Publications by authors named "Bailey Remmers"
While our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying cocaine and opiate reward has historically been dopamine-focused, evidence from genetic and pharmacological approaches indicates that µ-opioid receptors (MORs) in the striatum are important contributors. Within the striatum, MORs are expressed in both dopamine D1-receptor and D2-receptor expressing GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), as well as in interneurons and various afferents. Thus, it remains unclear how these distinct MOR populations regulate drug reward.
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- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a key role in regulating blood pressure and is found in high levels in the brain's striatal tissue, but its specific functions there are not well understood.
- * Researchers discovered that ACE breaks down the enkephalin peptide Met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe in the nucleus accumbens of mice, influencing opioid receptor activation and affecting glutamate release.
- * Inhibiting ACE did not provide a rewarding experience by itself, but it diminished addiction potential from fentanyl and improved social interaction, suggesting potential benefits for enhancing opioid signaling therapeutically while reducing addiction risks.
Article Synopsis
- During sexual reproduction in ciliates like Tetrahymena thermophila, specialized adhesion zones are formed to allow for the exchange of gametic pronuclei through a membrane called the mating junction.
- The passage of pronuclei through this junction requires microtubules and results in two membrane breaches that need to be sealed post-fertilization.
- Rather than simply growing new membrane from the edges like in other cells, the breaches transform into complex membrane structures that grow into the partner's cytoplasm and connect to the plasma membrane, revealing a unique mechanism for membrane restoration.