Inhibitory neurons make up about a third of the neurons in the cerebral cortex, but researchers know little about how they take their place in the developing brain. New findings suggest that their migration is controlled by a back and forth interplay between a pair of dopamine receptors, modulated by several other molecules, researchers said today (November 18) at the linkurl:annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.;http://www.sfn.org/am2008/ Neurons that respond to GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, regulate cell proliferation and the formation of proper neural circuitry. Several developmental disorders including epilepsy and autism involve malfunctioning GABA neurons. Last year, Harvard Medical School researcher linkurl:Pradeep Bhide;http://www.massgeneral.org/children/research/researchers/bhide.aspx and colleagues showed in brain slices of mouse brains and in knockout mouse that activating the dopamine-1(D-1) receptor led to increased migration of GABA neurons, while activating the dopamine-2 (D-2) receptor decreased the movement of GABA neurons. "It is interesting that even...
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