Compounds targeting the metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors hold promise as a more comprehensive therapeutic alternative to typical and atypical antipsychotics and may avoid the occurrence of extrapyramidal side effects that accompany these treatments. Activation of the group II mGlu receptors (mGlu(2) and mGlu(3)) and the group I mGlu(5) are hypothesized to normalize the disruption of thalamocortical glutamatergic circuitry that results in abnormal glutamaterigic signaling in the prefrontal learn more cortex (PFC). Agonists of mGlu(2) and mGlu(3) have demonstrated efficacy for the positive symptom group in both animal models and clinical trials with mGlu(2) being the subtype

most likely responsible for the therapeutic effect. Limitations in the chemical space tolerated by the orthosteric site of the mGlu receptors has led to the pursuit of compounds that potentiate the receptor’s response to glutamate by acting at less highly conserved allosteric sites. Several series of selective positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) for mGlu(2) and mGlu(5) have demonstrated efficacy in animal models used for the evaluation of antipsychotic agents. In addition,

evidence from animal studies indicates that mGlu(5) PAMs hold promise for the treatment of cognitive deficits that occur in schizophrenia. Hopefully, further optimization of CB-5083 solubility dmso allosteric modulators of mGlu receptors will yield clinical candidates that will allow full evaluation of the potential efficacy of these Roflumilast compounds in the treatment of multiple symptom domains in schizophrenia patients in the near future.

This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Schizophrenia’. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimuli can trigger

experiences in non-stimulated sensory dimensions. The literature has focused on forms of synesthesia in which stimuli (e.g. music, touch or numbers) trigger experiences of color. Generally missing, however, is the observation that synesthetic colors are often accompanied by the experience of other surface properties such as texture (e.g. a visual experience of linen, metal, marble, velvet, etc). Current frameworks for synesthesia focus only upon the involvement of brain regions such as the V4 color complex. Here, we propose an expanded framework that includes brain regions involved in the encoding of material properties – specifically, larger regions of the medial ventral stream. The overlap of visual texture and color processing within ventral regions might explain why many experiences of synesthesia extend beyond color to other material properties.”
“The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is involved in the regulation of emotion processing, and its volume has been found to be reduced in patients with major depression. Furthermore, larger ACC volumes have been associated with faster symptom improvement under therapy.