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Alternations Of Nmda And Gabab Receptor Function In Development: A Potential Animal Model Of Schizophrenia, Monica Bolton Aug 2013

Alternations Of Nmda And Gabab Receptor Function In Development: A Potential Animal Model Of Schizophrenia, Monica Bolton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that affects up to 3% of the world population. The behavioral symptoms are categorized into positive and negative symptoms, which appear during late adolescence/early adulthood. Unfortunately, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of the disease are poorly understood. Several hypotheses exist to explain mechanisms contributing to these behavioral alterations. One model proposes that a reduced function of the NMDA glutamate receptor on specific GABAergic interneurons may be responsible for deficits in schizophrenia. Post-mortem investigations provide evidence of reductions in both glutamate and GABA-related proteins in patients with schizophrenia. Further, GABAergic interneurons that are activated …


Epigenetic Regulation Of Kir4.1 In Normal And Pathological States: A Focus On Spinal Cord Injury, Sinifunanya Elvee Nwaobi Jan 2013

Epigenetic Regulation Of Kir4.1 In Normal And Pathological States: A Focus On Spinal Cord Injury, Sinifunanya Elvee Nwaobi

All ETDs from UAB

Astrocytes are the most numerous cells in the brain and play a critical role in maintaining homeostatic extracellular potassium ([K+]e). This process is mediated, in part, by a glial-specific, inwardly rectifying potassium channel, Kir4.1. Pharmacological inhibition, knock down, or complete knock out of this channel results in astrocytes with increased membrane resistance, depolarized resting membrane potential, and altered extracellular potassium dynamics. Subsequent to the dysregulation of [K+]e, Kir4.1 knockout (KO) animals suffer from ataxia, seizures, and early postnatal death. Interestingly, Kir4.1 has long been characterized as a seizure susceptibility gene. The importance of Kir4.1 is further underscored by recent studies …


Epigenetic Markers In The Developing Postnatal Brain, Rebecca Kaye Simmons Jan 2013

Epigenetic Markers In The Developing Postnatal Brain, Rebecca Kaye Simmons

All ETDs from UAB

Epigenetic mechanisms provide a critical and plausible mechanism by which genes and the environment can interact and have been implicated in a number of diseases and disorders. In order to better understand how epigenetic mechanisms go awry in a diseased brain we must first understand how epigenetic mechanisms unfold during normal development. The present body of work begins to examine the role of DNA methylation in normal development and how it may contribute to a rodent model of emotion dysfunction. Using a variety of techniques, we evaluated the transcript, protein and functional output levels of DNA methyltransferase1, -3a, and -3b …