Post by Cbean on Jun 2, 2005 6:43:02 GMT -5
Episode 9 Exciting news! A giant step forward!!!
One purpose of these reviews is to give you a little insight into the research process. If nothing else it will give you more confidence in the process and the recommendations that are forthcoming. So we would like to take you stepwise through how the mystery of insufficient LTP in DS was unraveled.
Action in the brain can be related to traffic at a major intersection. Because there is so much traffic it requires a signal light to keep order, and allow cars to pass without hitting each other. Everyone knows green light is go; red light is stop. It is basically the same in the brain except we use different names.
“Excite” means go. We use the word excitatory to describe the activity of that neurotransmitter.
“Inhibit” means stop. We use the word inhibitory to describe the activity of that neurotransmitter.
Of course there are no lights involved, just two different chemicals, and the signal given depends on which one is in action.
You might think because you are awake and alert all day that the most used signal is the excitatory, but this is not the case. In fact it is just the opposite - by a wide margin – 95 to 98% are inhibitory. Peeling away all the incidental stimuli that you come in contact with is a big job, but when it is done you can operate with a clear mind on the specific things you are interested in. Some extreme examples of this are having a conversation at a crowded thingytail party, doing your homework with the tv on, going to sleep etc.
On the other end of this switching system is a receiver. It is called an NMDA receptor. This also had to be checked.
Stepwise the researchers analyzed the DS mice system by system. They found the following:
The excitatory synaptic transmission is normal in the DS mice.
The NMDA receptor is normal in DS mice.
Excessive inhibitory synaptic transmission which restricts synaptic activation of NMDA receptors is the cause for the failure to induce LTP in DS mice.
You may not realize it but this discovery has turned the DS world upside down. All efforts to date have been aimed at increasing the excitatory transmission. In DS the brain activity is low, and the person is mentally challenged; the obvious answer is to increase the excitatory activity. But, the work at Stanford says it the other side of the system that needs to be addressed – reduce the inhibitory activity.
This is an astounding revelation, and could have an astounding effect on the DS community.
Next week we will discuss reducing the inhibitory activity.
>^..^<
One purpose of these reviews is to give you a little insight into the research process. If nothing else it will give you more confidence in the process and the recommendations that are forthcoming. So we would like to take you stepwise through how the mystery of insufficient LTP in DS was unraveled.
Action in the brain can be related to traffic at a major intersection. Because there is so much traffic it requires a signal light to keep order, and allow cars to pass without hitting each other. Everyone knows green light is go; red light is stop. It is basically the same in the brain except we use different names.
“Excite” means go. We use the word excitatory to describe the activity of that neurotransmitter.
“Inhibit” means stop. We use the word inhibitory to describe the activity of that neurotransmitter.
Of course there are no lights involved, just two different chemicals, and the signal given depends on which one is in action.
You might think because you are awake and alert all day that the most used signal is the excitatory, but this is not the case. In fact it is just the opposite - by a wide margin – 95 to 98% are inhibitory. Peeling away all the incidental stimuli that you come in contact with is a big job, but when it is done you can operate with a clear mind on the specific things you are interested in. Some extreme examples of this are having a conversation at a crowded thingytail party, doing your homework with the tv on, going to sleep etc.
On the other end of this switching system is a receiver. It is called an NMDA receptor. This also had to be checked.
Stepwise the researchers analyzed the DS mice system by system. They found the following:
The excitatory synaptic transmission is normal in the DS mice.
The NMDA receptor is normal in DS mice.
Excessive inhibitory synaptic transmission which restricts synaptic activation of NMDA receptors is the cause for the failure to induce LTP in DS mice.
You may not realize it but this discovery has turned the DS world upside down. All efforts to date have been aimed at increasing the excitatory transmission. In DS the brain activity is low, and the person is mentally challenged; the obvious answer is to increase the excitatory activity. But, the work at Stanford says it the other side of the system that needs to be addressed – reduce the inhibitory activity.
This is an astounding revelation, and could have an astounding effect on the DS community.
Next week we will discuss reducing the inhibitory activity.
>^..^<
;D