Methamphetamine (METH) is a psychostimulant drug. Abuse of METH produces long-term behavioral changes including behavioral, sensitization, tolerance, and dependence. It induces neurotoxic effects in several areas of the brain via enhancing dopamine (DA) level abnormally, which may cause a secondary release of glutamate (GLU). However, repeated administration of METH still increases release of G...

Prenatal exposure to high-level ethanol (EtOH) has been reported to produce hyperlocomotion in offspring. Previous studies have demonstrated synaptic plasticity in cortical afferent to the dorsolateral (DL) striatum is involved in the pathogensis of hyperlocomotion. Here, prenatal EtOH-exposed rat offspring were used to investigate whether maternal EtOH exposure affected synaptic plasticity in ...

Dopamine (DA) and other neurotransmitters affect nonneuronal tissues in insects by circulating in the hemolymph. In several organisms, DA has been shown to modulate distinct aspects of cardiac function but the signal transduction pathways that mediate dopaminergic effects on the heart are not well characterized. Here, we used a semiintact Drosophila melanogaster larva preparation and drugs targ...

Methamphetamine (METH) has been shown to increase the extracellular concentrations of both dopamine (DA) and glutamate (GLU) in the striatum. Dopamine, glutamate, or their combined effects have been hypothesized to mediate striatal DA nerve terminal damage. Although it is known that METH releases DA via reverse transport, it is not known how METH increases the release of GLU. We hypothesized th...

The selective activation of the prefrontal cortical dopamine system by mild stress can be mimicked by anxiogenic beta-carbolines such as FG7142. To investigate the functional relevance of elevated levels of dopamine turnover in the prefrontal cortex, the current study examined the effects of FG7142 on the performance of spatial working memory tasks in the rat and monkey. FG7142 selectively incr...

Müller cell gliosis is a common response in many retinal pathological conditions. We previously demonstrated that downregulation of Kir channels contributes to Müller cell gliosis in a rat chronic ocular hypertension (COH) model. Here, the possible involvement of outward K+ currents in Müller cell gliosis was investigated. Outward K+ current densities in Müller cells isolated from COH rats, as ...

The vesicular monoamine transporter-2 is the sole transporter responsible for sequestration of monoamines, including dopamine (DA), into synaptic vesicles. Previous studies demonstrate that agents that inhibit DA transporter function, such as cocaine, increase vesicular [(3)H]DA uptake and binding of the ligand [(3)H]dihydrotetrabenazine ([(3)H]DHTBZ), as assessed in vesicles prepared from trea...

ADP-induced TXA2 generation requires the costimulation of P2Y1, P2Y12, and the GPIIb/IIIa receptors. Signaling events downstream of the P2Y receptors that contribute to ADP-induced TXA2 generation have not been clearly delineated. In this study, we have investigated the role of G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (GIRKs), a recently identified functional effector for the P2Y1...

Studies of the effects of dopamine in the basal ganglia have focused on the striatum, whereas the functions of dopamine released in the internal pallidal segment (GPi) or in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) have received less attention. Anatomic and biochemical investigations have demonstrated the presence of dopamine D1-like receptors (D1LRs) in GPi and SNr, which are primarily locat...

Age-related dopamine (DA) losses have been extensively demonstrated for the D2 receptor subtype. Comparatively little is known about adult age changes regarding D1 receptors. In this study, we demonstrate marked age-related D1 receptor losses in striatal, limbic, and cortical areas using positron emission tomography and the radioligand [(11)C]SCH23390 in humans. Interregional correlations of bi...