The proposed experiments involve the use of in vivo microdialysis and high-performance liquid chromotography/electrochemical detection techniques to measure the amount of the neurotransmitter acetylcholirie (ACh) released from the corticopetal projections of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis into primary auditory (A1) and visual (V1) cortices in the rat brain during various Pavlovian associative learning paradigms.
The specific aims of these experiments are (1) to demonstrate the relationship between ACh release in task-relevant sensory cortices and the strength of conditioned responding to modality-specific sensory stimuli, (2) to provide evidence for the existence of a differential, regionally-specific pattern of ACh release (as opposed to a generalized, global pattern of release), where the greatest levels of ACh are released in task-relevant sensory cortices during associative learning, and (3) to determine whether manipulating demands on attentional processing of conditioned stimuli causes increases or decreases in the amount of ACh released in the sensory cortex corresponding to the affected conditioned stimulus. These goals will be achieved through a series of three experiments where ACh release will be simultaneously measured in A1 and V1, and where conditioned appetitive approach behavior will be quantified in a classical conditioning paradigm (Experiment 1), an incremental attentional processing paradigm (Experiment 2), or in a blocking paradigm (Experiment 3). Developing this novel model of selective attention and associative learning will provide important insight into the brain mechanisms involved in attention, in cortical synaptic plasticity, and in memory formation itself. Furthermore, results from these experiments will contribute to ongoing research in diverse areas of medicine and neuroscience, ranging from the study of Alzheimer's disease (characterized by cortical ACh deficiency and memory impairments) to reorganization of cortical function following peripheral nerve injury (where such reorganization depends on cortical ACh).

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Minority Biomedical Research Support - MBRS (S06)
Project #
5S06GM073842-03
Application #
7386669
Study Section
Minority Programs Review Committee (MPRC)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2007-04-01
Budget End
2008-03-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$152,157
Indirect Cost
Name
California State University San Bernardino
Department
Type
DUNS #
030579213
City
San Bernardino
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92407
Tenayuca, John; Cousins, Kimberley; Yang, Shumei et al. (2017) Computational Modeling Approach in Probing the Effects of Cytosine Methylation on the Transcription Factor Binding to DNA. Curr Top Med Chem 17:1778-1787
Pehl, Michael J; Jamieson, William David; Kong, Karen et al. (2012) Genes that influence swarming motility and biofilm formation in Variovorax paradoxus EPS. PLoS One 7:e31832
Der-Ghazarian, T; Gutierrez, A; Varela, F A et al. (2012) Dopamine receptor inactivation in the caudate-putamen differentially affects the behavior of preweanling and adult rats. Neuroscience 226:427-40
Crawford, Cynthia A; Baella, Shelley A; Farley, Cristal M et al. (2011) Early methylphenidate exposure enhances cocaine self-administration but not cocaine-induced conditioned place preference in young adult rats. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 213:43-52
Flesher, M Melissa; Butt, Allen E; Kinney-Hurd, Brandee L (2011) Differential acetylcholine release in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus during pavlovian trace and delay conditioning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 96:181-91
Charntikov, S; Der-Ghazarian, T; Herbert, M S et al. (2011) Importance of D1 and D2 receptors in the dorsal caudate-putamen for the locomotor activity and stereotyped behaviors of preweanling rats. Neuroscience 183:121-33
Cortez, A M; Charntikov, S; Der-Ghazarian, T et al. (2010) Age-dependent effects of kappa-opioid receptor stimulation on cocaine-induced stereotyped behaviors and dopamine overflow in the caudate-putamen: an in vivo microdialysis study. Neuroscience 169:203-13
Xiao, Daliao; Huang, Xiaohui; Yang, Shumei et al. (2010) Pregnancy downregulates actin polymerization and pressure-dependent myogenic tone in ovine uterine arteries. Hypertension 56:1009-15
Xiao, DaLiao; Yang, Shumei; Zhang, Lubo (2009) Prenatal cocaine exposure causes sex-dependent impairment in the myogenic reactivity of coronary arteries in adult offspring. Hypertension 54:1123-8
Jamieson, W David; Pehl, Michael J; Gregory, Glenn A et al. (2009) Coordinated surface activities in Variovorax paradoxus EPS. BMC Microbiol 9:124

Showing the most recent 10 out of 24 publications