Epilepsy is a common and serious neurologic disease with a strong genetic component.
Genetic studies have identified an increasing collection of disease-causing genes. The …

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) belong to the “Cys-loop” superfamily of ligand-
gated ion channels that includes GABA A, glycine, and serotonin (5-HT 3) receptors. There …

Subtypes of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are constructed from
numerous subunit combinations that compose channel-receptor complexes with varied …

Fear is an adaptive component of the acute “stress” response to potentially-dangerous
(external and internal) stimuli which threaten to perturb homeostasis. However, when …

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) regulate critical aspects of brain maturation
during the prenatal, early postnatal, and adolescent periods. During these developmental …

The striatum plays a central role in motor control and motor learning. Appropriate responses
to environmental stimuli, including pursuit of reward or avoidance of aversive experience all …

Objective Endophenotype studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may uncover
heritable traits that are related to genetic susceptibility to OCD. Deficient response inhibition …

In developed countries, tobacco use is estimated to be the largest single cause of premature
death [Lancet 339 (1992) 1268]. Nicotine is the main addictive component of tobacco that …

The neostriatum (dorsal striatum) is composed of the caudate and putamen. The ventral
striatum is the ventral conjunction of the caudate and putamen that merges into and includes …

Two functional types of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are expressed when
human embryonic kidney cells are permanently transfected with equal amounts of human α4 …