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A New Interpretation Of The Drug Levodopa In The Treatment Of Parkinson's Disease, Joanne T. Vannah Jun 2005

A New Interpretation Of The Drug Levodopa In The Treatment Of Parkinson's Disease, Joanne T. Vannah

Graduate Masters Theses

An argument for levodopa induced dyskinesias (LID) as an expression of long term potentiation (LTP) in the striatum is presented. Normally, with an intact nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) input, long term depression (LTD) is expressed in the striatum, however, striatal LTD is lost following DA denervation and chronic levodopa treatment. It is possible that these changes in synaptic efficacy are due to two other chemical modulators, achetylcholine (ACh) and glutamate, which in turn leads to the induction of striatal LTP. ACh and glutamate may produce these changes in motor behavior by affecting the striosomal pathway in addition to their effect on …