synapses | Ricerc@Sapienza

Patch clamp recording and fluorescence monitoring system for brain cells and slices- MicroSynRec

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the integrated electrophysiology/fluorescence system allows the concomitant monitoring of membrane currents and fluorescence in brain cellsform acute brain slices.

The laboratory is optimized for patch clamp recording of evoked and spontaneous synaptic activity. moreover, it allows the rapid application of exogenous subtances. fluorescence monitoring allows the analysis of cells and cell processes movement in slices

Withdrawal from acute medication normalises short-term cortical synaptic potentiation in medication overuse headache

Objectives: To study the effects of a standard acute medication withdrawal program on short-term cortical plasticity mechanisms in patients with medication overuse headache (MOH). Methods: Thirteen patients with MOH and 16 healthy volunteers underwent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left motor cortex; in patients with MOH, recordings were performed before and after a 3-week medication withdrawal program. Ten trains of 10 stimuli each (120% resting motor threshold) were delivered at 1 Hz or 5 Hz in two separate sessions in a randomised order.

Dystonia: sparse synapses for D2 receptors in striatum of a DYT1 knock-out mouse model

Dystonia pathophysiology has been partly linked to downregulation and dysfunction of dopamine D2 receptors in striatum. We aimed to investigate the possible morpho-structural correlates of D2 receptor downregulation in the striatum of a DYT1 Tor1a mouse model. Adult control Tor1a+/+ and mutant Tor1a+/− mice were used. The brains were perfused and free-floating sections of basal ganglia were incubated with polyclonal anti-D2 antibody, followed by secondary immune-fluorescent antibody. Confocal microscopy was used to detect immune-fluorescent signals.