Neural transmission

Let s see how neural transmission works in terms of a specific example—acetylcholine ... 

Kornhuber, J. et al. (1998). Journal of Neural Transmission-Parkinsons Disease and Dementia Section 6, 63-72. 

Fuxe K, Agnati LF (eds) (1991) Volume transmission in the brain novel mechanisms for neural transmission. Raven Press, New York... 

Dopamine is a catecholamine (see Chapter 10 and Fig. 31.2) whose actions are mediated by dopamine receptors that are classified as Dj-like (Dj, D5) or D2-like (D2, D3, D4). Dopamine actions on Dj receptors exert an excitatory effect, whereas the actions of dopamine on D2 receptors inhibit neuronal activity. The loss of striatal dopamine produces an imbalance in information processing in the neostriatum that modifies transmission in other basal ganglia regions. Also important in neural transmission are the striatal interneurons that are found within the confines of the striatum, that use the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and that modulate the activity of striatal output neurons. 

C. A. Tamminga (2002). Partial dopamine agonists in the treatment of psychosis. J. Neural Transmission 109 411-420. 

Figure 5.7 Effect of local anaesthetics on the propagation of an action potential. A full action potential occurs when a spike potential reaches the level of the tfireshold potential. Local anaesthetics decrease the rate of rise and the frequency of spike potentials. When the value of the spike potential falls below the threshold potential neural transmission ceases.

Fernandes MH, Soares-da-Silva P. Role of monoamine oxidase and catechol- O- methyltransferase in the metabolism of renal dopamine. Journal of Neural Transmission. Supplementum 1994 41 101-105. 

Involvement in nerve conductance or neural transmission, for which the exact mechanism is unknown (67,68)... 

We have developed, solved, and analyzed an eight-dimensional model for a coupled acetylcholinesterase/choline acetyltransferase enzyme system. The complex dynamic characteristics, both stable and unstable, and the chaotic behavior of this IVP system have been investigated with some reference to acetylcholine neural transmission. 

In addition to the well-known substances, other chemicals are continually being identified as potential CNS neurotransmitters. Recent evidence has implicated substances such as adenosine and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as transmitters or modulators of neural transmission in specific areas of the brain and in the... 

Strains of C. botulinum produce seven antigenetically distinct neurotoxins designated as serotypes A through G. All seven serotypes have a similar structure and molecular weight, consisting of a heavy (H) chain and a light (L) chain joined by a disulfide bond. They all interfere with neural transmission by blocking the release of ACh (see Chapter 14), which is the principal neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction. 

Sharf B, Moskovitz C, Lupton MD, Klawans HL. Dream phenomena induced by chronic levodopa therapy. J Neural Transmiss 1978 43 143-151. 

Vardi J, Glaubman H, Rabey J, Streifler M. EEG sleep patterns in Parkinsonian patients treated with bromocryptine and L-dopa a comparative study. J Neural Transmiss 1979 45 307-316. 

The cerebral cortex of the brain is an approximately continuous, homogenous neural medium, which is molded (or rutted ) into preferred tracks of neural transmission by imprinting and by repeated activity (i.e., behavioral learning). Within this system, there exists a relatively discrete series of dimensions ("levels ) within which recurrent circular operations stabilize existing patterns (1) the sensory-motor loop, representing interaction with the physical/behavioral space outside, and (2) an internal behavior loop, which operates even in isolation from the... 

Meltzer, H. Y., Young, M., Metz, J., Fang, V. S., Schyve, P. M., Arora, R. C. (1979). Extrapyramidal side effects and increased serum prolactin following fluoxetine, a new antidepressant. Journal of Neural Transmission, 45, 165-175. 

Wong, D., Reid, L., Bymaster, F., Threlkeld, P. (1985). Chronic effects of fluoxetine, a selective inhibitor of serotonin uptake, on neurotransmitter receptors. Journal of Neural Transmission, 64, 251-269. 

Elsworth JD, Leahy DJ, Roth RH, Redmond DE (1987) Homovanillic acid concentrations in brain, CSF and plasma as indicators of central dopamine function in primates. J Neural Transmission 65 51-62. 

Prolonged periods of exposure to natural, synthetic, or man-made chemical substances cause neurotoxicity. The effects of neurotoxicity result in a variety of health disturbances. In simple terms, neurotoxic chemical substances change the normal activity of the nervous system, eventually leading to disruption of the network of neurons. Thus, the key cells of neural transmission and signal processing in the brain and other parts of the nervous system get damaged. 

It may be relevant to mention here the commonplace within the discipline of genetics—that only 2 to 5 percent of the genome is active at any one time, that these inactive areas can be activated by external (i.e., extracellular) factors such as hormones, and that large populations of similar nucleotide sequences exist in the DNA complements of higher organisms. It is possible to speculate on a memory mechanism, based on an interaction of intercalating amines and neural DNA, that would function on principles similar to the intercalator/RNA interaction that may be involved in neural transmission. The remainder of this chapter is concerned with a discussion of such a speculation. 

Neural transmission across the synapse is, however, a result of a complex series of interactions that is far from the one-to-one presynaptic-postsynaptic neuron and many neurons can converge on a postsynaptic neuron. 

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