title: Gender differences in locomotor and stereotypic behavior associated with l-carnitine treatment in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The carnitines exert neuroprotective and neuromodulatory actions, and carnitine supplementation increases locomotor activity (LMA) in experimental animals.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured 13 indexes of LMA and 3 indexes of stereotypic activity (STA) in adult male and female caged mice. In a randomized 4-week trial, 10 males and 10 females received 50 mg/kg body weight PO l-carnitine, and another 10 males and 10 females received placebo.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with placebo-treated females, placebo-treated males had a greater number of stereotypies (NSTs), stereotypy counts (STCs), stereotypy time (STT), and right front time (RFT), but smaller total distance traveled (TDT), margin distance (MD), number of vertical movements (NVMs), and left rear time (LRT). Compared with placebo-treated males, carnitine-treated males had greater horizontal activity (HA), movement time (MT), NVM, STT, TDT, STC, MD, LRT, and clockwise revolutions (CRs), but smaller left front time (LFT) and RFT. Compared with placebo-treated females, carnitine-treated females had greater NST, STC, STT, LFT, and RFT, but smaller NM, HA, NVM, VA, MT, anticlockwise revolutions (ACRs), CR, TDT, and MD; right rear time (RRT) remained statistically insignificant across all comparisons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, l-carnitine caused gender differences to persist for STC, diminish for NST and STT, disappear for LRT and NVM, change in the opposite direction for TDT and MD, appear de novo for HA, VA, NM, MT, and LFT, and remain absent for RRT and ACR. Some indexes of LMA and STA are sexually dimorphic in adult mice, and l-carnitine differentially maintains, diminishes/cancels, inverts, or creates the sexual dimorphism of particular indexes.
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Endocrinologia, Dipartimento Clinico Sperimentale di Medicina e Farmacologia, dell’Adolescenza e della Donna, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy. s.benvenga@me.nettuno.it
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benvenga
authors.forename: Elenora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Itri
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Tolla
authors.forename: Sui-Foh
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.forename: Maria Angela
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pappalardo
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trimarchi
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002331:Carnitine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D002331:Carnitine