Using curcumin to prevent structural and behavioral changes of medial prefrontal cortex induced by sleep deprivation in rats

Authors

  • Ali Noorafshan Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
  • Fatemeh Karimi Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
  • Saied Karbalay-Doust Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
  • Ali Mohammad Kamali Histomorphometry and Stereology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Department of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-139

Keywords:

sleep deprivation, mPFC, curcumin, stereology, rat

Abstract

Sleep Deprivation (SD) is known to result in a range of neurological consequences in chronically-afflicted subjects. Curcumin, a natural substance, has neuroprotective properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of curcumin on the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) of SD rats. Male rats were arbitrarily assigned to nine groups, including control, curcumin (100 mg/kg/day), olive oil, SD, SD+curcumin, SD+olive oil, grid, grid+curcumin, and grid+olive oil groups. SD was induced by a multiplatform box containing water. After a period of 21 days, the learning and memory of the rats were tested in an eight-arm radial maze. Afterwards, their brains were evaluated using stereological methods. Concomitant treatment of curcumin during SD caused fewer errors during evaluation of the working and reference memory errors in the acquisition and retention phases. The overall volume of the mPFC, Infralimbic Cortex (ILC), Prelimbic Cortex (PLC), Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and the total number of neurons and glial cells reduced by 20 %-40 % on average in the SD animals in comparison to the control group. This indicated atrophic changes and cell loss in these areas (p < 0.01). The dendrites' length and the number of spines per dendrite also reduced by 35 %-55 % in the SD rats compared to the ones in the control group (p < 0.01). Yet, treatment of the SD animals with curcumin prevented the atrophic changes of the mPFC, cell loss, and dendritic changes (p < 0.05). SD induced structural changes in the mPFC and memory impairment in the rats. However, curcumin could protect their PFC.

Downloads

Published

2017-04-18

How to Cite

Noorafshan, A., Karimi, F., Karbalay-Doust, S., & Kamali, A. M. (2017). Using curcumin to prevent structural and behavioral changes of medial prefrontal cortex induced by sleep deprivation in rats. EXCLI Journal, 16, 510–520. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-139

Issue

Vol. 16 (2017)

Section

Original articles

License

Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:

  • The authors keep the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, CC BY 4.0. This licencse permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
  • The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.
  • Because the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions presented in the publication. The publisher makes no guarantee, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
  • The authors can enter into additional contracts for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version by citing the initial publication in this journal (e.g. publishing in an institutional repository or in a book).

Most read articles by the same author(s)