Timing of chemical signal critical for normal emotional d...( A signaling protein suspected of malfu...)

Timing of chemical signal critical for normal emotional development

A signaling protein suspected of malfunctioning in anxiety and mood disorders plays a key role in the development of emotional behavior, report researchers funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Mice lacking it in frontal brain circuits during an early critical period fail to develop normal reactions in anxiety-producing situations.

Rene Hen, Ph.D., Columbia University, and colleagues created mice that lacked the protein, which brain cells use to receive signals from the chemical messenger serotonin, by knocking-out the gene that codes for it. As adults, these "knockout" mice were slow to venture into -- or eat in -- unfamiliar environments. By selectively restoring, or "rescuing" certain populations of the receptor proteins, the researchers have now pinpointed when and where they enable the brain to cope with anxiety. Hen, Cornelius Gross, Ph.D., Xiaoxi Zhuang, Ph.D, and colleagues report on their discovery in the March 28, 2002 Nature.

Brain neurons communicate with each other by secreting messenger chemicals, such as serotonin, which cross the synaptic gulf between cells and bind to receptors on neighboring cell membranes. Medications that enhance such binding of serotonin to its receptor (serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs) are widely prescribed to treat anxiety and depression, suggesting that the receptor plays an important role in regulating these emotions.

Behavior of the animals in the study mimicked human anxiety. The mice bred not to express the gene that codes for the serotonin receptor (5-HT1A) moved around less than normal animals in open spaces, balked at entering elevated mazes, and were slower to begin eating in such novel environments. Yet, the researchers didn't know which of two populations of serotonin receptors -- one in the forebrain and another deep in the brainstem -- was responsible. To find out, they crossed the receptor knockout mice with mice engineered to turn receptor expres
'"/>

Contact: Jules Asher
NIMHpress@nih.gov
301-443-4536
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
27-Mar-2002

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Vanderbilt Researcher: Human Brain Has Great Sense Of Timing
2. When To Reproduce? Its All In The Timing
3. DNA lends scientists a hand, revealing new chemical reactions
4. Grant advances biochemical engineering laboratory
5. Bullish chemical could repel yellow fever mosquitoes
6. Computer database being developed at Temple will allow for better inventory of chemicals
7. Cleaner water, more efficient electricity among UH chemical research
8. New world record magnet for chemical and biomedical research
9. Common chemicals morphing into potential toxins in Arctic
10. PTC Therapeutics researchers identify biochemical pathway important for modulating cell growth
11. Research finds lawn chemicals raise cancer risk in Scottish terriers

Post Your Comments: