavior and aggressiveness was observed in association with a decrease in the number of OT-positive magnocellular neurons, VP-positive magnocellular and parvocellular neurons of the PVN. The NS:S group exhibited a reduction in the amount of VP-positive magnocellular neurons compared to the S:NS. Thus, the social behavior deficits observed in the S:S and NS:S groups may be only partially associated with these alterations to the peptidergic systems. No changes were shown in the OT and VP cellular composition of the SON nucleus. Nevertheless, it is clear that a special attention should be given to the gestational period, since stressful events during this time may be related to the emergence of behavioral impairments in adulthood.
Research Interests:
Environmental enrichment (EE) results in improved learning and spatial memory, as well as attenuates morphological changes resulting from cerebral ischemia in adult animals. This study examined the effects of daily EE on memory deficits... more
Environmental enrichment (EE) results in improved learning and spatial memory, as well as attenuates morphological changes resulting from cerebral ischemia in adult animals. This study examined the effects of daily EE on memory deficits in the water maze and cerebral damage, assessed in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, caused by neonatal hypoxia-ischemia. Male Wistar rats in the 7th postnatal day were submitted to the Levine-Rice model of neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI), comprising permanent occlusion of the right common carotid artery and a period of hypoxia (90 min, 8%O(2)-92%N(2)). Starting two weeks after the HI event, animals were stimulated by the enriched environment (1h/day for 9 weeks); subsequent to the stimulation, performance of animals in the water maze was assessed. HI resulted in spatial reference and working memory impairments that were completely reversed by EE. Following the behavioral study, animals were killed and the hippocampal volume and cortical area were estimated. There was a significant reduction of both hippocampal volume and cortical area, ipsilateral to arterial occlusion, in HI animals; environmental stimulation had no effect on these morphological measurements. Presented data indicate that stimulation by the daily environmental enrichment recovers spatial memory deficits caused by neonatal hypoxia-ischemia without affecting tissue atrophy in either hippocampus or cortex.
Research Interests: Spatial Memory, Working Memory, Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Hippocampus, Damage Assessment, and 17 moreEnvironmental enrichment, Cerebral Cortex, Animals, Male, Reaction Time, Brain injury, Atrophy, Rats, Analysis of Variance, Cerebral Ischemia, Wistar Rats, Exploratory Behavior, Memory Disorders, Maze Learning, Environment, Water maze, and Morris water maze
Trauma is the leading cause of death in individuals between the ages of 1 and 44 years. And, in the case of severe head injury mortality can reach as high as 35-70%. Despite this fact, there has been little progress in the development of... more
Trauma is the leading cause of death in individuals between the ages of 1 and 44 years. And, in the case of severe head injury mortality can reach as high as 35-70%. Despite this fact, there has been little progress in the development of effective pharmacological agents to protect brain injured patients. To date, there is little data on the mechanisms involved in neuronal cellular insult after severe head injury, especially in humans. Glutamate acts both as a primary excitatory neurotransmitter and a potential neurotoxin within the mammalian brain. Evidence indicates that hyperactivity of the glutamate system contributes to neuronal death in brain trauma. Also, in animal models of neurotrauma, this neural injury is followed by gliosis which has been linked to the severity of brain injury. To investigate the glutamate system in brain trauma, we carried out [3H]glutamate and [3H]MK801 (a noncompetitive NMDA-receptor antagonist) binding and [3H]glutamate uptake assays in human cerebral cortex preparations obtained from severely brain injured and control victims. Additionally, to investigate gliosis following brain injury, we performed GFAP immunohistochemistry. There were no significant differences in [3H]glutamate binding (affinity or density of sites) between the control and head injured groups. In contrast, cerebral cortical [3H]MK801 binding revealed both a significant increase in the density of sites (Bmax) and a decrease in the dissociation constant (Kd) in the head injured group when compared to controls. There were no significant differences in [3H]glutamate uptake between groups. The injured brains presented an increased number of GFAP-positive astrocytes and more intense GFAP reaction in comparison to control brains. In the context of traumatic brain injury, our results encourage further investigation into compounds capable of selective modulation of NMDA receptor subtype in humans while also therapeutically manipulating glial cell responses following brain trauma.