Dissociated cultures of neurons obtained from various rat brain regions will be employed to study the effects of the newly discovered neurotrophic factors, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) on cholinergic and dopaminergic biochemical differentiation. Observed effects will be compared to those of nerve growth factor (NGF). In vivo experiments in which the neurotrophic factors are injected into specific brain areas will be done to determine whether the effects observed in culture are biologically relevant.
