PSY290H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Substantia Nigra, Mptp, Nigrostriatal Pathway
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We can classify it as a movement disorder. Late o(cid:374)set usuall(cid:455) does(cid:374)"t ha(cid:448)e a ge(cid:374)eti(cid:272) (cid:272)o(cid:373)po(cid:374)e(cid:374)t. the earl(cid:455) o(cid:374)set does. This is due to the degeneration of dopaminergic (makes dopamine) nigrostriatal neurons (from substantia nigra to the striatum) Subtantia nigra has the cell bodies of nigrostriatal neurons. Striatum has the caudate + putamen (the purple part on the figure on the right). The other neuroanatomical feature is that, in the surviving substantia nigra neurons, there are these clumps of protein: lewy bodies. This is usually seen postmortem, not really a diagnostic tool. These clumps of protein are probably helping to lead the degeneration of neurons. For a lo(cid:374)g ti(cid:373)e, (cid:449)e did(cid:374)"t k(cid:374)o(cid:449) the (cid:271)asis for parki(cid:374)so(cid:374)"s disease; a(cid:374) a(cid:374)i(cid:373)al (cid:373)odel (cid:449)as la(cid:272)ki(cid:374)g. Mptp is a toxin that rapidly leads to the destruction of nigrostriatal neurons in primates (not in rats). Used i(cid:374) (cid:374)o(cid:374)hu(cid:373)a(cid:374) pri(cid:373)ates to (cid:272)reate parki(cid:374)so(cid:374)"s disease.
