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Bradley Roberts
Junior Research Fellow
Training & RESEARCH
I completed my BA in Neuroscience & Biology at St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2015. During my time at St. Mary's as an undergraduate researcher, I worked with Prof. Aileen Bailey investigating the role of orexin in the basal forebrain on cortical-dependant executive functions. For my undergraduate final-year thesis research project, I collaborated with Prof. Brian Mathur at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. My dissertation focused on targeting striatal fast-spiking interneurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease using an in vivo optogenetic approach. After graduating, I returned to Brian's lab as a Research Assistant (2015-2016), where I investigated the role of striatal fast-spiking interneurons in encoding action velocity dynamics using miniature endoscopic in vivo calcium imaging technologies (Roberts et al. (2019) Brain Structure and Function), as well as collecting tract tracing immunohistological and patch-clamp electrophysiology data to assist other ongoing projects.
I conduced my DPhil thesis research in the laboratory of Prof. Stephanie Cragg in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics (2016-2020). My DPhil investigated the influence the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, has on dopamine output in mammalian striatum, using electrophysiology and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry technologies. Initial work revealed that dopamine release is under tonic inhibition by a local ambient GABA tone, which critically limits striatal dopamine output through direct action at GABAA and GABAB receptors (Lopes*, Roberts* et al. (2019), Journal of Neuroscience). Subsequently, I revealed that this GABAergic inhibition of striatal dopamine release show maladaptive augmentation in an early model of perkinsonism, due to downregualtion of astrocytic GABA transporters (Roberts et al. (2020) Nature Communications).
In 2019, I joined St John's College (Oxford) as a Junior Research Fellow in Physiology to investigate whether astrocytes in the striatum can dynamically modulate dopamine output. I am also working within the Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre to understand whether there are changes to the biology of astrocytes in the striatum in Parkinson's disease, and how these changes might impact negatively on dopamine function.
Recent publications
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GABA uptake transporters support dopamine release in dorsal striatum with maladaptive downregulation in a parkinsonism model.
Journal article
Roberts BM. et al, (2020), Nat Commun, 11
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CLR01 protects dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in mouse models of Parkinson's disease.
Journal article
Bengoa-Vergniory N. et al, (2020), Nat Commun, 11
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Plasticity in striatal dopamine release is governed by release-independent depression and the dopamine transporter.
Journal article
Condon MD. et al, (2019), Nat Commun, 10
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Ensemble encoding of action speed by striatal fast-spiking interneurons
Journal article
(2019), Brain Structure and Function
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TrkB-dependent disinhibition of the nucleus accumbens is enhanced by ethanol
Journal article
Patton MH. et al, (2019), Neuropsychopharmacology, 44, 1114 - 1122
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Inhibition of Nigrostriatal Dopamine Release by Striatal GABAA and GABAB Receptors.
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Lopes EF. et al, (2019), J Neurosci, 39, 1058 - 1065
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Activation of the Rostral Intralaminar Thalamus Drives Reinforcement through Striatal Dopamine Release
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Cover KK. et al, (2019), Cell Reports, 26, 1389 - 1398.e3
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Anterior Cingulate Cortex Input to the Claustrum Is Required for Top-Down Action Control
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White MG. et al, (2018), Cell Reports
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Ethanol Disinhibits Dorsolateral Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons Through Activation of A Presynaptic Delta Opioid Receptor.
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Patton MH. et al, (2016), Neuropsychopharmacology, 41, 1831 - 1840
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Illuminating the Undergraduate Behavioral Neuroscience Laboratory: A Guide for the in vivo Application of Optogenetics in Mammalian Model Organisms.
Journal article
Roberts BM. et al, (2016), J Undergrad Neurosci Educ, 14, A111 - A116
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High concentrations of L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) induces apoptosis in a human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) through the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways
Journal article
Roberts BM. et al, (2015), BIOS, 86, 134 - 143
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Orexin receptor activity in the basal forebrain alters performance on an olfactory discrimination task.
Journal article
Piantadosi PT. et al, (2015), Brain Res, 1594, 215 - 222