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Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Characterization Of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 And Its Role In Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis Using Drosophila, Antonio Joel Tito Jr., Sheng Zhang Dec 2016

Characterization Of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 And Its Role In Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis Using Drosophila, Antonio Joel Tito Jr., Sheng Zhang

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by the selective loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia nigra pars compacta region of the brain. PD is also the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the second most common movement disorder. PD patients exhibit the cardinal symptoms, including tremor of the extremities, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability, after 70-80% of DA neurons degenerate. It is, therefore, imperative to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in the selective degeneration of DA neurons. Although increasing numbers of PD genes have been identified, why these largely widely expressed genes induce …


Cannabinoid Cb1 Transmission In The Mesolimbic Reward Pathway, Tasha Ahmad Apr 2016

Cannabinoid Cb1 Transmission In The Mesolimbic Reward Pathway, Tasha Ahmad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) transmission within the mesocorticolimbic system plays an important role in forming associative memories, and processing both positive and negative experiences. Opiates generally produce potent rewarding effects and previous evidence suggests that CB1 transmission may modulate the neural reward circuitry involved in opiate reward processing. The ventral tegmental area (VTA), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and Nucleus Accumbens (NA) are all implicated in opiate-reward processing, contain high levels of CB1 receptors, and are all modulated by dopamine (DA). Although, CB1 transmission within these areas has been heavily implicated in associative memory and learning, the potential …