Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Guzman JN
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2784968 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Guzman Jaime N JN Sánchez-Padilla Javier J Chan C Savio CS Surmeier D James DJ
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20090901 35
Dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta are autonomous pacemakers. This activity is responsible for the sustained release of dopamine necessary for the proper functioning of target structures, such as the striatum. Somatodendritic L-type Ca2+ channels have long been viewed as important, if not necessary, for this activity. The studies reported here challenge this viewpoint. Using a combination of optical and electrophysiological approaches in brain slices, it was found that an ...[more]