Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
07:04
A High-performance Liquid Chromatography Measurement of Kynurenine and Kynurenic Acid: Relating Biochemistry to Cognition and Sleep in Rats
Published on: August 19, 2018
11.1K
Elevated kynurenine pathway metabolism during neurodevelopment: Implications for brain and behavior.
Francesca M Notarangelo1, Ana Pocivavsek1
1Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Neuropharmacology
|March 6, 2016
Summary
The kynurenine pathway (KP) influences brain development and psychiatric disorders. Manipulating KP and supplementing choline during development can reduce cognitive deficits in offspring.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The kynurenine pathway (KP) produces neuroactive metabolites affecting brain function.
- KP dysregulation is implicated in psychiatric disorders with developmental origins, like schizophrenia.
- Environmental and genetic factors influence KP during neurodevelopment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review KP metabolism changes during brain development.
- To examine the role of perinatal KP elevation in long-term deficits.
- To present novel findings on attenuating cognitive impairments.
Main Methods:
- Review of KP metabolism from gestation to adulthood.
- Analysis of animal models investigating perinatal KP elevation.
- Presentation of new data combining choline supplementation and embryonic kynurenine manipulation.
Main Results:
- Perinatal KP elevation can cause lasting biochemical, neuropathological, and behavioral deficits.
- Combining choline supplementation with embryonic kynurenine manipulation attenuated cognitive impairments in adult rat offspring.
Conclusions:
- Targeting the KP during development offers potential therapeutic strategies for CNS diseases.
- Interventions may address the root cause of neurodevelopmental disorders linked to perinatal KP insults.
- This research highlights the critical role of the KP in neurodevelopment and disease.
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