scholarly journals Delta Oscillations Are a Robust Biomarker of Dopamine Depletion Severity and Motor Dysfunction in Awake Mice

Author(s):  
Timothy C. Whalen ◽  
Amanda M. Willard ◽  
Jonathan E. Rubin ◽  
Aryn H. Gittis

AbstractDelta oscillations (0.5–4 Hz) are a robust but often overlooked feature of basal ganglia pathophysiology in Parkinson’s disease and their relationship to parkinsonian akinesia has not been investigated. Here, we establish a novel approach to detect spike oscillations embedded in noise to provide the first study of delta oscillations in awake, dopamine depleted mice. We find that approximately half of neurons in the substantia nigra reticulata exhibit delta oscillations in dopamine depletion and that these oscillations are a strong indicator of dopamine loss and akinesia, outperforming measures such as changes in firing rate, irregularity, bursting and synchrony. We further establish that these oscillations are caused by the loss of D2 receptor activation and do not require motor cortex, contrary to previous findings in anesthetized animals. These results give insight into how dopamine loss leads to dysfunction and suggest a reappraisal of delta oscillations as a biomarker in Parkinson’s disease.

2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-329
Author(s):  
Timothy C. Whalen ◽  
Amanda M. Willard ◽  
Jonathan E. Rubin ◽  
Aryn H. Gittis

This work introduces a novel method to detect spike oscillations amidst neural noise. Using this method, we demonstrate that delta oscillations in the basal ganglia are a defining feature of awake, dopamine-depleted mice and are strongly correlated with dopamine loss and parkinsonian motor symptoms. These oscillations arise from a loss of D2-receptor activation and do not require motor cortex. Similar oscillations in human patients may be an underappreciated marker and target for Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (24) ◽  
pp. 4478-4491 ◽  
Author(s):  
BK. Binukumar ◽  
Varsha Shukla ◽  
Niranjana D. Amin ◽  
Philip Grant ◽  
M. Bhaskar ◽  
...  

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra, decreased striatal dopamine levels, and consequent extrapyramidal motor dysfunction. Recent evidence indicates that cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is inappropriately activated in several neurodegenerative conditions, including PD. To date, strategies to specifically inhibit Cdk5 hyperactivity have not been successful without affecting normal Cdk5 activity. Previously we reported that TFP5 peptide has neuroprotective effects in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease. Here we show that TFP5/TP5 selective inhibition of Cdk5/p25 hyperactivation in vivo and in vitro rescues nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurodegeneration induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP/MPP+) in a mouse model of PD. TP5 peptide treatment also blocked dopamine depletion in the striatum and improved gait dysfunction after MPTP administration. The neuroprotective effect of TFP5/TP5 peptide is also associated with marked reduction in neuroinflammation and apoptosis. Here we show selective inhibition of Cdk5/p25 ­hyperactivation by TFP5/TP5 peptide, which identifies the kinase as a potential therapeutic target to reduce neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tozzi ◽  
Valentina Durante ◽  
Guendalina Bastioli ◽  
Petra Mazzocchetti ◽  
Salvatore Novello ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1541-1549
Author(s):  
Seok Jong Chung ◽  
Sangwon Lee ◽  
Han Soo Yoo ◽  
Yang Hyun Lee ◽  
Hye Sun Lee ◽  
...  

Background: Striatal dopamine deficits play a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and several non-motor symptoms (NMSs) have a dopaminergic component. Objective: To investigate the association between early NMS burden and the patterns of striatal dopamine depletion in patients with de novo PD. Methods: We consecutively recruited 255 patients with drug-naïve early-stage PD who underwent 18F-FP-CIT PET scans. The NMS burden of each patient was assessed using the NMS Questionnaire (NMSQuest), and patients were divided into the mild NMS burden (PDNMS-mild) (NMSQuest score <6; n = 91) and severe NMS burden groups (PDNMS-severe) (NMSQuest score >9; n = 90). We compared the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) activity between the groups. Results: Patients in the PDNMS-severe group had more severe parkinsonian motor signs than those in the PDNMS-mild group, despite comparable DAT activity in the posterior putamen. DAT activity was more severely depleted in the PDNMS-severe group in the caudate and anterior putamen compared to that in the PDMNS-mild group. The inter-sub-regional ratio of the associative/limbic striatum to the sensorimotor striatum was lower in the PDNMS-severe group, although this value itself lacked fair accuracy for distinguishing between the patients with different NMS burdens. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that PD patients with severe NMS burden exhibited severe motor deficits and relatively diffuse dopamine depletion throughout the striatum. These findings suggest that the level of NMS burden could be associated with distinct patterns of striatal dopamine depletion, which could possibly indicate the overall pathological burden in PD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 1234-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Belardinelli ◽  
Ramin Azodi-Avval ◽  
Erick Ortiz ◽  
Georgios Naros ◽  
Florian Grimm ◽  
...  

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for symptomatic Parkinson’s disease (PD); the clinical benefit may not only mirror modulation of local STN activity but also reflect consecutive network effects on cortical oscillatory activity. Moreover, STN-DBS selectively suppresses spatially and spectrally distinct patterns of synchronous oscillatory activity within cortical-subcortical loops. These STN-cortical circuits have been described in PD patients using magnetoencephalography after surgery. This network information, however, is currently not available during surgery to inform the implantation strategy.The authors recorded spontaneous brain activity in 3 awake patients with PD (mean age 67 ± 14 years; mean disease duration 13 ± 7 years) during implantation of DBS electrodes into the STN after overnight withdrawal of dopaminergic medication. Intraoperative propofol was discontinued at least 30 minutes prior to the electrophysiological recordings. The authors used a novel approach for performing simultaneous recordings of STN local field potentials (LFPs) and multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) at rest. Coherent oscillations between LFP and EEG sensors were computed, and subsequent dynamic imaging of coherent sources was performed.The authors identified coherent activity in the upper beta range (21–35 Hz) between the STN and the ipsilateral mesial (pre)motor area. Coherence in the theta range (4–6 Hz) was detected in the ipsilateral prefrontal area.These findings demonstrate the feasibility of detecting frequency-specific and spatially distinct synchronization between the STN and cortex during DBS surgery. Mapping the STN with this technique may disentangle different functional loops relevant for refined targeting during DBS implantation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer Dagra ◽  
Douglas R. Miller ◽  
Min Lin ◽  
Adithya Gopinath ◽  
Fatemeh Shaerzadeh ◽  
...  

AbstractPathophysiological damages and loss of function of dopamine neurons precede their demise and contribute to the early phases of Parkinson’s disease. The presence of aberrant intracellular pathological inclusions of the protein α-synuclein within ventral midbrain dopaminergic neurons is one of the cardinal features of Parkinson’s disease. We employed molecular biology, electrophysiology, and live-cell imaging to investigate how excessive α-synuclein expression alters multiple characteristics of dopaminergic neuronal dynamics and dopamine transmission in cultured dopamine neurons conditionally expressing GCaMP6f. We found that overexpression of α-synuclein in mouse (male and female) dopaminergic neurons altered neuronal firing properties, calcium dynamics, dopamine release, protein expression, and morphology. Moreover, prolonged exposure to the D2 receptor agonist, quinpirole, rescues many of the alterations induced by α-synuclein overexpression. These studies demonstrate that α-synuclein dysregulation of neuronal activity contributes to the vulnerability of dopaminergic neurons and that modulation of D2 receptor activity can ameliorate the pathophysiology. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the insidious changes in dopaminergic neuronal activity and neuronal loss that characterize Parkinson’s disease progression with significant therapeutic implications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 361
Author(s):  
Rwei-Ling Yu ◽  
Shao-Ching Tu ◽  
Ruey-Meei Wu ◽  
Pei-An Lu ◽  
Chun-Hsiang Tan

(1) Background: Monoamine neurotransmitters play essential roles in the normal functioning of our nervous system. However, the metabolism of monoamine neurotransmitters is accompanied by the production of neurotoxic metabolites, and inefficient removal of the metabolites has been suggested to cause neurodegeneration. (2) Methods: To examine the effect of reduced activity of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) conferred by single nucleotide polymorphisms COMT rs4680(A) and ALDH2 rs671(A) on the symptoms of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a total of 114 PD patients were recruited cross-sectionally and received genotyping for rs4680 and rs671 along with MDS-UPDRS evaluation. (3) Results: We found that patients carrying rs4680(A) had more severe bradykinesia in the upper extremity and rest tremor. Besides, patients carrying rs671(A) had more difficulty maintaining personal hygiene, while patients with genotype rs671(GG) had higher scores in the item “depressed mood.” More importantly, we found the effect of rs4680 to be moderated by rs671 SNP for the symptom of “hand movements.” The detrimental impact of rs4680(A) is more pronounced in the presence of genotype rs671(GG). (4) Conclusions: This study facilitates a deeper understanding of the detrimental effect of reduced activity of COMT and ALDH2 conferred by genetic variation and provides novel insight into the interactions between enzymes metabolizing monoamine neurotransmitters in the pathogenesis of PD.


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