Life Sciences Commons^™

Zmp-Induced Activation Of Ampk Enhances Accumbal Dopamine Function, Isabella Roque, Jordan Yorgason, Rachel Campbell, Serin Baker, Jared Mcfarlane, Oliver Saunders, David Thomson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

Oral Presentation Honorable Mention

• Dopamine terminal function is associated with motivation

• Fasting activates AMPK, a cellular sensor that measures intracellular AMP relative to ATP

• AMPK activation is a target of interest for age related cognitive decline, prevention of muscle wasting, etc.

• ZMP is an endogenous nucleotide AMP mimetic that activates AMPK

• The present study examined the novel precursor ZMP compound called P39 using an ex vivo mouse model

Understanding Refractory Status Epilepticus With Novel Hd-Mea Technology, Isaac Stubbs, Ryley Parrish, Melissa Blotter, Max Holmes, Skyler Russell

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

3rd Place Oral Presentation

Status Epilepticus (SE) is a severe medical condition marked by continuous seizures lasting over 5 minutes. When SE becomes resistant to anticonvulsant drugs, the condition is known as Refractory Status Epilepticus (RSE), which lacks effective treatments and has a mortality rate of 38%. RSE lacks effective treatments partially due to our limited understanding of the mechanisms that lead to patient antiepileptic drug resistance.

Ivermectin Activates Striatal Cholinergic Interneurons To Enhance Dopamine Release, Tyler Love, Jordan Yorgason, Hillary Wadsworth, Alicia Warnecke, Joshua Barlow, Emma Steimle, Joakim Ronström, Pacen Williams, Christopher Galbraith, Jared Baldridge, Michael Jakowec, Daryl Davies

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• The substantia nigra compacta releases dopamine into the dorsal striatum, a brain region associated with movement and motivation

• Cholinergic interneurons in the dorsal striatum can directly cause dopamine release

• IVM is a known positive allosteric modulator of P2X4 receptors as well as nicotinic

• acetylcholine receptors

• Ivermectin is known to affect many dopamine linked behaviors, but no studies have been conducted to determine if Ivermectin is able to modulate dopamine release

Effects Of Predation On Cognition In Brachyrhaphis Rhabdophora, Elizabeth F. Jenkins, Jerry B. Johnson

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

RESEARCH QUESTION

Does “predation environment” affect the cognitive abilities of the tropical fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora?

Effects Of Methamphetamine On Microglia Through Reactive Oxygen Species, Chase Seiter, Jordan Yorgason, Nathan Sheets, James Blood, Lydia Hawley, Erin Taylor, Eliza White, Hillary Wadsworth, Jason Hansen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

▪ Dopamine release in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) underlies motivational behavior for methamphetamine (METH) reward.

▪ ATP is a chemoattractant to microglia and is METH on ATP release and clearance are unknown.

▪ Furthermore, METH is known to produce reactive dopamine terminal function, microglia morphology and METH interactions are unknown.

Adhd Medication Is More Potent And Effective During Ovulation, Laurenf@Byu.Edu Ford

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

• Women escalate psychostimulant abuse more quickly than men. Women who are prescribed psychostimulants for ADHD report fluctuations in drug efficacy that correspond to their menstrual cycle.

• In rodents, females acquire psychostimulant addiction more readily and release more dopamine (DA) in the dorsal striatum, an effect mediated by estrogen.

• However, the impact of the estrous cycle in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a core region for learning and addiction in the ventral striatum, is underexplored.

• Here, we examine cocaine, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and methamphetamine (Desoxyn) effects on DA transmission in male and naturally-cycling female mice.

Adapting The Auxin-Inducible Degron (Aid) System To The Zebrafish Model Organism, Dennis Li

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2024

The Auxin Inducible Degron (AID) system is a conditional and reversible protein degradation system naturally occurring in plants. In the presence of the hormone Auxin, the AID tagged proteins are recruited into the plant’s E3 ubiquitin ligase machinery, ubiquitinated, and marked for degradation1. To adapt the AID system to the zebrafish model organism, our lab generated lines co-expressing Arabidopsis Thaliana plant TIR1 protein and GFP tagged with AID (GFP-AID) in superficially-located mechanosensory hair cells (HC) of the lateral line system and in spinal cord neurons found deeper in the body. Upon auxin application, GFP-AID expressed in the superficial HCs was …

Examining Limbic Sexual Dimorphisms In Schizophrenia, Kennedy S. Madrid

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects a significant number of individuals in the United States and can have numerous different symptoms. Recently, interest in the differences between the neuroanatomy of individuals with schizophrenia and individuals without schizophrenia has emerged, specifically the sexual dimorphism in individuals with schizophrenia. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the sexual dimorphisms of two structures in the limbic system: the hippocampus and amygdala. Data was harmonized and analyzed from two datasets to determine the sexual dimorphic factor of these structures in healthy controls and individuals with schizophrenia. Demographic features were also taken …

Mapping Auditory And Vestibular Response Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Larval Zebrafish, Erika Marks, Arminda Suli

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cellular mapping of the sensory receptive fields of brain structures is a critical step in understanding function and dysfunction in development. Deficits in the ability to receive, process and integrate the senses leads to difficulties recognizing and responding appropriately to stimuli. To understand how the senses are integrated, it is first necessary to map the neurons receptive to inputs from individual senses. The optic tectum of zebrafish is a structure known for its homology to the superior colliculus of mammals and is a center of multisensory integration – including visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli. However, the microcircuitry of this important …

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.

Effects Of Catharanthine On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens And Ethanol Consumption, Emily Baldwin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the history of catharanthine and related compounds, and their potential anti-addictive properties. Current research is exploring possible mechanisms of these properties. Past studies have found catharanthine has effects on neurons that project to the mesocorticolimbic system, an area implicated in addiction. We have seen that catharanthine decreases evoked dopamine (DA) release but increases basal DA release. This is the first study to investigate catharanthine’s effect on DA transmission in vivo. Using microdialysis, we determined the effect of catharanthine on DA in the nucleus accumbens of the striatum. This study determines the effect of different doses of …

Facing Fears When Fearing Faces: Binocular Rivalry Perceptual Alternation And Approach-Avoidance In College-Aged Women With Autistic Traits And A History Of Adverse Experiences, Sarah Kamhout

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Women with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs) may be more likely to experience symptoms of trauma exposure due to greater likelihood of facing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). In order to gain a better understanding of the neural mechanisms involved with ASC and PTSD in women who experience difficulty with social interactions, I examined the ability of two vision tasks-- Binocular Rivalry Perceptual Alternation (BR) and Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST)-- to predict symptoms of both conditions as well as differentiate between them. I also examined differences in response to neutral or emotional (angry or fearful) faces under both paradigms. …

Preventing Alzheimer's: Effects Of Second Language Acquisition In Older Populations, Joshua Rhead

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease continues to be a problem that medicine has few answers for. As a result, much research has been focused on finding a cure as well as interventions to help prevent the onset of the disease. One such intervention that has been proposed is to improve the brain’s efficiency and connectivity. A controversial method of achieving these results is through second language acquisition. Many provide evidence for or against the benefits of this intervention, but much remains unclear. Most of these studies focus on cognitive function and functional connectivity in language areas, but the default mode network, which is …

Comparative Efficacies Of Calmare Therapy And Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation In Randomized Peripheral Neuropathy Subjects With Resting State Fmri Monitoring, Ty A. Bodily, Logan Edvalson, Jordan B. Peacock, Zack M. Bradshaw, Carson Hart, Cameron Ernst, Samuel Biggs, David D. Busath

Faculty Publications

Clinical reports of Calmare protocol efficacy suggest enhanced durability compared to TENS and the possibility changes in resting fMRI connectivity. The objective was to compare peripheral neuropathy pain relief and resting fMRI changes with Calmare and TENS treatments. Randomized double-blind trials performed in August 2015 and between August 2016 and November 2017, with 18 and 20 human peripheral neuropathy subjects, respectively. The initial trial examined effects of a single session while the latter trial examined the effects of a course of ten treatment sessions on consecutive weekdays. fMRI scans were examined for changes in blood flow correlations and connectivity. Subjective …

Barriers To Prenatal Care For Hispanic Immigrants In Utah County, Maren Monson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines four barriers that may inhibit Hispanic immigrant women from receiving care in Utah County, including language, insurance, documentation, and education. Six clinics in Utah County were contacted to determine how the services they provide account for these barriers. Nine Hispanic women were then interviewed about their experience with prenatal care in Utah County with respect to the four barriers. Interpretation services were offered by each clinic, though none of the women interviewed used professional interpretation—either their husbands translated, or they met with a Spanish-speaking doctor. Every clinic accepted insurance and Medicaid, while one clinic had a flexible …

An Event-Related Potential Study Of Inhibition To Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Hanel Watkins

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the United States, the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages per capita from 1977 to 2002 doubled across all age groups. One factor that may contribute to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is inhibitory control, or the ability to withhold a dominant response in order to correctly respond to one’s environment. Studies suggest that increased recruitment of inhibitory control resources plays a role in decreasing the consumption of high-calorie foods and that strengthening an individual’s inhibitory control may help them manage their food intake. However, the neural response to sugar-sweetened beverages versus non-sweetened beverages is unknown. Thus, we tested event-related potential …

Sex Differences In Ethanol Modulation Of Dopamine Release In The Mesolimbic Reward System, Mandy Parsons

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to synthesize previous studies that have shown sex differences in response to drugs of abuse, specifically cocaine and alcohol. These differences have been noted through the study of behavior, nitric oxide levels in the medial amygdala, and dopamine release within the mesolimbic system. Importantly, it has been consistently found that these differences seem to correlate with the changing hormonal environment produced by the estrus cycle in females. Furthermore, this thesis examines new research on how the estrus cycle modulates dopamine release within the reward circuit through the utilization of fast scan cyclic voltammetry and microdialysis techniques. A …

Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills

Theses and Dissertations

The therapeutic benefits attributed to activation of peripheral mechanoreceptors are poorly understood. There is growing evidence that mechanical stimulation modulates substrates in the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) that are outside the canonical somatosensory circuits. This work demonstrates that activation of peripheral mechnoreceptors via mechanical stimulation (MStim) is sufficient to increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), alter neuron firing rate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increase membrane translocation of delta opioid receptors (DORs) in the NAc. Further, we demonstrate that these effects are dependent on DORs and acetylcholine receptors. Additionally, MStim can block neuronal markers of …

A Quantitative Motor Assessment Linked To Underlying Damage In Traumatic Brain Injury, Paula K. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in the United States (Coronado et al., 2011). There is a recognized need for better motor assessments to help mitigate these disabilities. Advances in markerless motion capture and in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide an opportunity to improve clinical assessments, and link them to damage measured in MRI scans. The primary aims of this research were to 1) develop a quantitative motor assessment (QMA), and seed a normative database to enable comparison of impaired behavior to unimpaired, 2) test the sensitivity of the QMA, and 3) link QMA results to …

"Where Was I?": Linguistic Reprocessing In Distracted Reading, Katrina Hillam

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the impact of repeated auditory and task-oriented distractors on linguistic processing. Impact was measured through eye tracking software recording first fixation duration, gaze duration, and total time spent on distractor words. This study found consistent significant difference only in the total time category, suggesting that the processing stage most impacted by distraction is global context—our awareness of how a word fits in to the paragraph at large. Participants were skilled at regaining reading speed after distraction, showing no overall impairment for other processing levels. This phenomenon could be dangerous for student comprehension, as reading speed will be …

Self-Regulation, Threat Perception, And Inhibitory Control: An Fmri Investigation Of Children With Adhd, Erin Kaseda

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of perceived parental support on adolescents aged 12-19 who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Specifically, the study focused on inhibitory control, one form of cognitive executive control often implicated in ADHD, in three ways: first, through the use of a Go/No-Go task during a functional MRI scan of the brain; second, through the use of a neuropsychological cognitive battery using the NIH Toolbox; and third, through a qualitative interview that examined self-control in school and home contexts. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, parental support was found to be negatively correlated with inhibitory control …

The Role Of Interleukin-1 Beta In Methamphetamine Mediated Increases In Dopamine Release Within The Mesolimbic Pathway, Anneke Klomp, Ben Lee, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this study we wanted to determine the effect that Interleukin-1 Beta (IL-1𝛃) would have in changing the effects that methamphetamines have on dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (reward center of the brain). It has been well established previously that methamphetamines increases dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. Given that IL-1𝛃 increases inflammation in the brain which has been seen to be involved in dopamine release and that IL-1𝛃 is able to act on other parts of the brain, we suspected that by inhibiting IL-1𝛃 we would see a decrease in dopamine response to methamphetamines. If the IL-1𝛃 blocker, …

The Involvement Of The Ip3 Receptor In The Rewarding/Addictive Properties Of Methamphetamine, Mark Woodbury, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Methamphetamine (METH) is a very powerful psychoactive drug that is highly addictive and toxic to the brain. Its use and abuse has been rising in recent years, and certain reports indicate that amphetamine-like drugs are the second most abused drugs worldwide. The side effects of METH abuse are varied and serious in nature, including: hyperthermia, tooth decay, heart attack, seizures, stroke, skin lesions, memory loss, confusion, anxiety, depression, psychosis, Parkinson’s Disease, and increased severity of HIV/AIDS (Chang et al., 2005; Curtin et al., 2015; Thanos et al., 2017). Despite these devastating effects, many of those addicted do not or cannot …

Fixation-Related Fmri And Syntactic Networks In The Brain, Brent Foster, Dr. Steven Luke

Journal of Undergraduate Research

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.

Polymorphisms Of The 5-Httlpr Gene: Associations To Ern And Depression, Curtis Killpack, Michael J. Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our aim with this study of polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) was to investigate the association between performance monitoring capabilities (i.e., detecting errors in performance using the error-related negativity [ERN] component of the scalp recorded event-related potential [ERP]) against three variations of gene 5-HTTLPR allelic pairs: homozygous short (S/S), heterozygous short-long (S/L), and homozygous long (L/L). The serotonin transporter gene is associated with our ability to cope with stress and regulate serotonin, which affects mood, social behavior, appetite, and sleep (Adam, Doane, Zinbarg, Mineka, Craske, & Griffith, 2010). Previous studies (Barnes, Dean, Nandam, O’Connell, & Bellgrove, 2011) have …

The Role Of Bdnf Expression In Chronic Ethanol Usage, Caleb Porter, Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

It has been observed that chronic exposure to drugs of abuse, particularly opiates, increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons. In particular, BDNF expression is dramatically increased during drug withdrawal, which would suggest a direct connection between the aversive state of withdrawal and BDNFinduced neuronal plasticity. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the relationship between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression, which is dramatically increased within the ventral tegmental area (VTA) during drug abuse, and alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Role Of Exercise And Stress In Memory And Learning Of The Hippocampus, Paul Baker, Jeff Edwards

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Some of the most devastating diseases today are diseases of the mind. Common side effects of Alzheimer’s disease are dementia and memory loss and more than 44 million people suffer from the disease worldwide [1]. Other mental diseases such as Parkinson’s also have a dramatic impact on the memory and learning pathways. Understanding the mechanism involved with memory and learning will bring science that much closer to finding a permanent cure to these devastating diseases.

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.