Planaria: A Model for Drug Action
and Abuse
|
Edited By:Robert B. RaffaDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences Temple University School of Pharmacy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Scott M. Rawls Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Temple University School of Pharmacy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA ISBN: TBA Published: 2008-10-01 |
Chapters available from this book
Drug Combinations and Isoboles
Ronald J. Tallarida
This chapter discusses the quantitative pharmacology of drug combinations for drugs that produce overtly similar effects; more specifically we consider whether a combination of two agonists, or a combination of an agonist and an inactive second drug, produces a predictable effect or some exaggerated...
The Planarian Regeneration Model as a Context for the Study of Drug Effects and Mechanisms
Néstor J. Oviedo and Michael Levin
A complete understanding of drug effects and the mechanisms of addiction include a molecular characterization of changes in neurotransmitter and ion channel pathways and their consequences for remodeling of the nervous system and the control of adult stem and terminal somatic cell populations. The p...
Opioids in Planaria
Antonio Carolei, Marco Colasanti and Giorgio Venturini
Planaria, considered the ancestor of all bilateria, including vertebrates, represents the most primitive example of centralization and cephalization of the nervous system. A large body of research performed in the last decades suggest a strong conservation of the basic neurochemical mechanisms durin...
Catecholamines in Planaria
Antonio Carolei, Irene Ciancarelli and Giorgio Venturini
Planaria are free‑living flatworms and represent the most primitive example of centralization and cephalization of the nervous system along phylogeny. Several neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin which are present in the human brain have also been identified and inv...
Analysis of Behavior in the Planarian Model
Cindy L. Nicolas, Charles I. Abramson and Michael Levin
Planaria species are powerful models for the study of drug effects and addiction on neural and cognitive function due to their tractability to cell‑biological, pharmacological and molecular‑genetic techniques. In order to fully capitalize on the many advantages of this system, it is nece...
Nitric Oxide in Lower Invertebrates
Marco Colasanti and Giorgio Venturini
Nitric oxide (NO) is considered an important signaling molecule involved in many different physiological processes, including nervous transmission, vascular regulation, immune defense and in the pathogenesis of several diseases. The presence and roles of NO are well demonstrated in the main inverteb...
Planaria as Model in Drug Abuse Research
Robert B. Raffa
In some complex way, drug abuse is a physiological process that involves the modulation or alteration of one or more neurochemical pathways. These pathways are reviewed in this chapter to the extent that involvement of particular pathways, or interaction among pathways, is known in humans or other m...
Physical Dependence and Withdrawal in Planarians
Robert B. Raffa
A quantifiable feature of drug abuse in animal models is the development of physical dependence and its expression during withdrawal (either abstinence‑ or antagonist‑induced). Withdrawal has sometimes been proposed to be important to understanding drug ‘craving’. Planarians are a conven...
Planaria: Short Introduction
Robert B. Raffa
Planarians are free‑living, nonparasitic, bilaterally symmetrical flatworms (dorsoventrally flattened). They range in size from about 3 to about 15 mm and are found throughout the world. There are several features that make planarians particularly noteworthy and valuable for pharmacologic stud...
Gene Expression in the Brain and Central Nervous System in Planarians
Katsuhiko Mineta, Kazuho Ikeo and Takashi Gojobori
In planarians, the CNS forms an inverted U‑shape consisting of a cephalic ganglion and several branches. Recent advances in molecular studies using expressed sequence tags (EST) and cDNA microarray techniques allow more detailed studies of the planarian central nervous system (CNS). Planarians...
Brain and Neural Networks
Kaneyasu Nishimura, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Yoshihisa Kitamura and Kiyokazu Agata
Freshwater planarians have a relatively well‑organized central nervous system (CNS), which consists of the brain and the ventral nerve cords (VNCs). Recently, several neural marker genes have been isolated by expressed sequence tag (EST) projects and DNA chip analysis and extensive molecular a...
