After a stroke, far too much glutamate is released, overworking nearby brain cells until they expire.
They found specifically that brain cells releasing glutamate can influence the activity of cells that release dopamine.
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They also block other dopamine receptors linked to different neurotransmitters such as those for serotonin and glutamate.
The target: a neurotransmitter called glutamate and its receptors, which malfunction in the forebrain of psychotic patients.
Imperial researchers have discovered what lies behind those high dopamine levels: changes in another brain chemical, called glutamate.
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Experiments at Snyder's lab and elsewhere have shown that excess levels of glutamate activate the mysterious PARP enzyme.
Donepezil is one of a class of drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors while memantine is a glutamate moderator.
An example of an excitatory neurotransmitter is glutamate, which would normally increase brain activity and energy levels.
The drugs appear to boost levels of glutamate, but are designed to target another chemical system in the brain.
These receptors interact with the neurotransmitter glutamate, the levels of which seem to be out of balance in depression.
It is also suspected that brain cell death in Parkinson's patients is caused by over-activity of another brain chemical called glutamate.
One such protein, the glutamate receptor, has been put under the control of a photoswitch and introduced into the retinas of mice.
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Derived naturally from the amino acid glutamate, umami has an unusual capacity to draw out and highlight the flavors of other ingredients.
Members of a newly discovered class of compounds, ampakines, boost the activity of glutamate and thus make it easier to form memories.
And the peroxynitrite-mediated nitration of NMDA receptors leads to the release of glutamate and the influx of calcium which kills brain cells.
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These included genes involved in the regulation of three neurotransmitters dopamine, glutamate and serotonin and also G-protein-coupled receptors, which react to a wide variety of stimulants.
When cooking for guests, Lee doesn't represent any particular Chinese region, shuns the use of monosodium glutamate and keeps deep fried dishes to a minimum.
"We're eating so much glutamate, artificial flavors and preservatives, " she says.
In the past year Snyder's lab has conducted a series of experiments that suggest D-serine acts in concert with glutamate to stimulate nerve cells to fire.
Scientists believe glutamate is a much more direct target for depression than serotonin, a neurotransmitter affected by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drugs like Prozac and Paxil.
In the past year his lab has conducted a series of experiments that suggest that D-serine acts in concert with glutamate to stimulate nerve cells to fire.
Guilford researchers hope to find a chemical that can block this enzyme, thereby stopping the toxic effects of glutamate without having to bludgeon brain-cell receptors with noxious chemicals.
In early 2001 several executives of Ajinomoto, a Japanese company that produces monosodium glutamate, a flavour enhancer, were arrested in Indonesia and charged with breaking the country's consumer-protection laws.
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One of the key culprits in the cascade is a chemical messenger called glutamate, which normally plays a crucial role in learning and memory by stimulating nerve cells to fire.
The photoswitch turns the glutamate receptor on or off by changing its shape depending on the wavelength of light used a technique that's been shown to induce light sensitivity in blind mice.
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Oberto has set out to "rehabilitate" jerky, removing corn syrup, dextrose, the preservative sodium nitrite and flavor-enhancing monosodium glutamate from its products. (The Teriyaki varieties contain soy sauce, which the company says contains naturally-occurring MSG.) A BBQ Pork jerky from Oberto is so popular around the office that Mr. Ennis says even he has trouble getting it at times.
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