We used positron emission tomography and [11C]flumazenil to analyze the benzodiazepine receptor binding in symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the Huntington's disease gene. We found an inverse relationship between [11C]flumazenil and [11C]raclopride binding in the putamen of symptomatic patients, and interpret this result as GABA receptor upregulation.
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Pharmacol Ther
January 2025
Research Center of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Aging Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. Electronic address:
While benzodiazepines have been a mainstay of the pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders, their short-term efficacy and risk of abuse have driven the exploration of alternative treatment approaches. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has emerged as a key modulator of anxiety-related processes, with evidence suggesting dynamic interactions between the eCB system and the GABAergic system, the primary target of benzodiazepines. According to the existing literature, the activation of the cannabinoid receptors has been shown to exert anxiolytic effects, while their blockade or genetic deletion results in heightened anxiety-like responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuromolecular Med
January 2025
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, India.
Hypoxia is a significant stressor, and stabilized hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) regulates the expression of numerous genes, leading to various biochemical, molecular, physiological and genomic changes. The body's oxygen-sensing system activates gene expression to protect brain tissues from hypoxia. Gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, regulates brain excitability during hypoxia through the activation of HIF-1 α.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacol Res
January 2025
Center for Brain Research, Department of Molecular Neurosciences, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:
α6-containing GABA receptors (α6GABARs) are strongly expressed in cerebellar granule cells and are of central importance for cerebellar functions. The cerebellum not only is involved in regulation of motor activity, but also in regulation of thought, cognition, emotion, language, and social behavior. Activation of α6GABARs enhances the precision of sensory inputs, enables rapid and coordinated movement and adequate responses to the environment, and protects the brain from information overflow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Neurosci
January 2025
The Key Laboratory of Anesthesia and Organ Protection, The Key Laboratory of Brain Science, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
Background: The ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) is a crucial regulator of sleep, and its neurons are implicated in both sleep-wake regulation and anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness. Propofol (PRO), a widely used intravenous anesthetic, modulates the activity of VLPO neurons, but the underlying mechanisms, particularly the role of dopaminergic receptors, remain unclear.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of PRO on NA (-) neurons in the VLPO and to determine the involvement of D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptors in mediating these effects.
Nature
January 2025
Department of Neurobiology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Type A GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) receptors (GABA receptors) mediate most fast inhibitory signalling in the brain and are targets for drugs that treat epilepsy, anxiety, depression and insomnia and for anaesthetics. These receptors comprise a complex array of 19 related subunits, which form pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. The composition and structure of native GABA receptors in the human brain have been inferred from subunit localization in tissue, functional measurements and structural analysis from recombinant expression and in mice.
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