Experimental Animal Division

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which mediates motor control, cognition, emotion, reward, and neuroendocrine functions. Dysfunction of dopamine-producing neurons in the midbrain is involved in some neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases such as Parkinsonfs disease and schizophrenia. These dopamine neurons express tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a key enzyme of catecholamine biosynthesis. The TH-GFP transgenic mouse was generated to express GFP in the majority of midbrain dopamine neurons under the control of the rat TH gene promoter. This transgenic mouse is useful for visualizing dopamine neurons to study the physiology and pathogenesis of dopamine neurons.