神经生物学

Dopaminergic neuronal systems constitute the principal catecholamine systems of the striatum of the brain (Carlsson, 1959) and the Inner retina (Haggendal and Malmfors, 1965). In both of these regions dopamine (DA) appears to function mainly as an inhibitory neurotransmitter (Conn ...

GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) receptors are among the most ubiquitous in the brain, having been identified (neurophysiologitally) in all regions and at all levels (e.g., Iversen, 1978). All neuronal cells respond to the iontophoretic application of GABA, usually with a decrease in firing rate ...

The dicarboxylic amino acids L-glutamate (Glu) and L-aspartate (Asp) are found throughout the mammalian central nervous system. Although it was initially believed that these amino acids participated solely in the metabolic activities of the brain, evidence that Glu and Asp are excitat ...

In the central nervous system (CNS), modulation of neuronal activity is brought about by the actions of endogenous “neurotransmitters” that specifically interact with receptor proteins located in the neuronal cell membrane. In the cholinergic system, acetylcholine is the primary ...

The increasing availability over the past 20 yr of biologically active radiolabeled compounds of high-specific activity has enabled investigators to label and quantitatively assay the receptor (recognition) sites that are thought to mediate the agonistic or antagonistic effe ...

The study of genes that are expressed only, or with unique effects, in the nervous system has become important from both a molecular biological and a clinical perspective. From knowledge of the structure of a gene and its exons, it is possible to identify

This chapter is concerned with the question, “Now that I’ve isolated a cDNA clone, what do I do with it?” The discussion is directed particularly at the analysis of clones of mRNAs encoding proteins of unknown identity that have been selected by procedures such as subtractive hybridization (see ch ...

The focus of this chapter is on human gene mapping, but in principle, the information applies to mapping in other mammals, including other primates and rodents. Gene mapping is the discipline that assigns genes to chromosomes and parts of chromosomes. There has been recent rapid progress in mapp ...

Reports of the mapping and cloning of genes appear regularly in the major newspapers and lay magazines. The catalog of mapped and cloned human genes is being produced biannually as the report of the Human Gene Mapping workshops. In the latest report (McAlpine et al., 1988 14), over 1200 genes were listed, ...

The introduction of cloned genes into cells has greatly increased our knowledge of the factors that regulate the transcription of these genes and of the function of the proteins that they encode. Recently, techniques have been developed that allow the incorporation of cloned genes into the ge ...

Retrovirus vectors are extremely versatile tools that have been used in a wide range of systems. They have recently been employed in studies of developmental neurobiology and show great promise for future work in the neurosciences . Although several features contribute to the popularity ...

The past decade has witnessed an ever-increasing understanding of the involvement of peptides in diverse physiological functions, including the perception of pain, regulation of the enteric and autonomic nervous systems, body temperature control, and memory retention. Over the s ...

Glycosylation is one of the most common covalent modifications of proteins. It is not normally a reversible phenomenon and does not play a role in regulation of protein activity. Both glycoproteins and glycolipids are especially abundant in the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells where the ...

Electrophysiological studies of the brain in mammals have made extensive use of immobilized preparations. Experimental animals are commonly anesthetized or immobilized by curare or by section of the brain stem (cerveau isol�) (Bremer, 1935) or spinal cord at level CI (enc�phale isol�) (B ...

Although central manipulations with electrical and chemical stimulation techniques are invaluable for investigating mechanisms of brain function, the use of this approach is often criticized for the “nonphysiological” nature of such interventions. This criticism mainly a ...

Identifying receptors associated with complex neuronal processes such as arousal, attention, and pain sensation is dependent on techniques for probing the consequences of transmitter release and receptor activation in vivo.However, over the last 15 yr there has been shift in focus to ...

Neural transplantation is a surgical technique that has widespread applications in modern neurobiology. Although there have been sporadic attempts at transplanting neural tissues into the brains of adult mammals since the late nineteenth century, the conditions for achieving r ...

Animal models of psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression attempt to represent some aspect of the etiology, symptomatology, or treatment of these disorders, in order to facilitate their scientific study (Treit, 1994; Mineka, 1985; Marks, 1987; Willner, 1994). Within this bro ...

Of primary concern to an investigator of neurological disorders is that of the selection of the most relevant animal model to achieve his or her research goals. According to Kornetsky (1977), three different types of animal models are typically used in medical research. Homologous models are t ...

Drugs of abuse are remarkable in that they are capable of exerting powerful and persistent control over behavior. As such, it is not surprising that the distribution, acquisition, and consumption of drugs of abuse continues to pose a major social, economic, and medical problem affecting incre ...