1,721 research outputs found
Failure of Intravenous Morphine to Serve as an Effective Instrumental Reinforcer in Dopamine D2 Receptor Knock-Out Mice
The rewarding effects of opiates are thought to be mediated through dopaminergic mechanisms in the ventral tegmental area, dopamine-independent mechanisms in the nucleus accumbens, or both. The purpose of the present study was to explore the contribution of dopamine to opiate-reinforced behavior using D2 receptor knock-out mice. Wild-type, heterozygous, and D2 knock-out mice were first trained to lever press for water reinforcement and then implanted with intravenous catheters. The ability of intravenously delivered morphine to maintain lever pressing in these mice was studied under two schedules of reinforcement: a fixed ratio 4 (FR4) schedule (saline, 0.1, 0.3, or 1.0 mg/kg, per injection) and a progressive ratio (PR) schedule (1.0 mg/kg, per injection). In the wild-type and heterozygous mice, FR4 behavior maintained by morphine injections was significantly greater than behavior maintained by vehicle injections. Response rate was inversely related to injection dose and increased significantly in the wild-type and heterozygous mice when the animals were placed on the PR schedule. In contrast, the knock-out mice did not respond more for morphine than for saline and did not respond more when increased ratios were required by the PR schedule. Thus, morphine served as a positive reinforcer in the wild-type and heterozygous mice but failed to do so in the knock-out mice. Under this range of doses and response requirements, the rewarding effects of morphine appear to depend critically on an intact D2 receptor systemFil: Elmer, Greg I.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Pieper, Jeanne O.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Rubinstein, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en IngenierÃa Genética y BiologÃa Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Low, Malcolm J.. Oregon Health and Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Grandy, David K.. Oregon Health and Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Wise, Roy A.. National Institutes of Health; Estados Unido
Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of spectroscopic overlaps in nuclei
We present Green's function Monte Carlo calculations of spectroscopic
overlaps for nuclei. The realistic Argonne v18 two-nucleon and
Illinois-7 three-nucleon interactions are used to generate the nuclear states.
The overlap matrix elements are extrapolated from mixed estimates between
variational Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo wave functions. The
overlap functions are used to obtain spectroscopic factors and asymptotic
normalization coefficients, and they can serve as an input for low-energy
reaction calculations
Two-neutron overlap functions for 6He from a microscopic structure model
A fully antisymmetrized microscopic model is developed for light two-neutron
halo nuclei using a hyper-spherical basis to describe halo regions. The
many-body wavefunction is optimized variationally. The model is applied to 6He
bound by semi realistic Minnesota nucleon-nucleon forces. The two-neutron
separation energy and the radius of the halo are reproduced in agreement with
experiment. Antisymmetrization effects between 4He and halo neutrons are found
to be crucial for binding of 6He. We also properly extract two-neutron overlap
functions and find that there is a significant increase of 30%-70% in their
normalization due to microscopic effects as compared to the results of
three-body models.Comment: To be published in Nucl. Phys.
The structure of the QED-Vacuum and Electron-Positron Pair Production in Super-Intense, pulsed Laser Fields
We discuss electron-positron pair-production by super-intense, short laser
pulses off the physical vacuum state locally deformed by (stripped) nuclei with
large nuclear charges. Consequences of non-perturbative vacuum polarisation
resulting from such a deformation are shortly broached. Production
probabilities per pulse are calculated.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Journal of Physics
Recent progress on the accurate determination of the equation of state of neutron and nuclear matter
The problem of accurately determining the equation of state of nuclear and
neutron matter at density near and beyond saturation is still an open
challenge. In this paper we will review the most recent progress made by means
of Quantum Monte Carlo calculations, which are at present the only ab-inito
method capable to treat a sufficiently large number of particles to give
meaningful estimates depending only on the choice of the nucleon-nucleon
interaction. In particular, we will discuss the introduction of
density-dependent interactions, the study of the temperature dependence of the
equation of state, and the possibility of accurately studying the effect of the
onset of hyperons by developing an accurate hyperon-nucleon and
hyperon-nucleon-nucleon interaction.Comment: 3 figures, 1 table, to appear in the Proceedings of "XIII Convegno di
Cortona su Problemi di Fisica Nucleare Teorica", Cortona (Italy), April 6-8,
201
Ab initio calculation of the Hoyle state and a new look at clustering in nuclei
I present an ab initio calculation of the spectrum of carbon-12, including
also the famous Hoyle state. Its structure is discussed and a new
interpretation of clustering in nuclear physics is given.Comment: Plenary talk, The Rutherford Centennial Conference on Nuclear
Physics, Manchester, August 8-12, 201
Monte Carlo integration in Glauber model analysis of reactions of halo nuclei
Reaction and elastic differential cross sections are calculated for light
nuclei in the framework of the Glauber theory. The optical phase-shift function
is evaluated by Monte Carlo integration. This enables us to use the most
accurate wave functions and calculate the phase-shift functions without
approximation. Examples of proton nucleus (e.g. p-He, p-Li) and
nucleus-nucleus (e.g. HeC) scatterings illustrate the effectiveness
of the method. This approach gives us a possibility of a more stringent
analysis of the high-energy reactions of halo nuclei.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
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