Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: Adolescence is marked by profound psychological and neuroendocrine changes. Cognitive functions that depend on the prefrontal cortex and dopamine (DA), such as decision making, are acquired or refined during adolescence; yet, little is known about how neural circuits mature in the transition to adulthood. Here, we conducted electrophysiological recordings in rat brain slices, unveiling an enhancement of the excitability of interneurons, which are important for cortical network activity, by D(1) and D(2) DA receptors. The D(2) effect was observed in slices from adult (postnatal day [PD] > 50) but not preadolescent (PD < 36) animals suggesting a possible neural substrate for the maturation of DA-dependent prefrontal cortical functions during or after adolescence and identifying a critical neural population that could be involved in the periadolescent onset of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia.
Source: Cerebral Cortex
Authors: K.-Y. Tseng, P. O'Donnell
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2128508619