A Critical Assessment of Research on Neurotransmitters in Alzheimer’s Disease

Reddy, P. Hemachandra

doi:10.3233/jad-170256

Cited by 38 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Furthermore, a comment on neurotransmitters in Alzheimer's Disease was published in two manuscripts of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (2017) with a description of the roles that several neurotransmitters (i.e., acetylcholine, dopamine, GABA; gamma amino butyric acid, serotonin, etc.) play in the pathogenesis of the disease (21). The cholinergic system is also the topic of investigation for Alzheimer's Disease, as published in 2018 (13).…”

Section: The Subject Of Neurotransmitters In Health and Human Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“N.A.M.E.” FUN! Emojis may illustrate structure-function relationships of neurotransmitters to health professions students

Mahaffey

2021

Advances in Physiology Education

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This article provides a qualitative examination of student responses to an enjoyable online experience illustrating structure-function relationships of chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) in the human nervous system via text messaging emojis (often employed during mobile phone messaging). The "N.A.M.E." (Neurotransmitters as Messaging Emojis) FUN! experience was presented to 218 undergraduate health professions students enrolled in a Human Physiology Course during Spring 2020 (N = 118) and Spring 2021 (N = 100) semesters as a learning tool, during a time in which students struggled with the concepts of neurotransmitter function. Additional goals for this fun experience design are to: 1) Engage health professions students in the topics of chemical messengers in the nervous system, 2) As a learning tool for students enrolled in the Human Physiology courses and a 3) Memorization online worksheet for select neurotransmitter function. Student participants were able to access the online neurotransmitter fun experience via mobile phone and/or laptops. Resulting analysis of the voluntary and anonymous survey highlight positive responses in both Spring 2020 and 2021 semesters, to the online "N.A.M.E." experience, and further the recommendation of student participants to include this online experience in future lecture assignments for the Human Physiology course. Here, we examine several data sets (tables), as we review student choices for matching emojis to neurotransmitter function and qualitative responses on the efficacy of this online match-up fun as a learning tool in Human Physiology for health professions course.

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Section: The Subject Of Neurotransmitters In Health and Human Physiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“N.A.M.E.” FUN! Emojis may illustrate structure-function relationships of neurotransmitters to health professions students

Mahaffey

2021

Advances in Physiology Education

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“…The development of these pathologies in the brains of AD patients leads to cognitive and behavioral changes, including memory loss, depression and anxiety [4]. AD affects multiple regions of the brain, including the hippocampus, subcortical nuclei, substantia nigra (SNR), ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the dorsal raphe [5]. The impact of AD in these areas may vary, including degeneration of afferent neurons, mitochondrial abnormalities and apoptosis of monoaminergic cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neurotransmitters can be classified into several types including monoaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmitters. In AD pathogenesis, important monoaminergic neurotransmitters include dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) and histamine, whereas significant cholinergic neurotransmitters include gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA) and acetylcholine (ACh) [5,10]. In AD, the therapeutic potential of neurotransmitter inhibitors has been well established, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) donepezil, rivastigmine, memantine and galantamine [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of Melatonin and Neurotransmission in Alzheimer’s Disease

Roy

Tsui

et al. 2021

IJMS

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Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with age, and is characterized by pathological markers such as amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Symptoms of AD include cognitive impairments, anxiety and depression. It has also been shown that individuals with AD have impaired neurotransmission, which may result from the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Preclinical studies showed that melatonin, a monoaminergic neurotransmitter released from the pineal gland, is able to ameliorate AD pathologies and restore cognitive impairments. Theoretically, inhibition of the pathological progression of AD by melatonin treatment should also restore the impaired neurotransmission. This review aims to explore the impact of AD on neurotransmission, and whether and how melatonin can enhance neurotransmission via improving AD pathology.

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“…Oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage, and synaptic damage are all implicated in dementia pathogenesis, playing an important role in the cognitive impairment and memory loss of older individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) [2][3][4]. Neurotransmitters are essential to maintain synaptic and cognitive function, and are also involved in altering the mood, depression, or anxiety of AD patients [5,6]. Aside from cognitive decline, dementia progression leads to the appearance of at least one neuropsychiatric symptom (NPS) in most individuals at some point during the course of their disease [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bright Light Therapy in Older Adults with Moderate to Very Severe Dementia: Immediate Effects on Behavior, Mood, and Physiological Parameters

et al. 2021

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Bright light therapy (BLT) has demonstrated positive short- and long-term effects in people with cognitive impairment or dementia; however, the immediate impact of BLT sessions has been scarcely investigated. In this study, we aimed to explore the immediate effects of BLT on behavior, mood, and physiological parameters (oxygen saturation/heart rate) in a sample of institutionalized older adults with moderate to very severe dementia, with a median age of 85.0 (interquartile range, IQR, 82.0–90.0), being higher in men (87.0 years, IQR 80.0–94.0) than in women (84.5 years, IQR 82.0–89.5). The BLT protocol consisted of 30-min morning sessions of 10,000 lux, Monday through Friday, for 4 weeks. The physiological parameters were recorded immediately before and after each session by pulse oximetry. Mood and behavior were assessed before, after, and during the sessions using the Interact scale. Post-session Interact scores showed a significant decrease in the items Tearful/sad and Talked spontaneously, and a significant increase in the items Enjoying self, active or alert, and Relaxed, content or sleeping appropriately. Interact scores during the sessions reflected a significant decrease in the speech-related items. Both physiological parameters changed positively from before to after sessions. Our results suggest that BLT provides immediate positive effects on mood, stimulation level, and physiological parameters, as well as a trend toward decreased speech. More robust research is needed to further explore the immediate impact of BLT. This study is registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04949984).

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A Critical Assessment of Research on Neurotransmitters in Alzheimer’s Disease

Cited by 38 publications

References 24 publications

“N.A.M.E.” FUN! Emojis may illustrate structure-function relationships of neurotransmitters to health professions students

“N.A.M.E.” FUN! Emojis may illustrate structure-function relationships of neurotransmitters to health professions students

Regulation of Melatonin and Neurotransmission in Alzheimer’s Disease

Bright Light Therapy in Older Adults with Moderate to Very Severe Dementia: Immediate Effects on Behavior, Mood, and Physiological Parameters

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