Name Asheeta Prasad
Department Neuroscience and Pharmacology
Section Neurodevelopment
Function PhD-student
E-mail:
a.prasad@umcutrecht.nl
tel: +31-88 7568924
Supervisor Dr. R.J. Pasterkamp
Title research Mesostriatal connectivity
Summary research Mesostriatal circuits are crucial for the control of numerous complex behaviors and have been implicated in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, including schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. To implement therapeutics for these disorders, we begin by examining the factors involved in the formation of the mesostriatal system. My PhD project focuses on 1) axonal projections from the dopaminergic ventral midbrain targeting striatal neurons (i.e. the mesostriatal pathway), and 2) axonal projections from the striatum to the dopaminergic ventral midbrain and other brain regions. Utilizing BAC transgenic mice, I aim to find proteins involved in axon guidance, target selection and synapse formation in these systems.
Publications Prasad AA, Pasterkamp RJ (2008) Axon guidance in the dopamine system. Adv Exp Med Biol, in press.