Inactive

The purpose of this requirement is to acquire a Leica VT1200S vibrating blade microtome or equal to examine the mechanisms of synaptic integration and dendritic information in dopamine neurons located... The purpose of this requirement is to acquire a Leica VT1200S vibrating blade microtome or equal to examine the mechanisms of synaptic integration and dendritic information in dopamine neurons located in the midbrain. Research in the Cellular Neurophysiology Section focuses on circuit and cellular properties of dopaminergic neurons located in the midbrain. We are interested in the physiology of a subset of dopamine neuron located in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) that undergo selective cell death in Parkinson’s patients. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how synaptic and intrinsic conductances (particulary calcium permeable conductances, ie voltage gated calcium channels and glutamate activated receptors) differ among subpopulations dopamine neurons with the hope that this may provide insight to why SNc dopamine neurons are particularly vulnerable in Parkinson’s disease. Our goal is to identify novel physiological and genetic markers in single SNc dopamine neurons which may be useful in defining subpopulations of these neurons in a meaningful way. This is an absolutely essential piece of equipment in our laboratory that is used by nearly everyone in their past and current studies. In fact, 100% of the published studies out of our laboratory have depended on tissue slices generated by a vibrating blade microtome. Thus, this is equipment is central to our laboratory’s experimental work. In order to study the physiology of dopamine system neurons, our lab uses the approach where we examine their excitability in live tissue slices. Access to tissue slices allow us to directly probe the activity of neurons with the highest level of experimental precision. In order to obtain tissue slice, we need to use a high quality tissue slicer with high mechanical stability. Thus the tissue slicer is absolutely critical equipment in our laboratory.

Inactive

Leica Vibrating Blade Microtome or Equal The purpose of this acquisition is for the Cellular Neurophysiology Section to purchase a vibrating blade microtome microscope system that will allow the exami... Leica Vibrating Blade Microtome or Equal The purpose of this acquisition is for the Cellular Neurophysiology Section to purchase a vibrating blade microtome microscope system that will allow the examination of the mechanisms of synaptic integration and dendritic information in dopamine neurons located in the midbrain. Our lab studies the neural mechanisms that underlie reward-based behaviors and reinforcement learning. Dopamine-releasing neurons in the midbrain play a critical role in these behaviors. In addicted animals, the dopamine system is "hijacked" by drugs of abuse that increase brain dopamine levels through direct or indirect actions on dopaminergic neurons. Furthermore, the selective loss of subsets of dopaminergic neurons leads to the severe motor deficits observed in patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Our studies examine the physiological properties of dopamine neurons that a vulnerable and resilient to cell death in Parkinson’s Disease. In particular, our laboratory is interested in understanding how electrical activity of vulnerable and resilient dopamine system neurons is generated mechanistically and how this activity ultimately contributes to dopamine-dependent behaviors. We study (1) how ion channels, proteins that conduct ions across the cell membrane of dopamine neurons, and (2) how ligand gated receptors enable this electrical activity along with circuit connections that shape their activity during behavior. These studies have led to the identification of circuit, synaptic and intrinsic characteristics that differ between calbindin positive resilient dopamine neuron subpopulations and Aldh1a1 positive dopamine neurons that are vulnerable to cell death. We hope that these studies will advance our knowledge of functional diversity among dopamine neuron subpopulations and the mechanisms of selective vulnerability among neurons in the brains of patients inflicted with Parkinson’s Disease. To study these questions, we cut tissue slices prepared from different animal models. The tissue slices allow us is to perform precise investigations of the excitability of different neurons within the dopamine system. The acquisition is to purchase: A vibrating blade microtome tissue slicer. Contractor shall provide the following components: - Tissue slicer - Control panel - Tool set: Allen key with handle, size 3. Allen key with handle, size 6. Cryomanipulator. 2 futes t 1A - Cyanacrylate glue - Dust cover, small - Ice tray - Buffer tray, metal: buffer tray, lid, specimen disc, tube clamp - Blade holder - IFU-bundle leica VT1200S - CD including available languages - Short manual - Power cord