AGE-DEPENDENT EXPRESSION, PHOSPHORYLATION AND FUNCTION OF NEUROTRANSMITTER RECEPTORS - PHARMACOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

In recent years, a number of experimental controversies have arisen in the pharmacological sciences literature. Two possibly related example s concern the role of phosphorylation in receptor regulation and the o ccurrence of paradoxical effects of neurally active drugs in patients. In this article, Ruth Lanius and colleagues review these two issues a nd suggest that some of the recently reported age-dependent aspects of neurotransmitter receptor regulation and function may explain drug ac tion. An appreciation of the dynamic interactions involved in receptor regulation, especially during development, may offer novel perspectiv es on neural function.