The absolute density of neurotransmitter receptors in the brain

Neuronal activity is critical for synaptogenesis and the development of neuronal networks. In the immature brain excitation predominates over inhibition facilitating the development of normal brain circuits, but also rendering it more susceptible to seizures. In this paper, we review the evolution of the subunit composition of neurotransmitter receptors during development, how it promotes excitation in the immature brain, and how this subunit composition of neurotransmission receptors may be also present in the epileptic brain. During normal brain development, excitatory glutamate receptors peak in function and gamma-aminobutiric acid (GABA) receptors are mainly excitatory rather than inhibitory. A growing body of evidence from animal models of epilepsy and status epilepticus has demonstrated that the brain exposed to repeated seizures presents a subunit composition of neurotransmitter receptors that mirrors that of the immature brain and promotes further seizures and epileptogenesis. Studies performed in samples from the epileptic human brain have also found a subunit composition pattern of neurotransmitter receptors similar to the one found in the immature brain. These findings provide a solid rationale for tailoring antiepileptic treatments to the specific subunit composition of neurotransmitter receptors and they provide potential targets for the development of antiepileptogenic treatments.

Download Full-text

Does the Brain "Remember" the Absolute Blood Pressure?

Physiology ◽

10.1152/physiologyonline.1987.2.1.10 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 10-13

Author(s):

PK Dorward ◽

PI Korner

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Absolute Pressure ◽

Good Information ◽

Absolute Level ◽

Arterial Baroreceptors ◽

Resting Blood Pressure ◽

Baroreceptor Reflexes ◽

Sustained Change ◽

The Absolute ◽

The Brain

A sustained change in resting blood pressure causes the threshold of arterial baroreceptors to shift rapidly, within 20-30 s, in the same direction. This greatly enhances the compensation for disturbances that cause small to moderate changes in blood pressure. A corollary of rapid resetting is ambiguity about the absolute level of blood pressure. Arterial baroreceptor reflexes are good at responding to changes in blood pressure, but they do not provide good information about absolute pressure.

Download Full-text

Estimation of the Absolute Density of Glass Following the Sink/Float Technique

Journal of Forensic Sciences ◽

10.1520/jfs12329j ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 12329J ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David Kahane ◽

John I. Thornton

Keyword(s):

Absolute Density ◽

The Absolute

Download Full-text

Enzyme blockade: a nonradioactive method to determine the absolute rate of cholesterol synthesis in the brain

The Journal of Lipid Research ◽

10.1194/jlr.d400007-jlr200 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 45 (10) ◽

pp. 1952-1957 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

R. Kennedy Keller ◽

Michael Small ◽

Steven J. Fliesler

Keyword(s):

Cholesterol Synthesis ◽

Absolute Rate ◽

The Absolute ◽

The Brain

Download Full-text

Provisional Measures With Regard to El Salvador in the Matter of B (INTER-AM. CT. H.R.)

International Legal Materials ◽

10.5305/intelegamate.52.6.1285 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 52 (6) ◽

pp. 1285-1299

Author(s):

Lisl Brunner

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

El Salvador ◽

Young Woman ◽

Major Part ◽

The State ◽

Personal Integrity ◽

Irreparable Harm ◽

The Absolute ◽

The Brain

On May 29, 2013, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Court) issued its first pronouncement on abortion in the context of an order for provisional measures against El Salvador. The beneficiary was a young woman known as “B,” who suffered from lupus and whose fetus was determined to have anencephaly, a condition in which a major part of the brain is absent. The absolute criminalization of abortion in El Salvador prevented her doctors from terminating the pregnancy in order to protect her health, leading the Court to require the State to adopt the necessary measures in order for B’s doctors to perform the procedures they considered “opportune and desirable” to avoid irreparable harm to her rights to life, personal integrity and health.

Download Full-text