A fundamental, but poorly understood, question in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is why some neurons are more vulnerable than others. We propose that distinctive features of the circuitry in which dopamine neurons (DANs) reside drive their vulnerability to dysfunction and death in PD. We tackle this question in 3 parts – addressing contributions from synapses, astrocytes and cholinergic neuromodulation. Using a suite of technologies newly developed by our team that provide resolution and model systems not previously available, we aim to generate a high-dimensional structural and functional map of synaptic and circuit contributions to dopamine neuron function in PD.
Here is an overview of how this team’s article findings have contributed to the PD field as of June 2025. There are two different categorizations of these contributions – one by impact to the PD community and a second by scientific category.
Impact
Category
Members of the team have been recognized for their contributions.
Open Science Champion
Justin Savage, Shiyi Wang
Members of the CRN work diligently to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s disease. Learn more about recent CRN discoveries and achievements.
