TY  - JOUR
AU  - Betters, Ryan
AU  - McNamara, John
AU  - Lee, Joon Young
PY  - 2015
TI  -  Methylphenidate and dopamine interact at the crayfish neuromuscular junction to modulate EPSP amplitude
JF  - Pioneering Neuroscience; Vol 14 (2014)
KW  - 
N2  -  Our research explores the underlying neuronal mechanisms and effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine alone and in conjunction with methylphenidate, as well as methylphenidate by itself on the neuron’s excitatory postsynaptic potential at the crayfish neuromuscular junction. This topic examines the amplitude of the excitatory postsynaptic potential in four situations to uncover methylphenidate’s ability to “switch” dopamine’s effect from excitatory to inhibitory: when the neuromuscular junction is exposed to dopamine alone, dopamine then methylphenidate, methylphenidate then dopamine, and methylphenidate alone. Our results show that the amplitude of the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) at the crayfish neuromuscular junction increases when dopamine alone is present, and decreases when dopamine is added before methylphenidate, methylphenidate is added before dopamine, and methylphenidate is used alone. Dopamine, typically being an excitatory neurotransmitter, must then interact with methylphenidate in some way so that dopamine’s effects are swapped to produce an inhibitory response. Several studies, including our own, suggests that dopamine receptors are modulated by the presence of both dopamine and methylphenidate at the neuromuscular junction.  
UR  - https://ojs.grinnell.edu/index.php/pnsj/article/view/243