title: The influence of electrical stimulation of vagus nerve on elemental composition of dopamine related brain structures in rats.
abstract: Recent studies of Parkinson's disease indicate that dorsal motor nucleus of nerve vagus is one of the earliest brain areas affected by alpha-synuclein and Lewy bodies pathology. The influence of electrical stimulation of vagus nerve on elemental composition of dopamine related brain structures in rats is investigated. Synchrotron radiation based X-ray fluorescence was applied to the elemental micro-imaging and quantification in thin tissue sections. It was found that elements such as P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Br and Rb are present in motor cortex, corpus striatum, nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra, ventral tectal area, and dorsal motor nucleus of vagus. The topographic analysis shows that macro-elements like P, S, Cl and K are highly concentrated within the fiber bundles of corpus striatum. In contrast the levels of trace elements like Fe and Zn are the lowest in these structures. It was found that statistically significant differences between the animals with electrical stimulation of vagus nerve and the control are observed in the left side of corpus striatum for P (p = 0.04), S (p = 0.02), Cl (p = 0.05), K (p = 0.02), Fe (p = 0.04) and Zn (p = 0.02). The mass fractions of these elements are increased in the group for which the electrical stimulation of vagus nerve was performed. Moreover, the contents of Ca (p = 0.02), Zn (p = 0.07) and Rb (p = 0.04) in substantia nigra of right hemisphere are found to be significantly lower in the group with stimulation of vagus nerve than in the control rats.
authors.affiliation: AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland. Magdalena.Boruchowska@fis.agh.edu.pl
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szczerbowska-Boruchowska
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krygowska-Wajs
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ziomber
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thor
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wrobel
authors.forename: Mateusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bukowczan
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zizak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004602:Elements; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000378:metabolism; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004602:Elements; D014131:Trace Elements; D004298:Dopamine