Biology subjects

Julia Chartove

Publications and source records attributed to Julia Chartove.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2015

Octopamine release impairs courtship conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster

Octopamine is known to have an appetitive role in odor conditioning paradigms in Drosophila melanogaster. We wanted to test whether octopamine could also act as an appetitive stimulus in courtship conditioning, a paradigm in which training with an unreceptive female (such as a decapitated virgin) causes a subsequent decrease in courtship behavior in male Drosophila. To control octopamine release, we used the Tdc2-Gal4 and UAS-dTRPa1 genes in conjunction to depolarize octopaminergic neurons at 27 C in experimental flies. We hypothesized that inducing octopamine release during courtship training would decrease the aversive impact of training and cause less subsequent suppression of courtship behavior. Our findings confirmed this hypothesis: Tdc2-Gal4/UAS-dTRPa1 flies trained at 27 degrees showed significantly more courtship behavior than controls during testing, and in fact showed no significant effect of courtship training. This confirms that octopamine release counteracts the aversive stimulus of failure to copulate, indicating that octopamine may have an appetitive role in courtship.

Neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2015

Hippocampal circuit abnormalities in MeCP2+/- mouse model of Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome (RTT) has a complex developmental course over childhood and adolescence. Patients with RTT often have a pre-symptomatic period with no or little outward signs of the disorder, followed by developmental arrest and regression. Following regression, the individuals condition is not static, as they often progress into defined stages with unique neurological symptoms. Similarly, the progression of RTT-like symptoms in female mice heterozygous for a null-mutation has a prodromal and symptomatic period. Change in functional local circuit connectivity was studied using hippocampal slices, assaying Schaffer evoked activity in area CA1 using fast voltage sensitive dye imaging. With this technique the local functional interactions between the excitatory and inhibitory components of the circuit can be characterized. The prodromal period was associated with a shift in extent of excitation into the stratum oriens of the hippocampus and reduced sensitivity to changes in divalent cation concentration. These data suggest that hyperexcitability of the hippocampus at the circuit level may contribute to the prodromal reduction in cognitive performance and the onset of developmental regression.

Neuroscience↗