title: A time-dependent effect of caffeine upon lesion-induced plasticity.
abstract: During a critical period, unilateral retinal lesions induce rapid axonal sprouting of intact axons into denervated territories within the collicular visual layers. We investigated the effect of caffeine, a non-selective A(1) and A(2a) antagonist, upon the lesion-induced plasticity of retinotectal axons. Pigmented rats submitted to a temporal retinal lesion received either caffeine (30mg/kg, ip) or saline treatment. The anterograde tracing revealed that caffeine treatment during the critical period resulted in a clear reduction on the sprouting of ipsilateral fibers but to an amplification of the plasticity after PND21, thus revealing opposite effects depending on the developmental time window.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Neurociências, Departamento de Neurobiologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cabral-Miranda
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Serfaty
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Campello-Costa
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020221:Optic Nerve Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D058915:Purinergic P1 Receptor Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D058915:Purinergic P1 Receptor Antagonists; D002110:Caffeine