Lipids are the most abundant organic compounds found in the brain, accounting for up to 50% of its dry weight. The brain lipidome includes several thousands of distinct biochemical structures whose expression may greatly vary according to age, gender, brain region, cell type, as well as subcellular localization. In synaptic membranes, brain lipids specifically interact with neurotransmitter receptors and control their activity. Moreover, brain lipids play a key role in the generation and neurotoxicity of amyloidogenic proteins involved in the pathophysiology of neurological diseases. The aim of this book is to provide for the first time a comprehensive overview of brain lipid structures, and to explain the roles of these lipids in synaptic function, and in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s and Parkinson’s. To conclude the book, the authors present new ideas that can drive innovative therapeutic strategies based on the knowledge of the role of lipids in brain disorders. Written to provide a "hands-on" approach for readers Biochemical structures explained with molecular models, and molecular mechanisms explained with simple drawings Step-by-step guide to memorize and draw lipid structures Each chapter features a content summary, up-to-date references for additional study, and a key experiment with an explanation of the technique

Information on bioactive ether lipids and their involvement in neurological disorders is currently scattered throughout the literature. This book provides readers with a comprehensive description of metabolism of bioactive ether lipids in the brain, activities of enzymes involved in their metabolism, and their involvement in neurological disorders. It is the first book to describe the involvement of these lipids with abnormal signal transduction processes in neurological disorders.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

This volume provides a comprehensive description of phospholipid metabolism in brain, activities of phospholipases A2, and their involvement in neurological disorders. The purpose of this book is to present readers with cutting edge information in a lively manner that is useful not only to student and teachers but also to researchers and physicians.

"Neuropsychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviour represent major contributions to mortality in Canada. Among the many factors associated with psychiatric disorders and suicide, alterations in lipids and cholesterol have been demonstrated both peripherally and centrally, supporting their roles as mediating variables in the underlying neuropathology. Cholesterol (CHL) regulation is a complex and dynamic system, and while animal studies also support a mediating role of CHL on brain function, efforts to determine a biological association in humans have achieved only modest gains. While mechanisms governing cholesterol regulation are not entirely understood, cholesterol is well accepted to have important impacts on a variety of brain functions from neurotransmission to synaptic plasticity and neurodegeneration, with unique contributions from neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Given the extensive regulatory feedback mechanisms and the implications in neurological function, determining a biological basis for the association of cholesterol with neuropsychiatric disorders remains an important area of research. This research aimed to explore the neurobiological mechanism whereby alterations in CHL may relate to neuropsychiatric phenotypes. The results presented in chapter 3 suggest, while no clear differences were found in suicide completers with major depressive disorder, expression of several CHL related genes associate more strongly with white matter CHL levels compared to grey matter, suggesting a potential contribution of SORT1, LPL, and ABCA2, in the regulation of white matter CHL. The results of chapter 4 suggest altered phospholipid levels and expression of lysosomal acid lipase A gene in violent suicides in the prefrontal cortex, which would have important consequences for inhibitory neurotransmission. The results of chapter 4 suggest an increase in 24-hydroxycholesterol in the prefrontal cortex of suicide completers and this could have implications for synapse maintenance and loss in the neuropathology of suicide. In regards to CHL levels, however, little evidence in support of alterations in CNS CHL in neuropsychiatric disorders and suicidal behaviour was noted." --