SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Journal of advances in vetbio science and techniques / 2026 / Issue: 2

Neurobehavioral Effects of Repeated Low-Dose Dimethyl Sulfoxide Administration in Mice

Erkan Özkan(AKSARAY ÜNİVERSİTESİ, VETERİNER FAKÜLTESİ, KLİNİK ÖNCESİ BİLİMLERİ BÖLÜMÜ, VETERİNERLİK PARAZİTOLOJİSİ ANABİLİM DALI)0000-0002-5251-2302
Ayşe İkinci Keleş(AKSARAY UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES (MEDICINE), DEPARTMENT OF HISTOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY (MEDICINE))0000-0003-0716-5695
Pages
—
Publication Date
2026-10-07
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These results indicate that DMSO should not be considered a completely inert solvent in experimental behavioral studies.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The aim of study was the neurobehavioral effects of repeated low-dose dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) administration in mice.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Male Swiss albino mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, DMSO 0.1 mg/kg, DMSO 0.2 mg/kg, and DMSO 0.4 mg/kg (n=6).
💡
Conclusion & Impact:These results indicate that DMSO should not be considered a completely inert solvent in experimental behavioral studies.
🔬Design:Research Article
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Anxiety-like behavior · Dimethyl sulfoxide · exploratory behavior

Abstract

The aim of study was the neurobehavioral effects of repeated low-dose dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) administration in mice. Male Swiss albino mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, DMSO 0.1 mg/kg, DMSO 0.2 mg/kg, and DMSO 0.4 mg/kg (n=6). DMSO was administered intraperitoneally for 5 consecutive days. Behavioral evaluations included the Open Field (OF), Elevated Plus Maze (EPM), Y-Maze (YM) and Marble Burying (MB) tests. Significant differences were observed among groups in terms of center time, thigmotaxis, and anxiety index in the OF test (p<0.05). DMSO-treated groups showed decreased center time and increased thigmotaxis values. In the EPM test, the percentage of time spent in open arms was significantly lower in the DMSO 0.4 mg/kg group (p<0.001). However, no significant differences were detected in open arm entries or total distance traveled (p>0.05). In the YM test, spontaneous alternation percentage, total arm entry, and total distance traveled did not differ significantly among groups (p>0.05). Similarly, no significant difference was observed in the number of buried marbles in the MB test (p>0.05). The findings suggest that repeated low-dose DMSO administration may particularly influence anxiety-like behaviors. In contrast, spatial working memory, compulsive-like behavior, and locomotor activity were not markedly affected. These results indicate that DMSO should not be considered a completely inert solvent in experimental behavioral studies.

🔖

Cite This Article

Özkan, E., Keleş, A. İ. (2026). Neurobehavioral Effects of Repeated Low-Dose Dimethyl Sulfoxide Administration in Mice. Journal of advances in vetbio science and techniques, Issue: 2. https://doi.org/10.31797/vetbio.1966406

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (22)

  1. Authier, N., Dupuis, E., Kwasiborski, A., Eschalier, A., & Coudoré, F. (2002). Behavioural assessment of dimethylsulfoxide neurotoxicity in rats. Toxicology Let¬ters, 132(2), 117-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4274(02)00052-8
  2. Broadwell, R. D., Salcman, M., & Kaplan, R. S. (1982). Morphologic effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the blood-brain barrier. Science, 217(4555), 164-166. https://doi. org/10.1126/science.7089551
  3. Bulama, I., Nasiru, S., Bello, A., Abbas, A. Y., Nasiru, J. I., Saidu, Y., Chiroma, M. S., Mohd Moklas, M. A., Mat Taib, C. N., & Waziri, A. (2022). Antioxidant-based neuroprotective effect of dimethylsulfoxide against in¬duced traumatic brain injury in a rats model. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, 998179. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fphar.2022.998179
  4. Colucci, M., Maione, F., Bonito, M. C., Piscopo, A., Di Giannuario, A., & Pieretti, S. (2008). New insights of dimethyl sulphoxide effects (DMSO) on experimen¬tal in vivo models of nociception and inflammation. Pharmacological Research, 57(6), 419-425. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.phrs.2008.04.004
  5. de Figueiredo Cerqueira, M. M., Castro, M. M. L., Vieira, A. A., Kurosawa, J. A. A., do Amaral Junior, F. L., de Siqueira, F. d. C. C., & Sosthenes, M. C. K. (2023). Comparative analysis between Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze tests as a method for evaluating anxiety-like behavior in mice. Heliyon, 9(4), e14522. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14522
  6. Gaspar, L., Bartman, S., Coppotelli, G., & Ross, J. M. (2023). Effect of apparatus characteristics on anxiety-like behavior in young adult and old mice of both sexes as¬sessed by the elevated plus maze assay. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 1182661. https://doi. org/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1182661
  7. Gironi, B., Kahveci, Z., McGill, B., Lechner, B.-D., Pagli¬ara, S., Metz, J., Morresi, A., Palombo, F., Sassi, P., & Petrov, P. G. (2020). Effect of DMSO on the mechanical and structural properties of model and biological mem¬branes. Biophysical Journal, 119(2), 274-286. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.bpj.2020.05.037
  8. Huang, L., Xiao, D., Sun, H., Qu, Y., & Su, X. (2022). Be¬havioral tests for evaluating the characteristics of brain diseases in rodent models: Optimal choices for improved outcomes. Molecular Medicine Reports, 25(5), 1-1. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2022.12699
  9. Jacob, S. W., & de la Torre, J. C. (2009). Pharmacology of di¬methyl sulfoxide in cardiac and CNS damage. Pharmaco¬logical Reports, 61(2), 225-235. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S1734-1140(09)70026-X
  10. Jimenez Chavez, C. L., & Szumlinski, K. K. (2024). Modu¬lation of marble-burying behavior in adult versus adoles¬cent C57BL/6J mice of both sexes by ethologically rele¬vant chemosensory stimuli. Oxford Open Neuroscience, 3, kvae009. https://doi.org/10.1093/oons/kvae009
  11. Kim, J., Kang, H., Lee, Y.-B., Lee, B., & Lee, D. (2023). A quantitative analysis of spontaneous alternation behaviors on a Y-maze reveals adverse effects of acute social isola¬tion on spatial working memory. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 14722. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41996-4
  12. Kraeuter, A.-K., Guest, P. C., & Sarnyai, Z. (2018a). The el¬evated plus maze test for measuring anxiety-like behavior in rodents. In P. C. Guest & Z. Sarnyai (Eds.), Pre-clinical Models: Techniques and Protocols, 1916, 69-74. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8994-2_4
  13. Kraeuter, A.-K., Guest, P. C., & Sarnyai, Z. (2018b). The open field test for measuring locomotor activity and anx¬iety-like behavior. In P. C. Guest & Z. Sarnyai (Eds.), Pre-clinical Models: Techniques and Protocols, 1916, 99-103. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1- 4939-8994-2_9
  14. Kraeuter, A.-K., Guest, P. C., & Sarnyai, Z. (2018c). The Y-maze for assessment of spatial working and reference memory in mice. In P. C. Guest & Z. Sarnyai (Eds.), Pre-clinical Models: Techniques and Protocols, 1916, 105-111. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1- 4939-8994-2_10
  15. Rabow, Z., Morningstar, T., Showalter, M., Heil, H., Thong¬phanh, K., Fan, S., Chan, J., Martínez‐Cerdeño, V., Berman, R., & Zagzag, D. (2021). Exposure to DMSO during infancy alters neurochemistry, social interactions, and brain morphology in long‐evans rats. Brain and Be¬havior, 11(5), e02146. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.2146
  16. Sanmartín-Suárez, C., Soto-Otero, R., Sánchez-Sellero, I., & Méndez-Álvarez, E. (2011). Antioxidant properties of dimethyl sulfoxide and its viability as a solvent in the evaluation of neuroprotective antioxidants. Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods, 63(2), 209- 215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vascn.2010.10.004
  17. Santos, N. C., Figueira-Coelho, J., Martins-Silva, J., & Saldanha, C. (2003). Multidisciplinary utilization of dimethyl sulfoxide: pharmacological, cellular, and mo¬lecular aspects. Biochemical Pharmacology, 65(7), 1035- 1041. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-2952(03)00002-9
  18. Sarkar, D. (2020). A review of behavioral tests to evaluate different types of anxiety and anti-anxiety effects. Clin¬ical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience, 18(3), 341. https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2020.18.3.341
  19. Tamagnini, F., Scullion, S., Brown, J. T., & Randall, A. D. (2014). Low concentrations of the solvent dimethyl sulphoxide alter intrinsic excitability properties of cor¬tical and hippocampal pyramidal cells. Plos One, 9(3), e92557. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092557
  20. Trinh, M. T. T., Thoa, T. H. K., & Thao, D. T. P. (2025). Neu¬ronal effect of 0.3% DMSO and the synergism between 0.3% DMSO and loss function of UCH-L1 on Drosophi¬la melanogaster model. Toxicology Reports, 14, 101904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxrep.2025.101904
  21. Verheijen, M., Lienhard, M., Schrooders, Y., Clayton, O., Nudischer, R., Boerno, S., Timmermann, B., Selevsek, N., Schlapbach, R., & Gmuender, H. (2019). DMSO induces drastic changes in human cellular processes and epigenetic landscape in vitro. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 4641. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40660-0
  22. Wahl, L., Punt, A. M., Arbab, T., Willuhn, I., Elgersma, Y., & Badura, A. (2022). A novel automated approach for improving standardization of the marble burying test en¬ables quantification of burying bouts and activity charac¬teristics. Eneuro, 9(2), ENEURO.0446-0421.2022 0441- 0411. https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0446-21.2022