Schizophrenia-Like Behavioral Impairments in Mice with Suppressed Expression of Piccolo in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.

Piccolo, a presynaptic cytomatrix protein, plays a role in synaptic vesicle trafficking in the presynaptic active zone. Certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the Piccolo-encoding gene are reported to be associated with mental disorders. However, a few studies have evaluated the relationship between Piccolo dysfunction and psychotic symptoms.

Regulatory system of mGluR group II in the nucleus accumbens for methamphetamine-induced dopamine increase by the medial prefrontal cortex.

Aim: We previously reported that methamphetamine (METH)-induced conditioned place preference was attenuated by Shati/Nat8l overexpression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Shati/Nat8l overexpression in the mPFC expressed lower levels of both glutamate and dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and attenuated METH-induced DA elevation. We suggested a mechanism in which a decline of glutamate levels in the NAc decreases extracellular DA levels.