Dopamine D1 receptor activation in the striatum is sufficient to drive reinforcement of anteceding cortical patterns.

Timed dopamine signals underlie reinforcement learning, favoring neural activity patterns that drive behaviors with positive outcomes. In the striatum, dopamine activates five dopamine receptors (D1R-D5R), which are differentially expressed in striatal neurons. However, the role of specific dopamine receptors in reinforcement is poorly understood.

Synapse-specific catecholaminergic modulation of neuronal glutamate release.

Norepinephrine in vertebrates and its invertebrate analog, octopamine, regulate the activity of neural circuits. We find that, when hungry, larvae switch activity in type II octopaminergic motor neurons (MNs) to high-frequency bursts, which coincide with locomotion-driving bursts in type I glutamatergic MNs that converge on the same muscles. Optical quantal analysis across hundreds of synapses simultaneously reveals that octopamine potentiates glutamate release by tonic type Ib MNs, but not phasic type Is MNs, and occurs via the G-coupled octopamine receptor (OAMB).

Congenital Hyperinsulinism and Long QT Syndrome Attributable to a Variant in KCNE1.

Introduction: This is a report of a child with congenital hyperinsulinism associated with a loss-of-function variant in KCNE1. KCNE1 encodes a human potassium channel accessory (beta) subunit that modulates potassium channel Kv7.1 (encoded by KCNQ1).

Staged Screening Identifies People with Biomarkers Related to Neuronal Alpha-Synuclein Disease.

Objective: Remote identification of individuals with severe hyposmia may enable scalable recruitment of participants with underlying alpha-synuclein aggregation. We evaluated the performance of a staged screening paradigm using remote smell testing to enrich for abnormal dopamine transporter single-photon emission computed tomography imaging (DAT-SPECT) and alpha-synuclein aggregation.

Methods: The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) recruited participants for the prodromal cohort who were 60-years and older without a Parkinson's disease diagnosis.

Platelet storage in small bags as a model of platelet function in full-sized containers.

Background: Evaluation of additive solutions, storage containers, new collection and storage methods, and other potential modifications is resource intensive, resulting in diversion of platelets away from blood bank inventories and significant time to complete study recruitments. Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility of a small bag for the study of platelet storage, and, by using a standardized respirometry test, separate daily metabolic capacity from observations made in the dynamic storage environment of changing pH, fuels, and end products.

Methods: Single-donor apheresis platelets collected in 100% plasma had small volumes removed to meet secondary processing requirements.