Glutamate function

Meshul, C.K., Kamel, D., Moore, C., Kay, T.S., Krentz, L. Nicotine alters striatal glutamate function and decreases the apomorphine-induced contralateral rotations in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Exp. Neurol. 175 257, 2002. 

Altered glutamate function has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia by a number of clinical observations and research findings (See Javitt this Volume) (Coyle, 2006). The administration of ketamine, a potent inhibitor of glutamate signaling, to healthy individuals induces a schizophreniform psychosis that can be indistinguishable from schizophrenia, and in patients with schizophrenia, NMDA... 

Topiramate is an antiepileptic drug that attenuates the rewarding effect of alcohol associated with abuse by inhibiting mesocorticolimbic dopamine release via facilitation of GABA activity and inhibition of glutamate function. It has been demonstrated to reduce both alcohol consumption and craving. 

Glutamate functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter within the central nervons system, leading to the depolarization of neurons. Within nerve terminals, glntamate is generally synthesized de novo from glucose rather than taken np from the blood because its plasma concentration is low and it does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. 

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