Numerous disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) are attributed to the selective
death of distinct neuronal cell populations. Interestingly, in many of these conditions, a …

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a serine–threonine protein kinase that regulates
several intracellular processes in response to extracellular signals, nutrient availability …

Effective approaches to neuropsychiatric disorders require detailed understanding of the
cellular composition and circuitry of the complex mammalian brain. Here, we present a …

Dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the ventral midbrain (VM) play vital roles in the regulation of
voluntary movement, emotion and reward. They are divided into the A8, A9 and A10 …

Dopaminergic neurons located in the ventral mesodiencephalon are essential for the control
of voluntary movement and the regulation of emotion, and are severely affected in …

The past two decades have seen an explosion in our understanding of the origin and
development of the midbrain dopamine system. Much of this work has been focused on the …

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder whose etiology is not
understood. This disease occurs both sporadically and through inheritance of single genes …

Autism is a neurodevelopmental syndrome with markedly high heritability. The diagnostic
indicators of autism are core behavioral symptoms, rather than definitive neuropathological …

Support of ageing neurons by endogenous neurotrophic factors such as glial cell line–
derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may …

Recessive mutations in parkin are the most common cause of familial early-onset
Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies suggest that certain parkin mutants may exert …