Behavioural Pharmacology
April 1, 2019
Kevin Sean Murnane
84 citations
Serotonin, one of the first neurotransmitters to be identified, is an evolutionarily old molecule that is highly conserved across the animal kingdom, and widely used throughout the brain. Despite this, ascribing a specific set of functions to brain serotonin and its receptors has been difficult and controversial. The 2A subtype of serotonin receptors (5-HT2A receptor) is the major excitatory...
The FASEB Journal
April 1, 2012
Kevin Sean Murnane, Leonard Lee Howell
The neuropharmacology of the sleep and arousal systems involves a complex interplay between multiple neurotransmitter systems. Previous work has downplayed the role of dopamine in sleep and wakefulness, at least in part, because dopamine neurons do not appear to change their firing rates across arousal states. In the present study, we examined the wake promoting effects of amphetamine and...
The FASEB Journal
April 1, 2012
Daniel Walker Curry, Kevin Sean Murnane, Leonard Lee Howell
The drug 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) has been shown to increase feelings of closeness and empathy in humans. Despite evidence of MDMA‐induced neurotoxicity, these unusual pro‐social effects have continued to generate interest in the drug's therapeutic potential. Therefore, determining the mechanisms by which MDMA engenders these effects may allow for the development of...
Psychopharmacology
April 2012
Kevin Sean Murnane, Shane Alan Perrine, Brendan James Finton et al.
Considerable evidence indicates that amphetamine derivatives can deplete brain monoaminergic neurotransmitters. However, the behavioral and cognitive consequences of neurochemical depletions induced by amphetamines are not well established. In this study, mice were exposed to dosing regimens of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methamphetamine (METH), or parachloroamphetamine (PCA)...
The FASEB Journal
March 1, 2008
Kevin Sean Murnane, Leonard L. Howell, William E Fantegrossi
3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is an amphetamine derivative with increasingly widespread abuse. MDMA has been difficult to classify as a stimulant or hallucinogen because it shares effects with both drug classes. Furthermore, racemic MDMA is composed of two isomers that vary in terms of behavioral effects rather than simple potency differences. Specifically, the R(−) isomer of MDMA...