Episode 33 -- Ion Channels and Firing Patterns of Dopaminergic Neurons

Wednesday, April 21, 2009 Jim Surmeier (Northwestern University), Jochen Roeper (Goethe University,  Frankfurt), Bruce Bean (Harvard Medical School), Carlos Paladini  (UTSA), and John Williams (Oregon Health & Science University). On April 21st, the UTSA Neurosciences Institute hosted an all-star panel of physiologists for a symposium on "Ion Channels and Firing Patterns of Dopamine Neurons."   This discussion, recorded after the day's talks, has Charles Wilson leading the group in covering a wide range of topics, including ionic  mechanisms that drive tonic and phasic activity of dopamine neurons, the  purpose of intrinsic pacemaking to dopamine signaling, and recent work  that highlights how certain patterns of activity can facilitate calcium  toxicity and cell death in Parkinson's Disease. Duration: 48 minutes acknowledgement: JM Tepper for original music.