¡° Neuroesteroides: del lenguaje molecular a la expresi¨®n comportamental¡±

CABRERA RICARDO

Ciudad de Mendoza

Simposio; Sociedad de Biolog¨ªa de Cuyo; 2008

Sociedad de Biolog¨ªa de Cuyo

Over the past decade, elegant experiments from multiple laboratories have confirmed that steroid synthesis occurs not only in classic steroidogenic organs like the adrenals, testes, ovaries, and placenta, but also in the brain (Selye 1941; Baulieu and Robel 1990; Mellon and Vaudry 2001; Akwa et al. 1991; Celotti et al. 1992; Campbell and Karavolas 1990; reviewed by Paul and Purdy 1992). In the brain, these steroids or ¡°neurosteroids¡± are synthesized de novo from cholesterol by glia and some neurons (Baulieu and Robel 1990). More generally, the term ¡°neuroactive¡± steroids refers to all steroids with CNS effects regardless of their source of synthesis. The discovery that these locally produced steroids modulate neuronal excitability through specific neurotransmitter receptors has led to an explosion of knowledge regarding the role of neurosteroids in modulating reproductive and nonreproductive behaviors including those associated with psychopathology. The purpose of this special issue of Psychopharmacology is to highlight important advances in this rapidly developing field of investigation to facilitate future research examining the role of neurosteroids as pharmacologic targets and/or interventions. Sumida et al. provides further evidence that the anxiolytic actions of progesterone are mediated via the effects of its neurosteroid derivative 3¦Á-5¦Á THP on the GABAA receptor. Smith and coinvestigators suggest that neurosteroid withdrawal-induced anxiety in the mouse may serve as a model for premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Gizerian, Lieberman, and Grobin provide evidence that 3¦Á-5¦Á THP plays a role in prefrontal cortical pathology associated with psychosis. Based on the finding that rodents exposed neonatally to 3¦Á-5¦Á THP exhibit altered responses to amphetamine in later life, they argue that this early exposure disrupts normal development of mesocorticolimbic inhibitory circuitry. Similarly, findings from the Frye laboratory indicate that early postnatal events appear to have last effects on hippocampal neurosteroids levels.