Neurobiology 15-BIOL-540 Lecture 11 Winter 2012

Neurotransmitters & their receptors

1st identified neurotransmitter Neuromuscular junctions, cardiac muscle, visceral motor systems

~10,000 per vesicle

5,000 ACh/AChE/Second!

Learning/memory (Alzheimers)

Arousal/sleep-wake cycle

Also: bungarotoxin, erabutoxin,cobra alphaneurotoxin 5 subunits Neuromuscular junction: 2,,, Neuron-neuron: 3,2

Major AChR in CNS, heart, smooth muscle, exocrine glands

Chemical warfare (sarin) Insecticides (DDT)

Sarin

Agonist

Most common excitatory neurotransmitter in CNS. Excitotoxicity.

Current across membrane

Add APV (NMDA antagonist) or GYKI (AMPA antagonist) to show different action of NMDA and AMPA receptors

3 kinds of metabotropic Glutamate receptors. Some excitatory, some inhibitory.

GABA

Major inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS (along with Glycine).

(glucose)

+ pyridoxal phosphate (vitamin B6)

1/3 of synapses in brain use GABA Mostly local circuits

One GABA breakdown product that can mimic GABA is -hydroxybutarate, euphoria, memory deficit, unconsciousness

Ionotropic GABA receptors (A, C) are permeable to ClMetabotropic GABA receptors (B) activate K+ channels

GABA is excitatory in developing nervous systems.

Glycine

O
OH