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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Environmental Modulations of the Number of Midbrain Dopamine Neurons in Adult Mice
Published on: January 20, 2015
Age-dependent changes in dopaminergic projections from the substantia nigra pars compacta to the neostriatum
Yoshiyuki Ishida1, Yayoi Okawa, Sachiko Ito
1Radioisotope Research Center, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. ishida@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Age-dependent changes in dopaminergic (DA) innervation of the neostriatum (Str) were studied in male F344/N rats. Projections from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) to the neostriatum were quantified using electrophysiological methods at age points from 6 to 24 months. The percentage of DA neurons activated antidromically by electrical stimulation (P-index) of Str increased between 18 and 24 months. Additionally, the percentage of DA neurons showing multiple antidromic latencies from striatal stimulation (M-index), which suggests axonal branching of individual DA neurons, increased significantly between 6 and 12 months and 6 and 24 months. These results suggest that DA neurons exhibit increased axonal branching in the aged brain.
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