Dopaminergic and Muscarinic Signaling in the Striatum

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in world, but current symptomatic therapies are of limited value and have unwanted side-effects. Through the use of new genetic tools to manipulate and monitor the function of neurons in the brain regions responsible for PD, we have found that a particular type of neuron plays a pivotal role in both the core motor symptoms of PD and dyskinetic side-effects of the gold standard treatment for PD – levodopa. The proposed studies will build upon this discovery to forge a better understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying PD in the hope that this will lead us to new symptomatic therapies that are more effective and less burdened by side-effects.