Project Summary

Antonieta Lavin, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2000) of Medical University of South Carolina, is investigating the modulatory effects of dopamine and the effects of interactions between dopamine-GABA and dopamine-glutamate in the brain pathways connecting the limbic system with the thalamus and cortex.  It has been shown that dopamine increases the excitability of neurons when its effects are mediated by the neurotransmitter glutamate, and decreases excitability when its effects are mediated by neurotransmitters other than glutamate, such as GABA.  The ultimate goal of this work is to understand the mechanism underlying the regulatory effects of dopamine in this circuit and the role of interactions between dopamine and other important neurotransmitters.  This work may have implications for elaborating the abnormal brain processes in schizophrenia, in which dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex, and of these neurotransmitter systems, have been demonstrated.

Program Area: SCHIZOPHRENIA/PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS\Schizophrenia

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