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Paul Phillips
University of Washington, USA
Monday 28 July 2008
16.00
Seminar Room B10 (Basement)
Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR
Subsecond dopamine release in terminal regions during classical conditioning
Using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in behaving rodents, phasic dopamine release can be monitored with subsecond temporal resolution in forebrain terminal areas. These studies allow examination and comparison of discrete projection targets of dopamine neurons. With long-term chronically implantable electrodes, recently developed in our lab, phasic dopamine signals can be tracked from trial-to-trial at the same recording location over days and even months of performance in a behavior task. Using these techniques we have monitored dopamine signaling in areas of the striatum over acquisition, maintenance and extended training on a classical conditioning task. To further studies the neural mechanisms of these behaviors, we have taken advantage of the relatively easy manipulation of rodent genetics by both molecular techniques and through selective breeding programs. The results of these studies will be presented.