Dopamine receptors set the pattern of activity generated in subthalamic neurons
The FASEB Journal. 2005-11-01; 19(13): 1771-1777
DOI: 10.1096/fj.04-3401hyp
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1. FASEB J. 2005 Nov;19(13):1771-7.
Dopamine receptors set the pattern of activity generated in subthalamic neurons.
Baufreton J(1), Zhu ZT, Garret M, Bioulac B, Johnson SW, Taupignon AI.
Author information:
(1)UMR 5543, University Victor Segalen, Bordeaux, France.
Information processing in the brain requires adequate background neuronal
activity. As Parkinson’s disease progresses, patients typically become akinetic;
the death of dopaminergic neurons leads to a dopamine-depleted state, which
disrupts information processing related to movement in a brain area called the
basal ganglia. Using agonists of dopamine receptors in the D1 and D2 families on
rat brain slices, we show that dopamine receptors in these two families govern
the firing pattern of neurons in the subthalamic nucleus, a crucial part of the
basal ganglia. We propose a conceptual frame, based on specific properties of
dopamine receptors, to account for the dominance of different background firing
patterns in normal and dopamine-depleted states.
DOI: 10.1096/fj.04-3401hyp
PMID: 16260646 [Indexed for MEDLINE]