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Theses/Dissertations

2015

Dopamine

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Conduction States Of The Human Dopamine Transporter, Krasnodara Cameron Jan 2015

Conduction States Of The Human Dopamine Transporter, Krasnodara Cameron

Theses and Dissertations

Dysregulation of dopaminergic homeostasis has been established as the primary source of numerous neurological disorders including Parkinson’s and drug addiction. A tonic increase of dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens is required for associating everyday events and behaviors with rewards. Yet many addictive exogenous compounds such as amphetamine (AMPH) and cocaine (COC) produce a much greater augmentation of synaptic DA levels that are linked to euphoria and a shift in behavior towards drug seeking. The protein responsible for maintaining extracellular levels of DA is the dopamine transporter (DAT). It is primarily located in the perisynaptic area at terminals of pre-synaptic …


Synaptic And Neurochemical Profiles Of The Nucleus Accumbens In Postmortem Schizophrenia, Lesley Mccollum Jan 2015

Synaptic And Neurochemical Profiles Of The Nucleus Accumbens In Postmortem Schizophrenia, Lesley Mccollum

All ETDs from UAB

Schizophrenia is a mental illness affecting 1% of the population worldwide. Treatment options are limited for patients, due in part to the lack of understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia. In order to improve treatment, it is vital to gain a better understanding of the underlying pathology of the disorder. One region of particular interest is the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Part of the ventral striatum, this region is thought to play a role in schizophrenia pathology for multiple reasons: afferent input of many brain regions implicated in schizophrenia is integrated here; the dopamine and glutamate systems, both known to …