The G-protein Gi is known to mediate signal transduction in cells by coupling its 41 kDa alpha-subunit to plasma membrane-bound receptors and inhibiting adenylyl cyclase or affecting ion channel function. Although this G-protein has been functionally associated with D2/dopamine and mu-opioid receptors in striatal membranes, its localization to neurons of the neostriatum, a brain region rich in ...

The fine structural distribution of the enzyme-neutral endopeptidase EC 3.4.24.11 (enkephalinase) was examined by immunoradioautography (using an iodinated monoclonal antibody) and peroxidase immunocytochemistry (using the same probe in nonradioactive form) in the neostriatum of the rat. At the light microscopic level, both techniques revealed a heterogeneous distribution of immunoreactive enke...

–Dopaminergic axons arising from midbrain nuclei innervate the mammalian and avian telencephalon with heterogeneous regional and laminar distributions. In primate, rodent, and avian species, the neuromodulator dopamine is low or almost absent in most primary sensory areas and is most abundant in the striatal parts of the basal ganglia. Furthermore, dopaminergic fibres are present in most limbic...

The neostriatum is critically involved in the control of movement. The activity of neostriatal neurons is regulated by two major inputs: a glutamatergic input from the cortex and a dopaminergic input from the substantia nigra. Ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate synaptic transmission and plasticity in the neostriatum through intrinsic ligand-gated ion channels. In contrast, dopamine receptor...

In the present study, infrared differential interference contrast videomicroscopy was used to examine the effect of histamine on N-methyl-D-aspartate-induced swelling in neostriatal neurons in a brain slice preparation. Histamine caused a concentration-dependent increase in swelling evoked by N-methyl-D-aspartate. By itself, histamine did not cause swelling. Electrical stimulation also caused N...

The agonistic responses of pigeons to the introduction of a stick and the experimenter’s hand into their home cages is described. The effects of lesions of the archistriatum, a presumed homologue of the mammalian amygdala, of lesions of the overlying neostriatum and of control sham operations on this behavior in selected aggressive pigeons are reported. Only archistriatal lesions lead to a pers...