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The vitamin D receptor (VDR also known as the calcitriol receptor) is a member of the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors. [5] Calcitriol (the active form of vitamin D , 1,25-(OH) 2 vitamin D 3 ) binds to VDR, which then forms a heterodimer with the retinoid-X receptor .
The brain requires the use of many neurosteroids to develop and function properly. These molecules are often identified as one of many common substances including thyroid hormones, glucocorticoids, and sex hormones. However in recent studies, throughout the brain and spinal fluid, vitamin D has begun to surface as one of these neurosteroids.
The VDR is widely distributed in tissues, and is not restricted to those tissues considered the classic targets of vitamin D. The VDR upon binding to 1,25(OH) 2 D heterodimerizes with other nuclear hormone receptors, in particular the family of retinoid X receptors. This VDR/RXR heterodimer complex binds to the specific VDRE in the promoters of ...
Vitamin D receptors, CYP27B1, and CYP24A1 are found in various regions of the brain, showing that vitamin D is a neuroactive, neurosteroid hormone essential for the development of the brain and normal function. [5] Inflammation as a causative factor in schizophrenia is normally suppressed by vitamin D. [24]
Oligodendrocytes express receptors that allow them to respond to inflammatory signals, thereby participating in the brain's defense mechanisms. Additionally, they play a role in maintaining the blood-brain barrier and can contribute to the resolution of inflammation, highlighting their multifaceted role in both neural maintenance and immune ...
Changes in brain activity are closely coupled with changes in blood flow in those areas, and knowing this has proved useful in mapping brain functions in humans. The measurement of haemodynamic response, in a clinical setting, can be used to create images of the brain in which especially active and inactive regions are shown as distinct from ...
Neural top–down control of physiology concerns the direct regulation by the brain of physiological functions (in addition to smooth muscle and glandular ones). Cellular functions include the immune system’s production of T-lymphocytes and antibodies, and nonimmune related homeostatic functions such as liver gluconeogenesis, sodium reabsorption, osmoregulation, and brown adipose tissue ...
For instance, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is produced by the brain and regulates several functions within the developing synapse, including enhancement of transmitter release, increased concentration of vesicles, and cholesterol biosynthesis. Cholesterol is essential to synaptogenesis because the lipid rafts that it forms provide a ...