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The kynurenine pathway as a therapeutic target in cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the neurochemical basis for cognitive function is one of the major goals of neuroscience, with a potential impact on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. In this review, the focus will be on a biochemical pathway that remains under-recognized in its implications for brain function, even though it can be responsible for moderating the activity of two neurotransmitters fundamentally involved in cognition - glutamate and acetylcholine. Since this pathway - the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism - is induced by immunological activation and stress, it also stands in a unique position to mediate the effects of environmental factors on cognition and behaviour. Targeting the pathway for new drug development could, therefore, be of value not only for the treatment of existing psychiatric conditions, but also for preventing the development of cognitive disorders in response to environmental pressures.

SUBMITTER: Stone TW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3831703 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The kynurenine pathway as a therapeutic target in cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders.

Stone Trevor W TW Darlington L Gail LG

British journal of pharmacology 20130701 6

Understanding the neurochemical basis for cognitive function is one of the major goals of neuroscience, with a potential impact on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders. In this review, the focus will be on a biochemical pathway that remains under-recognized in its implications for brain function, even though it can be responsible for moderating the activity of two neurotransmitters fundamentally involved in cognition - glutamate and acetylc ...[more]

PMID: 23647169

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