The vertebrate diencephalic A11 system provides the sole dopaminergic innervation of hindbrain and spinal cord and has been implicated in modulation of locomotion and sensory processes. However, the exact contributions of sensory stimuli and motor behavior to A11 dopaminergic activity remain unclear. We recorded cellular calcium activity in four anatomically distinct posterior tubercular A11-ty...

Learning and memory is not an attribute of higher animals. Even Drosophila larvae are able to form and recall an association of a given odor with an aversive or appetitive gustatory reinforcer. As the Drosophila larva has turned into a particularly simple model for studying odor processing, a detailed neuronal and functional map of the olfactory pathway is available up to the third order neuron...

The effect of hypericin on the expression of morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) was investigated and compared with the effect of the synthetic antidepressants. The CPP paradigms took place over six days using an unbiased procedure. The results demonstrate that intra-peritoneal (IP) injection of morphine sulfate (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/Kg) significantly induce the CPP in rat. Intra-pe...

Given the established importance of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in maintaining dopaminergic neurotransmitter systems, the nigrostriatal system and associated behaviors of mice with genetic reduction of its high-affinity receptor, GDNF receptor (GFR)alpha-1 (GFRalpha-1(+/-)), were compared with wild-type controls. Motor activity and the stimulatory effects of a dopamine (D...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the effects of methamphetamine (METH) on dopaminergic and serotonergic systems are likely related to METH-induced increases in dopamine release. The ability of haloperidol to prevent these effects of METH suggests that dopamine receptor activation is involved in mediating these METH actions. The present studies were undertaken to determine what role the d...

The enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was immunohistochemically localized by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method in rat to chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla, large neurons and small darkly staining cells of the superior cervical ganglia and noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurons in brain. As compared with the conjugated peroxidase or immunofluorescence techniques, the peroxidase-antiperox...