Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6693
pubmed:dateCreated
1998-8-24
pubmed:abstractText
The peptide nociceptin (also named orphanin FQ) acts in the brain to produce various pharmacological effects, including hyperalgesia and hypolocomotion. The nociceptin receptor uses guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins to mediate the inhibition of adenylyl cyclase, the activation of potassium channels and inhibition of calcium channels. It has been shown using knock-out mice that the nociceptin receptor is not required for regulation of nociceptive responses or locomotion activity, but modulates the auditory function. Here we show that mice lacking the nociceptin receptor possess greater learning ability and have better memory than control mice. Histological analysis revealed the expression of both the nociceptin precursor and the nociceptin receptor in the hippocampus, thought to take part in aspects of learning and memory. Moreover, the receptor-deficient mice showed larger long-term potentiation in the hippocampal CA1 region than control mice, without apparent changes in presynaptic or postsynaptic electrophysiological properties. These results show that the loss of the nociceptin receptor results in a gain-of-function mutation in both the memory process and the long-term potentiation mechanism in CA1, perhaps as a result of altered intracellular signal transduction systems in neurons.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0028-0836
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
6
pubmed:volume
394
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
577-81
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1998
pubmed:articleTitle
Facilitation of long-term potentiation and memory in mice lacking nociceptin receptors.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Neurophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't