Magnesium is necessary for the presynaptic release of acetylcholine from nerve endings and may produce effects similar to calciumentry-blocking drugs [1]. With the discovery of the N-methylD-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and its links to nociceptive pain transmission and central sensitization, there has been renewed interest in utilizing noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonists, as potential antihy...

Primary gustatory afferents from the oropharynx of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, terminate in the vagal lobe, a laminated structure in the dorsal medulla comparable to the gustatory portion of the nucleus of the solitary tract in mammals. We utilized an in vitro brain slice preparation to test the role of different ionotropic glutamate receptor subtypes in synaptic transmission of gustatory ...

Depression is a psychiatric disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Individuals battling this disorder commonly experience high rates of relapse, persistent residual symptoms, functional impairment, and diminished well-being. Medications have important utility in stabilizing moods and daily functions of many individuals. However, only one third of patients had considerable improveme...

The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptor mediates fast excitatory neurotransmission, and agents that attenuate this function are neuroprotective, anesthetic, and psychotropic. To determine whether cAMP regulatable transcription factors play a role in the neurochemical actions of agents acting through NMDA receptors, the effects of the acute administration of uncompetitive a...

L-Homocysteic acid (HCA), an endogenous excitatory amino acid in the mammalian CNS, potently activates N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in hippocampal neurons. However, the responses to HCA in Purkinje cells, which lack functional NMDA receptors, have been largely unexplored: HCA may activate conventional non-NMDA receptors by its mixed agonistic action on both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors,...

Uncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists, such as dizocilpine (MK-801) and memantine, bind to the NMDA receptor channel, and block Ca influx. The increase in intracellular concentration of second messengers, such as Ca and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), activate the transcription of certain genes. This process is controlled by cAMP response element binding protein ...