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The Default Network And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characterizing Sub-Networks And Behavioral Correlates, Alyssa K. Kozlowski
The Default Network And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characterizing Sub-Networks And Behavioral Correlates, Alyssa K. Kozlowski
Theses and Dissertations
The default network (DN), and specifically its sub-networks default network A (DN A) and default network B (DN B), has been strongly implicated in social cognition. This study examined its role in predicting social behavior, and also differences that may exist across diagnostic groups that may explain discrepancies in social cognition and behavior. One of the popular methods of study is functional connectivity, or analyzing correlated activity in the brain. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder characterized by social impairment and abnormal social behavior. To date, much of the functional connectivity research in ASD has focused on global connectivity, …
The Influence Of Thc, Opioids, And Age On The Plasticity Of Excitatory Inputs To Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Isaac Brent Ostlund
The Influence Of Thc, Opioids, And Age On The Plasticity Of Excitatory Inputs To Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons, Isaac Brent Ostlund
Theses and Dissertations
Adults exhibit significant differences in drug vulnerability, learning ability, and emotive processing than adolescents. Long-lasting synaptic changes, including long-term depression (LTD), can endure many hours and are believed to be key to encoding memories and persistent cognitive changes such as addiction. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is the primary source of midbrain dopamine (DA) and is regulated by local inhibitory GABA neurons. GABA regulation can decrease, resulting in dis-inhibition of DA neurons and increased feelings of reward, learning, or salience attachment to memories. Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are signaling molecules that often result in synaptic plasticity changes, and the eCB system has …
Role Of Transient Receptor Potential Channels In Epithelial Morphogenesis In Chick Embryo, Trinity Q. Waddell
Role Of Transient Receptor Potential Channels In Epithelial Morphogenesis In Chick Embryo, Trinity Q. Waddell
Theses and Dissertations
Transient Receptor Potential channels (TRP) are a superfamily of cationic specific ionchannels that are regulated by various stimuli such as temperature, pH, mechanical stress, ligandsand ion concentration. The role of TRP channels in disease states such as autosomal dominantpolycystic kidney disease, cancer metastasis, and developmental defects lend credence to thebelief that they play an important part in epithelial morphogenesis events. The development ofsomites, neural tube closure and migration of neural crest cells to form things such as the faceand heart is a good developmental model for the aforementioned cellular processes. We haveshown that TRP channels can be found in the …
Tissue Specific Porcupine Deletion Reveals A Novel Role For Ectodermal Wnts In Musculotendon Development, Aaron P. Smith
Tissue Specific Porcupine Deletion Reveals A Novel Role For Ectodermal Wnts In Musculotendon Development, Aaron P. Smith
Theses and Dissertations
The Wnt family of secreted proteins consists of 19 family members (in the mouse) and is known to signal through multiple pathways that regulate crucial processes in the development of almost all tissues. Dissecting the roles of individual Wnts has been hampered due to functional redundancy that exists between family members. We made use of a conditional allele of the acyltransferase, Porcupine (Porcn), that is required for the secretion of all Wnt ligands, and the Msx2Cre deleter to eliminate the secretion of all Wnt ligands from the ventral limb ectoderm, ventral abdominal ectoderm, and urogenital ectoderm. Phenotypically the …
Expression Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Mrna As A Function Of Age In Whole Hippocampus Preparations From Wistar Rats, Kasey C. Welch
Expression Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Mrna As A Function Of Age In Whole Hippocampus Preparations From Wistar Rats, Kasey C. Welch
Theses and Dissertations
Whole hippocampus preparations, isolated bilaterally, from untreated Wistar rats at various ages (10-90 days old) were analyzed for the mRNA expression of the alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 5, alpha 7, beta 2, beta 3, and beta 4 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. To do so, RNA was isolated from acutely isolated hippocampal samples, converted to cDNA by means of a reverse transcription reaction, then analyzed with quantitative real-time PCR to determine the relative levels of the mRNAs the cells were expressing at the age when the samples were obtained. The relative expression of the levels of RNA …
Characterization Of A Novel Nuclear Variant Of Bmp2 And Coordinate Regulation Of Col11a2 And Col27a1 By The Transcription Factor Lc-Maf, Jaime Lynn Mayo
Characterization Of A Novel Nuclear Variant Of Bmp2 And Coordinate Regulation Of Col11a2 And Col27a1 By The Transcription Factor Lc-Maf, Jaime Lynn Mayo
Theses and Dissertations
ABSTRACT I CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOVEL NUCLEAR VARIANT OF BMP2
Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (Bmp2) is a signaling protein that was first detected by its ability to induce cartilage and bone formation. It has since been implicated in broad variety of developmental, patterning, and disease processes. To date, Bmp2 has only been known to function as an extracellular signaling molecule. However, we have obtained clear evidence for a nuclear form of Bmp2. This nuclear variant, nBmp2, contains a bipartite NLS that overlaps the site of proteolytic cleavage. The NLS remains intact and functional when translation of Bmp2 initiates from a …
Fgf4 And Wnt5a/Pcp Signaling Promote Limb Outgrowth By Polarizing Limb Mesenchyme, Keri Lynn Low
Fgf4 And Wnt5a/Pcp Signaling Promote Limb Outgrowth By Polarizing Limb Mesenchyme, Keri Lynn Low
Theses and Dissertations
The focus of this study was to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms whereby fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) mediate outgrowth of the limb. Specifically, we examined the epistatic relationship between FGF and Wnt/Planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling in establishing cell polarity as a mechanism for outgrowth. By implanting beads into embryonic limbs and lateral plate mesoderm, we established that FGF activates Wnt5a in a gradient fashion. Once it was established that Wnt5a was expressed at the right time and place to turn on PCP signaling, we investigated the ability of Wnt5a to influence cell migration and/or cell polarity. Our analysis …
The Role Of Fgfr4 In Trigeminal Placode Cell Development, Stephanie Beth Reynolds
The Role Of Fgfr4 In Trigeminal Placode Cell Development, Stephanie Beth Reynolds
Theses and Dissertations
In vertebrate embryos, the ophthalmic trigeminal (opV) placode contributes sensory neurons to the trigeminal ganglion during development of the peripheral nervous system. FGFR4 is expressed transiently in the trigeminal placode as cells undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and begin to migrate toward the condensing ganglion. Because of the restricted spatiotemporal expression of FGFR4 in the opV placode, it was hypothesized that FGFR4 is necessary for the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the opV placode. Using electroporation, an FGFR4 inhibitory gene construct was introduced into 6—10 somite stage chick embryos. This secreted inhibitory form of the FGFR4 gene blocked endogenous FGFR4 signaling, …