NMDA receptor stimulation requires binding of a 'co-agonist' and the neurotransmitter glutamate at separate sites. Are ligands for the co-agonist site liberated by glia, following activation of glial glutamate receptors?

introduction: it has been shown that administration of win55,212-2, a cannabinoid receptor agonist, into the basolateral amygdala (bla), dose-dependently increases the thermal latency to withdrawal in the tail-.ick test and decreases pain related behaviors in both phases of the formalin test. recent human and animal imaging data suggest that the nucleus accumbens (nac) is an important neural su...

The study was designed to investigate the effects of NMDA receptor agonist on the behavioral activity in rats with experimental diabetes mellitus (DM). Experimental diabetes was induced by a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin at a dose of 65 mg/kg dissolved in saline. Rats treated with saline (0.9%) served as control. Stimulation of the NMDA glutamatergic receptor was evoked by ip i...

Introduction: It has been shown that administration of WIN55,212-2, a cannabinoid receptor agonist, into the basolateral amygdala (BLA), dose-dependently increases the thermal latency to withdrawal in the tail-.ick test and decreases pain related behaviors in both phases of the formalin test. Recent human and animal imaging data suggest that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an important neural su...

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that microinjection of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) agonist into the nucleus magnocellularis (NMC) of the medial medulla increases muscle tone and/or produces locomotion, while injection of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and non-NMDA agonists into the same or nearby sites suppresses muscle tone. In the first paper of this series, we repo...

We have made patch-clamp recordings from slices of fetal and postnatal rat neocortex in order to study the initial expression and activation of NMDA channels. Recordings from both whole cells and outside-out patches indicated that functional NMDA channels are expressed on neurons within the cortical plate, but not on younger cells within the ventricular zone. The NMDA channels on cortical plate...

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that a dysfunction in the glutamatergic neurotransmission via the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors contributes to the pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases including schizophrenia. The potentiation of NMDA receptor function may be a useful approach for the treatment of diseases associated with NMDA receptor hypofunction. One possible strategy is to incr...

d-Serine has been proposed as an endogenous modulator at the co-agonist glycine-binding site of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. There is still some debate as to whether this site is saturated in vivo, but it seems likely that this depends on regional differences in local glycine or d-serine concentrations. In order to identify areas where the co-agonist site was not fully activated in vi...

The anticonvulsant effects of D-cycloserine, which is a partial agonist of the glycine/N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, and L-701,324, which is a selective and potent antagonist that acts at the glycine site, were studied in electroshock-induced seizures in mice. Glycine, which is a natural full agonist that acts at the glycine site, enhanced the seizure threshold-increasing effect of D-cy...

The neuronal Na+-activated K+ channel Slack (aka Slo2.2, KNa1.1, or Kcnt1) has been implicated in setting and maintaining the resting membrane potential defining excitability firing patterns, as well generation of slow afterhyperpolarization following bursts action potentials. activity increases significantly under conditions high intracellular Na+ levels, suggesting this may exert important pa...