Topic: Dbh-Cre mice

To make decisions in a dynamic world, animals adjust their behavior in response to environmental feedback. To understand how this flexibility is achieved, we seek to understand how the nervous system learns from choice outcomes. Theories proposed that norepinephrine (NE) neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) modulate learning from reinforcement. We tested this hypothesis by measuring activity from identified mouse LC-NE neurons during a behavioral task requiring ongoing learning from reward prediction errors (RPE). Mice were trained to make choices to lick leftward or rightward for reward with c

Neuromelanin (NM) is a black pigment that accumulates in human dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons throughout life. NM levels beyond a certain threshold are believed to be toxic contribute to neurodegeneration seen in Parkinson's disease. Here, we present a genetically encoded and cell-specific viral strategy to induce NM production in disease models, which naturally do not have detectable levels of NM. We also set out to investigate how different accumulation rates of NM in noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus lead to distinct dynamics in neurodegeneration and associated changes in