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How do signaling molecules organize higher brain functions?

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Abstract

Studies of the late 20th century have confirmed the idea that long-term changes in the synaptic system of the human brain form the basis for fixing and maintaining external information. Such phenomena as learning and memory are expressions of these changes at the physiological level. As a result of these studies, the “material” base of these processes was determined as a complex of molecular events that start from the neurotransmitter-synapse interaction and ends with activation of the epigenetic structures of neuronal nucleus. The central event is a coordinated system of signaling pathways, including transduction, transcription, and regulatory (neurotrophic) proteins. Consistent temporal and spatial activations of these structures are the biochemical basis for memory formation and cognitive functions. Synaptic plasticity as a primary mechanism of memory and a multilevel system of signal molecule regulation constitute the essence of organizing different types of memory. The disturbance of neurochemical mechanisms is an initial cause of cognitive dysfunction and psychopathology. At the same time, signal molecules can be considered specific targets for the correction of these states.

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  1. Orekhovich Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, ul. Pogodinskaya 10c8, Moscow, 119435, Russia

    O. A. Gomazkov

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Original Russian Text © O.A. Gomazkov, 2014, published in Uspekhi Sovremennoi Biologii, 2014, Vol. 134, No. 6, pp. 545–562.

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Gomazkov, O.A. How do signaling molecules organize higher brain functions?. Biol Bull Rev 5, 281–295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079086415040015

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