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The striatum integrates dopaminergic and glutamatergic inputs to select preferred versus alternative actions. However, the precise mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. One way to study action selection is to understand how it breaks down in pathological states. Here, we explored the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of levodopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), a complication of Parkinson’s disease therapy characterized by involuntary movements. We used an activity-dependent tool (FosTRAP) in conjunction with a mouse model of LID to investigate functionally distinct subsets of striatal direct pathway medium spiny neurons (dMSNs). In vivo, levodopa differentially activates dyskinesia-associated (TRAPed) dMSNs compared to other dMSNs. We found this differential activation of TRAPed dMSNs is likely to be driven by higher dopamine receptor expression, dopamine-dependent excitability, and excitatory input from the motor cortex and thalamus. Together, these findings suggest how the intrinsic and synaptic properties of heterogeneous dMSN subpopulations integrate to support action selection.

ABSTRACTIn this reflection essay, comparisons are drawn between When States Come Out by Phillip M. Ayoub and LGBT politics in the United States. These comparisons highlight the important connections between the American and Comparative fields, and it raises new questions for both fields to address potentially in future research. Scholars of American LGBT politics have plenty to learn from Ayoub (2016).

ABSTRACTInitiative campaigns, unlike candidate-centered elections, are efforts to mobilize and persuade residents of state and local governments on specific policies. Previous studies have conflicting findings whether or not initiative campaigns can persuade voters. For issues like same-sex marriage, voters may be even more difficult to persuade because their attitudes may be crystallized. Four states voted on marriage equality in November 2012, which resulted in historic victories for the proponents of same-sex marriage. This led to a belief that the marriage equality campaigns won because of their strategic communications. I examine the effect of televised campaign ads on people’s attitudes toward same-sex marriage by combining market-advertising data from the 2012 campaigns and a rolling cross-sectional national survey. Media markets that spill over into neighboring states are analyzed as a natural experiment, isolating the effect of televised advertisements from other campaign efforts. The results suggest that people were greatly affected by campaign ads aired by the groups opposed to marriage equality, and the ads in favor of marriage equality were ineffective. When competing sides are framing the rights of sexual and gender minorities, those opposed retain an unequal advantage in changing the minds of the public through televised media.

ABSTRACTOf central importance to groups is the representation of their interests in government. A direct strategy for representation is to elect officials that identify with the group. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement has increasingly been successful in fielding LGB candidates for local, state, and national offices, even though these candidates face barriers. But while many lesbian and gay candidates have achieved electoral success, few transgender candidates have run for office and even fewer have won. Our project examines the hurdles faced by transgender candidates and provides a predictive analysis of a unique 2015 national survey that queried American adult respondents about hypothetical transgender candidates for different political offices. We hypothesize that although transgender candidates are likely to be opposed by potential voters that would also oppose female, African-American, or gay or lesbian candidates, for transgender candidates, there is a stronger influence of respondent disgust sensitivity and gender nonconformity. The findings largely support our arguments. We conclude that transgender candidates are in a similar electoral position to gay and lesbian candidates, with likely supporters fitting a profile that is similar to the Democratic voter base. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of minority group symbolic representation and democratic citizenship more broadly.

ABSTRACTTransgender identity inherently involves body politics, specifically how transgender people may physically represent gender in ways that do not match their assigned sex at birth and how some may alter their bodies. Yet, political behavior research on transgender rights attitudes leaves unaddressed the role of transgender bodies in shaping those attitudes. Using an original, representative national survey of American adults, we analyze how authoritarianism and disgust sensitivity affect transgender rights attitudes. These two predispositions often reflect social norms and morality about bodies, especially those of stigmatized minority groups. First, we show that attitudes about transgender rights are multidimensional, forming civil rights and body-centric dimensions. Second, we demonstrate that disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism both positively predict opposition to transgender rights, and that they moderate each other’s effects such that the greatest opposition is among those jointly scoring higher on both predictors. Finally, we show that disgust sensitivity and authoritarianism predict greater than average opposition to body-centric transgender rights policies.

Transgender people face an uncertain legal climate, and efforts to include gender identity in policies have been met with both successes and failures. These policies are often developed in the legislative process, which directly involve public opinion. To date, there is only one study analyzing American public attitudes toward transgender people. This research gap makes it unclear whether people in general understand what transgender means and whether public support for transgender rights depends on understanding and knowing transgender people. Since the population of transgender people is estimated to be smaller than that of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, examining whether and how having a friend or family member who is lesbian or gay relates to transgender rights is important to understand political coalitions and attitude change. This study examines public attitudes about transgender rights in the USA. It finds that as respondents report being more informed about transgender people they tend to have more supportive attitudes. Interpersonal contact with someone who is lesbian or gay also leads to a secondary transfer of positive attitudes. About half of the secondary transfer effect operates through a mechanism of attitude generalization: contact positively affects the opinions people have on gay rights that then broaden to affect attitudes on transgender rights. Demographic characteristics also indicate that predictors of transgender attitudes are similar to previous studies regarding attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. Further survey efforts need to consider inquiring about transgender rights and attitudes, as this remains a research gap in need of scholarly understanding.

This article discusses research undertaken in the wake of Nepal's 2011 federal census, the world's first to include a gender category in addition to male and female. It presents the methodology and initial findings of a new survey of 1,178 sexual and gender minorities in Nepal conducted to determine inclusive and locally relevant methodologies for demographic information gathering. Nepal has legally recognized a third gender since 2007 and in 2011 added that category to the census. However, due to confusion and discrimination among census enumerators and a data entry system that only allowed for two genders, those who identified as third gender were not accurately measured. Beyond those limitations, the term third gender is contested, and by itself it may not fully represent the many sexual and gender minorities in Nepal, including people who are gender nonconforming. This article discusses the development of new survey data measuring the identity, behavioral, and attraction dimensions of gender and sexuality across different terms that are in use in Nepal. Initial findings show that seven distinct groups of respondents can be described, and this article discusses how to expand the concepts and considerations for inclusive data collection in Nepal.