Determining the Loss of Dopamine
Neurons in Mice with a Mutation in Wnt1
Dopamine neurons are
critical mediators of motor behaviors and cognitive functions.
Concomitantly, aberrant function or loss is central features the
neurological disorders schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. My lab is
currently working with a line of mice that a have a point mutation in the
gene Wnt1. These mice have a loss of dopamine neurons and behavioral
deficits mimicking some features of human disorders. I have established
projects to characterize the loss of dopamine neurons and establish how
their loss impacts on the phenotype that we observe. There are two
related projects that are suitable for a 10 week time duration in which it
is expected that dopamine neuron loss during early development in mutant
mice will be ascertained (Project 1) and that the neurological phenotype
will be characterized by quantitative behavioral assessment (Project 2).
