RUI: Thyroid Hormone Regulation of the GABAa Receptor and Sleep/Waking EEG

这项研究的目的是了解甲状腺激素如何影响成年哺乳动物的大脑。在成年期，当甲状腺激素进入组织时，许多细胞类型的代谢速率加快。但脑细胞却不是这样。然而，甲状腺激素分泌过多的一些最严重的后果包括睡眠模式的改变和诱发癫痫发作。来自PI实验室的初步证据表明，大脑中的甲状腺激素可能与GABA-A受体结合。这些GABA- a受体是神经细胞外膜上的蛋白质，负责抑制-氨基丁酸（GABA）的作用，GABA是神经细胞之间的化学信使。研究将在大鼠身上进行，以确定甲状腺激素对GABA-A受体结合的影响，这种结合对神经细胞反应的后续影响，以及由此产生的脑电图（脑电波的头皮记录，显示大脑活动的变化，如睡眠或癫痫发作时发生的变化）。这些研究将确定甲状腺激素对脑组织的作用与其对身体其他组织的作用相比的生物学意义。

IBN-9412109 Joseph Martin The goal of this research is to understand how thyroid hormones influence the adult mammalian brain. In adulthood, the metabolic rate of many cell types is accelerated when thyroid hormones enter the tissue. This is not true of brain cells. However, some of the most serious consequences of excess secretion of thyroid hormones include changes in sleep patterns and induction of seizures. Preliminary evidence from the PI's laboratory indicates that thyroid hormone in the brain may bind to GABA-A receptors. These GABA-A receptors are proteins on the outside membranes of nerve cells that are responsible for the inhibitory effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger between nerve cells. Studies will be performed in rats to determine the effects of thyroid hormones on the GABA-A receptor binding, the subsequent effects of this binding on the responses of the nerve cells and the resultant electroencephalogram (scalp recordings of brain waves that show changes in brain activity such as those that occur during sleep or seizures). These studies will determine the biological significance of the action of thyroid hormone on brain tissue as compared to its action on other tissues in the body.