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ABSTRACT The reuptake and release of dopamine (DA) can be estimated using in vivo imaging methods by assessing the competition between endogenous DA and an administered exogenous DA transporter (DAT) and D2 receptor (D2R) radioligand, respectively. The aim of this study was to investigate the comparative roles of DA release vs DA reuptake in the rat striatum with small animal SPECT in relation to l-DOPA-induced behaviors. DAT and D2R binding, together with behavioral measures, were obtained in 99 rats in response to treatment with either 5 or 10 mg/kg l-DOPA or vehicle. The behavioral parameters included the distance travelled, and durations and frequencies of ambulation, sitting, rearing, head-shoulder motility, and grooming. Data were subjected to a cluster analysis and to a multivariate principal component analysis. The highest DAT binding (i.e., the lowest DA reuptake) was associated with the highest, and the lowest DAT binding (i.e., the highest DA reuptake) was associated with the lowest motor/exploratory activity. The highest and the lowest D2R binding (i.e., the lowest and the highest DA release, respectively) were merely associated with the second highest and second lowest levels of motor/exploratory activity. These findings indicate that changes in DA reuptake in response to fluctuating DA levels offer a better prediction of motor activity than the release of DA into the synaptic cleft. This dissociation, as reflected by in vivo DAT and D2R binding data, may be accounted for by the regulatory sensitization meachnisms that occur at D2R binding sites in response to altered levels of DA. Synapse 70:369-377, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like other higher education institutions, community colleges have expansively entered the domain of online education. With enrollment growth rates in online courses dramatically outpacing overall enrollment growth, community colleges have clearly responded to the market demand of their students for distance learning. Traditionally, these institutions have served a portion of America’s higher education enrollment that has been less prepared for the rigor of college-level coursework than other types of institutions. The researchers set out to determine what differences may exist in course completion rates for community college students in the online teaching modality versus traditional face-to-face instruction. A two-way ANOVA was conducted to analyze 176 sections of Intermediate Algebra for differences between two instructional modalities and across three different term offerings (fall 2014, spring 2015, and summer 2015). Additionally, the interaction effect between instructional modality and term was tested for significance. The researchers determined that there was not a statistically significant difference in course completion rates between the three terms, nor was there a statistically significant interaction effect between teaching modality and term. However, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in course completion rates based on instructional modality and further identified that online sections (mean = 0.436, s = 0.118) had a statistically significant lower course completion rate than face-to-face sections (mean = 0.564, s = 0.180).] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The prefrontal cortex directly projects to the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), an important substrate for engaging item-associated information and relaying the information to the hippocampus. Here we ask to what extent the communication between the prefrontal cortex and LEC is critically involved in the processing of episodic-like memory. We applied a disconnection procedure to test whether the interaction between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and LEC is essential for the expression of recognition memory. It was found that male rats that received unilateral NMDA lesions of the mPFC and LEC in the same hemisphere, exhibited intact episodic-like (what-where-when) and object-recognition memories. When these lesions were placed in the opposite hemispheres (disconnection), episodic-like and associative memories for object identity, location and context were impaired. However, the disconnection did not impair the components of episodic memory, namely memory for novel object ( what), object place ( where) and temporal order ( when), per se. Thus, the present findings suggest that the mPFC and LEC are a critical part of a neural circuit that underlies episodic-like and associative object-recognition memory. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Dopamine (DA), which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, has central and behavioral effects when administered via the nasal route. Neither the mechanisms of central action of intranasal dopamine (IN-DA), nor its mechanisms of diffusion and transport into the brain are well understood. We here examined whether IN-DA application influences dopamine transporter (DAT) binding in the dorsal striatum and assessed the extent of binding in relation to motor and exploratory behaviors. We hypothesized that, based on the finding of increased extracellular DA in the striatum induced by application of IN-DA, binding of [123I]FP-CIT to the DAT should be decreased due to competition at the receptor. Methods: Rats were administered 3 mg/kg IN-DA and vehicle (VEH), with IN-DA injection either preceding or following VEH. Then motor and exploratory behaviors (traveled distance, velocity, center time, sitting, rearing, head-shoulder motility, grooming) were assessed for 30 min in an open field prior to administration of [123I]FPCIT. DAT binding after IN-DA and VEH was measured with small animal SPECT 2 h following administration of the radioligand. Results: (1) After IN-DA application, striatal DAT binding was significantly lower as compared to VEH, indicating that the nasally delivered DA had central action and increased DA levels comparable to that found previously with L-DOPA administration; and (2) DAT binding in response to intranasal VEH was lower when IN-DA application preceded VEH treatment. This finding is suggestive of Pavlovian conditioning of DA at the level of the DAT, since the DA treatment modified (decreased) the binding in response to the subsequent VEH treatment. VEH treatment also reduced motor and exploratory behaviors more when applied before, as compared to when it followed IN-DA application, also indicative of behavioral Pavlovian conditioning akin to that found upon application of various psychostimulant drugs. Conclusions: The results: (a) demonstrate a direct central action of intranasally applied DA on the DAT in the dorsal striatum, indicating enhanced DA availability; and (b) provide first evidence of a Pavlovian conditioned DA response at the DAT. The latter results have relevance to understanding neurochemical mechanisms that underlie placebo action in the treatment of Parkinsonian patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study assessed the influence of L-DOPA administration on neostriatal dopamine (DA) D2 receptor binding in relation to motor and exploratory behaviors in the rat. Methods: D2 receptor binding was measured in baseline, after challenge with the aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase inhibitor benserazide, and after challenge with either 5 or 10 mg/kg L-DOPA plus benserazide. Additional rats received injections of saline. For baseline and challenges, striatal equilibrium ratios (V"3) were computed as 3 estimation of the binding potential. Motor and exploratory behaviors were assessed for 30 min in an open field prior to administration of [123I]IBZM. D2 receptor binding was measured with small animal SPECT 2 h after radioligand administration for 60 min. Results: Both L-DOPA doses significantly reduced D2 receptor binding relative to baseline and led to significantly less ambulation, less head-shoulder motility, and more sitting relative to saline. Moreover, 10 mg/kg L-DOPA induced less head-shoulder motility, more sitting, and more grooming than 5 mg/kg L-DOPA. Analysis of time-betweenhavior curves showed that L-DOPA-treated animals relative to saline exhibited a faster rate of decrease of ambulation frequency and a slower rate of decrease of both duration and frequency of head-shoulder motility from a lower maximum level. Conclusions: The reductions of striatal D2 receptor binding after L-DOPA may be conceived to reflect elevated concentrations of synaptic DA. L-DOPA-treated animals showed less ambulation and less head-shoulder motility than saline-treated animals, indicating an association between less behavioral activity and increased availability of striatal DA. The faster rate of decrease of ambulation frequency and the lower maximum levels of both head-shoulder motility duration and frequency may be interpreted in terms of influence of increased DA availability on behavioral habituation to a novel environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]