Abstract
In order to determine its effects on locomotor-related striatal electrophysiology in aged rats, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) was infused (vehicle or 30 μg) into the right striatum of 24-25-month-old Fischer 344 (F344) rats. Multi-wire electrode arrays were then chronically implanted in striatum bilaterally. Thirty days later, striatal electrophysiological activity was recorded during freely moving conditions. Individual neurons were classified as locomotor-excited if they exhibited significant increases in firing rates during locomotor bouts versus periods of nonmovement. GDNF produced a significant increase in overall firing rates in locomotor-excited striatal neurons. This effect was observed in both the infused and the contralateral striatum. GDNF also attenuated the bursting activity of nonlocomotor-related striatal neurons, an effect that was also present bilaterally. These results suggest that GDNF's antiparkinsonism effects are associated with increased excitability of motor-related striatal neurons and diminished activity of neurons that do not exhibit explicit motor-related changes in activity. Such studies may aid in understanding the mechanism of potential therapies for movement disorders seen in aging and Parkinson's disease.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 156-165 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Neurobiology of Aging |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2007 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Lied Foundation (J.A.S.) and the following USPHS grants: AG022587 (J.A.S.), AG13494 and NS39787 (G.A.G. & D.M.G.). GDNF was supplied by AMGEN.
Keywords
- Aging
- Awake
- Basal ganglia
- Behaving
- Dopamine
- Electrophysiology
- Freely moving
- Multiunit
- Neurotrophic
- Striatum
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience (all)
- Aging
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology