Search results for "Transmitter"
showing 10 items of 348 documents
Alzheimer's disease: amino acid levels and brain metabolic status.
2013
Abstract To study brain free amino acids and their relation with dementia we measured, by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the concentration of eight free amino acids, amines and related compounds. We used temporal cortex (TC) samples obtained from 13 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and an equal number of agematched controls (AC). The patterns of free amino acids, amines and related compounds showed significant quantitative changes in AD conditions with respect to healthy ones. In Alzheimer patients, lower levels of GABA were found in the TC (-57 %). Amino acids glutamate (Glu), and aspartate (Asp) concentrations, also appeared significantly reduced in the TC of AD patients …
Antagonist discrimination between subtypes of tachykinin receptors in the guinea-pig ileum.
1986
1. The effects of substance P and eledoisin on spontaneous and electrically-evoked release of [3H]acetylcholine, and on smooth muscle were studied in the guineapig myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle preparation preloaded with [3H]choline. Substance P and eledoisin caused transient increases in spontaneous release of [3H]acetylcholine and in longitudinal muscle tone. Both tachykinins were equipotent in contracting the muscle, but eledoisin was more potent than substance P in eliciting [3H]acetylcholine release. The release caused by substance P was enhanced in the presence of naloxone and scopolamine which suggests that the release is modulated through opioid and muscarinic receptors. 2. S…
Electrical responses of pineal cells to melatonin and putative transmitters
1981
The effects of microelectrophoretically applied melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine), noradrenaline (NOR) or acetylcholine (ACH) on the electrical activity of pineal cells during both the day- and night-time were studied in urethane anesthetised guinea-pigs. A total of 288 cells were tested with melatonin, and in addition with either NOR (120 cells) or ACH (138 cells). Of the 206 cells responding to melatonin application, 139 were excited and 67 inhibited. A total of 85 cells responded to the application of NOR, 45 being excited and 40 inhibited. Responses to ACH application were observed in 75 pineal cells, 49 units being inhibited and 26 excited. It was possible to observe excitation…
Changes of neurohumoral parameters and endothelin-1 in response to exercise in patients with mild to moderate congestive heart failure
1998
Plasma endothelin levels are increased in patients with moderate and severe CHF. Conflicting data exist about the endothelin-1 (ET) level in patients with mild to moderate CHF and the effect of maximal exercise on plasma ET levels.We determined the plasma levels of ET and various neurohumoral parameters in 93 patients with CHF in functional class II and III of the NYHA classification at rest and after maximal bicycle exercise. Baseline ET level was increased compared to an age-matched healthy volunteer group (6.95+/-0.31 vs 3.29+/-0.17 pg/ml, mean+/-S.E.M., P0.05), without significant differences between NYHA class II and III patients. Maximal exercise did not increase the ET level. In cont…
Nitric oxide and glutamate interaction in the control of cortical and hippocampal excitability.
1999
Summary: Purpose: We investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) as a new neurotransmitter in the control of excitability of the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex, as well as the possible functional interaction between NO and the glutamate systems. Methods: The experiments were performed on anesthetized rats. The bioelectrical activities of the somatosensory cortex and the CA1 region of the hippocampus of these rats were recorded. Pharmacologic inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) through the nonselective and brain-selective inhibitors, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) and 7-nitroindazole (7-NI), was performed. Results: The treatments caused the appearance of an interictal discharge act…
Nitric oxide-sensitive guanylyl cyclase inhibits acetylcholine release and excitatory motor transmission in the guinea-pig ileum
1997
Abstract This study examined the mechanism through which nitric oxide inhibits the release of acetylcholine and excitatory motor neurotransmission in the guinea-pig ileum. The selective inhibitor of nitric oxide-sensitive guanylyl cyclase, 1 H -[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3- a ]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), concentration-dependently enhanced both basal release (−log EC 50 : 6.8) and electrically (10 Hz) -evoked release (−log EC 50 : 6.0) of [ 3 H]acetylcholine from longitudinal muscle-myenteric plexus preparations preincubated with [ 3 H]choline. The increase by ODQ of basal release appeared to be exocytotic since it was prevented by tetrodotoxin (300 nM) and absence of calcium from the superfusion mediu…
Inhibition by interleukin-1 beta of noradrenaline release in rat spleen: involvement of lymphocytes, NO and opioid receptors.
1995
Effects of indomethacin, N omega-nitro-L-arginine (NNA) and naloxone, and of pretreatment with cyclophosphamide (CY), on the interleukin (IL)-1 beta induced inhibition of exocytotic noradrenaline release were investigated in the isolated, vascularly perfused spleen of the rat. Neurotransmitter release was evoked by perivascular electrical stimulation (4 Hz) and the overflow of endogenous noradrenaline was determined by HPLC with electrochemical detection. Perfusion of the spleen with Tyrode's solution containing IL-1 beta (100 pg/ml) for 90 min caused an inhibition of the stimulation-evoked noradrenaline overflow which persisted for at least 20 min after washout of the IL. The evoked overfl…
Chronic Fluoxetine Treatment Increases the Expression of PSA-NCAM in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex
2006
Recent hypotheses suggest that changes in neuronal structure and connectivity may underlie the etiology of depression. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is affected by depression and shows neuronal remodeling during adulthood. This plasticity may be mediated by the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), which is intensely expressed in the adult mPFC. As the expression of PSA-NCAM is increased by serotonin in other cerebral regions, antidepressants acting on serotonin reuptake may influence PSA-NCAM expression and thus counteract the effects of depression by modulating neuronal structural plasticity. Using immunohistochemistry, we have studied the relationship…
Opposite effects of γ1- and γ2-melanocyte stimulating hormone on regulation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic system in rats
2004
By use of the brain microdialysis technique we show that administration of gamma(1)-melanocyte stimulating hormone (gamma(1)-MSH) into the ventral tegmental area of anaesthetized rats causes an increase in the release of extracellular dopamine and its metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the nucleus accumbens, while gamma(2)-MSH causes the opposite effect. Moreover, gamma(2)-MSH pre-treatment considerably reduced the gamma(1)-MSH-induced effects. Our findings suggest an opposing action of two gamma-MSH-activated pathways on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, which could be important in the maintenance of a balanced psychoactivation state.
Mesolimbic dopaminergic system activity as a function of food reward: A microdialysis study
1996
The mesolimbic dopaminergic system (MDS) has been shown to be implicated in feeding behaviors. The present experiment was conducted to examine the effects of the sensory properties of food ingested on MDS activity. Microdialysis coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was employed to measure the extracellular levels of dopamine (DA) and its main metabolites (DOPAC and HVA) in the nucleus accumbens of freely moving rats. During microdialysis sessions rats had access or not to powdered foods varying in palatability: short cakes as highly palatable (HP) food and regular chow as low palatable (LP) food. In the absence of food, there were no alterations i…