Neurotransmitter Transporters From The Biophysics Of The Transport Process To Its Implications For Synapse And Circuit Function

A comprehensive survey of recent advances made in characterizing neurotransmitter transporters-including their imaging in the living brain-and in elucidating the processes underlying biological transport. The expert contributors present up-to-date findings on the molecular cloning of transporters and on neurotransmitter families both in plasma membranes and in storage vesicles. They also provide essential information on the structure-activity relationships for a multitude of recently synthesized dopamine uptake blockers, on transporter changes in the context of human drug abuse, and on the role of transporters in the action of uptake blockers in vivo. The book opens the new frontier of transporters research, authoritatively presenting new insights into their roles in such diseases as brain ischemia and ALS, and into their involvement as targets for antidepressants, antiepileptics, drugs of abuse, and neurotoxins.

GABA is the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS and acts via GABAA and GABAB receptors. Recently, a novel form of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition, termed “tonic” inhibition, has been described. Whereas synaptic GABAA receptors underlie classical “phasic” GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition (inhibitory postsynaptic currents), tonic GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition results from the activation of extrasynaptic receptors by low concentrations of ambient GABA. Extrasynaptic GABAA receptors are composed of receptor subunits that convey biophysical properties ideally suited to the generation of persistent inhibition and are pharmacologically and functionally distinct from their synaptic counterparts. This book highlights ongoing work examining the properties of recombinant and native extrasynaptic GABAA receptors and their preferential targeting by endogenous and clinically relevant agents. In addition, it emphasizes the important role of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in GABAergic inhibition throughout the CNS and identifies them as a major player in both physiological and pathophysiological processes.

This book collates the contributions of a selected number of neuroscientists that are interested in the molecular, preclinical, and clinical aspects of neurotransmission research. The seven chapters in this book address the latest research/review data related to GABA/glutamate system's organization and function, the structure of receptors, subtypes and their ligands, as well as the translational approach and clinical implications. The book offers readers a rich collection of data regarding current and future applications of GABA and glutamate neurotransmission, including promising research strategies and potential clinical benefits.

This new, fully revised and expanded edition of Ionic Channels of Excitable Membranes includes new chapters on fast chemical synapses, modulation through G protein coupled receptors and second messenger systems, molecules cloning, site directed mutagenesis, and cell biology. It begins with the classical biophysical work of Hodgkin and Huxley and then weaves a description of the known ionic channels together with their biological functions. The book continues by developing the physical and molecular principles needed for explaining permeation, gating, pharmacological modification, and molecular diversity, and ends with a discussion of channel evolution. Ionic Channels of Excitable Membranes is written to be accessible and interesting to biological and physical scientists of all kinds.

Fundamental Neuroscience, Third Edition introduces graduate and upper-level undergraduate students to the full range of contemporary neuroscience. Addressing instructor and student feedback on the previous edition, all of the chapters are rewritten to make this book more concise and student-friendly than ever before. Each chapter is once again heavily illustrated and provides clinical boxes describing experiments, disorders, and methodological approaches and concepts.Capturing the promise and excitement of this fast-moving field, Fundamental Neuroscience, 3rd Edition is the text that students will be able to reference throughout their neuroscience careers! 30% new material including new chapters on Dendritic Development and Spine Morphogenesis, Chemical Senses, Cerebellum, Eye Movements, Circadian Timing, Sleep and Dreaming, and Consciousness Additional text boxes describing key experiments, disorders, methods, and concepts Multiple model system coverage beyond rats, mice, and monkeys Extensively expanded index for easier referencing

This volume focuses on the modulation of biological membranes by specific biophysical properties. The readers are introduced to emerging biophysical approaches that mimick specific states (like membrane lipid asymmetry, membrane curvature, lipid flip-flop, lipid phase separation) that are relevant to the functioning of biological membranes. The first chapter describes innovative methods to mimic the prevailing asymmetry in biological membranes by forming asymmetrical membranes made of monolayers with different compositions. One of the chapters illustrates how physical parameters, like curvature and elasticity, can affect and modulate the interactions between lipids and proteins. This volume also describes the sensitivity of certain ion channels to mechanical forces and it presents an analysis of how cell shape is determined by both the cytoskeleton and the lipid domains in the membrane. The last chapter provides evidence that liposomes can be used as a minimal cellular model to reconstitute processes related to the origin of life. Each topic covered in this volume is presented by leading experts in the field who are able to present clear, authoritative and up-to-date reviews. The novelty of the methods proposed and their potential for a deeper molecular description of membrane functioning are particularly relevant experts in the areas of biochemistry, biophysics and cell biology, while also presenting clear and thorough introductions, making the material suitable for students in these fields as well.

Neuroscience is a comprehensive textbook created primarily for medical and premedical students; it emphasises the structure of the nervous system, the correlation of structure and function, and the structure/function relationships particularly pertinent to the practice of medicine. Although not primarily about pathology, the book includes the basis of a variety of neurological disorders. It could serve equally well as a text for undergraduate neuroscience courses in which many of the students are premeds. Being both comprehensive and authoritative, it is also appropriate for graduate and professional use. The new edition offers a host of new features including a new art program and the completely revised Sylvius for Neuroscience: Visual Glossary of Human Neuroanatomy, an interactive CD-ROM reference guide to the human nervous system. Major changes to the new edition also include: additional neuroanatomical content, including two appendices-(1) The Brainstem and Cranial Nerves and (2) Vascular Supply, the Meninges, and the Ventricular System; and updated and new boxes on neurological and psychiatric diseases.