URCAD Sneak Peek: Leila Ghaffari

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 09:44:30 -0400

Characterizing Zincergic Neuron Projections and Elucidating their Role in Cocaine Mediated Behaviors

Location: Poster #52 from 10-11:30am in the UC Ballroom

Leila Ghaffari
Mentor: Michael Michaelides, NIDA

Zinc (Zn2+) is an essential element of life that regulates neurophysiological homeostasis. Additionally, zinc has been understood to enhance the affinity for cocaine binding of the dopamine transporter (DAT), resulting in the enhancement of cocaine mediated behaviors. Synaptic, or free zinc, has also shown to be an endogenous modulator of dopamine neurotransmission in the striatum. It is not known, however, how zinc affects DAT activity between males and females, and whether such activity differs between the dorsal striatum and nucleus accumbens, or in regions where zincergic neurons originate. Our project aims to increase understanding of zinc in this context. First, we assess whether zinc affects cocaine related behaviors, known to be modulated by striatal activity following striatal zinc chelation. Our next goal is to study if zinc alters DAT and dopamine D1 receptor binding as a function of sex. Our third goal aims to understand the proportion of zincergic neurons that project to the striatum. Through these research goals, our hope is to characterize zinc as it affects sex-dependent dopamine neurotransmission in striatal circuits.

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