Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) dopaminergic neurons receive strong tonic inputs from GABAergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr) and globus pallidus (GP), and glutamatergic neurons in the subthalamic nucleus. The presence of these tonic inputs raises the possibility that phasic disinhibition may trigger phasic bursts in dopaminergic neurons. We first applied constant...

background and objective: parkinson’s disease (pd) is a rather common neurological disorder in elders that is due to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within mesencephalic substantia nigra pars compacta. with regard to protective and antioxidant effect of simvastatin, this study was conducted to evaluate its neuroprotective effect in an experimental model of pd. materials and methods: in thi...

parkinson’s disease is the second most common age associated neuron degenerative disorder in developed societies. with the prevalence ranging from 41 per 100000 in the fourth decade of life to over 1900 per 100000 in people over 80 years of age.it characterized clinically by resting tremor, slowness of movement, rigidity and postural instability in the result of progressive loss of dopaminergic...

The axon initial segment (AIS) is the site of initiation of action potentials and influences action potential waveform, firing pattern, and rate. In view of the fundamental aspects of motor function and behavior that depend on the firing of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons, we identified and characterized their AIS in the mouse. Immunostaining for tyrosine hydroxylase (...

Studies of the familial Parkinson disease-related proteins PINK1 and Parkin have demonstrated that these factors promote the fragmentation and turnover of mitochondria following treatment of cultured cells with mitochondrial depolarizing agents. Whether PINK1 or Parkin influence mitochondrial quality control under normal physiological conditions in dopaminergic neurons, a principal cell type th...

Coabuse of ethanol and cocaine is one of the most commonly used drug combinations and results in the formation of cocaethylene by the liver. Dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play a key role in the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, including ethanol and cocaine. We have previously examined the electrophysiological effects of ethanol and cocaine, and their combined e...

Cell adhesion molecules play a central role in neural development and are also critically involved in axonal regeneration and synaptic plasticity in the adult nervous system. We investigated whether the neural cell adhesion molecule L1 was capable of stimulating survival and differentiation in the mid-brain dopaminergic neurons which degenerate in Parkinson's disease. Monoclonal L1 antibodies, ...

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is one of the principal sources of excitatory glutamatergic input to dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra, yet stimulation of the STN produces both excitatory and inhibitory effects on nigral dopaminergic neurons recorded extracellularly in vivo. The present experiments were designed to determine the sources of the excitatory and inhibitory effects. Synapti...