NROB60H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Aromatic L-Amino Acid Decarboxylase, Tryptophan Hydroxylase, Choline Acetyltransferase
Document Summary
Glutamatergic synapses use glutamate; gabaergic synapses use gaba; peptidegic synapses use peptides. Immunocytochemistry is a method for viewing the location of specific molecules, including proteins, in sections of brain tissue. In situ hybridization is a method for localizing specific mrna transcripts for proteins: these methods enable us to see whether a neuron contains and synthesizes a transmitter candidate and molecules associated with that transmitter. Most regions of the cns contain a diverse mixture of intermingled synapses using different neurotransmitters. Each neurotransmitter exerts its postsynaptic effects by binding to specific receptors: no two neurotransmitters bind to the same receptors, one neurotransmitter can bind to many different receptors. Each of the different receptors a neurotransmitter binds to is called a receptor subtype. Receptor subtypes can be distinguished by the actions of different drugs. Another way to distinguish receptor subtypes is to use selective antagonists.
