Topic: spontaneous locomotor activity

Benzodiazepine tolerance is a well-documented consequence of their chronic use, the mechanism of which is not yet fully understood. To investigate tolerance development in mice, we have treated C57BL/6J male and female mice with 10 mg/kg diazepam once daily for 27 days (study 1) or twice daily for 14 days (study 2). In study 1, the Spontaneous Locomotor Activity (SLA) test captured sedation consistent with the reduction in the total distance travelled by diazepam-treated mice of both genders across time, compared to vehicle-treated mice (two-way ANOVA). These effects did not diminish over time

The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is emerging as a brain region of interest in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Specifically, the LH neuron populations have been shown to degenerate in PD, thus undergoing neuron loss like the substantia nigra (SN) which is a defining feature of PD that is thought to underlie observed motor symptoms. Interestingly, the LH has strong anatomical projections to the SN, but the behavioural functions associated with this projection have not been determined. We have recently shown that the LH is involved in habitual instrumental responding and spontaneous locomotor activity in