Research Focus:
Dr. Alex McDonald's research focuses on a brain area know as the amygdala, which is one of the main brain regions regulating emotional behavior. There has been considerable interest in the amygdala in recently because of its involvement in fear, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), temporal lobe epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, it is one of the main sites of action of many psychiatric drugs. Dr. McDonald's studies investigate the anatomy and neurochemistry of amygdalar neurons and their innervation by monoaminergic (e.g., serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) neurons of the brainstem, and cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain. These investigations utilize light and electron microscopy combined with immunohistochemistry. In addition, studies conducted in collaboration with several neurophysiologists are examining the electrophysiological characteristics of amygdalar neurons, including their firing patterns and their modulation by dopamine.
Recent publications:
- Pinard CR, Muller JF, Mascagni F, McDonald AJ (2008). Dopaminergic innervation of interneurons in the rat basolateral amygdala. Neurosci (epub).
- Muller JF, Mascagni F, McDonald AJ (2008). Dopaminergic innervation of pyramidal cells in the rat basolateral amygdala. Brain Struct Fund (epub).
- McDonald AJ (2007) Amygdala. In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, U. Windhorst, M. Binder, and N. Hirokawa (eds.), Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. Invited Review.
- Mascagni F, and McDonald AJ (2007) A novel subpopulation of 5-HT3A receptor immunoreactive interneurons in the rat basolateral amygdala. Neuroscience 144:1015-1024.
- Muller JF, Mascagni F, McDonald AJ( 2007) Serotonin-immunoreactive axon terminals innervate pyramidal cells and interneurons in the rat basolateral amygdala. J. Comp. Neurol. 505:314-335.
- Rainnie DG, Mania I, Mascagni F, McDonald AJ (2006). Physiological and morphological characterization of parvalbumin-containing interneurons of the rat basolateral amygdala. J Comp Neurol 498: 142-161.
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