This invention relates to compounds, pharmaceutical compositions and methodsfor use in the prevention and treatment of cerebral insufficiency, includingenhancement of receptor functioning in synapses in brain networks responsiblefor basic and higher order behaviors. These brain networks, which are involvedin regulation of breathing, and cognitive abilities related to memory impairment,such as is observed in a variety of dementias, in imbalances in neuronal activitybetween different brain regions, as is suggested in disorders such as Parkinsonsdisease, schizophrenia, respiratory depression, sleep apneas, attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder and affective or mood disorders, and in disorderswherein a deficiency in neurotrophic factors is implicated, as well as in disordersof respiration such as overdose of an alcohol, an opiate, an opioid, a barbiturate,an anesthetic, or a nerve toxin, or where the respiratory depression resultsform a medical condition such as central sleep apnea, stroke- induced centralsleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, congenital hypoventilation syndrome,obesity hypoventilation syndrome, sudden infant death syndrome, Rett syndrome,spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, Cheney-Stokes respiration, Ondinescurse, Prader-Willis syndrome and drowning. In a particular aspect,the invention relates to compounds useful for treatment of such conditions,and methods of using these compounds for such treatment.
