New Technique Reveals Silent Dopamine Vesicle Clusters

Photo: ZEISS Microscopy / flickr / cc by-nc-nd

• FFN200 stands for fluorescent false neurotransmitter 200
• Researchers developed optical technique to detail how dopamine works in the brain
  • Using FFN200 in mice brain tissue or nerve cells, allowing:
    • The mimicking of brain's natural neurotransmitters
    • Single synapse dopamine release/reuptake observation
• When stimulated only 20% (of neurons) released dopamine:
  • Remaining 80% were silent
• Silent neurons may explain how altered dopamine levels, apply to:
  • Parkinson's disease
    • A chronic and progressive movement disorder
  • Schizophrenia
    • A mental disorder, people interpret reality abnormally
  • Other brain disorders
• Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience
• Columbia University Medical Centre, YouTube video