Sakthivel
Sekar1, Marleen Verhoye1, Johan Van Audekerke1,
Koen Tahon2, Koen Wuyts3, Claire Mackie3, Michele
Giugliano2, Thomas Steckler3, Annemie Van Der Linden1
1Bio-Imaging Lab, University of
Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; 2Theoritical Neurobiology, University
of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; 3Johnson & Johnson
Pharmaceuticals Research & Development, Beerse, Belgium
The
present study reports on the acute and sub-chronic neuronal effects of the
NMDA antagonist memantine on the rat brain measured as BOLD (blood
oxygenation level dependent) contrast changes in a pharmacological magnetic
resonance imaging (phMRI) study. Corroborative investigations include
recording the spontaneous local field potential (LFP) activity in key brain
regions (through electrophysiology) and the pharmacokinetics of acute and
sub-chronic memantine treatment in blood plasma and the brain.