Beta-2 Adrenergic Receptor: Difference between revisions

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As an aside, stress during prenatal development has also been proven to impact locus coeruelus (LC) development. Nearly all adrenaline in the brain is produced and transported by neurons in the Locus Coeruleous, a small area of the brain. The locus coeruleus-Noradrenergic System (LC-NA) plays a crucial role in virtually all aspects of behavioral adaptations and performance of cognitive regions of the brain commonly affected in ASDs.<ref name="Purpura">PMID: 19059284</ref> Critical enzymes for proper LC can be downregulated by aberrant epigenetic modifications caused by prenatal stress. One well known example of this is hypomethylation of the Crh gene. When methylated, the Crh promotor is bound by the transcriptional repressor, [[MeCP2]]. Aberrant epigenetic modifications caused by prenatal stress can cause Crh promoters to be under methylated, preventing MeCp2 binding and subsequently causing overexpression of the Crh gene. Overexpression of the Crh gene is a trademark of Rett Syndrome, a well known [[Neurodevelopmental Disorders|neurodevelopmental disorder]] Interestingly, when some autism patients have a fever, the LC-NA system dysfunction abates resulting in reduced autistic behaviors. This implies that the underlying neural networks mediating the LC-NA system are still functional, and offers hope for partial reversal of ASDs through [[Pharmaceutical Drugs|pharmaceutical intervention]]. <ref name="Purpura"/>