Digital Commons Network^™

Infants' Intermodal Knowledge Of Gender Using Faces And Voices, Bijoux Cheun, Christina Saliba, Alexis Rice, Marian Espina

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Infants begin to use intermodal knowledge to match male and female faces to the corresponding voice, in their first year of life.

Infants have more experience with female faces which should lead to greater intermodal knowledge of female faces.

Previous studies have found inconsistent results. This could be due to the type of stimuli used.

This study uses several pairs of static and dynamic faces to investigate how methodological differences may impact infants' performance.

Peripheral Blood Cell Counts As Potential Biomarkers For Alzheimer's Disease: A Look At Polygenetic Risk Scores, Melika Cummings, Yimei Lu, Joan Manuel Cue, Neel Patel, Jenifer Do

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Blood-based biomarkers for neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been extensively researched. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological illness whose progression has been ascribed to gene expression. However, the pathophysiology of these disorders and its relationship to other abnormalities remain unknown. AD has been connected to PBCs, which include erythrocytes, platelets, and leukocytes and have a complicated interaction with the brain system. The pathogenesis of PBCs has been related to a negative influence on established neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's. Candidate gene association studies have become more common as progress in mapping the human genome has increased …

Notch3 Expression In Zebrafish With Inherited Degeneration Vs. Inflicted Damage, Meghan Graeca

Celebration of Scholarship 2022

While mammals possess a limited capacity for retinal regeneration, teleosts such as Danio rerio (zebrafish) can recover from retinal injury or cell death through stimulation of glia to induce reprogramming into neural stem-like cells.

1 In zebrafish, retinal Müller glia engage in regeneration in response to an injury-derived signal. It was previously shown2,3 that the regenerative response to retinal damage in zebrafish is regulated by the Notch signaling pathway. Persistent Notch signaling causes Müller glia to remain in a quiescent state in the undamaged retina, and Notch signaling repression causes Müller glia to reenter the cell cycle3 , reprogramming them …

Rising Recess Temperatures: Quantifying The Cooling Effect Of School Parks, Nicholas Kendall, Xuhui Lee

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Many schools in the US are currently placed in urban heat islands. Children attending these schools are thought to be at greater risk to heat stress related health concerns. We used mobile heat sensors to see if there was a quantifiable difference between the playgrounds and parks within and between two schools with differing park sizes.

New Treatment For Multiple Sclerosis Could Halt Disease Progression Without Weakening Immune System, Carter Helquist, Dario Mizrachi

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological and autoimmune disease in which immune cells cause demyelination of axons in nervous tissue.
• Current treatments for the disease are principally aimed at weakening the immune system to therefore weaken the autoimmune attack on the brain. This leaves patients prone to other sicknesses.
• We seek a treatment that prevents the immune cells from entering the central nervous system (CNS) thereby protecting its cells.
• We can prevent immune cells from entering the CNS by strengthening the blood brain barrier through targeting claudin 5 proteins in the tight junctions.
• This new treatment could mean increased …

Whole-Body Vibration Alleviates Symptoms Of Morphine Withdrawal, Gavin C. Jones, Christina A. Small, Dallin Z. Otteson, Scott C. Steffensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Whole body vibration at 80 Hz has been shown to blunt neuropathological markers and behavioral symptoms of alcohol dependence Here, we evaluate its ability to ameliorate symptoms of morphine use and withdrawal.

Simulation Of An Inflammatory Model Using Schwann Cells, Caitlyn E. Henry, Peyton Kimmel, Mackenzie Wilcox, Angela Asirvatham

SURF Posters 2022

Schwann cells are a type of glial cell in the peripheral nervous system that produce the myelin sheath surrounding neuronal axons. This myelin insulates the neurons and promotes the rapid conduction of electrical impulses throughout the body. Schwann cells have also been found to play a critical role in neuron repair following nerve injury. During nerve injury, the myelin sheath is damaged, stimulating Schwann cells to release cytokines, or inflammatory mediators, that recruit immune cells to the site of injury so that the myelin debris can be cleared, and repair can take place.1 Then neuronal growth is facilitated by heregulin …

Generators Of Architectural Atmosphere, Elisabetta Canepa, Bob Condia

NPP eBooks

This book was born as the legacy of the “Generators of Architectural Atmosphere” Symposium, an Interfaces event of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA), sponsored by the EU’s Horizon 2020 MSCA Program — RESONANCES Project, the Perkins Eastman Studio, and the 2020 Regnier Chair. The event was hosted in the College of Architecture, Planning and Design (APDesign), Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, on April 12, 2022. Recent advances in science are confirming many of the architect’s expert intuitions opening new doors to the perception of space and the meaning of architectural design. This volume collects three essays: “The Atmospheric …

The Effects Of Neuronal Growth Factors On Lps-Activated Schwann Cells, Caitlyn E. Henry, Peyton Kimmel, Angela Asirvatham Ph.D.

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

Schwann cells (SCs) are the principal support cells of neurons in the peripheral nervous system, that both myelinate axons for the rapid conduction of electrical impulses as well as assist in axonal repair during nerve injury. During nerve injury, SCs secrete tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)^1,5,6 and other proinflammatory mediators^1,6, attracting macrophages to the site of injury to induce inflammation and clear myelin debris.^1,6 Once the debris is cleared, the neuron stimulates SC proliferation by secreting neuronal mitogens, such as heregulin^3,4, and an unknown factor that activates the cAMP pathway³, an important …

Simulation Of An Inflammatory Model Using Schwann Cells, Caitlyn Henry, Peyton Kimmel, Angela Asirvatham

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

During peripheral nerve injury, the myelin surrounding the neuronal axons is damaged, initiating an inflammatory response to remove myelin debris. Once myelin debris is cleared, Schwann cells acquire a proliferating phenotype which allows them to grow and divide so that remyelination can occur. The neuron stimulates Schwann cell division by secreting growth factors, like heregulin, and an unknown growth factor that activates the cAMP pathway. Although the role of cAMP in axonal regeneration is well-known, not much has been explored about its function in Schwann cells during nerve injury and inflammation. To simulate an inflammatory environment, the S16 Schwann cell …

Open Neuroscience Initiative, Austin Lim

College of Science and Health Full Text Publications

The Open Neuroscience Initiative is a free-to-use textbook

This project began as a means to overcoming the financial burden that face undergraduate neuroscience students when buying textbooks. By compiling and writing a completely free-to-access textbook that covers the foundations of a typical college introduction to neuroscience course, students would have one less obstacle to overcome in their educational career, allowing them to focus their valuable time and attention on learning rather than finances. To make this project a reality, I began with a humble tweet in May 2019 that managed to gain a tiny bit of traction among the neuroscience …

Influence Of 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Iodoamphetamine (Doi) On Ethanol Preference And Consumption In C57bl/6 Male Mice, Alaina M. Jaster, Sam Gottlieb, Michael Miles, Javier González-Maeso

Graduate Research Posters

Substance use disorders (SUD) account for a large number of mental health diagnosis in the United States and around the world. Approximately 13.6 million adults 26 or older and 5.1 million young adults (ages 18-24) battled with a SUD in 2017. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) alone effects nearly 6% of the adult population within the United States. This creates a substantial burden on the individual, with alcohol being the third-leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Few treatments for AUD exist, with no new FDA-approved therapeutic treatments within the last 15 years. Additionally, the limited treatments we do …

The Effects Of Rolipram, A Selective Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor, On Immortalized Schwann Cell Proliferation, Akap95 And Cyclin D3 Expression, Kyle P. Kenney, Mary Pistack, Angela Asirvatham

Student Research Poster Presentations 2021

Schwann cells are a vital component of the Peripheral Nervous System and aid in the repair of axons following injury. The regulation of Schwann cell growth in vitro is facilitated by heregulin, a neuron-secreted growth factor, and an unknown mitogen that activates the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway. The abundance of intracellular cAMP is regulated by a family of enzymes called phosphodiesterases (PDEs). PDE inhibitors such as rolipram have therapeutic potential in various disorders and function by increasing the levels of intracellular cAMP. A-Kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs), a family of scaffolding proteins that belong to the cAMP/Protein Kinase A (PKA) …

How Does Direct Volunteering Affect The Onset Of Alzheimer’S Dementia In Elderly Patients With Preexisting Cardiac Comorbidities?, Sneha R. Gade

Undergraduate Research Posters

Alzheimer's Dementia is a disease that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. The Alzheimer's Association reported Alzheimer's as the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and a cure does not exist. Donepezil, a cholinesterase inhibitor drug, is frequently prescribed to treat Alzheimer's disease. Still, patients must continuously take the medication for years to receive any measurable improvement in quality of life after developing Alzheimer's Dementia. Further, research shows prolonged use of Donepezil can lead to other health problems, such as QTc prolongation, for cardiac disease patients. Therefore, the effectiveness of non-drug interventions, such as volunteering to prevent the disease's …

Genus Applications For Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Whitney L Carter

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 5.5 million Americans age 60 and up may be living with Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). AD is the most common type of dementia and is characterized by a decline in episodic memories, long-term memory, language, attention, and personality changes. The first symptoms can vary, but for most people memory is the first capacity to become impaired. However, symptoms can also be a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition like work-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. AD is identified mainly by two histopathological features: extracellular plague of amyloid-beta protein and intracellular neuronal tangles …

Curation Techniques Of Small-Sized Natural History Specimens: A Collection Of Microfossils., Zachary V Biven-Leslie, Guillermo W. Rougier

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Small-sized fossil specimens are challenging regarding safety, storage and traceability of information. A recent collection of several hundred minute early mammalian teeth and jaws (most about 1mm) made impossible the standard practices of specimen numbering. A reliable association of the specimen and the collection number is the minimum required, however, a number of other data easily recoverable from the specimen/curating material is desirable. Geological provenance, locality, systematic and anatomical ID, collector, year, etc. is often included if possible. Use of the specimen is expected to be on the order of hundreds of years, manipulated by investigators, transported, and stored in …

Hippocampal Learning And Number Processing In Young Children, Thomas R Pilger, Manal Zafar, Nicholas Hindy

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Children can enumerate the number of objects in a configuration in different ways: either through numerical processing or pattern recognition. An example of numerical processing is a child counting or subitizing a small number of disorganized blocks. This numerical cognition is related to neural processes in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS). Moreover, a child might be able to instantly know the value a configuration represents. For example, a child could instantly recognize a pattern seen on dice and know what value it represents. Recognizing previously seen patterns is related to neural processes in the hippocampus. Using fMRI and an at-home training …

Glycine Inhibition On-Off Directionally Selective Retinal Ganglion Cells., Madeline C Mitchell, Maureen Mccall Ph.D

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are a group of over 40 different types that use both GABAergic and Glycenergic inhibition. There are four different types of Glycine receptors (GlyRs) known as GlyRα1, GlyRα2, GlyRα3, and GlyRα4 (Sanes & Masland, 2015; C. Zhang & McCall, 2012). Electrophysiological data has supported the theory that the RGC cell type On-Off directionally selective (ooDS) cells express both GlyRα4 and GlyRα2. If ooDS cells do express only GlyRα4 and GlyRα2, an immunohistochemical analysis of these cells should support this theory. By comparing the expression of GlyRα4 and GlyRα2 in Glra4-/- , Glra2-/- Glra4-/- , and Glra2-/- …

The Dolphin Brain - A Digital Presentation, Laura Taylor, Cally Gurley, Samia Pratt, David Mokler

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Projects

This digital presentation has been reproduced from the 2019 University of New England Ketchum Gallery exhibition of original artwork, scientific data, and materials from the Peter J. Morgane Research Collection on the Cetacean Brain, 1962-2004.

Computational Neuroscience, Michelle Greene, Ns/Py 357 Students

Open Educational Resources

In Fall 2019, the Computational Neuroscience class at Bates College collaborated to begin an open textbook. Eight students across three majors collaborated to present the content they were learning to students who were similar to themselves. This project serves both pedagogical and social goals. By writing for fellow students, we leveraged the power of teaching for learning. By bringing together students of diverse academic backgrounds, we leveraged the power of peer instruction. Finally, by writing in the open, students not only brought their best work forward, but are working to contribute to an open knowledge environment that democratizes information. This …

[Introduction To] Well-Grounded: The Neurobiology Of Rational Decisions, Kelly Lambert

Bookshelf

Contingency calculations—the ability to predict the outcomes of decisions and actions—are critical for survival and success. Our amazing brains continually process past and current experiences to enable us to make the most adaptive choices. But when the brain’s information systems are compromised—by such varying conditions as drug addiction, poverty, mental illness, or even privilege—we can lose the ability to arrive at informed decisions.

In this engaging book, behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert explores a variety of the modern factors that can lead to warped neural processing, or distorted realities she terms “brain bubbles.” Individuals who define success in terms of creature …

Response Time Scores On A Reflexive Attention Task Predict A Child's Inattention Score From A Parent Report, Erica Suh, Katherine Christensen, Sarah Kamhout, Kahala Thompson, Yoojin Kim, Cooper Hodges

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

● Children with attention deficits have problems with sustained and reflexive attention tasks

● Few studies measure reflexive attention as a component of day-to-day attention in children

● Parents also have valuable insight into children’s behavior

● We want to identify associations between computer-based reflexive attention task performance and parent-rated attention-related problems.

Identifying Novel Cognitive Therapy Targets: Expression Of Nachr Mrna In Rat Hippocampal Interneurons, Spencer Thompson, Maxwell Wright, Taylor Grant, Brady Vance, Nicholas Ahern, Jeffrey Ogden, Romaine Drecketts, David Pugh, Zach Fisher, Sara Werner, Jaron Fowlers, Bradley Klienstuber, Richard Burgon, Ashley Sego, Doris Jackson, Sterling N. Sudweeks

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

We quantified mRNA subunit expression in the CA1 rat hippocampus. The a3 and B2 nAChR subunits are the highest expressed mRNA subunits while the a4 is the least. Current nAChR targeted cognitive therapies focus on the a4B2 and a7 nAChRs. These results provide a new avenue in cognitive therapies by targeting a3 containing nAChRs.

Fixation-Related Fmri And Syntactic Networks In The Brain, Brent Foster, Ben Carter, Steven Luke

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Humans comprehend language at varying levels of complexity. Syntax, in particular, deals with the arrangement of words and phrases into meaningful sentences. For instance, in English we expect most sentences to follow some variation of the order "Subject-Verb-Object: such as "The boy (Subject) ate (Verb) cake (Object)." On the surface, such grammatical rules seem simple. However, our understanding of how the brain implements these rules to understand sentences is incomplete.

Syntax appears to be associated with Broca's area in the frontal lobe and various regions of the left temporal lobe. However, recent research has provided controversial data suggesting that the …

Incorporating The Brain Sciences Into The Teaching Of Business Psychology, Raymond L. Forbes Jr.

Learning Showcase 2016: A Celebration of Discovery, Transformation and Success

Franklin University has been at the forefront of integrating the findings of Neuroscience into its' masters degree program in Business Psychology. The teaching problem has been how to translate the often esoteric research of brain scientists into applications useful at the personal and organizational levels.

Family Based Treatment For Adults With Anorexia Nervosa Using Insights From Neurobiology, The Center For Balanced Living

Learning Showcase 2016: A Celebration of Discovery, Transformation and Success

Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a biologically-based brain disorder, which has the highest death rate of all mental illnesses. No effective treatments exist for adults with severe and enduring AN (5-7+ years). Brain imaging studies at University of California San Diego on AN temperament, cognition and eating show common traits related to neural function. The temperaments are characterized by increased trait anxiety and state anxiety related to food and eating, high incidence of co-morbid anxiety disorders, high punishment sensitivity and low reward reactivity, elevated intolerance of uncertainty and exaggerated harm avoidance (HA). HA is a multifaceted temperament trait that contains elements …

Neural Changes Associated With Rewards And Punishment Following Ego Depletion Or Boredom, Travis Z. Johnson, Michael Larson, Marina Milyavskaya, Michael Inzlicht

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Our brain power is exhaustible. We are constantly trying to find ways to perform at our highest levels. There has been research that has shown that willpower--the capacity to exert self-control--is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion of the brain. Many studies have shown the negative effect that depletion has on daily decisions. Depletion can influence our day-to-day choices and actions in a variety of important ways. The neural mechanisms for ego-depletion are relatively unknown so our purpose is to measure the effects of ego-depletion, and then test ways that it can be decreased or reversed, thus finding …

Treatment Of Diabetic Neuropathy With Nitric Oxide Gel, Daniel R. Lathen, David Walton, Yukino Strong, Jeff Ward, Conner Sugrue, Jonathan Trout, Devin Vanderwood, Alonzo Cook Ph.D.

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Our study investigates a novel therapy to address a vascular factor that contributes to the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) using five experimental groups of a mouse model that spontaneously develops diabetes. The compound under investigation is a nitric oxide (NO)-donating topical gel which has potential as a treatment for preventing and treating DPN.

Pams: A Growing Field In Pharmacological Drug Development, Marcel Hall, J. Kolb, B. Todd Jr., D. Pugh, B. Vance, B. Klienstuber, R. Drecketts, Doris Jackson, H. R. Arias, S. N. Sudweeks

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Positive Allosteric Modulators (PAMs) are a growing field in pharmacology. PAM-5 and genisteincause acetylcholine (ACh) to elicit larger currents on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) without activating the channel themselves. In effect, PAMs increase the amplitude of currents at a synapse without altering the normal firing rate of the neurons.

Novel Pharmacological Target: Characterization Of A3b2 Nachrs Expressed In Xenopus Laevis Oocytes, Doris Jackson, Marcel Hall, J. Kolb, B. Todd Jr., D. Pugh, B. Vance, B. Klienstuber, R. Drecketts, S. N. Sudweeks

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

We have identified two subtypes of the novel a3b2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) found within interneurons of the hippocampus. This novel receptor may be a valuable pharmacological target in drug development for disease such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) which is largely characterized by degeneration of the hippocampus.