For CO 2 sensing studies, chips with multiple NTFET devices were wire bonded and packaged in a 40-pin CERDIP package before functionalization with PEI/starch polymers. The polymer functionalized packaged devices were assembled in a flow cell in which air or CO 2 gas mixtures could be introduced to the devices. The low concentrations of CO 2 were achieved by mixing different proportions of air and 10 % CO 2 in air with a CSSI 1010 precision gas diluter (Custom Sensor Solutions, Inc., Naperville, IL). [8] For some recent examples of solubilization of SWNTs with polymers, see: a) Received

The role and contribution of the dense noradrenergic innervation in the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST) and anteroventral thalamic nucleus (AV) to biological function and animal behaviors is poorly understood due to the small size of these nuclei. The aim of this study was to compare norepinephrine release and uptake in the vBNST with that in the AV of anesthetized rats. Measurements were made in vivo with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry following electrical stimulation of noradrenergic projection pathways, either the dorsal noradrenergic bundle (DNB) or the ventral noradrenergic bundle (VNB). The substance detected was identified as norepinephrine based upon voltammetric, anatomical, neurochemical, and pharmacological evidence. Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry enables the selective monitoring of local norepinephrine overflow in the vBNST evoked by the stimulation of either the DNB or VNB while norepinephrine in the AV was only evoked by DNB stimulation. The α2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine, and the norepinephrine uptake inhibitor, desipramine, increased norepinephrine overflow and slowed its disappearance in both regions. However, control of extracellular norepinephrine by both autoreceptors and uptake was greater in the AV. The greater control exerted by autoreceptors and uptake in the AV resulted in reduced extracellular concentration compared to the vBNST when large numbers of stimulation pulses were employed. The differences in noradrenergic transmission observed in the terminal fields of the vBNST and the AV may differentially regulate activity in these two regions that both contain high densities of norepinephrine terminals.

The dopamine transporter (DAT) plays a key role in the regulation of dopaminergic signaling wherein it controls both the spatial and temporal actions of dopamine. Here we evaluated the behavioral and neurochemical consequences of increased DAT function by generating DAT transgenic mice (DAT-tg) that overexpress the transporter. These mice were generated by pronuclear injection of a bacterial artificial chromosome containing the mouse DAT locus, yielding an anatomical expression pattern of DAT-tg identical to WT. In DAT-tg mice there is a 3-fold increase in the levels of total and membrane-expressed DAT, but synaptic plasma membrane fractions of DAT-tg mice show only a 30% increase in transporter levels. Functional studies reveal that in the DAT-tg animals there is a 50% increase in the rate of dopamine (DA) uptake resulting in extracellular levels of DA that are decreased by Ϸ40%. Behaviorally, DAT-tg animals display similar locomotor stimulation when treated with DAT blockers such as GBR12909, methylphenidate, and cocaine. However, these mice demonstrate markedly increased locomotor responses to amphetamine compared with WT animals. Furthermore, compared with controls, there is a 3-fold greater increase in the amount of DA released by amphetamine in DAT-tg mice that correlates with the 3-fold increase in protein expression. Finally, DAT-tg animals show reduced operant responding for natural reward while displaying preference for amphetamine at much lower doses (0.2 and 0.5 mg/kg) than WT mice (2 mg/kg). These results suggest that overexpression of DAT leads to a marked increase in sensitivity to psychomotor and rewarding properties of amphetamine.bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic ͉ locomotion ͉ addiction ͉ ADHD D opamine (DA) is a key neurotransmitter regulating motivated behaviors such as food intake, locomotion, and reward, and its dysregulation is associated with a number of psychiatric and neurological disorders including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, drug addiction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression (1-3). A key step in the control of DA neurotransmission is the reuptake of DA into presynaptic neurons by the dopamine transporter (DAT) (4). DAT, as well as the serotonin transporter (SERT) and norepinephrine transporter (NET), belongs to the large family of Na ϩ /Cl Ϫ -dependent transporters that also includes the transporters for glycine and GABA (5, 6). These transporters comprise 12 transmembrane domains and intracellular N-and C-terminal domains. Once at the plasma membrane, DAT cotransports two Na ϩ , one Cl Ϫ , and one DA molecule from the extracellular space into the cytosolic compartment of the neuron.Much insight regarding how DAT affects DA homeostasis has been gained from the study of mice lacking the DAT (DAT knockout; DAT-KO) (4, 7). In these animals, there is a 5-fold increase in the extracellular concentration of DA (8). The crucial role of DAT in determining the duration of action of extracellular DA has also been demonstrated in these animals. Usi...

Synapsins are a family of synaptic vesicle proteins that are important for neurotransmitter release. Here we have used triple knock-out (TKO) mice lacking all three synapsin genes to determine the roles of synapsins in the release of two monoamine neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. Serotonin release evoked by electrical stimulation was identical in substantia nigra pars reticulata slices prepared from TKO and wild-type mice. In contrast, release of dopamine in response to electrical stimulation was approximately doubled in striatum of TKO mice, both in vivo and in striatal slices, in comparison to wild-type controls. This was due to loss of synapsin III, because deletion of synapsin III alone was sufficient to increase dopamine release. Deletion of synapsins also increased the sensitivity of dopamine release to extracellular calcium ions. Although cocaine did not affect the release of serotonin from nigral tissue, this drug did enhance dopamine release. Cocaine-induced facilitation of dopamine release was a function of external calcium, an effect that was reduced in TKO mice. We conclude that synapsins play different roles in the control of release of dopamine and serotonin, with release of dopamine being negatively regulated by synapsins, specifically synapsin III, while serotonin release appears to be relatively independent of synapsins. These results provide further support for the concept that synapsin function in presynaptic terminals varies according to the neurotransmitter being released.

Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) at carbon-fiber microelectrodes has been used to demonstrate that sub-second changes in catecholamine concentration occur within the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell during motivated behaviors, and these fluctuations have been attributed to rapid dopamine signaling. However, FSCV cannot distinguish between dopamine and norepinephrine, and caudal regions of the NAc shell receive noradrenergic projections. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the degree to which norepinephrine contributes to catecholamine release within rostral and caudal portion of NAc shell. Analysis of tissue content revealed that dopamine was the major catecholamine detectable in the rostral NAc shell, whereas both dopamine and norepinephrine were found in the caudal subregion. To examine releasable catecholamines, electrical stimulation was used to evoke release in anesthetized rats with either stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle, a pathway containing both dopaminergic and noradrenergic projections to the NAc, or the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra, the origin of dopaminergic projections. The catecholamines were distinguished by their responses to different pharmacological agents. The dopamine autoreceptor blocker, raclopride, as well as the monoamine and dopamine transporter blockers, cocaine and GBR 12909, increased evoked catecholamine overflow in both the rostral and caudal NAc shell. The norepinephrine autoreceptor blocker, yohimbine, and the norepinephrine transporter blocker, desipramine, increased catecholamine overflow in the caudal NAc shell without significant alteration of evoked responses in the rostral NAc shell. Thus, the neurochemical and pharmacological results show that norepinephrine signaling is restricted to caudal portions of the NAc shell. Following raclopride and cocaine or raclopride and GBR 12909, robust catecholamine transients were observed within the rostral shell but these were far less apparent in the caudal NAc shell, and they did not occur following yohimbine and desipramine. Taken together, the data demonstrate that catecholamine signals in the rostral NAc shell detected by FSCV are due to change in dopamine transmission.