GENETIC DISSECTION OF NEUROMODULATORY FUNCTIONS

描述：（改编自申请人摘要） 神经调节对行为可塑性很重要。总目标 这项研究的目的是探索这种疾病的分子和生物化学性质。 链接.果蝇的新型多巴胺和章鱼胺受体已经被发现， 分离并显示在蘑菇中高度富集表达 身体是嗅觉学习不可或缺的大脑结构。的 受体产生cAMP和细胞内Ca 2+的增加， 信号转导通路的介质对突触 可塑性使用最近分离的受体突变体，研究将 重点解决三个基本问题。1)这些感受器 在联想学习中发挥作用2)受体突变体是否在 所有类型的学习，还是有选择性的缺陷？3)哪个效应器 系统，cAMP和/或Ca 2+，负责任何行为缺陷 观察到了什么？鉴于行为的多样性和复杂性， 对行为模式中受体突变体的研究应该有助于 剖析行为背后复杂的生理过程 可塑性这些研究可能有助于了解生物源性的作用， 胺在人类疾病，如精神分裂症，和行动， 生物胺受体在认知中的作用

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted From The Applicant's Abstract) Neuromodulation is important for behavioral plasticity. The overall goal of this study is to explore the molecular and biochemical nature of this link. Novel dopamine and octopamine receptors of Drosophila have been isolated and shown to have highly enriched expression in the mushroom bodies, a brain structure indispensable for olfactory learning. The receptors produce increases in cAMP and intracellular Ca2+, key mediators of signal transduction pathways crucial for synaptic plasticity. Using recently isolated receptor mutants, the studies will focus on addressing three fundamental questions. 1) Do the receptors play a role in associative learning? 2) Do the receptor mutants fail at all types of learning or is there a selective deficit? 3) Which effector systems, cAMP and/or Ca2+, are responsible for any behavioral deficits observed? Given the diversity and complexity of behavior, comparative studies of the receptor mutants in behavioral paradigms should help dissect the elaborate physiological processes underlying behavioral plasticity. These studies may help to understand the roles for biogenic amines in human diseases, such as schizophrenia, and the actions of biogenic amine receptors in cognition.