Neurotransmitters developing brain

Hsu LL, Adams PM, Fanini D, et al. 1985. Ethylene dibromide Effects of paternal exposure on the neurotransmitter enzymes in the developing brain of FI progeny. Mutat Res 147 197-203. 

J.M. Bell, W.L. Whitmore, T. Cowdery and T.A. Slotkin, Perinatal dietary supplementation with a soy lecithin preparation Effects on development of central catecholaminergic neurotransmitter systems, Brain Res. Bull. 17(2) (1986) 189-195. 

Johnston MV (1995) Neurotransmitters and vulnerability of the developing brain. Brain Dev 77 301-306. 

The principal agent responsible for these effects is A -tetrahydrocannabinol (A -THC), the major psychoactive component of Cannabis sativa. /1 -THC can interfere, not only with the activity of classical neurotransmitters but also with the activity of the endogenous cannabinoid system itself. Different studies support a role for this system in brain development and maturation, and several of its components have been characterized (receptors, endogenous ligands, and metabolism pathways). The effects of /1 -THC were caused by the activation of cannabinoid receptors, which emerge early in the developing brain (Ferndndez-Ruiz et al. 1992, 1994,1996,1999, 2000). 

Navarro, H. A., Seidlcr, F. J., Eylers, J. P Baker, F. F., Dobbins, S. S.. Fappi, S. E., and Slotkin, T. A. (1989). ElTccts of prenatal nicotine exposure on development of ecniral and peripheral cholinergic neurotransmitter systems. Evidence for cholinergic trophic inllucnccs in developing brain. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 251, 894-900. 

The mechanisms by which lead damages the developing brain probably involve multiple molecular, biochemical and cellular processes, including neurotransmitter release, second messenger signaling pathways, immediate-early and delayed gene expression, and neural network plasticity (Minnema et al 1986 Dressier et al 1999 Kim et al., 2000 Wilson et al 2000). 

Central sensitization describes changes that occur in the central nervous system in response to repeated nerve stimulation. Following repeated stimulation, levels of neurotransmitters and brain electrical signals change as neurons develop a memory for responding to those signals. Frequent stimulation results in a stronger brain memory, so that the brain will respond... 

Zhang MY, Hughes ZA, Kerns EH, Lin Q, Beyer CE. Development of a liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitation of acetylcholine and related neurotransmitters in brain microdialysis samples. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2007 44 586-93. 

The pharmacodynamic effects of ethanol are complex, and any attempt to link its actions to specific neurotransmitters or isolated brain regions is simplistic. A complicated neural network involved in the actions of ethanol accounts for its reinforcing, intoxicating, and abstinence effects. At the present time, use of medications that target neurotransmitters and neuromodulators affected by ethanol represents a reasonable strategy for the development of pharmacotherapies that reduce the reinforcing effects of alcohol and the craving and withdrawal symptoms that commonly occur in the context of alcohol dependence. 

These approaches to receptor identification and classification were, of course, pioneered by studies with peripheral systems and isolated tissues. They are more difficult to apply to the CNS, especially in in vivo experiments, where responses depend on a complex set of interacting systems and the actual drug concentration at the receptors of interest is rarely known. However, the development of in vitro preparations (acute brain slices, organotypic brain slice cultures, tissue-cultured neurons and acutely dissociated neuronal and glial cell preparations) has allowed more quantitative pharmacological techniques to be applied to the action of drugs at neurotransmitter receptors while the development of new recording methods such as patch-clamp... 

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