Fractal dimension values of cerebral and cerebellar activity in rats loaded with aluminium.

Abstract

Aluminium interferes with a variety of cellular metabolic processes in the mammalian nervous system and its intake might increase a risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). While cerebral involvement even at the early stages of intoxication is well known, the role of cerebellum is underestimated. Our aim was to investigate cerebral and cerebellar electrocortical activity in adult male rats exposed to chronic aluminium treatment by nonlinear analytic tools. The adult rats in an aluminium-treated group were injected by AlCl(3), intraperitoneally (2 mg Al/kg, daily for 4 weeks). Fractal analysis of brain activity was performed off-line using Higuchi's algorithm. The average fractal dimension of electrocortical activity in aluminium-treated animals was lower than the average fractal dimension of electrocortical activity in the control rats, at cerebral but not at cerebellar level. The changes in the stationary and nonlinear properties of time series were more expressed in cerebral electrocortical activity than in cerebellar activity. This can be useful for developing effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in neurodegenerative diseases.

• Authors: Goran Kekovic, Milka Culic, Ljiljana Martac, Gordana Stojadinovic, Ivan Capo, Dusan Lalosevic, Slobodan Sekulic
• Journal: Medical & biological engineering & computing (Med Biol Eng Comput) Vol. 48 Issue 7 Pg. 671-9 (Jul 2010) ISSN: 1741-0444 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 20424923 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Aluminum

Topics

• Algorithms
• Aluminum (toxicity)
• Animals
• Cerebellum (drug effects, physiopathology)
• Cerebral Cortex (drug effects, physiopathology)
• Electroencephalography (drug effects, methods)
• Fractals
• Male
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar
• Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted