Glutamate

Ege Kavalali and Heidi Hamm collaborated to discover a signaling pathway for how spontaneous release of neurotransmitters can be selectively regulated without disrupting evoked action potentials. Read More

Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions. Read More

Researchers at VUMC have taken a major step that could ultimately facilitate development of a new class of antidepressants which may relieve symptoms more rapidly and effectively and with fewer side effects than current medications. Read More

Using techniques to control and monitor the activities of individual neurons, Vanderbilt investigators are probing the brain’s reward circuitry. Read More

Terunaga Nakagawa, with colleagues from Japan and Oxford University in England, has discovered the bridgelike molecular structure of a mysterious glutamate receptor. Read More

Therapeutic agents focusing on the brain region involved in stress-induced relapse may be effective in preventing relapse in patients with alcohol use disorders. Read More