NMDA receptors are important for synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). To help investigate the precise location of the NMDA receptors that are required for different types of synaptic plasticity, we synthesized a caged form of the use-dependent NMDA receptor antagonist MK801, which we loaded into individual neurons in vitro, followed by comp...

The first-episode of psychosis is followed by a transient time-window of ca. 60 days during which therapeutic interventions have a higher likelihood of being effective than interventions that are started with a greater latency. This suggests that, in the immediate time-period after first-episode psychosis, functional changes occur in the brain that render it increasingly resistant to interventi...

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is a recently discovered peptide shown to be involved in regulating arousal and anxiety. NPS receptor (NPSR) mRNA is expressed significantly in the major input and output regions of hippocampal formation, which are critical in the modulation of learning and memory. However, the role of NPS/NPSR system in regulating of learning and memory is still unknown. Here, we use the M...

PURPOSE Glutamate receptor activation-induced excitotoxicity has been hypothesized to cause retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death in glaucoma and to link mitochondrial dysfunction in both acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. However, the relationships among elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), glutamate receptor-mediated excitotoxicity, and mitochondrial dysfunction in glaucoma remains un...

BACKGROUND Pregabalin has shown remarkable antinociceptive effects in neuropathic pain; however, its efficacy against acute and visceral pain remained controversial. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed at investigating the involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the antinociceptive effect of pregabalin in both acute and visceral pain using and comparing hot plate test and writh...

Systemic exposure to N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists can lead to psychosis and prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent behavioral impairments. Agonists of metabotropic glutamate 2/3 (mGlu2/3) receptors ameliorate the adverse behavioral effects of NMDA antagonists in humans and laboratory animals, and are being considered as a novel treatment for some symptoms of schizophrenia. Despit...

Psychosis is accompanied by severe attentional deficits, and impairments in associational-memory processing and sensory information processing that are ascribed to dysfunctions in prefrontal and hippocampal function. Disruptions of glutamatergic signaling may underlie these alterations: Antagonism of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) results in similar molecular, cellular, cognitive and...

Osteoarthritis is currently one of the most common chronic diseases. As life expectancy increases, its prevalence and incidence are expected to rise. At present, more evidences prove correlation between complement system osteoarthritis (OA). This study aims investigate C5's influence on effect MK801 synovial fibroblasts (OA-SFs). We used IL-1b induce OA-SFs derived from mice obtain OA-SFs. And ...

This study examined the influence of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) on the modulation of related spinal signaling after electroacupuncture (EA) treatment in normal rats. Bilateral 2 Hz EA stimulations (1-2-3.0 mA) were delivered at acupoints corresponding to Zusanli (ST36) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) in men for 30 min. Thermal sensitization was strongly inhibited by EA, but this analgesia w...