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A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell.
A neurotransmitter receptor is a membrane receptor protein that is activated by a neurotransmitter. Chemicals on the outside of the cell, such as a neurotransmitter, can bump into the cell's membrane, in which there are receptors. If a neurotransmitter bumps into its corresponding receptor, they will bind and can trigger other events to occur inside the cell. Therefore, a membrane receptor is part of the molecular machinery that allows cells to communicate with one another. A neurotransmitter receptor is a class of receptors that specifically binds with neurotransmitters as opposed to other molecules.
An inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) is a kind of synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron less likely to generate an action potential. The opposite of an inhibitory postsynaptic potential is an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), which is a synaptic potential that makes a postsynaptic neuron more likely to generate an action potential. IPSPs can take place at all chemical synapses, which use the secretion of neurotransmitters to create cell-to-cell signalling. EPSPs and IPSPs compete with each other at numerous synapses of a neuron. This determines whether an action potential occurring at the presynaptic terminal produces an action potential at the postsynaptic membrane. Some common neurotransmitters involved in IPSPs are GABA and glycine.
In neuroscience, an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) is a postsynaptic potential that makes the postsynaptic neuron more likely to fire an action potential. This temporary depolarization of postsynaptic membrane potential, caused by the flow of positively charged ions into the postsynaptic cell, is a result of opening ligand-gated ion channels. These are the opposite of inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), which usually result from the flow of negative ions into the cell or positive ions out of the cell. EPSPs can also result from a decrease in outgoing positive charges, while IPSPs are sometimes caused by an increase in positive charge outflow. The flow of ions that causes an EPSP is an excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC).
In neurophysiology, long-term depression (LTD) is an activity-dependent reduction in the efficacy of neuronal synapses lasting hours or longer following a long patterned stimulus. LTD occurs in many areas of the CNS with varying mechanisms depending upon brain region and developmental progress.
An excitatory synapse is a synapse in which an action potential in a presynaptic neuron increases the probability of an action potential occurring in a postsynaptic cell. Neurons form networks through which nerve impulses travels, each neuron often making numerous connections with other cells of neurons. These electrical signals may be excitatory or inhibitory, and, if the total of excitatory influences exceeds that of the inhibitory influences, the neuron will generate a new action potential at its axon hillock, thus transmitting the information to yet another cell.
Dopaminergic pathways in the human brain are involved in both physiological and behavioral processes including movement, cognition, executive functions, reward, motivation, and neuroendocrine control. Each pathway is a set of projection neurons, consisting of individual dopaminergic neurons.
Molecular neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that observes concepts in molecular biology applied to the nervous systems of animals. The scope of this subject covers topics such as molecular neuroanatomy, mechanisms of molecular signaling in the nervous system, the effects of genetics and epigenetics on neuronal development, and the molecular basis for neuroplasticity and neurodegenerative diseases. As with molecular biology, molecular neuroscience is a relatively new field that is considerably dynamic.
An autoreceptor is a type of receptor located in the membranes of nerve cells. It serves as part of a negative feedback loop in signal transduction. It is only sensitive to the neurotransmitters or hormones released by the neuron on which the autoreceptor sits. Similarly, a heteroreceptor is sensitive to neurotransmitters and hormones that are not released by the cell on which it sits. A given receptor can act as either an autoreceptor or a heteroreceptor, depending upon the type of transmitter released by the cell on which it is embedded.
In neuroscience, Golgi cells are the most abundant inhibitory interneurons found within the granular layer of the cerebellum. Golgi cells can be found in the granular layer at various layers. The Golgi cell is essential for controlling the activity of the granular layer. They were first identified as inhibitory in 1964. It was also the first example of an inhibitory feedback network in which the inhibitory interneuron was identified anatomically. Golgi cells produce a wide lateral inhibition that reaches beyond the afferent synaptic field and inhibit granule cells via feedforward and feedback inhibitory loops. These cells synapse onto the dendrite of granule cells and unipolar brush cells. They receive excitatory input from mossy fibres, also synapsing on granule cells, and parallel fibers, which are long granule cell axons. Thereby this circuitry allows for feed-forward and feed-back inhibition of granule cells.
Neurotransmission is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron, and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron a short distance away. A similar process occurs in retrograde neurotransmission, where the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron release retrograde neurotransmitters that signal through receptors that are located on the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron, mainly at GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses.
Depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition is the classical and original electrophysiological example of endocannabinoid function in the central nervous system. Prior to the demonstration that depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition was dependent on the cannabinoid CB1 receptor function, there was no way of producing an in vitro endocannabinoid mediated effect.
Neuromodulation is the physiological process by which a given neuron uses one or more chemicals to regulate diverse populations of neurons. Neuromodulators typically bind to metabotropic, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to initiate a second messenger signaling cascade that induces a broad, long-lasting signal. This modulation can last for hundreds of milliseconds to several minutes. Some of the effects of neuromodulators include: altering intrinsic firing activity, increasing or decreasing voltage-dependent currents, altering synaptic efficacy, increasing bursting activity and reconfigurating synaptic connectivity.
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell.
In the hippocampus, the mossy fiber pathway consists of unmyelinated axons projecting from granule cells in the dentate gyrus that terminate on modulatory hilar mossy cells and in Cornu Ammonis area 3 (CA3), a region involved in encoding short-term memory. These axons were first described as mossy fibers by Santiago Ramón y Cajal as they displayed varicosities along their lengths that gave them a mossy appearance. The axons that make up the pathway emerge from the basal portions of the granule cells and pass through the hilus of the dentate gyrus before entering the stratum lucidum of CA3. Granule cell synapses tend to be glutamatergic, though immunohistological data has indicated that some synapses contain neuropeptidergic elements including opiate peptides such as dynorphin and enkephalin. There is also evidence for co-localization of both GABAergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitters within mossy fiber terminals. GABAergic and glutamatergic co-localization in mossy fiber boutons has been observed primarily in the developing hippocampus, but in adulthood, evidence suggests that mossy fiber synapses may alternate which neurotransmitter is released through activity-dependent regulation.
Neurotransmitter transporters are a class of membrane transport proteins that span the cellular membranes of neurons. Their primary function is to carry neurotransmitters across these membranes and to direct their further transport to specific intracellular locations. There are more than twenty types of neurotransmitter transporters.
The preBötzinger complex, often abbreviated as preBötC, is a functionally and anatomically specialized site in the ventral-lateral region of the lower medulla oblongata. The preBötC is part of the ventral respiratory group of respiratory related interneurons. Its foremost function is to generate the inspiratory breathing rhythm in mammals. In addition, the preBötC is widely and paucisynaptically connected to higher brain centers that regulate arousal and excitability more generally such that respiratory brain function is intimately connected with many other rhythmic and cognitive functions of the brain and central nervous system. Further, the preBötC receives mechanical sensory information from the airways that encode lung volume as well as pH, oxygen, and carbon dioxide content of circulating blood and the cerebrospinal fluid.
Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), is a G protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor that in humans is encoded by the CNR1 gene. The human CB1 receptor is expressed in the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system. It is activated by endogenous cannabinoids called endocannabinoids, a group of retrograde neurotransmitters that include lipids, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG); plant phytocannabinoids, such as docosatetraenoylethanolamide found in wild daga, the compound THC which is an active constituent of the psychoactive drug cannabis; and synthetic analogs of THC. CB1 is antagonized by the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV).
Szilveszter E. Vizi is a Hungarian physician, neuroscientist, pharmacologist and university professor who served as President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences between 2002 and 2008. He issues some of his papers under the name E. S. Vizi or E. Sylvester Vizi.
A spinal interneuron, found in the spinal cord, relays signals between (afferent) sensory neurons, and (efferent) motor neurons. Different classes of spinal interneurons are involved in the process of sensory-motor integration. Most interneurons are found in the grey column, a region of grey matter in the spinal cord.
References
- ↑ Millan, M. J.; Lejeune, F.; Gobert, A. (2000). "Reciprocal autoreceptor and heteroreceptor control of serotonergic, dopaminergic and noradrenergic transmission in the frontal cortex: Relevance to the actions of antidepressant agents". Journal of Psychopharmacology. 14 (2): 114–138. doi:10.1177/026988110001400202. PMID 10890307. S2CID 18333385.
- ↑ Schlicker, E.; Malinowska, B.; Kathmann, M.; Göthert, M. (1994). "Modulation of neurotransmitter release via histamine H3 heteroreceptors". Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology. 8 (2): 128–137. doi:10.1111/j.1472-8206.1994.tb00789.x. PMID 8020871. S2CID 21816655.
- ↑ Ma, D.; Rajakumaraswamy, N.; Maze, M. (2004). "2-Adrenoceptor agonists: Shedding light on neuroprotection?". British Medical Bulletin. 71: 77–92. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldh036 . PMID 15684247.
- ↑ Katona, I.; Sperlágh, B.; Sík, A.; Käfalvi, A.; Vizi, E. S.; MacKie, K.; Freund, T. F. (1999). "Presynaptically located CB1 cannabinoid receptors regulate GABA release from axon terminals of specific hippocampal interneurons". The Journal of Neuroscience. 19 (11): 4544–4558. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.19-11-04544.1999 . PMC 6782612 . PMID 10341254.
- ↑ Sousa, V. C.; Assaife-Lopes, N. L.; Ribeiro, J. A.; Pratt, J. A.; Brett, R. R.; Sebastião, A. M. (2010). "Regulation of Hippocampal Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Actions by Adenosine A1 Receptors and Chronic Caffeine Administration: Implications for the Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol on Spatial Memory". Neuropsychopharmacology. 36 (2): 472–487. doi:10.1038/npp.2010.179. PMC 3055664 . PMID 20927050.
- ↑ Hoffman, A. F.; Laaris, N.; Kawamura, M.; Masino, S. A.; Lupica, C. R. (2010). "Control of Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Function on Glutamate Axon Terminals by Endogenous Adenosine Acting at A1 Receptors". Journal of Neuroscience. 30 (2): 545–555. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4920-09.2010. PMC 2855550 . PMID 20071517.
- ↑ Semyanov, A; Kullmann, D. M. (2000). "Modulation of GABAergic signaling among interneurons by metabotropic glutamate receptors". Neuron. 25 (3): 663–72. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(00)81068-5 . PMID 10774733.
- ↑ Kullmann, D. M.; Semyanov, A (2002). "Glutamatergic modulation of GABAergic signaling among hippocampal interneurons: Novel mechanisms regulating hippocampal excitability". Epilepsia. 43 (Suppl 5): 174–8. doi:10.1046/j.1528-1157.43.s.5.12.x. PMID 12121316. S2CID 19781597.
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