Chronic stress is a significant risk factor for the development of numerous psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). Individuals with MDD exhibit impairments in reward processing and decreased motivation to engage in previously-rewarding activities. Importantly, there is a large sex disparity in MDD diagnosis, such that it affects nearly...
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, causing devastating disabilities in both motor and non-motor domains following the degeneration of dopamine (DA) producing neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Current treatments are highly limited in efficacy, and no established treatments currently exist to alter disease...
In vivo, substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons exhibit three spiking patterns – irregular, regular, and bursting. These distinct modes of activity are thought to underlie the different roles that dopamine (DA) plays in target structures within the basal ganglia. In particular, burst spiking in SNc DA neurons is...
The adhesive strategies of living creatures are diverse, ranging from temporary to permanent adhesions with various functions such as locomotion, self-defense, communication, colony formation, and so on. The classic example of temporary adhesion is the gecko, which is known for its ability to walk along vertical and even inverted surfaces;...
When navigating through space, the brain must integrate sensory information with past experiences to choose behaviors that are most likely to produce a positive outcome. Striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) expressing dopamine receptor 1 (D1) and dopamine receptor 2 (D2) receive sensory and motor information from cortical and midbrain regions...
The floor plate (FP) is a ventral midline organizing structure of the developing neural tube that provides positional information using morphogen concentration gradients towards the production of diverse neuron types. In caudal regions the FP is non-neurogenic unlike the mesodiencephalic region of the FP that is highly neurogenic, and is...
Dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta are richly innervated by GABAergic neurons. The postsynaptic effects of GABA on SNc DA neurons are mediated by a mixture of GABAA and GABAB receptors. Although activation of GABAA receptors inhibits spike generation, the consequences of GABAB receptor activation are less well...
The diverse circuits and functional contributions of the basal ganglia, coupled with known differences in dopaminergic function in patients with schizophrenia, suggest they may be an important contributor to the etiology of the hallmark symptoms and cognitive dysfunction experienced by these patients. Using activation-likelihood-estimation meta-analysis of functional imaging research, we...