Project Summary

Roberta M. Kelly, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2005) of the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences, aims to study in monkeys a neural pathway connecting the cortex and the limbic amygdala, disturbances in which alter motor behavior and are linked to depression. But what causes these motion activities is unknown. Dr. Kelly recently identified a disynaptic pathway linking the central nucleus of the amygdala (CE) to the primary motor cortex (M1) in primates. The proposed studies utilize a novel tracing system to test the hypothesis that cholinergic neurons in nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) are the site of the intermediate synapse in the amygdala and primary motor cortex pathway. If NBM participates in a pathway that links limbic structures to motor processing areas, pharmacological manipulation of NBM may be a reasonable strategy for combating motor symptoms that accompany affective illnesses.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS

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