Search results for "GLUTAMATE"
showing 10 items of 434 documents
Involvement of NMDA glutamate receptors in the acquisition and reinstatement of the conditioned place preference induced by MDMA.
2015
Some 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) users become dependent as a result of chronic consumption. A greater understanding of the neurobiological basis of the rewarding effects of MDMA could contribute to developing effective pharmacotherapies for MDMA-related problems. The present study evaluated the role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors (NMDARs) in the acquisition and reinstatement of conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by MDMA. Adolescent male mice were conditioned with 1 or 10 mg/kg MDMA and pretreated with 5 or 10 mg/kg of the NMDAR antagonist memantine during acquisition of conditioning (experiment 1), or before a reinstatement test (experiment 2). In ad…
Nitric oxide-active compounds modulate the intensity of glutamate-evoked responses in the globus pallidus of the rat
2011
Abstract Aim The effects of local applied NO-active compounds on glutamate (GLU)-evoked responses were investigated in globus pallidus (GP) neurons. Main methods Extracellularly recorded single units from anesthetized rats were treated with GLU before and during the microiontophoretic application of S-nitrosoglutathione (SNOG), a NO donor, and Nω-nitro- l -arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a NOS inhibitor. Key findings Most GP cells were excited by SNOG whereas administration of L-NAME induced decrease of GP neurons activity. Nearly all neurons responding to SNOG and/or L-NAME showed significant modulation of their excitatory responses to the administration of iontophoretic GLU. In these cell…
Memantine blocks sensitization to the rewarding effects of morphine
2009
Knowledge regarding the specific brain changes and neural plasticity processes produced by repeated drug exposure may be used to advance the understanding of the neurobiology of addiction in order to design appropriate medications. In the present study, the influence of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamatergic receptors on sensitization to the motor and rewarding effects of morphine was evaluated. The effects of pre-exposure to saline or 20 mg/kg morphine plus the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine (10 or 20 mg/kg) on motor activity and place conditioning induced by a low dose of morphine (2 mg/kg) were assessed. The dose of 2 mg/kg of morphine was ineffective in mice pre-exposed to saline…
PSA-NCAM expression in the rat medial prefrontal cortex
2005
The rat medial prefrontal cortex, an area considered homologous to the human prefrontal cortex, is a region in which neuronal structural plasticity has been described during adulthood. Some plastic processes such as neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis are known to be regulated by the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM). Since PSA-NCAM is present in regions of the adult CNS which are undergoing structural remodeling, such as the hypothalamus or the hippocampus, we have analyzed the expression of this molecule in the medial prefrontal cortex of adult rats using immunohistochemistry. PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity was found both in cell bodies and in the neuropil of…
The endocannabinoid system controls food intake via olfactory processes
2014
Comment in Sensory systems: the hungry sense. [Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014] Inhaling: endocannabinoids and food intake. [Nat Neurosci. 2014]; International audience; Hunger arouses sensory perception, eventually leading to an increase in food intake, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We found that cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors promote food intake in fasted mice by increasing odor detection. CB1 receptors were abundantly expressed on axon terminals of centrifugal cortical glutamatergic neurons that project to inhibitory granule cells of the main olfactory bulb (MOB). Local pharmacological and genetic manipulations revealed that endocannabinoids and exogenous cannabinoid…
Cost-effectiveness analysis of pemetrexed versus docetaxel in the second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer in Spain: results for the non-s…
2010
Abstract Background The objective of this study was to conduct a cost-effectiveness evaluation of pemetrexed compared to docetaxel in the treatment of advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for patients with predominantly non-squamous histology in the Spanish healthcare setting. Methods A Markov model was designed consisting of stable, responsive, progressive disease and death states. Patients could also experience adverse events as long as they received chemotherapy. Clinical inputs were based on an analysis of a phase III clinical trial that identified a statistically significant improvement in overall survival for non-squamous patients treated with pemetrexed compared …
An olfactory receptor for food-derived odours promotes male courtship in Drosophila.
2011
International audience; Many animals attract mating partners through the release of volatile sex pheromones, which can convey information on the species, gender and receptivity of the sender to induce innate courtship and mating behaviours by the receiver. Male Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies display stereotyped reproductive behaviours towards females, and these behaviours are controlled by the neural circuitry expressing male-specific isoforms of the transcription factor Fruitless (FRU(M)). However, the volatile pheromone ligands, receptors and olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) that promote male courtship have not been identified in this important model organism. Here we describe a novel…
Chronic fluoxetine treatment alters the structure, connectivity and plasticity of cortical interneurons
2014
Novel hypotheses suggest that antidepressants, such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, induce neuronal structural plasticity, resembling that of the juvenile brain, although the underlying mechanisms of this reopening of the critical periods still remain unclear. However, recent studies suggest that inhibitory networks play an important role in this structural plasticity induced by fluoxetine. For this reason we have analysed the effects of a chronic fluoxetine treatment in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of transgenic mice displaying eGFP labelled interneurons. We have found an increase in the expression of molecules related to critical period pla…
Glutamate-containing parenteral nutrition doubles plasma glutamate: A risk factor in neurosurgical patients with blood-brain barrier damage?
1999
OBJECTIVES: Animal studies have shown that the elevation of plasma glutamate levels increase cerebral edema formation whenever the blood-brain barrier is disturbed. Therefore, changes in plasma glutamate levels as influenced by the administration of a glutamate-containing amino acid solution were investigated in neurosurgical patients. DESIGN: Prospective, descriptive study. SETTING: Eight-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-three neurosurgical patients requiring parenteral nutrition. INTERVENTIONS: Parenteral nutrition was begun 24 hrs after craniotomy. Patients receiving a glutamate-containing amino acid solution (3.75 g/L glutamate) were compa…
Convergence of Cortical and Sensory Driver Inputs on Single Thalamocortical Cells
2013
Ascending and descending information is relayed through the thalamus via strong, "driver" pathways. According to our current knowledge, different driver pathways are organized in parallel streams and do not interact at the thalamic level. Using an electron microscopic approach combined with optogenetics and in vivo physiology, we examined whether driver inputs arising from different sources can interact at single thalamocortical cells in the rodent somatosensory thalamus (nucleus posterior, POm). Both the anatomical and the physiological data demonstrated that ascending driver inputs from the brainstem and descending driver inputs from cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons converge and interac…