Chronic alcohol consumption may result in sustained gene expression alterations in the brain, leading to alcohol abuse or dependence. Because of ethical concerns of using live human brain cells in research, this hypothesis cannot be tested directly in live human brains. In the present study, we used human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived cortical neurons as in vitro cellular models to investi...

Social deficits are a hallmark feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related developmental syndromes. Although there is no standard treatment for social dysfunction, clinical studies have identified oxytocin as a potential therapeutic with prosocial efficacy. We have previously reported that peripheral oxytocin treatment can increase sociability and ameliorate repetitive stereotypy in a...

Investigators from Yokohama City University and other medical centers in Israel and Japan reported mutations on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors subunit GRIN1 (GluN1) identified in patients with nonsyndromic intellectual disability and early-onset epileptic encephalopathy.

introduction: using addictive drugs can change the amount of neurotransmitters, especially dopamine and glutamate. glutamate has been known to trigger the relapse and tendency toward addictive drugs. the glutamate receptor ionotropic nmda type subunit 1 (grin1) contains the single- nucleotide polymorphism c1001g (rs11146020) and encodes n-methyl-d-aspartic acid (ndma) receptor subunit 1 (nr1). ...

Stress can induce structural changes in the brain and contribute to a variety of chronic diseases from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression. The hippocampus is a highly plastic brain region particularly susceptible to the effects of environmental stress. A genomic stress response partly consists in changes in insertion activity of transposable elements. Retrotransposons account for ~45%...

Early life neglect increases risk for the development of psychopathologies during childhood and adulthood, including depression and anxiety disorders. We recently reported epigenetic changes in DNA derived from saliva in three genes predicted depression in a cohort of maltreated children: DNA-binding protein inhibitor ID-3 (ID3), Glutamate NMDA Receptor (GRIN1), and Tubulin Polymerization Promo...