Dissertation
Identification and Analysis of Receptor Type(s) Mediating the Effects of Dopamine on Neuronal Responses in the Auditory Midbrain
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005225
Abstract
Speech and language are essential components of human lives. They play a crucial role in our communication, social interaction, personal development, and help us form and maintain relationships with others – the ability to express ourselves through language allow us to share information, ask questions, express our emotions and needs, and communicate our beliefs, desires and intents. However, communication disorders can arise from disruptions in the way individual neurons process sounds or in the ways neurons interact with each other. For example, Parkinson's disease occurs largely due to a loss of dopaminergic cells in the brain, and people with Parkinson’s disease can have a variety of deficiencies in processing temporal components of speech sounds. The inferior colliculus (IC) is the major auditory processing and integrating center in the midbrain. Previous studies from our lab show that dopamine application in the IC can cause either increased or decreased neurophysiological responses, suggesting that dopamine alters the relative activity of neurons. My results here confirm these findings and expand upon our understanding of how dopamine shapes the responses of IC neurons. I found that dopamine heterogeneously alters the response properties of IC neurons to both simple and more complex sounds such as social vocalizations. I also found that dopamine modulates these responses through the D2-family of dopamine receptors. While the function of normal dopamine signaling in the IC is not well understood, my work is a crucial first step toward therapies for disordered dopamine signaling underlying communication- and auditory-based neurological disorders.
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Details
- Title
- Identification and Analysis of Receptor Type(s) Mediating the Effects of Dopamine on Neuronal Responses in the Auditory Midbrain
- Creators
- Jeffrey M Hoyt
- Contributors
- Christine V Portfors (Advisor)Suzanne Appleyard Wayman (Committee Member)Barbara Sorg Ingermann (Committee Member)Michael D Varnum (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Program in Neuroscience
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 132
- Identifiers
- 99901019834601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation