Excitatory amino acids (EAA) are thought to mediate their actions through at least five receptor subtypes. Four of these types appear to gate ion channels and have been named for agonists by which they are selectively activated: N-methyl-Daspartate (NMDA), kainate, a-amino-3-hydroxy5-methyl isoxazole-4-propionlc acid (AMPA), quisqualate and 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (AP4). There is now compel...

Carbon monoxide has been shown to act as a neurotransmitter and neuronal messenger in the brain. Heme oxygenase catalyzes the conversion of heme to carbon monoxide and biliverdin. We have recently reported that carbon monoxide was involved in central cardiovascular regulation. Carbon monoxide modulated the baroreflex and may affect glutamatergic neurotransmission. In addition, metabotropic glut...

GABAergic transmission in the avian cochlear nucleus magnocellularis (NM) of the chick is subject to modulation by gamma-aminobutyric acid type B (GABA(B)) autoreceptors. Here, I investigated modulation of GABAergic transmission in NM by metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) with whole cell recordings in brain slice preparations. I found that tACPD, a nonspecific mGluR agonist, exerted dose...

Retinal dopaminergic amacrine neurons (DA neurons) play a central role in reconfiguring retinal function according to prevailing illumination conditions, yet the mechanisms by which light regulates their activity are poorly understood. We investigated the means by which sustained light responses are evoked in DA neurons. Sustained light responses were driven by cationic currents and persisted i...

The metabotropic glutamate receptors are coupled to intracellular signal transduction via G-proteins and consist of a family of at least five different subtypes, termed mGluR1-mGluR5. We studied the signal transduction mechanism and pharmacological characteristics of the rat mGluR3 and mGluR4 subtypes in Chinese hamster ovary cells permanently expressing the cloned receptors. Both mGluR3 and mG...