Neural Bases of Parkinson's Disease: non-dopaminergic neuronal adaptations within the cortico-basal ganglia system

Clinical manifestations in Parkinson’s disease (PD) do not emerge until the progressive loss of dopamine (DA) neurons reach to a critical level. Consequently, several non-DA systems become compromised, particularly within the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry. Although it remains to be determined how the non-DA synaptic changes are initiated and maintained, it is clear that these factors are tightly linked and are relevant to PD. The long term goal of this project is to unveil cortical and sub-cortical mechanisms that underlie the different dynamics of information processing that take place in the PD brain. Using a combined in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological approach, a proper analysis of the input-output transformations within the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry will be investigated in different animal models of PD.

Monoaminergic regulation of prefrontal cortex inhibition during adolescence