Researchers at the University of Dundee's Neuroscience Institute are investigating how nerve cells in the brain "talk" to one another with implications for better understanding brain diseases such as epilepsy.
In the brain nerves communicate by releasing chemical messengers, 'neurotransmitters' which bind to specific 'receptors' on the receiving neurone rather like a key fitting into a lock. Of particular interest are those brain receptors designed for fast communication. When the neurotransmitter binds to these receptors they rapidly, within 1/10000th of a second change shape to form an ion channel that allows ions to flow in to the nerve and excite it. Such ion channels are very efficient and have been compared to the door of a house which if an ion represented a person, would allow the whole population of the Scotland to enter in less than a second!
The research led by Dr. John Peters and Professor Jerry Lambert and reported tomorrow in the prestigious journal Nature goes a long way to elucidating how brain receptors achieve this amazing feat. Such work is fundamental to improving our understanding of brain function and our appreciation of how this "neural conversation" may be disrupted in diseases such as epilepsy and by drugs used either for therapy or abuse.
Contact Dr John Peters 01382 660111 ext 33117
Professor Jerry Lambert 01382 660111 ext 33930
By Jenny Marra, Head of Press 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk