This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Our objective is to determine the changes in discharge in the motor thalamus that occur in non-human models of Parkinson's disease, such as those induced by the toxins MPTP or rotenone, and the behavioral conditions under which these changes in discharge occur.Using the MPTP-induced model of Parkinson's disease, we have examined the burstiness of neurons in the thalamus during different phases (and different attention requirements) in a trained targeted reaching task and during different phases of MPTP-induced disability. The activity of over 500 thalamic neurons has been recorded during different behavioral states. If low-threshold calcium bursts (LTS) are identified and the percent of spikes in these bursts is determined, there is an increase in burstiness in severely impaired animals, but not so much in mild impairment. Further analysis, including the location of neurons with different degrees of burstiness and the different types of discharge irregularity and oscillations is under way.
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