L. Donald Partridge, Ph.D.

Professor  Department of Neurosciences  
Education and Honors:
1967, S.B., Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1973, Ph.D., University of Washington; 1973-74, Welcome Research Fellow, University of Bristol, Bristol, England; 1974-76; NIH Poctdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington, Friday Harbor.

1985, Fulbright Award - Fulbright Commission; 1990, 1993, 1994, 1998 Graduate Teaching Award, UNM School of Medicine; 2005 SOM Dail Award.

Research Interests:
My research uses electrophysiological and Ca2+ imaging techniques to investigate mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. In particular, we have focused on the regulation of residual Ca2+ in presynaptic terminals, developmental changes in this regulation, and the role of neurosteroids in the modulation of short-term facilitation.
A new collaborative project with Drs. Michael Wilson and Andrea Allan is focused on a SNAP-25 deficient mouse. Based on early investigations of the SNAP-25 deficient mutant mouse Coloboma and more recently by genetic association studies in human populations, the SNAP25 gene has been considered as a potential susceptibility locus for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder in children. We are thus evaluating the electrophysiological, pharmacological and behavioral consequences in mice that result from a deficiency of SNAP-25 expression together with prenatal nicotine exposure, a risk factor of maternal smoking during pregnancy for ADHD. By taking this multidisciplinary approach we hope to achieve a mechanistic understanding of the role of gene x environment interactions during the development of cognitive deficiencies and mental illness in humans.

Recent Publications:
Wahsbourne, P., Thompson, P.M., Carta, M., Costa, E.T., Mathews, J.R., Lopez-Bendito, G., Molnar, Z., Becher, M.W., Valenzuela, C.F., Partridge, L.D. Wilson, M.C. (2002) Genetic ablation of the t-Snare Snap-25 distinguished mechanisms of neurogenesis.  Nature Neuroscience 5:19-26

Partridge, L.D., Valenzuela, C.F. (2002) Neurosteroids enhance bandpass filter characteristics of the rat Schaffer collateral-to CA1 synapse.  Neuroscience Letters 326:1-4

Bratz, I.N., Falcon, R., Partridge, L.D., Kanagy, N.L. (2002) Vascular smooth muscle cell membrane depolarization following NOS-inhibition hypertension.  Am. J. Physiol. 282:H1648-1655

Meyer, D.A., Carta, M., Partridge, L.D., Covey, D.F., Valenzuela, C.F. (2002) Neurosteroids enhance spontaneous glutamate release in hippocampal neurons: Possible role of metabotropic sigma1-like receptors. J. Biol Chem 277:28725-28732.

Wu, J., Chan, P., Schroeder, K., Ellsworth, K., Partridge, L.D. (2002) 1-methyl-4-phenylpridinium (MMP+)-induced functional run-down of GABAA receptor-mediated currents in acutely dissociated dopaminergic neurons.  J Neurochem. 83(1):87-99.

Molnar, Z., Lopez-Bendito, G., Small, J. Partridge, L.D., Blakemore, C., Wilson, M.C. (2002) Normal development of embryonic thalamocortical connectivity in the absence of evoked synaptic activity. J. Neurosci. 22:10313-10323.

Carta, M., Allan, A.M., Partridge, L.D., Valenzuela, C.F. (2003) Cocaine inhibits 5-HT3 receptor function in neurons from transgenic mice overexpressing the receptor. European J. Pharmacol. 459:167-169.

Partridge, L.D., Partridge, L.D. (2003) Nervous System Actions and Interactions: Concepts in Neurophysiology, Kluwer Academic Press

Carta, M., Partridge, L.D., Savage, D.D., Valenzuela, C.F. (2003) Neurosteroid modulation of glutamate release in hippocampal neurons: Lack of an effect of a chronic prenatal ethanol exposure paradigm. Alcoholism: Clin Expt. Res. 27:: 1194-1198

Bark, C., Bellinger, F.P., Kaushal, A., Mathews, J.R., Partridge, L.D., Wilson, M.C. (2004) Developmentally regulated switch in alternatively spliced SNAP-25 isoforms alters facilitation of synaptic transmission. J. Neurosci. 24: 8796-8805.

Thomas MJ, Mameli M, Carta M, Li P-K, Valenzuela, CF., Partridge LD, (2005) Neurosteroid paradoxical enhancement of paired-pulse inhibition through paired-pulse facilitation of inhibitory circuits in dentate granule cells. Neuropharmacology, 48, 584-596.

Mameli M, Carta, M, Partridge LD, Valenzuela CF. (2005) Neurosteroid-induced plasticity of immature synapses via retrograde modulation of presynaptic NMDA receptors. J Neurosci. 25, 2285-2294.

Schiess, A.R., Partridge, L.D. (2005) Pregnenolone sulfate acts through a G-protein-coupled sigma1-like receptor to enhance short term facilitation in adult hippocampal neurons. European J Pharm 518:22-29

Bratz, I.N., Dick, G.M., Partridge, L.D., Kanagy, N.L. (2005) Reduced molecular expression of K channel proteins in vascular smooth muscle from rats made hypertensive with N-nitro-L-arginine. Am J. Physiol. 289:H1277-1283

Scheiss, A.R., Scullin, C.S., Partridge, L.D. (2006) Neurosteroid-induced enhancement of short-term facilitation involves a component downstream from presynaprtic calcium. J. Physiol 576:833-841.

Valenzuela, C.F., Partridge, L.D., Mameli, M., Meyer, D.A. (2008) Modulation of glutamatergic transmission by sulfated steroids: Role in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Brain Research Reviews 57:506-519

Tanner, D.C., Qiu, S., Bolognani, F., Partridge, L.D., Weeber, E.J. Perrone-Bizzozero, N.I. (2008) Alterations in mossy fiber physiology and GAP-43 expression and function in transgenic mice overexpressing HuD. Hippocampus 18:814-823.

Sanderson, J.L., Partridge, L.D., Valenzuela, C.F. (2009) Modulation of GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission by ethanol in the rat developing neurocrtex: an in vitro test of the excessive inhibition hypotesis of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Neuropharmacology 56:541-555 .

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