Marco Diana
Università di Sassari, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Faculty Member
Depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI) is a form of short-term plasticity of GABAergic synaptic transmission that is found in cerebellar Purkinje cells and hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. DSI involves the release of a... more
Depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI) is a form of short-term plasticity of GABAergic synaptic transmission that is found in cerebellar Purkinje cells and hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. DSI involves the release of a calcium-dependent retrograde messenger by the somatodendritic compartment of the postsynaptic cell. Both glutamate and endogenous cannabinoids have been proposed as retrograde messenger. Here we show that, in cerebellar parasagittal slices, type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1Rs) are expressed at high levels in axons of GABAergic interneurons and in presynaptic terminals onto Purkinje cells. Application of the cannabinoid antagonist AM-251 (500 nm) leads to the abolition of the DSI of evoked currents (eIPSCs) recorded in paired recordings and to a strong reduction of the DSI of TTX-insensitive miniature events (mIPSCs) recorded from Purkinje cells. Furthermore, the CB1R agonist WIN 55-212,2 (5 microm) induces a presynaptic inhibition of synaptic currents ...
Research Interests: Synaptic Plasticity, Patch-clamp and imaging techniques, Cannabinoids, Glutamate, Cerebellum, and 17 moreAnimals, Neuronal Plasticity, Calcium Signaling, The, Synaptic Transmission, Presynaptic Inhibition, Rats, Purkinje Cells, Action potential, Pyrazoles, Action Potentials, Interneurons, CB 1 receptor, Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Piperidines, Cannabinoid Receptor, and Purkinje cell
Stress is well known to affect responsiveness to drugs of abuse and influencing approaching and drug-taking behaviour in both animals and humans. Consistently, in nicotine addicted subjects both negative events and perceived stress levels... more
Stress is well known to affect responsiveness to drugs of abuse and influencing approaching and drug-taking behaviour in both animals and humans. Consistently, in nicotine addicted subjects both negative events and perceived stress levels are reported to increase drug use and facilitate relapse to smoke even after long periods of abstinence. It has been suggested that stressful stimuli may influence the rewarding properties of abused drugs by acting on the dopaminergic mesolimbic system. In line with this hypothesis, a recent microdialysis study in rats has shown that acute restraint stress exposure prevents the nicotine-induced mesolimbic dopaminergic activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) shell via a corticosterone-mediated mechanism. In the present study we sought to evaluate the impact of acute restraint stress on nicotine-induced activation of the mesoaccumbal dopaminergic system by extracellular single unit recordings of antidromically-identified NAC shell projecting dopami...
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Scientific knowledge of glutamate (GLU) neurobiology is severely hampered by the inadequacy of the available in vivo brain sampling techniques. Due to the crucial role of GLU in central nervous system function and pathology, the... more
Scientific knowledge of glutamate (GLU) neurobiology is severely hampered by the inadequacy of the available in vivo brain sampling techniques. Due to the crucial role of GLU in central nervous system function and pathology, the development of a reliable sampling device is mandatory. GLU biosensor holds potential to address many of the known issues of in vivo GLU measurement. We report here on the development and test of a labor- and cost-effective microbiosensor, suitable to be applied for measuring brain GLU. A glycerol-based cryopreservation method was also tested. Needle type Pt biosensors were coated with a permselective Nafion-Poly(o-phenylenediamine) layer and cross-linked to l-glutamate oxidase with poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether. Tested in vitro, the device shows high sensitivity and specificity for GLU, while being poorly influenced by common interfering substances such as ascorbate, dopamine and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid. Further, the cryopreservation procedure k...
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Research Interests: Neuroscience, Patch-clamp and imaging techniques, Cerebellum, Animals, Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors, and 13 moreSynaptic Transmission, Enzyme, Rats, SYNAPSES, Purkinje Cells, G protein, Endocannabinoids, Interneurons, Gtp Binding Proteins, Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Climbing Fiber, Purkinje cell, and Phospholipase C
Research Interests: Psychopharmacology, Schizophrenia, Nucleus Accumbens, Dopamine, Humans, and 17 moreCerebral Cortex, Animals, Male, dopamine receptor D4, Neurons, Rats, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, Adult, RISPERIDONE, Neuronal Activity, Limbic System, Ventral Tegmental Area, Action Potentials, Single Unit Recording, Cumulant, Clonidine, and Dopamine antagonists
Research Interests: Psychopharmacology, Prefrontal Cortex, Dopamine, Animals, Male, and 15 moreParietal Cortex, Quinpirole, Morphine, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Norepinephrine, Somatosensory Cortex, Rats, Parietal Lobe, Time Factors, Narcotics, Locus coeruleus, Ventral Tegmental Area, Naloxone, Extracellular Space, and Clonidine
Research Interests: Pharmacology, Animals, Alcohol Drinking, Male, Ethanol, and 5 moreRats, Rat, Wistar Rats, Cysteine, and L
The electrophysiological activity of mesoaccumbens dopaminergic neurons was monitored during the ethanol-withdrawal syndrome in ethanol-dependent and in control rats. Spontaneous firing was reduced by about half in ethanol-dependent rats... more
The electrophysiological activity of mesoaccumbens dopaminergic neurons was monitored during the ethanol-withdrawal syndrome in ethanol-dependent and in control rats. Spontaneous firing was reduced by about half in ethanol-dependent rats as compared to controls. Likewise, the number of spikes/burst was also reduced in ethanol-dependent rats. These results are consistent with the reduction in dopamine release observed during ethanol-withdrawal syndrome and may provide the basis for the aversive effects of the ethanol-withdrawal syndrome.
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Research Interests: Multidisciplinary, Nucleus Accumbens, Animals, Male, Neurons, and 3 moreMorphine, Rats, and Narcotics
Research Interests: Psychology, Motivation, Animals, Male, Ethanol, and 6 moreClinical Sciences, Acetaldehyde, Rats, Wistar Rats, Cysteine, and Neurosciences
Acetaldehyde (ACD), the first metabolite of ethanol (EtOH) appears to be involved in many of the psychoactive effects of its parent compound, including EtOH-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, thereby suggesting... more
Acetaldehyde (ACD), the first metabolite of ethanol (EtOH) appears to be involved in many of the psychoactive effects of its parent compound, including EtOH-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system, thereby suggesting that ACD may participate in EtOH motivational properties. l-cysteine (Lcys), a thiol compound sequestering ACD, is able to prevent the behavioral effect of EtOH and ACD. Here we show that the stimulatory effect of both EtOH and ACD on the mesolimbic DA system is prevented by Lcys pretreatment. Male Wistar rats were implanted with a microdialysis probe in the nucleus accumbens shell (NAccs), and pretreated intraperitoneally with Lcys (30 mg/kg) before intragastric administration of EtOH (1 g/kg) or ACD (20 mg/kg) or before intraperitoneal administration of morphine (2.5 mg/kg). Pretreatment with Lcys prevented both EtOH and ACD-induced DA release in the NAccs without influencing morphine-induced DA release, suggesting that Lcys specifically affects EtOH-induced DA release possibly through ACD sequestering. Our results underscore the role of ACD on EtOH-induced stimulation of DA mesoaccumbens system and support the notion that thiol compounds such as Lcys, by modulating EtOH-derived ACD bioavailability, would blunt EtOH rewarding properties.