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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Characterization Of G-Protein Coupled Receptors In Pain, Depression And Anxiety, Neil Lax
Characterization Of G-Protein Coupled Receptors In Pain, Depression And Anxiety, Neil Lax
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Chronic pain and major depressive disorder are widespread conditions in the world. Interestingly, these conditions often occur comorbidly, with each individual disease amplifying the symptoms of the other. A significant amount of preclinical research in pain and depression focuses on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), implying that GPCRs may be useful in treating this comorbidity. Our efforts have sought to characterize several poorly understood GPCRs, including the serotonin receptor subtypes 2C and 7 (5-HT2CR and 5-HT7R) and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5), along with more well-known GPCRs such as the mu opioid receptor (MOR), and the role that they play in …
Optogenetic Examination Of Salt Taste In Mice, Martin Raymond
Optogenetic Examination Of Salt Taste In Mice, Martin Raymond
Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations
This thesis describes a series of experiments designed to evaluate the hypothesis that Type I taste receptor cells play a critical role in the detection and transduction of sodium taste via of epithelial sodium channels (ENaCs). Experiment 1 validated the function of a simple and affordable behavioral apparatus (hardware and software) for testing taste preference and taste aversion in mice. Experiment 2 demonstrated a pharmacological method for rapid induction of salt appetite in mice. Experiment 3 showed that optogenetic stimulation of Type I taste receptor cells (TRCs) in transgenic mice could drive consumption of tap water under conditions of salt …