title: Effect of chronic vincristine treatment on mechanical withdrawal response and pre-pulse inhibition in the rat.
abstract: Chemotherapeutic agents are associated with a number of serious side-effects. In addition to the development of peripheral neuropathy, patients often complain of additional symptoms related to attentional mechanisms. Although a great deal of interest is directed towards understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of peripheral neuropathy, there is a paucity of research that has examined the extent of impairment of attention in animals receiving chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to examine attentional mechanisms using the method of pre-pulse inhibition in animals that were chronically treated with vincristine. Although vincristine treated animals developed signs of peripheral neuropathy, there was no associated alteration of pre-pulse inhibition relative to vehicle treated animals. These results highlight the importance of continuing to develop methodology to model symptom burden in patients receiving chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Texas, P.O. Box 19528, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.
authors.forename: Jasenka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Borzan
authors.forename: Stacey C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: LaGraize
authors.forename: Perry N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Fuchs
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects*; D014750:Vincristine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D014750:Vincristine