DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN THE ACCUMBENS OF AN ANIMAL-MODEL OF ADHD

TRANSCRIPTION factors have been used as neuronal markers in the nucleu s accumbens (ACB) of male juvenile spontaneously hypertensive rats (SH R), an animal model of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , to trace putative neural substrates. In SHR, immunocytochemistry and PC-assisted image analysis showed lower expression of pan-fos, c-fos, zif/268 in the shell, and the c-fos and zif/268 in the core, with an increased level of Jun-B in the core. The differential lower basal exp ression of transcription factors in the ACB oi an animal model of ADHD implies a reduced number of modules and might represent a neural subs trate of the attention deficits seen in SHR and children with ADHD at low motivational levels.