Hello everyone.
I would like to ask for your insights/impression on what could be the therapeutic advantage of targeting ion channels in the brain or spinal cord? What could also be the advantage if your targeting brain/spinal cord regions that participate in ascending and descending pathway?
Hoping for your insightful answer.
Thank you.
Hi. I'm researching parvalbumin neuron-specific heterozygous NR1 knockout mice used as the mouse models for autism spectrum disorder. NR1 is an NMDA receptor subunit 1, an essential component in almost every subtype of NMDA receptors and required for the optimal functioning of these receptors. Since NMDA receptors are one of the calcium ion channels that play a crucial role in neuronal firing, neuroplasticity, and LTP, we can efficiently study the function of a specific type of neurons by targeting these NMDA receptors. However, I am not aware of the particular advantage of ion channels for studying ascending or descending pathways. Still, I assume these pathways may be necessary to learn more about sleep or pain modulation mechanisms, according to what I understand.
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