Undergraduate Institution and Major/Degree:
Major Advisor(s):
Research Description:
The modulatory neurotransmitter dopamine has been implicated in schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, normal reinforcement learning, and drug addiction. Despite its importance in these processes, the role that it plays in modulating synaptic transmission and plasticity is not well understood. Dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc)--a brain center for the regulation of motivated bahaviors--is particularly important in appetitive learning and addiction. Here, we characterize how dopamine modulates synaptic transmission and plasticity in the NAc. Our preliminary results indicate that prior activation of dopamine D1 receptors strongly facilitates NAc LTP. This type of temporal-specific neuromodulatory control is likely to be relevant to normal reinforcement learning, where the timing of dopamine release in relation to the presence of environmental cues is important.
Lab Rotations:
- Paulo Kofuji
- Chris Honda
- Chris Gomez
- Apostolos Georgopolous
- Mark Thomas
Conferences Attended:
- Society for Neuroscience annual meeting - Fall 2001
Awards and Honors:
- Morris Smithberg Award - 2002
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