Alvaro Duque, PhD
Director MacBrain Resource Center and Research Scientist, Department of NeuroscienceCards
About
Research
Publications
2026
High-resolution in utero SV2A PET imaging of the nonhuman primate brain using the NeuroEXPLORER.
Mehta S, Sun H, Micali N, Holden D, Fowles K, Rossano S, Zhang J, Ma C, Han P, Lee W, Duque A, Rakic P, Groman S, Carson R, Scheinost D, Toyonaga T. High-resolution in utero SV2A PET imaging of the nonhuman primate brain using the NeuroEXPLORER. Journal Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism : Official Journal Of The International Society Of Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism 2026, 271678x261429044. PMID: 41823342, PMCID: PMC12987752, DOI: 10.1177/0271678x261429044.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDistribution volume ratioMaternal brainIn vivo markerFetal brainPET imagingSynaptic developmentPregnant rhesus macaquesRegional distribution volume ratiosMarker of synaptic densitySynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2APET scannerNon-invasive toolNonhuman primate brainPET quantificationBrain-dedicated PET scannersNeuroExplorerRhesus macaquesSynaptic densityBiograph mCTOccipital lobeOccipital regionBrainMotion correctionPETPrimate brainHuman-specific features of the cerebellum and ZP2-regulated synapse development
Kim S, Cherskov A, Sindhwani A, Choi S, Kim H, Li M, Zhang M, Mato-Blanco X, Liu Y, Micali N, Young D, Estacion M, Zhang Y, Ruiz-Jiménez J, Nadkarni A, Luria V, Sindhu S, Chatterjee I, Shibata A, Liang D, Cho H, Park S, Spajic A, Kovner R, Glavan M, Chen R, Risgaard R, Li X, Pochareddy S, Karger A, Huttner A, Morozov Y, Daadi E, Colantuoni C, Gobeske K, Ely J, Hof P, Daadi M, Sherwood C, Duque A, Ma S, Sousa A, Waxman S, Rakic P, Santpere G, Sanders S, Sestan N. Human-specific features of the cerebellum and ZP2-regulated synapse development. Cell 2026, 189: 1802-1819.e28. PMID: 41819103, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.02.014.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHuman granule cellsZona pellucida glycoprotein 2Granule cellsNeuronal electrophysiological activityAdult cerebellar cortexSynapse regulationCognitive functionGlomerular synapsesNon-human primatesCerebellar cortexMotor coordinationMossy fibersGamete interactionGlycoprotein 2Human brainSynapse developmentSynaptic proteinsElectrophysiological activityHuman cerebellumEvolutionary developmentHuman-specific featuresCo-optionCerebellumHuman adaptationChromatin accessibility profiles
2025
Neuropathology and Biomarker Correlates of Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in Aged Old World Monkeys
Zeiss C, Duque A, Huttner A. Neuropathology and Biomarker Correlates of Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in Aged Old World Monkeys. Toxicologic Pathology 2025, 53: 682-694. PMID: 41257351, PMCID: PMC12638005, DOI: 10.1177/01926233251388069.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAlzheimer's diseaseLate-onset Alzheimer's diseaseBiological brain ageDisruption of synaptic connectivityOld World monkeysBrain agingAge-related cognitive declineAmyloid-bPTau pathologyPreclinical Alzheimer's diseaseWorld monkeysAnti-amyloidLimbic systemTau tracersMinimal expressionPlaque depositionExpression of senescence markersCognitive declineHippocampal atrophyNeuropathological characteristicsPreclinical ADMacaque tissuesSenescence markersTauBiomarker discoveryDecreased cholinergic neuronal firing in a mouse model of temporal lobe seizures with impaired consciousness
Liu S, Paszkowski P, Qu J, Sieu L, Liu J, Valcarce‐Aspegren M, Khan W, McGill S, Lee D, Duque A, Blumenfeld H. Decreased cholinergic neuronal firing in a mouse model of temporal lobe seizures with impaired consciousness. Epilepsia 2025, 66: 5067-5081. PMID: 40956639, DOI: 10.1111/epi.18625.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchFocal limbic seizuresOrbitofrontal cortexLimbic seizuresArousal nucleiImpaired consciousnessMouse modelNeuronal firingNetwork inhibition hypothesisBasal forebrain nucleiLaterodorsal tegmental nucleusHead-fixed miceSingle unit recordingsInhibition hypothesisFocal seizure activityActivity of individual neuronsBasal forebrainCortical impairmentTemporal lobe seizuresTegmental nucleusActivity inhibitionForebrain nucleiArousal mechanismsDiverse firing patternsCholinergic neuronsBrainstem pedunculopontinePerspective Chapter: From Embryonic Archives to Translational Insights – Reusing Nonhuman Primate Brain Data to Decode Development and Reduce Animal Sacrifice
Duque A, Barello P, Greene L, Burke E, Mendoza-Silva V, M. Morozov Y, Rakic P. Perspective Chapter: From Embryonic Archives to Translational Insights – Reusing Nonhuman Primate Brain Data to Decode Development and Reduce Animal Sacrifice. 2025 DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.1011631.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchNonhuman primatesBrain areasSubcortical regionsDecoding developmentBrain studiesBrain developmentBrain sizeAnimal sacrificeSexual dimorphismTranslational insightsBrainNormal controlsStructural maturationAverage bodyRhesus macaquesStudy of neurogenesisBrain dataArchivalReduce animal sacrificeInterindividual variabilityNeurogenesisEmbryonic ageEarly developmental origins of cortical disorders modeled in human neural stem cells
Mato-Blanco X, Kim S, Jourdon A, Ma S, Choi S, Giani A, Paredes M, Tebbenkamp A, Liu F, Duque A, Vaccarino F, Sestan N, Colantuoni C, Rakic P, Santpere G, Micali N. Early developmental origins of cortical disorders modeled in human neural stem cells. Nature Communications 2025, 16: 6347. PMID: 40634286, PMCID: PMC12241556, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61316-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSingle-cell transcriptomicsNeural stem cellsNeural stem cell lineage commitmentGene regulatory networksEarly developmental originHuman neural stem cellsRegulatory networksExpression dynamicsRisk genesStem cellsCortical disordersTransition in vitroTelencephalic developmentEarly phaseGene dysfunctionLineage commitmentCell trajectoriesHuman corticogenesisHuman brain dysfunctionGenesNSCs in vitroMultiple diseasesIn vivoBrain dysfunctionCorticogenesisHigher dopamine D1 receptor expression in prefrontal parvalbumin neurons underlies higher distractibility in marmosets versus macaques
Joyce M, Ivanov T, Krienen F, Mitchell J, Ma S, Inoue W, Nandy A, Datta D, Duque A, Arellano J, Gupta R, Gonzalez-Burgos G, Lewis D, Sestan N, McCarroll S, Martinez-Trujillo J, Froudist-Walsh S, Arnsten A. Higher dopamine D1 receptor expression in prefrontal parvalbumin neurons underlies higher distractibility in marmosets versus macaques. Communications Biology 2025, 8: 974. PMID: 40594842, PMCID: PMC12214923, DOI: 10.1038/s42003-025-08297-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLevels of dopamine D1 receptorDopamine D1 receptor-expressingPV neuronsD1 receptor expressionDopamine D1 receptorsDorsolateral prefrontal cortexModels of cognitionPrefrontal cortexD1 receptorsDistractor resistanceD1R expressionDopaminergic modulationSalient stimuliVisual fixation taskHigh distractionSustained attentionCognitive tasksCognitive performanceInhibitory parvalbuminFunctional microcircuitryPrimate modelDLPFCParvalbumin neuronsFixation taskD1RDysregulated calcium signaling in the aged macaque entorhinal cortex associated with tau hyperphosphorylation
Bathla S, Datta D, Bolat D, Woo E, Duque A, Arellano J, Arnsten A, Nairn A. Dysregulated calcium signaling in the aged macaque entorhinal cortex associated with tau hyperphosphorylation. Frontiers In Aging Neuroscience 2025, 17: 1549770. PMID: 40365352, PMCID: PMC12069431, DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1549770.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchTau pathologyTau hyperphosphorylationAlzheimer's diseaseAssociated with tau hyperphosphorylationSoluble phosphorylated tauSporadic Alzheimer's diseaseCalcium signalingDysregulated calcium signalingTau etiologyEarly stages of ADHyperphosphorylationSignaling pathwayHuman ADInflammatory signaling pathwaysCalpain-2Stages of ADMolecular processesHydrolyze cAMPTauEntorhinal cortexCarboxypeptidase IIGlutamate carboxypeptidase IIDephosphorylation39 Nanoscale imaging of pT217-tau in aged rhesus macaque entorhinal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: Evidence of interneuronal trafficking and early-stage neurodegeneration
Datta D, Perone I, Wijegunawardana D, Liang F, Morozov Y, Arellano J, Duque A, Xie Z, van Dyck C, Joyce M, Arnsten A. 39 Nanoscale imaging of pT217-tau in aged rhesus macaque entorhinal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: Evidence of interneuronal trafficking and early-stage neurodegeneration. Journal Of Clinical And Translational Science 2025, 9: 13-13. PMCID: PMC12038495, DOI: 10.1017/cts.2024.726.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDorsolateral prefrontal cortexPrefrontal cortexEntorhinal cortexStatistically significant age-related increaseTau pathologySignificant age-related increaseAlzheimer's diseaseAge-related increaseBrain circuitsRhesus macaquesAged rhesus macaquesAging BrainAged macaquesCortical pathologyCortexAge spanDendritic spinesEarly-stage neurodegenerationBrainTau speciesSubcellular localizationInhibitory synapsesPhosphorylated proteinsDysmorphic mitochondriaPostsynaptic compartmentsContrasting patterns of extrasynaptic NMDAR-GluN2B expression in macaque subgenual cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices
Joyce M, Datta D, Arellano J, Duque A, Morozov Y, Morrison J, Arnsten A. Contrasting patterns of extrasynaptic NMDAR-GluN2B expression in macaque subgenual cingulate and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Frontiers In Neuroanatomy 2025, 19: 1553056. PMID: 40255911, PMCID: PMC12006084, DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2025.1553056.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSubgenual cingulate cortexDorsolateral prefrontal cortexPrefrontal cortexPutative pyramidal neuronsN-methyl-D-aspartate receptorsN-methyl-D-aspartateSporadic Alzheimer's diseaseSubgenual cingulateCingulate cortexWorking memoryMacaque dlPFCDLPFCNMDAR antagonistsGluN2B subunitVulnerable to alterationsCortexSynaptic expressionPyramidal neuronsSynaptic functionAlzheimer's diseaseNeurodegenerative processesExtrasynaptic sitesTau pathologySchizophreniaCingulate