Neuropharmacology
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The GluN2B subunit of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) is an attractive drug target for therapeutic intervention in Parkinson's disease (PD). We have used whole-cell patch clamp recordings in brain slices to examine the contribution of GluN2B and GluN2D to functional NMDARs in the striatum of the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned mouse model of PD. We found that current/voltage relationships of NMDAR-mediated excitatory post synaptic currents were altered in a population of medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs) in the dopamine-depleted striatum. ⋯ In cholinergic interneurons from the intact striatum and control mice, both GluN2B and GluN2D contribute to functional NMDARs. The functions of GluN2D, and to some extent GluN2B, are reduced in the dopamine-depleted striatum. Our findings demonstrate a cell-type specific reorganization of GluN2B and GluN2D in a mouse model of PD and suggest GluN2D as a potential target for the management of the disease.
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Etifoxine (EFX) is a non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic which potentiate GABAA receptor (GABAAR) function directly or indirectly via the production of 3α-reduced neurosteroids. The later effect is now recognized to account for the long-term reduction of pain symptoms in various neuropathic and inflammatory pain models. In the present study, we characterized the acute antinociceptive properties of EFX during spinal pain processing in naive and monoarthritic rats using in vivo electrophysiology. ⋯ In good agreement, mechanical nociceptive thresholds were also significantly increased following an acute intrathecal injection of EFX. The acute modulatory properties of EFX on spinal pain processing were never seen in the simultaneous presence of bicuculline. This result further confirmed EFX antinociception to result from the potentiation of spinal GABAA receptor function.
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The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is a promising drug target for a number of neurological disorders including chronic pain and inflammatory diseases. Since α7 can function as a ligand-gated ion channel, drug development initially focused on ligands that were selective activators of the α7 ion channel. However, the best α7 drugs for chronic pain and inflammation indications may not be ion channel activators but rather "silent agonists", which bind to the receptor but preferentially induce non-conducting states that modulate signal transduction in non-neuronal cells. ⋯ The antinociceptive activity of NS6740 in these models was α7-dependent. In addition, NS6740 administration reversed pain-induced aversion, an important affective component of pain. The time and concentration dependence of the effects were consistent with NS6740 induction of PAM-insensitive non-conducting states, suggesting that signal transduction required for analgesia is accomplished by α7 receptors in that conformation.
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Serotonin2A (5-HT2A) receptors are highly expressed in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca complex (MS-DB), especially in parvalbumin (PV)-positive neurons linked to hippocampal theta rhythm, which is involved in cognition. Cognitive impairments commonly occur in Parkinson's disease. Here we performed behavioral, electrophysiological, neurochemical and immunohistochemical studies in rats with complete unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) to assess the importance of dopamine (DA) depletion and MS-DB 5-HT2A receptors for working memory. ⋯ Intra-MS-DB injection of high affinity 5-HT2A receptor agonist TCB-2 enhanced working memory, increased firing rate of PV-positive neurons and peak frequency of hippocampal theta rhythm, elevated DA levels in the hippocampus and mPFC, and decreased 5-HT level in the hippocampus in control and lesioned rats. Compared to control rats, the duration of the excitatory effect produced by TCB-2 on the firing rate of PV-positive neurons was markedly shortened in lesioned rats, indicating dysfunction of 5-HT2A receptors. These findings suggest that unilateral lesions of the MFB in rats induced working memory deficit, and activation of MS-DB 5-HT2A receptors enhanced working memory, which may be due to changes in the activity of septohippocampal network and monoamine levels in the hippocampus and mPFC.
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Conditioned defeat is a model in Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in which normal territorial aggression is replaced by increased submissive and defensive behavior following acute social defeat. The conditioned defeat response involves both a fear-related memory for a specific opponent as well as anxiety-like behavior indicated by avoidance of novel conspecifics. We have previously shown that systemic injection of a 5-HT2a receptor antagonist reduces the acquisition of conditioned defeat. ⋯ We found that injection of MDL 11,939 into the BLA impaired acquisition of the conditioned defeat response and blocked defeat-induced anxiety in the open field, but did not significantly impair avoidance of former opponents in the Y-maze. Furthermore, we found that injection of TCB-2 into the BLA increased the acquisition of conditioned defeat and increased anxiety-like behavior in the open field, but did not alter avoidance of former opponents. Our data suggest that 5-HT2a receptor signaling in the BLA is both necessary and sufficient for the development of conditioned defeat, likely via modulation of defeat-induced anxiety.