Key to mental health in the community
Ben Y.F. Fong, Martin C.S. Wong in The Routledge Handbook of Public Health and the Community, 2021
The increasing global prevalence of mental disorders demands for more psychiatric and psychotherapeutic help. The latest science enables scientists to understand the brain function partially. They have found that mental disorder is related to dysregulation of neurotransmitters which are currently not measurable and non-quantifiable. A director of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda has said that ‘We just don’t know enough’. Likewise, health professionals do not know enough about the complex brain, and so it is difficult to develop new treatments for mental conditions. The roots of mental disorders are yet to be uncovered comprehensively (Miller, 2012).
Programmed Cell Death: The Biology of Cell Death in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and Implications for the Understanding and Treatment of Human Brain Injury after Cardiac Surgery
Richard A. Jonas, Jane W. Newburger, Joseph J. Volpe, John W. Kirklin in Brain Injury and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, 2019
C. elegans is a free-living nonparasitic nematode.4 There are two sexes: male and hermaphrodite, the latter of which makes both sperm and eggs and is capable of reproducing either by self-fertilization or by mating with males. These animals are cellularly very simple. For example, the adult hermaphrodite contains a total of 959 cells, 302 of which are neurons. The complete connectivity of the nervous system has been determined by the analysis of serial-section electron micrographs. The neurotransmitters in this nervous system have also been characterized, and about 40% of the 302 neurons now have defined neural transmitters associated with them. These neurotransmitters are familiar and include acetylcholine, serotonin, octopamine, dopamine, and GABA. The cell lineage of C. elegans, which describes the pattern of cell divisions and cell fates that occur as the single-celled egg generates the 959-celled adult, has also been determined in its entirety.
Exercise, neurotransmission and neurotrophic factors
Romain Meeusen, Sabine Schaefer, Phillip Tomporowski, Richard Bailey in Physical Activity and Educational Achievement, 2017
Neurotransmitters govern the communication between neurons in different brain regions and neuronal pathways. Generally speaking, nerve cells in the brain are firing all the time, giving a massive ‘background noise’. Probably none of the neurons in the brain are exposed only to excitation, and certainly no nerve cells are affected solely by inhibitory signals. Most brain functions such as learning, memory, cognition, control of movement and other mechanisms need the interaction of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators. In order to establish new memories and to encode, store and retrieve memories, cross-talk between several brain structures such as the hippocampus and interplay between several neurotransmitters and neuromodulators are important (Taylor et al., 2016). Understanding the function of various neurotransmitters and neuromodulators helps in understanding their role during whole-body exercise, fatigue, learning and memory.
Jing-an oral liquid alleviates Tourette syndrome via the NMDAR/MAPK/CREB pathway in vivo and in vitro
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2022
Leying Xi, Xixi Ji, Wenxiu Ji, Yue’e Yang, Yajie Zhang, Hongyan Long
Tourette syndrome (TS) is the most common mental and motor disorder in children. Its clinical manifestations are multiple motor and phonic tics, often accompanied by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), some of which can continue into adulthood (Szejko et al. 2020). Studies have shown that the incidence of TS is 0.4–3.8% internationally and this rate increases annually (Robertson 2008a, 2008b). For the treatment of TS, the first preference should be given to psychoeducation and to behavioural approaches. The pharmacological interventions include aripiprazole, haloperidol, tiapride, clonidine, and guanfacine. The aetiology and pathogenesis of TS are complex and still unclear. There has been an increasing interest in neurotransmitter imbalance in current research. It has been reported that TS is associated with an imbalance in the levels of amino acid neurotransmitters in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortex (CSTC) loop (Albin and Mink 2006). For example, the levels of glutamate (Glu) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the CSTC loop were increased and related to improved selective motor inhibition in children with TS in a previous study (Mahone et al. 2018). Additionally, it has been shown that Glu release in the CSTC loop is directly associated with tic disorder behaviour in D1CT-7 mice (TS transgenic model) (O'Brien et al. 2018).
Himalayan poisonous plants for traditional healings and protection from viral attack: a comprehensive review
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Shriya Pathania, Diksha Pathania, Priyanka Chauhan, Mamta Sharma
The neuroactive alkaloids can function as an agonist which excites a neuroreceptor or can function as an antagonist which blocks a certain neuroreceptor. Receptors on neuron cells are another major target for most alkaloids. These structurally resemble endogenous neurotransmitters such as glutamate, dopamine, acetylcholine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline (Mutschler et al. 2008). A few alkaloids repress the catalysts that separate synapses, like cholinesterase and monoamine oxidase. Neurotoxins also affect significant ion channel of neuronal cells, which includes Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels, whichever by activating or inactivating them eternally. This activity stops neuronal signal transduction and blocks the activity of the nervous system and neuromuscular. The sodium, potassium ion ATPase is a significant ion pump in neuronal and other cells to keep an ion gradient important for action potentials and transport mechanisms (Wink 2000).
Cannabidiol use among patients with substance use disorders
Published in Journal of Substance Use, 2022
Patrik Roser, Benedikt Habermeyer, Norbert Scherbaum, Barbara Lay
CBD’s main mode of action is the inhibition of endocannabinoid signaling through negative allosteric modulation of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) and, thereby, alteration of the potency of other primary CB1R ligands, such as THC or endocannabinoids (Laprairie et al., 2015). Apart from that, it has also been found to regulate the activity of mesolimbic dopamine, the major neurotransmitter that drives motivation, reward, and addiction, and to attenuate substance-induced dysregulation of the mesolimbic circuitry (Ren et al., 2009; Renard et al., 2016). In this regard, CBD appears to be a promising treatment option for substance use disorders (SUD) by reducing craving, withdrawal, and relapse of multiple substances, including nicotine, alcohol, opioids, and cannabis (Chye et al., 2019; Fernández-Ruiz et al., 2020), even though a recent randomized controlled trial could not demonstrate any reduction of craving or relapse in individuals with cocaine use disorder treated with CBD in comparison to placebo (Mongeau-Pérusse et al., 2021).