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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Effects Of Catharanthine On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens And Ethanol Consumption, Emily Baldwin
Effects Of Catharanthine On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens And Ethanol Consumption, Emily Baldwin
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis discusses the history of catharanthine and related compounds, and their potential anti-addictive properties. Current research is exploring possible mechanisms of these properties. Past studies have found catharanthine has effects on neurons that project to the mesocorticolimbic system, an area implicated in addiction. We have seen that catharanthine decreases evoked dopamine (DA) release but increases basal DA release. This is the first study to investigate catharanthine’s effect on DA transmission in vivo. Using microdialysis, we determined the effect of catharanthine on DA in the nucleus accumbens of the striatum. This study determines the effect of different doses of …
Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills
Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills
Theses and Dissertations
The therapeutic benefits attributed to activation of peripheral mechanoreceptors are poorly understood. There is growing evidence that mechanical stimulation modulates substrates in the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) that are outside the canonical somatosensory circuits. This work demonstrates that activation of peripheral mechnoreceptors via mechanical stimulation (MStim) is sufficient to increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), alter neuron firing rate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increase membrane translocation of delta opioid receptors (DORs) in the NAc. Further, we demonstrate that these effects are dependent on DORs and acetylcholine receptors. Additionally, MStim can block neuronal markers of …
The Role Of Connexin-36 Gap Junctions In Alcohol Intoxication And Reward, Kathryn Diane Bradley
The Role Of Connexin-36 Gap Junctions In Alcohol Intoxication And Reward, Kathryn Diane Bradley
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this thesis project was to examine the function of connexin-36 (Cx36) gap junctions (GJs) in producing alcohol's intoxicating and rewarding effects. GABA neurons are thought to inhibit dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the mesocorticolimbic system, which originates in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects to limbic structures such as the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). The mesolimbic DA system is believed to be the neural substrate of alcohol intoxication and addiction (Tepper, Paladini, & Celada, 1998). Alcohol suppresses the firing rate of GABA neurons in the VTA (Gallegos, Criado, Lee, Henriksen, & Steffensen, 1999) and presumably disinhibits DA …
Neuronal And Molecular Adaptations Of Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area To Chronic Alcohol, Kimberly Hales
Neuronal And Molecular Adaptations Of Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area To Chronic Alcohol, Kimberly Hales
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this thesis project was to examine the effects of chronic alcohol on the excitability and molecular adaptation of GABA neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). GABA neurons are of interest with regards to ethanol intoxication, reinforcement, and dependence due to their widespread distribution and connectivity to mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons implicated in alcohol reward and addiction. Since we have previously shown adaptation of VTA GABA neuron firing rate to chronic ethanol (Gallegos, Criado et al. 1999) and suppression of gap-junction (GJ) mediated coupling between these neurons by acute ethanol (Stobbs, Ohran et al. 2004), we wanted …