Neuroscience
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Activation of glutamate receptors within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) stimulates extrasynaptic (basal) dopamine release in terminal regions, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Hindbrain inputs from the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT) are critical for elicitation of phasic VTA dopamine cell activity and consequent transient dopamine release. This study investigated the role of VTA ionotropic glutamate receptor (iGluR) stimulation on both basal and LDT electrical stimulation-evoked dopamine efflux in the NAc using in vivo chronoamperometry and fixed potential amperometry in combination with stearate-graphite paste and carbon fiber electrodes, respectively. ⋯ Taken together, these data reveal that hyperstimulation of basal dopamine transmission can stunt hindbrain burst-like stimulation-evoked dopamine efflux. Inhibitory autoreceptor mechanisms within the VTA help to partially recover the magnitude of phasic dopamine efflux, highlighting the importance of both iGluRs and D2 autoreceptors in maintaining the functional balance of tonic and phasic dopamine neurotransmission. Dysregulation of this balance may have important implications for disorders of dopamine dysregulation such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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Although the wake-promoting drug modafinil has been shown to bind quite exclusively to the dopamine transporter (DAT), its action in the brain has been thought to be partially independent from the facilitation of the dopaminergic signals. Here we used electrophysiological and amperometric techniques to investigate the effects of modafinil on the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and on the synaptic overflow of dopamine in the dorsal striatum from the sliced tissue of wild-type and cocaine-insensitive genetically modified mice (DAT-CI). Moreover, we examined the consequences of modafinil administration on the locomotor behavior of wild-type and DAT-CI mice. ⋯ On the other hand, neither the electrophysiological nor the behavioral effects of modafinil were detected in DAT-CI animals. These results demonstrate that modafinil potentiates brain dopaminergic signals via DAT inhibition by acting at the same binding site of cocaine. Therefore, this mechanism of action explains most of the pharmacological properties of this compound in the clinical setting.
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Accumulating evidence suggests that the metabolism of l-arginine, a metabolically versatile amino acid, is critically involved in the aging process. The present study compared the activity and protein expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and arginase, and the levels of l-arginine and its eight down-stream metabolites in the brain stem (pons and medulla) and the cervical spinal cord in 3- (young) and 22- (aged) month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. Total NOS activity was significantly reduced with age in the spinal cord (but not brain stem), and there were no age-related changes in arginase activity in both regions. ⋯ Although the absolute concentrations of l-arginine and six metabolites were significantly different between the brain stem and spinal cord in both age groups, there were similar clusters between l-arginine and its three main metabolites (l-citrulline, l-ornithine and agmatine) in both regions, which changed as a function of age. These findings, for the first time, demonstrate the regional variations and age-related changes in arginine metabolism in the rat brain stem and spinal cord. Future research is required to understand the functional significance of these changes and the underlying mechanisms.
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Neurons at higher stations of each sensory system are responsive to feature combinations not present at lower levels. As a result, the activity of these neurons becomes less redundant than lower levels. We recorded responses to speech sounds from the inferior colliculus and the primary auditory cortex neurons of rats, and tested the hypothesis that primary auditory cortex neurons are more sensitive to combinations of multiple acoustic parameters compared to inferior colliculus neurons. ⋯ Our results demonstrate that inferior colliculus responses are spatially arranged and primarily determined by the spectral energy and the fundamental frequency of speech, whereas primary auditory cortex neurons generate widely distributed responses to multiple acoustic parameters, and are not strongly influenced by the fundamental frequency of speech. We found no evidence that inferior colliculus or primary auditory cortex was specialized for speech features such as voice onset time or formants. The greater diversity of responses in primary auditory cortex compared to inferior colliculus may help explain how the auditory system can identify a wide range of speech sounds across a wide range of conditions without relying on any single acoustic cue.
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Brain regions influenced by the lateral parabrachial nucleus in angiotensin II-induced water intake.
This study examined which brain regions are influenced by an inhibitory lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN) mechanism that affects water intake. Controls and rats with bilateral LPBN lesions were administered angiotensin II (AngII) (0.5mg/kg subcutaneous - SC), drinking responses measured, and brains processed for Fos-immunohistochemistry. A separate group of LPBN-lesioned and non-lesioned animals were denied water for 90 min prior to perfusion to remove any confounding factor of water intake. ⋯ In LPBN-lesioned rats that did not drink, greater numbers of activated neurons were detected in the PVN (p<0.001), SON (p<0.01), MnPO, nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and area postrema (p<0.05) in response to SC AngII, compared with non-lesioned rats. These data suggest that the direct effects of LPBN lesions caused an increase in AngII-induced water intake and in rats that did not drink an increase in Fos expression, while indirect secondary effects of LPBN lesions caused a reduction in Fos expression possibly related to excessive ingestion of water. An inhibitory mechanism, likely related to arterial baroreceptor stimulation, relayed by neurons located in the LPBN influences the responses of the MnPO, PVN and SON to increases in peripheral AngII.