Nitrous Oxide And Neurotransmission (pain Management-research And Technology)

As a lipid-soluble molecule, nitrous oxide enters the brain rapidly to alter the flow of information along a multitude of neuronal pathways and synapses by interfering with membrane ion channels and the action of key neurotransmitters. Some neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and the endogenous opioid peptides, act through G-protein coupled receptors mainly to adjust or modulate synaptic strength, whereas GABA and glutamate are amino acids known for their strong inhibitory or excitatory synaptic effects. Thus, nitrous oxide and nitric oxide belong to what now is becoming a sizable group of messenger molecules with signaling properties unlike any of the known non-gaseous chemical neurotransmitters. Indeed, the book discusses how research with nitrous oxide uncovered the new principle of gasotransmission. This book examines nitrous oxide and its effects on the various neurotransmitter systems and ion channels of the brain. This book also discusses how these effects could give rise to all the documented clinical actions of this relatively simple gas, including the most recently discovered application viz., the treatment of substance abuse withdrawal states. Throughout the book makes the important distinction between the neurotransmitter and clinical actions of nitrous oxide at low psychotropic analgesic concentrations and those associated with the much higher anaesthetic concentrations Nitrous oxide and the endogenous opioid system -- Nitrous oxide and the dopamine system -- Nitrous oxide and the adrenergic system -- Nitrous oxide and the CYS-loop superfamily systems (GABA, nicotinic acetylcholine, glycine, and serotonin3) -- Nitrous oxide and the glutaminergic system -- Nitrous oxide and voltage-gated ion channels -- Nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, and neurotransmission -- Clinical applications I : analgesia, anxiolysis, and anaesthesia -- Clinical applications II : treatment of substance abuse