Central monoaminergic system

M. Mirmiran, The role of the central monoaminergic system and rapid eye movement sleep in development, Brain Developm., 8 (1986) 382-389. 

Elayan, I. Gibb, J.W. Hanson, G.R. Foltz, R.L. Lim, H.K. and Johnson, M. Long-term alteration in the central monoaminergic systems of the rat by 2,4,5-trihydroxyamphetamine but not by 2-hydroxy-4,5-methyl-enedioxymethamphetamine or 2-hydroxy-... 

Matsuda, L.A. "Effects of Local Application of Methamphetamine and its Para-hydroxylated Metabolites on Central Monoaminergic Systems." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah, 1987. 

Neurochemical theories for the affective disorders propose that there is a link between dysfunctional monoaminergic synapses within the central nervous system (CNS) and mood problems. The original focus was the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, or NA (note noradrenaline is called norepinephrine, or NE, in American texts). Schildkraut (1965) suggested that depression was associated with an absolute or relative deficiency of NA, while mania was associated with a functional excess of NA. Subsequently, another monoamine neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), or serotonin, was put forward in a rival indoleamine theory (Chapter 2). However, it was soon recognised that both proposals could be reconciled with the available clinical biochemical and pharmacological evidence (Luchins, 1976 Green and Costain, 1979). 

VMAT is predicted to have similar membrane topology to the plasma membrane monoamine transporters, although they do not share homologous sequences (Erickson et ah, 1992). Hydrophobicity studies predict 12 TMHs with amino and carboxy termini located in the cytoplasm (Erickson et al., 1992). The large extracellular loop between TMHs III and IV of the plasma membrane transporters is located between TMHI and II in VMAT (Erickson et al., 1992). VMATl is located in the neuroendocrine cells of the adrenal medulla and intestinal tract, whereas VMAT2 is found in monoaminergic neurons of the central nervous system (Erickson et al., 1996). 

MONOAMINE-OXIDASE-INHIBITORS(MAOIs) acton monoamine-oxidase (MAO) enzymes that are involved in the degradation of monoamines in the peripheral and central nervous system. Monoamine oxidase occurs within cells bound to the surface of the mitochondria. It is found not only within monoaminergic neurons, but also in the liver and intestinal epithelium. The enzyme converts amines to their corresponding aldehydes, which in the periphery are converted to their carboxylic acids by aldel e dehydrogenase. Neurotransmitters degraded by monoamine oxidase include dopamine. 5-hydnngrtryptamine and noradrenaline. 

MAO inhibitors were at the center of interest. Both as experimental tools and as therapeutic agents MAO inhibitors had an important influence on the development of the widely accepted hypothesis that 1. depression is associated with diminished monoaminergic tone in the brain, and 2. depressed patients treated with antidepressants become elated because of enhanced biological activity of monoamine transmitters in the central nervous system. 

The hypothalamus contains a high density of nerve cell bodies clustered into nuclei or areas. Neurons in each of these nuclei tend to send their axons to the same regions in the form of traets. These nuclei innervate the median eminence, other hypothalamic nuclei, the posterior pituitary, and various structures in the extrahy-pothalamic central nervous system. All of the hypothalamic neurons are presumably monoaminergic (i.e., they... 

An exasperated neurologist recently observed that every medicinal alkaloidal preparation known to man had been employed in the treatment of Parkinsonism at some time in the last century [1], His remarks might well have been extended to include synthetic drugs, at least as far as those which affect cholinergic or monoaminergic functions in the central nervous system are concerned. Nevertheless, even with the multitude of drugs that have been used there is at present no curative therapy for the disease, and treatment is... 

Biogenic monoamine neurotransmitters, specifically serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, play a crucial role in various central nervous system (CNS) activities, and monoamine deficiency has been implicated in a variety of CNS disorders. One approach to enhance monoaminergic neurotransmission is by inhibiting its reuptake after release into the synaptic cleft. Drugs that block... 

Jacobs, B. L., and Jones, B. E. (1978) The role of central monoamine and acetylcholine systems in sleep-wakefulness states Mediation or modulation In Cholinergic-Monoaminergic Interactions in the Brain, edited by L. Butcher, pp. 271-290. Academic Press, New York. 

Monoaminergic. AD also affects the ascending monoaminergic brainstem systems, including dopamine (ventral tegmental area), norepinephrine (locus coeruleus), and serotonin (raphe nuclei), which parallel the central choliner-... 

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