{"title":"Invertebrate models of behavioural plasticity and human disease.","authors":"Lindy Holden-Dye, Robert J Walker","doi":"10.1177/2398212818818068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818818068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The fundamental processes of neural communication have been largely conserved through evolution. Throughout the last century, researchers have taken advantage of this, and the experimental tractability of invertebrate animals, to advance understanding of the nervous system that translates to mammalian brain. This started with the inspired analysis of the ionic basis of neuronal excitability and neurotransmission using squid during the 1940s and 1950s and has progressed to detailed insight into the molecular architecture of the synapse facilitated by the genetic tractability of the nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> and the fruit fly <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>. Throughout this time, invertebrate preparations have provided a means to link neural mechanisms to behavioural plasticity and thus key insight into fundamental aspects of control systems, learning, and memory. This article captures key highlights that exemplify the historical and continuing invertebrate contribution to neuroscience.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818818068","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733604","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Purine and purinergic receptors.","authors":"Geoffrey Burnstock","doi":"10.1177/2398212818817494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818817494","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Adenosine 5'-triphosphate acts as an extracellular signalling molecule (purinergic signalling), as well as an intracellular energy source. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate receptors have been cloned and characterised. P1 receptors are selective for adenosine, a breakdown product of adenosine 5'-triphosphate after degradation by ectonucleotidases. Four subtypes are recognised, A<sub>1</sub>, A<sub>2A</sub>, A<sub>2B</sub> and A<sub>3</sub> receptors. P2 receptors are activated by purine and by pyrimidine nucleotides. P2X receptors are ligand-gated ion channel receptors (seven subunits (P2X1-7)), which form trimers as both homomultimers and heteromultimers. P2Y receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (eight subtypes (P2Y<sub>1/2/4/6/11/12/13/14</sub>)). There is both purinergic short-term signalling and long-term (trophic) signalling. The cloning of P2X-like receptors in primitive invertebrates suggests that adenosine 5'-triphosphate is an early evolutionary extracellular signalling molecule. Selective purinoceptor agonists and antagonists with therapeutic potential have been developed for a wide range of diseases, including thrombosis and stroke, dry eye, atherosclerosis, kidney failure, osteoporosis, bladder incontinence, colitis, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818817494","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The development of antipsychotic drugs.","authors":"David Cunningham Owens, Eve C Johnstone","doi":"10.1177/2398212818817498","DOIUrl":"10.1177/2398212818817498","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antipsychotic drugs revolutionised psychiatric practice and provided a range of tools for exploring brain function in health and disease. Their development and introduction were largely empirical but based on long and honourable scientific credentials and remarkable powers of clinical observation. The class shares a common core action of attenuating central dopamine transmission, which underlies the major limitation to their use - high liability to disrupt extrapyramidal function - and also the most durable hypothesis of the basis of psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia. However, the Dopamine Hypothesis, which has driven drug development for almost half a century, has become a straight-jacket, stifling innovation, resulting in a class of compounds that are largely derivative. Recent efforts only cemented this tendency as no clinical evidence supports the notion that newer compounds, modelled on clozapine, share that drug's unique neurological tolerability and can be considered 'atypical'. Patients and doctors alike must await a more profound understanding of central dopamine homeostasis and novel methods of maintaining it before they can again experience the intoxicating promise antipsychotics once held.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/2d/6d/10.1177_2398212818817498.PMC7058266.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The utility of stem cells for neural regeneration.","authors":"Kirsty Goncalves, Stefan Przyborski","doi":"10.1177/2398212818818071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818818071","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of stem cells in biomedical research is an extremely active area of science. This is because they provide tools that can be used both in vivo and vitro to either replace cells lost in degenerative processes, or to model such diseases to elucidate their underlying mechanisms. This review aims to discuss the use of stem cells in terms of providing regeneration within the nervous system, which is particularly important as neurons of the central nervous system lack the ability to inherently regenerate and repair lost connections. As populations are ageing, incidence of neurodegenerative diseases are increasing, highlighting the need to better understand the regenerative capacity and many uses of stem cells in this field.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818818071","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733608","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perspectives from affective science on understanding the nature of emotion.","authors":"Elaine Fox","doi":"10.1177/2398212818812628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818812628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Emotions are at the heart of how we understand the human mind and of our relationships within the social world. Yet, there is still no scientific consensus on the fundamental nature of emotion. A central quest within the discipline of affective science is to develop an in-depth understanding of emotions, moods, and feelings and how they are embodied within the brain (affective neuroscience). This article provides a brief overview of the scientific study of emotion with a particular emphasis on psychological and neuroscientific perspectives. Following a selective snapshot of past and present research in this field, some current challenges and controversies in affective science are highlighted.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818812628","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nitric oxide as a multimodal brain transmitter.","authors":"John Garthwaite","doi":"10.1177/2398212818810683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818810683","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One of the simplest molecules in existence, nitric oxide, burst into all areas of biology some 30 years ago when it was established as a major signalling molecule in the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems. Most regions of the mammalian brain synthesise nitric oxide and it has many diverse roles both during development and in adulthood. Frequently, nitric oxide synthesis is coupled to the activation of NMDA receptors and its physiological effects are mediated by enzyme-linked receptors that generate cGMP. Generally, nitric oxide appears to operate in two main modes: first, in a near synapse-specific manner acting either retrogradely or anterogradely and, second, when multiple nearby sources are active simultaneously, as a volume transmitter enabling signalling to diverse targets irrespective of anatomical connectivity. The rapid diffusibility of nitric oxide and the efficient capture of fleeting, subnanomolar nitric oxide concentrations by its specialised receptors underlie these modes of operation.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818810683","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37732732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neuroglia: Realising their true potential.","authors":"Arthur Butt, Alexei Verkhratsky","doi":"10.1177/2398212818817495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818817495","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The name neuroglia is generally translated as nerve glue. In the recent past, this has been used to describe passive structural cells. Presently, this view has been challenged and the true dynamic and multifunctional nature of neuroglia is beginning to be appreciated. In the central nervous system, the main kinds of neuroglia are astrocytes (the primary homeostatic cells that ensure synaptic transmission), oligodendrocytes (which form the myelin that ensures rapid electrical transmission) and microglia (the main immune cells). In the peripheral nervous system, neuroglia comprise Schwann cells, satellite glia and enteric glia. These functionally diverse and specialised cells are fundamental to function at the molecular, cellular, tissue and system levels. Without nerve glue, the body cannot function and the future will begin to unlock their importance in higher cognitive functions that set humans apart from other animals and their true potential as therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative and other diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818817495","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transcranial brain stimulation: Past and future.","authors":"John Rothwell","doi":"10.1177/2398212818818070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818818070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This article provides a brief summary of the history of transcranial methods for stimulating the human brain in conscious volunteers and reviews the methodology and physiology of transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation. The former stimulates neural axons and generates action potentials and synaptic activity, whereas the latter polarises the membrane potential of neurones and changes their sensitivity to ongoing synaptic inputs. When coupled with brain imaging methods such as functional magnetic resonance imaging or electroencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation can be used to chart connectivity within the brain. In addition, because it induces artificial patterns of activity that interfere with ongoing information processing within a cortical area, it is frequently used in cognitive psychology to produce a short-lasting 'virtual lesion'. Both transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation can produce short-lasting changes in synaptic excitability and associated changes in behaviour that are presently the source of much research for their therapeutic potential.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818818070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"50 years of decoding olfaction.","authors":"Peter A Brennan","doi":"10.1177/2398212818817496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818817496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The identification, in the late 20th century, of unexpectedly large families of G-protein-coupled chemosensory receptors revolutionised our understanding of the olfactory system. The discovery that non-selective olfactory sensory neurons express a single olfactory receptor type and project to a specific glomerulus in the main olfactory bulb provided fundamental insight into the spatial pattern of odour representation in the main olfactory bulb. Studies using head-fixed awake mice and optogenetics have revealed the importance of the timing of glomerular input in relation to the sniff cycle and the role of piriform cortex in odour object recognition. What in the 1970s had appeared to be a relatively simple dichotomy between odour detection by the main olfactory system and pheromone detection by the vomeronasal system has been found to consist of multiple subsystems. These mediate innate responses to odours and pheromones and to substances as diverse as O<sub>2</sub>, volatile urinary constituents, peptides and proteins.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818817496","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Psychopharmacology: From serendipitous discoveries to rationale design, but what next?","authors":"Emma Robinson","doi":"10.1177/2398212818812629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/2398212818812629","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Psychopharmacology really developed as a discipline from the mid-20th century with the discovery of a number of new classes of psychoactive drugs which could modify behaviour. These drugs were discovered as a consequence of clinical observations of patients, often being treated for other conditions. These serendipitous discoveries were the start of an era of drug development which has led to the antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and mood stabilisers used today. Subsequent research focused on understanding why these drugs were effective, and used this information to develop a second generation of drugs that were more selective for their therapeutic targets, and therefore had reduced side effects and improved safety and tolerability. After a period of decline in new discoveries and withdrawal of the majority of the major pharmaceutical companies from active development programmes in psychiatry, new avenues are emerging fuelling renewed interest in this area.</p>","PeriodicalId":72444,"journal":{"name":"Brain and neuroscience advances","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/2398212818812629","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37733221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}