1. Nicotine, brain nicotinic receptors, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Author
-
Mihailescu S and Drucker-Colín R
- Subjects
- Adult, Alzheimer Disease drug therapy, Animals, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity drug therapy, Brain metabolism, Depression drug therapy, Dopamine metabolism, Drug Interactions, Epilepsies, Partial drug therapy, Epilepsies, Partial genetics, Humans, Ion Channel Gating drug effects, Mental Disorders drug therapy, Mental Disorders etiology, Neurotransmitter Agents metabolism, Neurotransmitter Agents pharmacology, Nicotine administration & dosage, Nicotine adverse effects, Nicotine agonists, Nicotine therapeutic use, Parkinson Disease drug therapy, Parkinson Disease prevention & control, Rats, Receptors, Nicotinic drug effects, Schizophrenia drug therapy, Self Medication, Smoking adverse effects, Tobacco Use Disorder metabolism, Tourette Syndrome drug therapy, Brain drug effects, Mental Disorders metabolism, Nicotine pharmacology, Receptors, Nicotinic physiology
- Abstract
Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) represent a large family of ligand-gated cation channels with diverse structures and properties. In contrast to the muscular nAChRs, the physiological functions of neuronal nAChRs are not well defined to date. Behavioral studies indicate that brain nAChRs participate in complex functions such as attention, memory, and cognition, whereas clinical data suggest their involvement in the pathogenesis of certain neuropsychiatric disorders (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, Tourette's syndrome, schizophrenia, depression, etc.). For the majority of these disorders, the use of nAChRs' agonists may represent either a prophylactic (especially for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) or a symptomatic treatment. The possible mechanisms underlying these beneficial effects as well as the characteristics and potential therapeutic use of new, subtype-selective nAChRs agonists are presented.
- Published
- 2000
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