ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the role and potential of the H3 receptor (H3R) in a range of central nervous system dysfunctions, including movement disorders, anxiety/fear-related disorders, hyperalgesia, and brain ischemia. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous disease occurring most often after the age of 50, associated with the destruction of brain cells within the substantia nigra that produce the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Brain histamine levels vary across different behavioral contexts associated with stress or anxiety and the response of 5-hydroxytryptamine neurons to restraint-induced stress/anxiety depends on brain histamine. A large number of studies have examined the role of the central histamine system in modulating the perception of pain. The inhibition of glutamate release by carnosine was reversed by thioperamide. Therefore, the protective mechanism of carnosine may involve not only the carnosine–histidine–histamine pathway but also the H1Rs and H3Rs and the effective inhibition of glutamate release.
