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Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons

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Series

2009

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Manipulating Neuronal Circuits With Endogenous And Recombinant Cell-Surface Tethered Modulators, Mande Holford, Sebastian Auer, Martin Laqua, Ines Ibanez-Tallon Oct 2009

Manipulating Neuronal Circuits With Endogenous And Recombinant Cell-Surface Tethered Modulators, Mande Holford, Sebastian Auer, Martin Laqua, Ines Ibanez-Tallon

Publications and Research

Neuronal circuits depend on the precise regulation of cell-surface receptors and ion channels. An ongoing challenge in neuroscience research is deciphering the functional contribution of specifi c receptors and ion channels using engineered modulators. A novel strategy, termed “tethered toxins”, was recently developed to characterize neuronal circuits using the evolutionary derived selectivity of venom peptide toxins and endogenous peptide ligands, such as lynx1 prototoxins. Herein, the discovery and engineering of cell-surface tethered peptides is reviewed, with particular attention given to their cell-autonomy, modular composition, and genetic targeting in different model organisms. The relative ease with which tethered peptides can be …


Impairments In Attention In Occasionally Snoring Children: An Event-Related Potential Study., Maria E. Barnes, Elizabeth A. Huss, Krista N. Garrod, Eric Van Ray, Ehab Dayyat, David Gozal, Dennis L. Molfese Sep 2009

Impairments In Attention In Occasionally Snoring Children: An Event-Related Potential Study., Maria E. Barnes, Elizabeth A. Huss, Krista N. Garrod, Eric Van Ray, Ehab Dayyat, David Gozal, Dennis L. Molfese

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: To determine whether minimal snoring is benign in children. Procedure: 22 rarely snoring children (mean age = 6.9 years, 11 females) and age- and sex-matched controls participated in an auditory oddball task wearing 128-electrode nets. Parents completed the Conners Parent Rating Scales–Revised Long (CPRS–R:L). Results: Snorers scored significantly higher on four CPRS-R:L subscales. Stepwise regression indicated that two ERP variables from a region of the ERP that peaked at 844 msec post-stimulus onset predicted CPRS-R:L Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Index scores. Conclusions: Occasional snorers, according to parental report, do exhibit ADHD-like behaviors. Basic sensory processing is longer than …


P2x Antagonists Inhibit Styryl Dye Entry Into Hair Cells, M. A. Crumling, M. Tong, K. L. Aschenbach, L. Liu Jul 2009

P2x Antagonists Inhibit Styryl Dye Entry Into Hair Cells, M. A. Crumling, M. Tong, K. L. Aschenbach, L. Liu

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The styryl pyridinium dyes, FM1-43 and AM1-43, are fluorescent molecules that can permeate the mechanotransduction channels of hair cells, the sensory receptors of the inner ear. When these dyes are applied to hair cells, they enter the cytoplasm rapidly, resulting in a readily detectable intracellular fluorescence that is often used as a molecular indication of mechanotransduction channel activity. However, such dyes can also permeate the ATP receptor, P2X2. Therefore, we explored the contribution of P2X receptors to the loading of hair cells with AM1-43. The chick inner ear was found to express P2X receptors and to release ATP, similar to …


Dopamine Controls Locomotion By Modulating The Activity Of The Cholinergic Motor Neurons In C. Elegans, Andrew T. Allen Jan 2009

Dopamine Controls Locomotion By Modulating The Activity Of The Cholinergic Motor Neurons In C. Elegans, Andrew T. Allen

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter in the brain, where it plays a regulatory role in the coordination of movement and cognition by acting through two classes of G protein-coupled receptors to modulate synaptic activity. In addition, it has been shown these two receptor classes can exhibit synergistic or antagonistic effects on neurotransmission. However, while the pharmacology of the mammalian dopamine receptors have been characterized in some detail, less is known about the molecular pathways that act downstream of the receptors. As in mammals, the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses two classes of dopamine receptors to control neural activity and thus …


A New Laser Pointer Driven Optical Microheater For Precise Local Heat Shock, Mike Placinta Jan 2009

A New Laser Pointer Driven Optical Microheater For Precise Local Heat Shock, Mike Placinta

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The zebrafish has emerged as an important genetic model system for the study of vertebrate development. However, while genetics is a powerful tool for the study of early gene functions, the approach is more limited when it comes to understanding later functions of genes that have essential roles in early embryogenesis. There is thus a need to manipulate gene expression at different times, and ideally only in some regions of the developing embryo. Methods for conditional gene regulation have been established in Drosophila, C.elegans and the mouse, utilizing conditional gene activation systems such as the Gal4-UAS system (fly) and the …


In Vitro Guidance Of Retinal Axons By A Tectal Lamina-Specific Glycoprotein Nel, Yulan Jiang, Hiroya Obama, Soh-Leh Kuan, Ritsuko Nakamura, Chizu Nakamoto, Zhufeng Ouyang, Masaru Nakamoto Jan 2009

In Vitro Guidance Of Retinal Axons By A Tectal Lamina-Specific Glycoprotein Nel, Yulan Jiang, Hiroya Obama, Soh-Leh Kuan, Ritsuko Nakamura, Chizu Nakamoto, Zhufeng Ouyang, Masaru Nakamoto

Biology Faculty Publications

Nel is a glycoprotein containing five chordin-like and six epidermal growth factor-like domains and is strongly expressed in the nervous system. In this study, we have examined expression patterns and in vitro functions of Nel in the chicken retinotectal system. We have found that in the developing tectum, expression of Nel is localized in specific laminae that retinal axons normally do not enter, including the border between the retinorecipient and non-retinorecipient laminae. Nel-binding activity is detected on retinal axons both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that retinal axons express a receptor for Nel. In vitro, Nel inhibits retinal axon …