Lateral asymmetry of neurotransmitters in human brain

Glick, Stanley D.; Ross, David A.; Hough, Lindsay B.

doi:10.1016/0006-8993(82)90472-3

Cited by 309 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although deserving of further investigation, the left/right difference in BP was minute, and therefore is unlikely to be of clinical relevance. However, several studies have shown that the distribution of DA and its metabolites is lateralized and associated with other measures of lateralization in animals (Cabib et al, 1995) and handedness in humans (de la Fuente-Fernandez et al, 2000;Glick et al, 1982). It is therefore plausible that the small asymmetry we see might be related to the side preference of our animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in Primates Measured with [11C]Raclopride PET

Marenco¹,

Carson²,

Berman³

et al. 2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Nicotine-induced dopamine (DA) release constitutes a pharmacological probe of the DA system that has potential use in patients with schizophrenia, who have abnormally elevated DA release after amphetamine administration and possibly abnormalities in nicotinic signaling. We performed positron emission tomography studies in five rhesus monkeys that received i.v. nicotine doses ranging from 0.01 to 0.06 mg/kg. [ 11 C]raclopride was administered with either a bolus plus constant infusion or with paired bolus injections. The dynamics of D-2-binding potential (BP) after nicotine administration were studied and compared to amphetamine. Nicotine caused a significant albeit small reduction (5%, po0.03) in BP, regardless of methodology of tracer administration. This effect disappeared 2.5 h after nicotine administration. Amphetamine caused much larger and prolonged displacement of [ 11 C]raclopride as compared to nicotine. There was no correlation between changes in BP and nicotine dose or plasma level. Regional differences in the nicotine effect within the basal ganglia were not found. Our data are consistent with the increase in DA detected with microdialysis in animals after acute nicotine administration, however, a larger effect size would be desirable to attempt studies comparing human smokers with and without schizophrenia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in Primates Measured with [11C]Raclopride PET

Marenco¹,

Carson²,

Berman³

et al. 2003

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…In rodents, dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens (59) and muscarinic binding affinity in the hippocampus (60) differ on the left and right. Levels of ChAT, glutamic acid decarboxylase, GABA, and dopamine also vary between the human brain hemispheres (61). Remarkably, mice exhibit learning and memory deficits when L-R differences in the distribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor e2 subunit are altered in hippocampal neurons (62,63).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cholinergic left-right asymmetry in the habenulo-interpeduncular pathway

Hong

Santhakumar

Akitake

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The habenulo-interpeduncular pathway, a highly conserved cholinergic system, has emerged as a valuable model to study leftright asymmetry in the brain. In larval zebrafish, the bilaterally paired dorsal habenular nuclei (dHb) exhibit prominent left-right differences in their organization, gene expression, and connectivity, but their cholinergic nature was unclear. Through the discovery of a duplicated cholinergic gene locus, we now show that choline acetyltransferase and vesicular acetylcholine transporter homologs are preferentially expressed in the right dHb of larval zebrafish. Genes encoding the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits α2 and β4 are transcribed in the target interpeduncular nucleus (IPN), suggesting that the asymmetrical cholinergic pathway is functional. To confirm this, we activated channelrhodopsin-2 specifically in the larval dHb and performed whole-cell patchclamp recording of IPN neurons. The response to optogenetic or electrical stimulation of the right dHb consisted of an initial fast glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic current followed by a slowrising cholinergic current. In adult zebrafish, the dHb are divided into discrete cholinergic and peptidergic subnuclei that differ in size between the left and right sides of the brain. After exposing adults to nicotine, fos expression was activated in subregions of the IPN enriched for specific nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. Our studies of the newly identified cholinergic gene locus resolve the neurotransmitter identity of the zebrafish habenular nuclei and reveal functional asymmetry in a major cholinergic neuromodulatory pathway of the vertebrate brain.ateralization of brain function is found throughout the animal kingdom, yet knowledge of the underlying neural bases for left-right (L-R) specializations is limited. Multiple developmental mechanisms could account for differential neural activity, including asymmetry in cell number or density, in specification of neuronal types, or in connectivity. Increasing evidence suggests that L-R differences in neurotransmitter distribution also play an important role in lateralized behaviors.The bilaterally paired habenular nuclei (Hb) of zebrafish provide a valuable model to study brain asymmetry. In larvae, the dorsal habenulae (dHb) [equivalent to medial habenular nuclei (mHb) of mammals] exhibit pronounced L-R differences in size, molecular properties, and connections with their midbrain target, the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) (1-3). The Hb-IPN pathway connects limbic areas of the forebrain and midbrain (4), and has been implicated in nicotine addiction in mammals (5).The mHb-IPN tract is a major cholinergic system across vertebrates (6-11); however, it is still unresolved whether this pathway is cholinergic in zebrafish. Cholinergic neurons are defined by the presence of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), which synthesizes ACh from choline and acetyl CoA, and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), which packages ACh into synaptic vesicles. The chat and vacht genes are situa...

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“…Glick et al (1982) measured DA concentrations in postmortem brain tissue from healthy subjects. They found right greater than left hemisphere DA concentrations in subjects with an overall high DA level, but a left greater than right hemisphere DA concentration in those with overall low DA level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Levodopa reverses gait asymmetries related to anhedonia and magical ideation

Möhr

Landis

Bracha

et al. 2004

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci

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■ Abstract Animals and men turn preferentially away from the hemisphere with the more active dopamine (DA) system. Consistent with the idea of a right-hemispheric hyperdopaminergia in schizophrenia, a leftsided turning bias was described for unmedicated psychotic patients. We investigated the modulating role of DA and schizophrenia-like thought on whole-body turns in a controlled double-blind study. The number of veers to either side when walking blindfolded straight ahead (20 meter) was assessed in 40 healthy righthanded men (20 men received levodopa, the remaining participants placebo). Side preferences were analyzed in terms of individuals' positive (Magical Ideation, MI) and negative (Physical Anhedonia, PhysAn) schizotypal features. In the placebo group, increasing MI scores were related to increasing left-sided veering and increasing PhysAn scores were related to increasing right-sided veering. In the levodopa group, this relationship between preferred veering side and type of schizotypy was reversed. The finding in the placebo group suggests an association between MI and a relative right-hemispheric hyperdopaminergia. Unexpectedly, levodopa did not enhance this veering bias, but reversed it, suggesting that psychosis-protective mechanisms exist in the healthy positive "schizotypic" brain. Also unexpectedly, levodopa made "anhedonics" veer like "magics" after placebo, suggesting that DA agonists suppress negative schizotypal symptoms.

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Lateral asymmetry of neurotransmitters in human brain

Cited by 309 publications

References 18 publications

Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in Primates Measured with [11C]Raclopride PET

Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in Primates Measured with [11C]Raclopride PET

Cholinergic left-right asymmetry in the habenulo-interpeduncular pathway

Levodopa reverses gait asymmetries related to anhedonia and magical ideation

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