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The cannabinoid receptors CB 1 and CB 2, two G protein-coupled receptors that are located in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The neurons , neural pathways , and other cells where these molecules, enzymes, and one or both cannabinoid receptor types are all localized together collectively comprise the endocannabinoid system.
The CB1 receptor is recognized as the most abundant metabotropic receptor in the brain. [10] CB1 receptors are found moderately to highly expressed within the cerebral cortex (cingulate gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus), periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus, amygdala, cerebellum, and basal ganglia (globus pallidus, substantia nigra). [31]
The existence of cannabinoid receptors in the brain was discovered from in vitro studies in the 1980s, with the receptor designated as the cannabinoid receptor type 1 or CB1. [14] [15] The DNA sequence that encodes a G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptor in the human brain was identified and cloned in 1990.
The discovery of the first cannabinoid receptors in the 1980s helped to resolve this debate. [10] These receptors are common in animals. Two known cannabinoid receptors are termed CB 1 and CB 2, [11] with mounting evidence of more. [12] The human brain has more cannabinoid receptors than any other G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) type. [13]
In the brain of Alzheimer's patients, both neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors and NMDA receptors are known to be down-regulated. Thus, four anticholinesterases, such as Donepezil and Rivastigmine , have been developed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment in the U.S.A.
α4β2 nAChRs contain two α4 subunits and three β2 subunits, therefore it has two binding sites for ACh and other agonists. α4β2 nAChRs account for approximately 90% of the nAChRs in the human brain and when chronically exposed to nicotine or other nicotine agonists leads to increase in density of α4β2 receptors which is the opposite of ...
Dopamine receptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors that are prominent in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) and are implicated in many neurological processes, including motivational and incentive salience, cognition, memory, learning, and fine motor control, as well as modulation of neuroendocrine signaling.
The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behavior. The anticipation of most types of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain, [4] and many addictive drugs increase dopamine release or block its reuptake into neurons following release. [5]