Plasma GABA levels correlate with aggressiveness in relatives of patients with unipolar depressive disorder

Bjork, James M.; Moeller, F. Gerard; Kramer, Gerald L.; Kram, Martin; Surís, Alina; Rush, A. John; Petty, Frederick

doi:10.1016/s0165-1781(01)00220-7

Cited by 87 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…To this regard, it is interesting to note that it has recently been shown that plasma GABA levels in first-degree relatives of patients with major depressive disorder were significantly lower compared to those with no family history of psychiatric illness, suggesting that the GABA plasma level is under genetic control. 139 This study would sustain that low GABA levels may be specific for a subgroup of mood disorder patients, perhaps those with a family history of mood disorder. 116 Post-mortem studies GAD brain activity has been found to be reduced in depressed unipolar patients compared to controls in several brain regions, such as frontal cortex, occipital cortex, and basal ganglia.…”

Section: 103mentioning

confidence: 77%

GABAergic dysfunction in mood disorders

et al. 2003

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Section: 103mentioning

confidence: 77%

GABAergic dysfunction in mood disorders

et al. 2003

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“…Pharmacological studies also support this view as aggressive behaviour is inhibited in mice and rats when GABA-transaminase is blocked with sodium n-dipropylacetate or valproate, or when reuptake is inhibited by diaminobutyric acid or nipecotic acid amide. In addition, a correlation between low plasma GABA levels and aggressiveness was found in psychiatrically healthy adults with a family history of psychiatric disorders (Bjork et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Natural selection constrains personality and brain gene expression differences in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Thörnqvist

Höglund

Winberg

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In stream-spawning salmonid fishes there is a considerable variation in the timing of when fry leave the spawning nests and establish a feeding territory. The timing of emergence from spawning nests appears to be related to behavioural and physiological traits, e.g. early emerging fish are bolder and more aggressive. In the present study, emerging Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) alevins were sorted into three fractions: early, intermediate and late emerging. At the parr stage, behaviour, stress responses, hindbrain monoaminergic activity and forebrain gene expression were explored in fish from the early and late emerging fractions (first and last 25%). The results show that when subjected to confinement stress, fish from the late emerging fraction respond with a larger activation of the brain serotonergic system than fish from the early fraction. Similarly, in late emerging fish, stress resulted in elevated expression of mRNA coding for serotonin 1A receptors (5-HT 1A ), GABA-A receptor-associated protein and ependymin, effects not observed in fish from the early emerging fraction. Moreover, fish from the early emerging fraction displayed bolder behaviour than their late emerging littermates. Taken together, these results suggest that time of emergence, boldness and aggression are linked to each other, forming a behavioural syndrome in juvenile salmon. Differences in brain gene expression between early and late emerging salmon add further support to a relationship between stress coping style and timing of emergence. However, early and late emerging salmon do not appear to differ in hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis reactivity, another characteristic of divergent stress coping styles.

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“…Thus, GABA can be involved in both synaptic and extrasynaptic actions in the brain (Oláh et al, 2009). Moreover, GABA might even have a broader spectrum of effects because it is also present in blood at a concentration of 0.1 mM (Bjork et al, 2001). Given that GABA A receptors and nAChRs belong to the same Cys-loop family, we sought to explore whether the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA is able to activate excitatory nAChRs, thus leading to cross-talk among family members.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotransmitter GABA Activates Muscle but Notα7 Nicotinic Receptors

et al. 2014

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Cys-loop receptors are neurotransmitter-activated ion channels involved in synaptic and extrasynaptic transmission in the brain and are also present in non-neuronal cells. As GABA A and nicotinic receptors (nAChR) belong to this family, we explored by macroscopic and single-channel recordings whether the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA has the ability to activate excitatory nAChRs. GABA differentially activates nAChR subtypes. It activates muscle nAChRs, with maximal peak currents of about 10% of those elicited by acetylcholine (ACh) and 15-fold higher EC 50 with respect to ACh. At the single-channel level, the weak agonism is revealed by the requirement of 20-fold higher concentration of GABA for detectable channel openings, a major population of brief openings, and absence of clusters of openings when compared with ACh. Mutations at key residues of the principal binding-site face of muscle nAChRs (aY190 and aG153) affect GABA activation similarly as ACh activation, whereas a mutation at the complementary face («G57) shows a selective effect for GABA. Studies with subunit-lacking receptors show that GABA can activate muscle nAChRs through the a/d interface. Interestingly, single-channel activity elicited by GABA is similar to that elicited by ACh in gain-of-function nAChR mutants associated to congenital myasthenic syndromes, which could be important in the progression of the disorders due to steady exposure to serum GABA. In contrast, GABA cannot elicit singlechannel or macroscopic currents of a7 or the chimeric a7-serotonin-type 3 receptor, a feature important for preserving an adequate excitatory/inhibitory balance in the brain as well as for avoiding activation of non-neuronal receptors by serum GABA.

show abstract

Plasma GABA levels correlate with aggressiveness in relatives of patients with unipolar depressive disorder

Cited by 87 publications

References 21 publications

GABAergic dysfunction in mood disorders

GABAergic dysfunction in mood disorders

Natural selection constrains personality and brain gene expression differences in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Neurotransmitter GABA Activates Muscle but Notα7 Nicotinic Receptors

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