Global InformationNeurotransmission information
Neurotransmission (Latin: transmissio "passage, crossing" from transmittere "send, let through") is the process by which signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are released by the axon terminal of a neuron (the presynaptic neuron), and bind to and react with the receptors on the dendrites of another neuron (the postsynaptic neuron) a short distance away. A similar process occurs in retrograde neurotransmission, where the dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron release retrograde neurotransmitters (e.g., endocannabinoids; synthesized in response to a rise in intracellular calcium levels) that signal through receptors that are located on the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron, mainly at GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses.[1][2][3][4]
Neurotransmission is regulated by several different factors: the availability and rate-of-synthesis of the neurotransmitter, the release of that neurotransmitter, the baseline activity of the postsynaptic cell, the number of available postsynaptic receptors for the neurotransmitter to bind to, and the subsequent removal or deactivation of the neurotransmitter by enzymes or presynaptic reuptake.[5][6]
In response to a threshold action potential or graded electrical potential, a neurotransmitter is released at the presynaptic terminal. The released neurotransmitter may then move across the synapse to be detected by and bind with receptors in the postsynaptic neuron. Binding of neurotransmitters may influence the postsynaptic neuron in either an inhibitory or excitatory way. The binding of neurotransmitters to receptors in the postsynaptic neuron can trigger either short term changes, such as changes in the membrane potential called postsynaptic potentials, or longer term changes by the activation of signaling cascades.
Neurons form complex biological neural networks through which nerve impulses (action potentials) travel. Neurons do not touch each other (except in the case of an electrical synapse through a gap junction); instead, neurons interact at close contact points called synapses. A neuron transports its information by way of an action potential. When the nerve impulse arrives at the synapse, it may cause the release of neurotransmitters, which influence another (postsynaptic) neuron. The postsynaptic neuron may receive inputs from many additional neurons, both excitatory and inhibitory. The excitatory and inhibitory influences are summed, and if the net effect is inhibitory, the neuron will be less likely to "fire" (i.e., generate an action potential), and if the net effect is excitatory, the neuron will be more likely to fire. How likely a neuron is to fire depends on how far its membrane potential is from the threshold potential, the voltage at which an action potential is triggered because enough voltage-dependent sodium channels are activated so that the net inward sodium current exceeds all outward currents.[7] Excitatory inputs bring a neuron closer to threshold, while inhibitory inputs bring the neuron farther from threshold. An action potential is an "all-or-none" event; neurons whose membranes have not reached threshold will not fire, while those that do must fire. Once the action potential is initiated (traditionally at the axon hillock), it will propagate along the axon, leading to release of neurotransmitters at the synaptic bouton to pass along information to yet another adjacent neuron.
- ^ Melis M, Pistis M (December 2007). "Endocannabinoid signaling in midbrain dopamine neurons: more than physiology?". Current Neuropharmacology. 5 (4): 268–77. doi:10.2174/157015907782793612. PMC 2644494. PMID 19305743.
Thus, it is conceivable that low levels of CB1 receptors are located on glutamatergic and GABAergic terminals impinging on DA neurons [127, 214], where they can fine-tune the release of inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter and regulate DA neuron firing.
Consistently, in vitro electrophysiological experiments from independent laboratories have provided evidence of CB1 receptor localization on glutamatergic and GABAergic axon terminals in the VTA and SNc. - ^ Flores A, Maldonado R, Berrendero F (December 2013). "Cannabinoid-hypocretin cross-talk in the central nervous system: what we know so far". Frontiers in Neuroscience. 7: 256. doi:10.3389/fnins.2013.00256. PMC 3868890. PMID 24391536.
Direct CB1-HcrtR1 interaction was first proposed in 2003 (Hilairet et al., 2003). Indeed, a 100-fold increase in the potency of hypocretin-1 to activate the ERK signaling was observed when CB1 and HcrtR1 were co-expressed ... In this study, a higher potency of hypocretin-1 to regulate CB1-HcrtR1 heteromer compared with the HcrtR1-HcrtR1 homomer was reported (Ward et al., 2011b). These data provide unambiguous identification of CB1-HcrtR1 heteromerization, which has a substantial functional impact. ... The existence of a cross-talk between the hypocretinergic and endocannabinoid systems is strongly supported by their partially overlapping anatomical distribution and common role in several physiological and pathological processes. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this interaction. ... Acting as a retrograde messenger, endocannabinoids modulate the glutamatergic excitatory and GABAergic inhibitory synaptic inputs into the dopaminergic neurons of the VTA and the glutamate transmission in the NAc. Thus, the activation of CB1 receptors present on axon terminals of GABAergic neurons in the VTA inhibits GABA transmission, removing this inhibitory input on dopaminergic neurons (Riegel and Lupica, 2004). Glutamate synaptic transmission in the VTA and NAc, mainly from neurons of the PFC, is similarly modulated by the activation of CB1 receptors (Melis et al., 2004).
• Figure 1: Schematic of brain CB1 expression and orexinergic neurons expressing OX1 (HcrtR1) or OX2 (HcrtR2)
• Figure 2: Synaptic signaling mechanisms in cannabinoid and orexin systems
• Figure 3: Schematic of brain pathways involved in food intake - ^ Freund TF, Katona I, Piomelli D (July 2003). "Role of endogenous cannabinoids in synaptic signaling". Physiological Reviews. 83 (3): 1017–66. doi:10.1152/physrev.00004.2003. PMID 12843414.
- ^ Ayakannu, Thangesweran; Taylor, Anthony H.; Marczylo, Timothy H.; Willets, Jonathon M.; Konje, Justin C. (2013). "The Endocannabinoid System and Sex Steroid Hormone-Dependent Cancers". International Journal of Endocrinology. 2013: 259676. doi:10.1155/2013/259676. ISSN 1687-8337. PMC 3863507. PMID 24369462.
- ^ Nagatsu, T. (December 2000). "[Molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission]". Rinsho Shinkeigaku = Clinical Neurology. 40 (12): 1185–1188. ISSN 0009-918X. PMID 11464453.
- ^ Andreae, Laura C.; Burrone, Juan (March 2018). "The role of spontaneous neurotransmission in synapse and circuit development". Journal of Neuroscience Research. 96 (3): 354–359. doi:10.1002/jnr.24154. ISSN 0360-4012. PMC 5813191. PMID 29034487.
- ^ Holden A, Winlow W (1984). The Neurobiology of Pain: Symposium of the Northern Neurobiology Group Held at Leeds on 18 April 1983 (1st ed.). Manchester Univ Pr. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-7190-1061-3.