Genetic autoantibodies and consciousness
Additional evidence for the contribution of glutamatergic NMDA receptors to consciousness comes from patients with anti-NMDA encephalitis (Panzeret al. , 2014; Lynch et al. , 2018). In these cases, patients’ antibodies bind to the NMDA receptors and cause loss or reduction of NMDA receptor functions (Panzer et al. , 2014). Consequently, these patients suffer from impaired consciousness, movement disorders, other psychiatric symptoms, and even death. The positive allosteric modulators of NMDA receptors may be used in the future for the treatment of such patients (Warikoo et al. , 2018; Mannara et al. , 2020). It has been reported that positive allosteric modulation of NMDA receptors can enhance synaptic LTP (Franceet al. , 2022). It may be possible that these new chemicals may be used to modulate the level of consciousness in the future.