Kappa opioid receptors (KORs) are involved in a variety of aversive behavioral states, including anxiety. To date, a circuit-based mechanism for KOR-driven anxiety has not been described.
Researchers uncovered a cellular mechanism by which kappa opioid receptors (KOR) drive anxiety. These proteins inhibit the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate from basolateral amygdala (BLA), a part of the brain that regulates emotion to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). KORs have been of great interest as a drug target for the treatment of addiction and anxiety disorders.
Authors identify a frequency-dependent, optically evoked local dynorphin-induced heterosynaptic plasticity of glutamate inputs in the BNST. They find that there is cell type specificity to the KOR modulation of the BLA-BNST input with greater KOR-mediated inhibition of BLA dynorphin-expressing neurons.
"When KORs are inactivated, glutamate is released properly and mice showed significant signs of feeling less anxious," said the author. "But when kappa opioid receptors are activated, this glutamate release associated with 'safety' was tamped down. There were clear signs of more anxiety. So, in essence, KORs shut off an anxiety-reducing pathway in the brain."
Humans also have kappa opioid receptors that work in the same way. Several pharmaceutical companies are already working on developing KOR antagonists as a treatment for anxiety and drug abuse, author said. The new study in Cell Reports adds to a growing body of literature showing how these drugs may work.
http://news.unchealthcare.org/news/2016/march/unc-researchers-uncover-how-kappa-opioid-receptors-drive-anxiety
How kappa opioid receptors drive anxiety
- 1,327 views
- Added
Edited
Latest News
How the brain fine-tunes it…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Apr
Immune cells carry a long-l…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Apr
Mutations in noncoding DNA…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
More influence of environme…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
The assembly of the human c…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Apr
Other Top Stories
The role of chance in microbiome composition
Read more
Ebola virus hiding in plain sight in brain
Read more
How bacteria safely move between immune system cells
Read more
A virus in gut microbiota is associated with better cognitive abili…
Read more
Predicting and minimizing antibiotic resistance using machine learning
Read more
Protocols
A programmable targeted pro…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Apr
MemPrep, a new technology f…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
A tangible method to assess…
By newseditor
Posted 08 Apr
Stem cell-derived vessels-o…
By newseditor
Posted 06 Apr
Single-cell biclustering fo…
By newseditor
Posted 01 Apr
Publications
Thiol dioxygenases: from st…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
Systematic characterization…
By newseditor
Posted 27 Apr
The MYCN 50 UTR as a therap…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Apr
Control of neuronal excitat…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Apr
Epithelial UNC-23 limits me…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Apr
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar