BACKGROUND In addition to their original applications to lowering cholesterol, statins display multiple neuroprotective effects. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors interact closely with the dopaminergic system and are strongly implicated in therapeutic paradigms of Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aims to investigate how simvastatin impacts on experimental parkinsonian models via regulat...

It has recently been discovered that some forms of timing-dependent long-term depression (t-LTD) require presynaptic N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. In this review, we discuss the evidence for the presence of presynaptic NMDA receptors at cortical synapses and their possible role in the induction of t-LTD. Two basic models emerge for the induction of t-LTD at cortical synapses. In one mo...

BACKGROUND Inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors by anesthetic gases and vapors may play an important role in anesthesia and neuroprotection. However, the site of action of these agents on the NMDA receptor is unknown. The authors show that xenon and isoflurane compete for the binding of the coagonist glycine on the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit. METHODS Using a novel application of...

The NMDA receptor is an important subtype glutamate receptor that acts as a nonselective cation channel highly permeable to both calcium (Ca2+) and sodium (Na+). The activation of NMDA receptors produces prolonged increases of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and thereby triggers downstream signaling pathways involved in the regulation of many physiological and pathophysiological proc...

In rat dorsal horn, little is known about the properties of synaptic NMDA receptors during the first two postnatal weeks, a period of intense synaptogenesis. Using transverse spinal cord slices from postnatal day 0-15 rats, we show that 20% of glutamatergic synapses tested at low-stimulation intensity in spinal cord laminae I and II were mediated exclusively by NMDA receptors. Essentially all o...

The striatum is the major input region of the basal ganglia, playing a pivotal role in the selection, initiation, and coordination of movement both physiologically and in pathophysiological situations such as Parkinson's disease. In the present study, we characterize interactions between NMDA receptors, adenosine receptors, and cAMP signaling within the striatum. Both NMDA (100 micrometer) and ...

Changes in synaptic strength mediated by ionotropic glutamate N-methyl-D-asparate (NMDA) receptors is generally considered to be the molecular mechanism underlying memory and learning. NMDA receptors themselves are subject to regulation through signaling pathways that are activated by G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this study we investigate the ability of NMDA receptors to regulate the...

A role of NMDA receptors in corticostriatal synaptic plasticity is widely acknowledged. However, the conditions that allow NMDA receptor activation in the striatum in vivo remain obscure. Here we show that NMDA receptors contribute to sustain the membrane potential of striatal medium spiny projection neurons close to threshold during spontaneous UP states in vivo. Moreover, we found that the bl...

The aim of the present work was to assess the effects of activation of NMDA receptors in rat brain in vivo on calcium homeostasis in isolated non-synaptic brain mitochondria. We have shown recently that acute intoxication with large doses of ammonia leads to activation of NMDA receptors in rat brain in vivo. In the present work we injected rats with ammonium acetate to activate NMDA receptors i...

BACKGROUND NMDA receptors expressed by spinal cord neurons in the superficial dorsal horn are involved in the development of chronic pain associated with inflammation and nerve injury. The superficial dorsal horn has a complex and still poorly understood circuitry that is mainly populated by inhibitory and excitatory interneurons. Little is known about how NMDA receptor subunit composition, and...