Publications by authors named "M Udawela"
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how the absence of ovarian hormones affects muscarinic receptor function and prepulse inhibition (PPI), a measure linked to schizophrenia, using ovariectomized and sham-operated female rats.
- - PPI tests showed no significant differences between the two groups after treatments with saline or scopolamine, indicating that ovarian hormone removal did not affect sensorimotor gating.
- - Additionally, analysis of muscarinic receptor density in various brain regions (like the amygdala and hippocampus) revealed no group differences, suggesting that ovarian hormones do not play a crucial role in the cholinergic muscarinic receptor system regarding PPI.
Excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT)1 and EAAT2 mediate glutamatergic neurotransmission and prevent excitotoxicity through binding and transportation of glutamate into glia. These EAATs may be regulated by metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), which is also expressed by glia. Whilst we have data from an Affymetrix™ Human Exon 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mood disorders likely occur in someone with a genetic predisposition who encounters a deleterious environmental factor leading to dysregulated physiological processes due to genetic mutations and epigenetic mechanisms altering gene expression. To gain data to support this hypothesis, we measured levels of gene expression in three cortical regions known to be affected by the pathophysiologies of major depression and bipolar disorders.
Methods: Levels of RNA were measured using the Affymetrix™ Human Exon 1.
Article Synopsis
- ATPase Type 13A4 (ATP13A4) is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and was found to have increased mRNA levels in Brodmann's area (BA) 9 in schizophrenia patients compared to controls.
- A study further investigated ATP13A4 expression in other affected brain regions (BA 44 and BA 8) using quantitative PCR, revealing a significant 2.6-fold increase in BA 44 of schizophrenia subjects, while BA 8 showed inconclusive results.
- The findings suggest that ATP13A4 plays a role in schizophrenia's pathophysiology, contrasting with genetic studies that identify ATP13A4 gene deletions in these patients, indicating a need for more research to explore