Margaret E. Rice

About

Dr. Margaret E. Rice is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Neuroscience at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her NIH-funded laboratory studies the neurochemistry and neurophysiology of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway, focusing on factors that regulate dopamine release, a key neurotransmitter involved in motor and reward pathways of the brain. Her research explores how diet, insulin, leptin, and exercise influence dopamine levels and release, as well as the impact of Parkinson's-related proteins such as alpha-synuclein on dopamine neuron physiology. Dr. Rice employs methods including fast-scan cyclic voltammetry, optogenetics, patch-clamp recording, and immunohistochemistry in her investigations. In addition to her research, Dr. Rice is an investigator in the Neuroscience Institute and a member of the Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders at NYU Langone. She serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Parkinson’s Foundation, contributing her expertise to the broader scientific and medical community. Her work advances understanding of dopamine regulation and neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on molecular, cellular, and translational science related to brain function and disorders.

Research topics

• Neuroscience
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Cell biology
• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Endocrinology
• Biochemistry
• Psychology
• Genetics

Selected publications

• Voluntary Exercise Boosts Striatal Dopamine Release: Evidence for the Necessary and Sufficient Role of BDNF

  Journal of Neuroscience · 2022 · 119 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  mice. Activation of BDNF receptors using a pharmacological agonist was also shown to boost DA release. Together, these data support a necessary and sufficient role for BDNF in exercise-enhanced DA release and provide mechanistic insight into the reported benefits of exercise in individuals with dopamine-linked neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease and depression.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Activity-dependent somatodendritic dopamine release in the substantia nigra autoinhibits the releasing neuron

  Cell Reports · 2021 · 50 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  -receptor-mediated currents are unaffected. Thus, somatodendritic DA release in the SNc autoinhibits the neuron that releases it.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Cell-type-specific disruption of PERK-eIF2α signaling in dopaminergic neurons alters motor and cognitive function

  Molecular Psychiatry · 2021 · 42 citations

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Interactions between Soluble Species of β-Amyloid and α-Synuclein Promote Oligomerization while Inhibiting Fibrillization

  Biochemistry · 2019-12-19 · 34 citations

  articleOpen access

  Aggregations of β-amyloid (Aβ) and α-synuclein (αS) into oligomeric and fibrillar assemblies are the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, respectively. Although Aβ and αS affect different regions of the brain and are separated at the cellular level, there is evidence of their eventual interaction in the pathology of both disorders. Characterization of interactions of Aβ and αS at various stages of their aggregation pathways could reveal mechanisms and therapeutic targe…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• GABA co-released from striatal dopamine axons dampens phasic dopamine release through autoregulatory GABAA receptors

  Cell Reports · 2024-03-01 · 27 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Striatal dopamine axons co-release dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), using GABA provided by uptake via GABA transporter-1 (GAT1). Functions of GABA co-release are poorly understood. We asked whether co-released GABA autoinhibits dopamine release via axonal GABA type A receptors (GABAARs), complementing established inhibition by dopamine acting at axonal D2 autoreceptors. We show that dopamine axons express α3-GABAAR subunits in mouse striatum. Enhanced dopamine release evoked by singl…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R56NS036362

  NIH · $423k · 2008

• NIH Grant R01NS036362

  NIH · $4.1M · 2014

• NIH Grant F32NS007745

  NIH · $39k

Frequent coauthors

• Charles Nicholson

  University of Birmingham

  66 shared

• Jyoti C. Patel

  39 shared

• Marat V. Avshalumov

  28 shared

• Paul Witkovsky

  New York University

  17 shared

• Stephanie J. Cragg

  Research Network (United States)

  12 shared

• Billy T. Chen

  Ionis Pharmaceuticals (United States)

  12 shared

• June Kume‐Kick

  New York University

  11 shared

• David Sulzer

  Columbia University

  8 shared

Labs

• Health Tech HubPI

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