Abstract
The appropriate display of social behaviors is essential for the well-being, reproductive success and survival of an individual. Deficits in social behavior are associated with impaired N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated neurotransmission. In this review, we describe recent studies using genetically modified mice and pharmacological approaches which link the impaired functioning of the NMDA receptors, especially of the receptor subunits GluN1, GluN2A and GluN2B, to abnormal social behavior. This abnormal social behavior is expressed as impaired social interaction and communication, deficits in social memory, deficits in sexual and maternal behavior, as well as abnormal or heightened aggression. We also describe the positive effects of pharmacological stimulation of the NMDA receptors on these social deficits. Indeed, pharmacological stimulation of the glycine-binding site either by direct stimulation or by elevating the synaptic glycine levels represents a promising strategy for the normalization of genetically-induced, pharmacologically-induced or innate deficits in social behavior. We emphasize on the importance of future studies investigating the role of subunit-selective NMDA receptor ligands on different types of social behavior to provide a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms, which might support the development of selective tools for the optimized treatment of disorders associated with social deficits.
Highlights
The majority of the excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is mediated by L-glutamate, which activates both presynaptic and postsynaptic ionotropic and metabotropic receptors. iGluRs are ligand-gated cation channels and can be divided into three classes: the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxasolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, kainate receptors, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors [1]
The importance of social behavior is suggested by the high number of psychiatric disorders associated with social deficits, including social anxiety disorder [24], autism spectrum disorders [25], depression [26], schizophrenia [26], Alzheimer’s disease [26], alcohol use disorder [27] and fragile X syndrome [28], among others
Dioxo-5-qyuinoxalinyl)methyl]phosphoric acid tetrasodium salt} (PEAQX), a GluN2A-preferring antagonist [4,49]. These results suggest that social interaction in adolescence is more sensitive to GluN2A-selective antagonism, whereas social interaction in adulthood is more sensitive to NMDA- and GluN2B-selective receptor antagonism and indicate that these differences may be related to different subunit expression patterns during development
Summary
The majority of the excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is mediated by L-glutamate, which activates both presynaptic and postsynaptic ionotropic and metabotropic receptors (iGluRs and mGluRs). iGluRs are ligand-gated cation channels and can be divided into three classes: the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxasolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, kainate receptors, and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors [1]. In addition to L-glutamate, NMDA receptors require the binding of a co-agonist, glycine or D-serine, to allow activation of the receptor, which leads to the opening of a non-selective ion channel that allows the influx of Na+ and Ca2+ into the cell and the efflux of K+ out of the cell [2]. Because of their additional property of voltage-gating, the NMDA receptors function as coincidence-detectors. In this review we will describe the involvement of the NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission in regulating social behavior and summarize some of the strategies aimed at facilitating NMDA receptor function, which were shown to improve deficits in several aspects of social behavior in rodents
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