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Sialic Acid Modulation Of Cardiac Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gating Throughout The Developing Myocardium, Patrick J. Stocker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The proper orchestration of voltage-gated ion channel gating is vital to maintaining normal heart rhythms throughout an animal's lifespan. Voltage-gated sodium channels, Na_v, are responsible for the initiation of the cardiac action potential, which leads to cardiac systole. Comparison of neonatal ventricular and atrial myocyte Na_v gating with adult indicated that the neonatal ventricular Na_v gated following a ~10 mV greater depolarization than did atrial or adult ventricular Na_v. In this study I questioned whether development- and/or chamber-dependent changes in Na_v-associated functional sialic acids could account for these differences. When desialylated with …

Characterization Of The Dopaminergic Potential Of The Human Ntera2/D1 (Nt2) Cell Line In Vitro, Iwona E. Misiuta

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our laboratory is working with the human NTera2/D1 (NT2) cell line which have properties similar to progenitor cells in the CNS. These neural-like precursors cells can differentiate into all three major lineages - neurons, astrocytes, andoligodendrocytes. The pure neuronal population, called the hNT cells, possess characteristics of dopamine (DA) cells. In this dissertation, we performed various experiments to examine the neuronal and dopaminergic development of this cellline. We first cultured our hNT neurons with cells from the developingnigrostriatal (NS) pathway, the ventral mesencephalon and striatum, to determine their influence on survival, neuritic outgrowth, and DA phenotype. The survival ofhNT neurons …

Neurochemical Analysis Of Cocaine In Adolescence And Adulthood, Kirstie Helen Stansfield

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a time of high risk behavior and increased exploration. This developmental period is marked by a greater probability to initiate drug use and is associated with an increased risk to develop addiction and dependency in adulthood. Human adolescents are predisposed toward an increased likelihood of risk taking behaviors (Zuckerman M, 1986), including drug use or initiation. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in developmental risk taking behaviors and neurochemical responsivity to cocaine based on these behavioral characteristics. Adolescent and adult animals were exposed to a novel stimulus in a familiar environment to assess impulsivity, novelty …

An Evaluation Of The Dopaminergic Systems’ Response To A Natural Reinforcer: A Comparison Between Cocaine Pretreatment In Adolescent And Adult Rats, Briony Catlow

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The long-term consequences of adolescent drug use in shaping a network primed for addiction is an issue of utmost importance. The use of cocaine during adolescent development could alter the normal growth of the reward system and affect the adult mesolimbic system, however, there is scant literature aimed at finding out if animals are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of drugs during adolescence. The present study investigated whether cocaine pretreatment in adolescent and adult rats produced differences in cocaine-induced neurochemical cross-sensitization to a naturally reinforcing substance in adulthood. To evaluate the responsivity of the mesolimbic system after repeated cocaine, …

The Role Of Sensation Seeking In Children’S Ability To Learn Alcohol Expectancy Associations, Nicole M. Bekman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sensation seeking is a personality characteristic associated with problematic alcohol use and positive alcohol expectancies, but little research has examined the relationship between sensation seeking and the acquisition of alcohol expectancy information. In a recent study (Steinberg, 2003), sensation seeking was associated with how quickly and accurately college-aged students were able to learn alcohol-expectancy word pairs in a paired associate learning task. In this age group, however, the individuals had fully developed alcohol expectancies that may have influenced their rates of learning.

The current study sought to minimize the influence of previously held alcohol expectancies by exploring this relationship in …