Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0357; email:
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2017 Jul 25;40:1-19. doi: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-072116-031204. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
Neurotransmitter switching is the gain of one neurotransmitter and the loss of another in the same neuron in response to chronic stimulation. Neurotransmitter receptors on postsynaptic cells change to match the identity of the newly expressed neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitter switching often appears to change the sign of the synapse from excitatory to inhibitory or from inhibitory to excitatory. In these cases, neurotransmitter switching and receptor matching thus change the polarity of the circuit in which they take place. Neurotransmitter switching produces up or down reversals of behavior. It is also observed in response to disease. These findings raise the possibility that neurotransmitter switching contributes to depression, schizophrenia, and other illnesses. Many early discoveries of the single gain or loss of a neurotransmitter may have been harbingers of neurotransmitter switching.
神经递质转换是指同一神经元在慢性刺激下获得一种神经递质并失去另一种神经递质。突触后细胞上的神经递质受体发生变化，以匹配新表达的神经递质的特性。神经递质转换通常似乎会改变突触的信号，从兴奋性变为抑制性，或从抑制性变为兴奋性。在这些情况下，神经递质转换和受体匹配因此改变了它们发生的电路的极性。神经递质转换会产生行为的上下反转。它也会因疾病而发生。这些发现提出了这样一种可能性，即神经递质转换有助于抑郁症、精神分裂症和其他疾病。许多早期对单一神经递质获得或丧失的发现可能是神经递质转换的先兆。
