Publications by authors named "Dawn R. Collins"
Article Synopsis
- Neuronal activity influences the immediate-early gene Arc, which is essential for synaptic plasticity, with its expression being tightly regulated by proteasome-dependent degradation.
- The study created Arc knockin mice (ArcKR) to disrupt the normal degradation of Arc, revealing that while spatial learning remained intact, these mice exhibited cognitive inflexibility when adapting strategies during reversal learning.
- Increased persistence of Arc protein led to altered mRNA and protein expressions, affecting synaptic signaling pathways, thereby highlighting the importance of tightly regulated activity-dependent molecules like Arc for optimal cognitive function.
The interplay between long-term potentiation and long-term depression (LTD) is thought to be involved in learning and memory formation. One form of LTD expressed in the hippocampus is initiated by the activation of the group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). Importantly, mGluRs have been shown to be critical for acquisition of new memories and for reversal learning, processes that are thought to be crucial for cognitive flexibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynthetic versus natural cat odorant effects on rodent behavior and medial amygdala plasticity.
Behav Neurosci
February 2011
Fear and anxiety behaviors are underpinned by neuronal changes within the amygdala. Here, the effects of exposure to natural and synthetic cat odor on behavior and amygdala plasticity were determined. Exposure to natural odor elicited typical and persistent anxiety-related behaviors, such as avoidance, freezing, and flat-back approach; however, synthetic odorant evoked no significant alteration in behavior.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynchronized and rhythmic activity within the amygdala is thought to play a pivotal role in the generation of fear- and anxiety-related behaviour. The aim here was to determine the validity of the in vitro amygdala slice preparation to investigate the generation of rhythmic activity similar to that observed in vivo. Extracellular population activity recorded from the lateral nucleus of the amygdala in vitro showed significant enhancement of activity within the theta-band frequency (3-9 Hz) in the presence of kainic acid (100 nm; n=18).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe amygdala receives multi-modal sensory inputs and projects to virtually all levels of the central nervous system. Via these widespread projections, the amygdala facilitates consolidation of emotionally arousing memories. How the amygdala promotes synaptic plasticity elsewhere in the brain remains unknown, however.
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