UNLABELLED Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily characterized by sensorimotor dysfunction. The neuropathology of PD includes a loss of dopamine (DA) neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway. Classic signs of the disease include rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. However, as many as 90% of patients also experience significant deficits in speech, swallowin...

Adolescent males have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, implicating testosterone in the precipitation of dopamine-related psychopathology. Evidence from adult rodent brain indicates that testosterone can modulate nigrostriatal dopamine. However, studies are required to understand the role testosterone plays in maturation of dopamine pathways during adolescence and to elucidate the ...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neuronal cell bodies in the substantia nigra pars compacta and gliosis. The cause and mechanisms underlying the demise of nigrostriatal DAergic neurons are ill-defined, but interactions between genes and environmental factors are recognized to play a critical role in modul...

–The patch-matrix organization of the striatal complex, which is fundamental to the structural and functional organization of the basal ganglia, is characterized on the basis of both connections and neurochemistry. In order to determine whether differences in the connections and neurochemistry are reflected in differences in synaptic organization, we examined the synaptology of the dopaminergic...

Nigrostriatal damage leads to a reduction in striatal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in rodents, monkeys, and patients with Parkinson's disease. The present studies were undertaken to investigate whether these nAChR declines are associated with alterations in striatal nAChR function and, if so, to identify the receptor subtypes involved. To induce nigrostriatal damage, mice were inj...

Deficits in sensorimotor gating measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle have been known as characteristics of patients with schizophrenia and related neuropsychiatric disorders. PPI disruption is thought to rely on the activity of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and is inhibited by most antipsychotic drugs. These drugs however act also at the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pa...

The anti-epileptic agent zonisamide (ZNS) has been shown to exert protective effects in neurotoxin-based mouse models of Parkinson disease. However, it is unknown whether ZNS can attenuate toxicity of familial Parkinson's disease-causing gene products. In this study, we investigated the effects of ZNS on neurodegeneration induced by expression of A53T α-synuclein in the rat substantia nigra usi...

Parkinson's disease is characterized by a depletion of dopamine (DA) neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. Stereotaxic injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a selective neurotoxin, into either the medial forebrain bundle or the substantia nigra result in a massive DA denervation of the nigrostriatal pathway. Following unilateral nigrostriatal DA depletion, hemiparkinsonian animals develop a...