Journal of neuroscience methods
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J. Neurosci. Methods · Aug 2012
A hybrid ERD/SSVEP BCI for continuous simultaneous two dimensional cursor control.
We introduce a new type of BCI for continuous simultaneous two dimensional cursor control. Users tried to control the vertical position of a virtual ball via ERD activity associated with imagined movement while simultaneously controlling horizontal position with SSVEP activity resulting from visual attention. Ten subjects participated in one offline and six online control sessions. ⋯ Two subjects attained very good performance, while the remaining subjects did not. Training did not affect subjective or objective measures. Overall, results show that this new hybrid approach is viable for some users, and that substantial further research is needed to identify and optimize the best BCIs for each user.
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J. Neurosci. Methods · Aug 2012
A fluorescent-based assay for live cell, spatially resolved assessment of vesicular monoamine transporter 2-mediated neurotransmitter transport.
The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2; Slc18a2) packages monoamines into synaptic vesicles. Monoamine homeostasis is highly regulated and dysfunction may play a role in Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, drug addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders. The primary function of VMAT2 is to sequester monoamine neurotransmitters into vesicles for subsequent release; it also sequesters toxicants away from cytosolic sites of action. ⋯ Furthermore, the VMAT2-specific inhibitor tetrabenazine (TBZ) blocks uptake into the mCherry-positive compartment. Confocal images can be analyzed to generate a measure of VMAT2 activity. In summary, we demonstrate a method for spatially resolved analysis of VMAT2-mediated uptake in live intact cells.