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Effects Of Development On Hpa Function Following Pubertal Stress, Brittany D. Elliott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

For women, two of the greatest risk factors for affective disorders are adversity experienced during puberty and later becoming pregnant. We have created a translationally relevant mouse model where we address these complex risk factors. Previously, we discovered that pregnant mice (dams) that experienced chronic variable stress (CVS) during puberty display a blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response when exposed to an acute stressor. Interestingly, this alteration only first becomes apparent during pregnancy, which is a sensitive period for these effects due to normative neuroendocrine changes. Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction revealed altered gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus …

Exploring Early Signaling Associated With Complex Stressors, Julia A. Penatzer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Humans are constantly exposed to a vast number of stressors in our everyday lives from social interactions to physical activity to chemical exposures, to name a few. These stressors have significant impacts on an individual, from the cellular to whole organismal level. The body contains an intricate communication system that elicits a number of both biological and physiological responses as it attempts to maintain homeostasis. Observing these responses to stressors, can offer insight into a number of outcomes, which can be beneficial (increasing life longevity) or detrimental (leading to a disease state). By measuring specific biological adaptations at particular time …

The Immunological Response To Chronic Stress In Obese Mice, Matthew Corey Parsley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Obesity and psychological stress are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and have a positive correlation with vascular dysfunction. This functional deficit has been linked to a pro-inflammatory milieu, exacerbated by an upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Febuxostat, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, has been shown to rescue vascular impairment in these models. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and combined effects of obesity and chronic stress on neuroimmune cell populations, and assess if febuxostat is able mediate immune alterations.

Male mice (n=48) were assigned into either normal chow (lean) and high-fat diet (obese) groups. The lean animals …

Service Dogs For Veterans With Ptsd: Taxonomy, Work Stress Reduction, And Matching, Lindsay Parenti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Research suggests that many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) struggle with reintegration (Sayer et al., 2010), but are unlikely to seek help or complete treatment (Schottenbauer et al., 2008). To make matters worse, available treatment options are often time consuming, challenging, and/or associated with negative side effects (Carafano & Hutchinson, 2017). Using animals as a treatment modality for veterans with PTSD is an emerging topic of interest and has shown promise (Owen, et al., 2016; Richie et al., 2016). However, several factors have hindered the advancement of this field. Obstacles include a lack of standard terminology and classification system, …