Life Sciences Commons^™

Do Social Networks Impact Perceived Loneliness In Caregivers To Older Adults With Chronic Conditions?, Janelle N. Beadle, Hayley Fouche, Angela Gifford

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The abstract is not published at this time to protect intellectual property.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sensorimotor Synchronization With Different Forms Of Rhythms, Ryan Meidinger

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Neural activity exhibits non-periodic rhythm [2] but it is unknown if neural activity synchronizes with non-periodic rhythms, as it does with periodic rhythms [1]. The purpose of this research is to determine the neural mechanisms present leading to synchronized finger tapping to varying rhythms. Twenty healthy young adults tapped their finger on a pressure sensitive pad, listened to metronomes, and wore a electroencephalogram (EEG) during synchronized finger tapping tasks (periodic, fractal, and random). Inter-tap intervals (ITIs), inter-beat intervals (IBIs), and frequency tags were used as the behavioral and cortical synchronization with the metronome. One-way ANOVAs were used to determine differences …

Effects Of Novel Tool Use: Cortical And Functional Measures In Children Using A Prosthetic Simulator, Chris Copeland

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

As of 2005, there were a total of 1.6 million people living with the loss of a limb, with this population projected to double to 3.6 million by 2050 [1]. While prostheses aim to enhance the function of these individuals, it is estimated that 45% of pediatric prosthetic users reject their prosthesis [2]. The literature which describes the neurological control mechanisms of prosthetic use is sparse and often low-powered due to an inadequate number of participants. However, prosthetic simulators may be a solution to chronically low-powered prosthetic-centric studies by serving as functional homologues, though this has yet to be tested. …

The Intersection Of Neuroscience And Art, Matilde Mendes Pinto

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The Interaction of Neuroscience and Art will give you an insight into how they interact with each other by analyzing visual art, musical art and theatrical art.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sensorimotor Synchronization With Different Forms Of Rhythms, Ryan Meidinger, Vivien Marmelat

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Introduction: Neural activity exhibits non-periodic rhythm [2] but it is unknown if neural activity synchronizes with non-periodic, as it does with periodic rhythms [1]. The purpose of this research is to determine the neural mechanisms present leading to synchronized finger tapping to varying rhythms. Methods: Twenty young healthy adults will be recruited to participate in the present study (see Figure 1 for the protocol). Electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to measure the amplitude (AE) and beats for interbeat intervals (IBIs), and a pressure sensor will be used to measure intertap intervals (ITIs). The AE will be assessed for …

Effects Of Chronic Ethanol Exposure On Stress Coping Style And Genetic States Of Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Alexander Goodman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Neurotransmitter systems are important in regulating the stress response. If a behavioral response is disproportional to a stressor it is characterized as anxiety-like behavior. Many anxiolytic compounds, such as ethanol, increase stressor engagement, but how these compounds interact with an organism on a neurogenetic level is less understood. In this study, I assessed the impact of chronic ethanol treatment on behavior and gene expression of GABA_Areceptors subunits on two strains of zebrafish. Each strain was selectively bred to display the proactive or reactive stress coping style where proactive individuals will actively engage a stressor more than reactive individuals. …

Investigating Comt Influence On The Proactive-Reactive Stress Coping Axis In Zebrafish, Sean T. Bresnahan, Ryan Y. Wong

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Individuals of the same species often display differences in correlated suites of behaviors which are made conspicuous when challenges – stressful, fear-inducing, etc. – are presented. In many species, a specific suite of behaviors (risk-aversion, aggression, exploration, learning, and memory) characterize an alternative set of stress coping styles (proactive and reactive). Such behaviors are regulated in the brain by specific neurotransmitters along with proteins that regulate them. One neurotransmitter regulator protein, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) shows higher baseline whole-brain expression in proactive relative to reactive animals. However, it is not known whether its expression is a cause or a consequence of the …

Pilot Study Of Empathy In Adults, Libby Moberg

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Empathy is of critical public health importance due to its association with relationship satisfaction and well-being (Davis & Oathout, 1987; Davis, 1983). There is growing evidence that bilingual individuals may have higher levels of empathy (Javor, 2016). One potential mechanism for this relationship is that bilingual individuals tend to have higher levels of executive functioning (Costa et al, 2008), which is linked to higher empathy because individuals are able to more easily adopt others’ perspectives. Previous studies examining this question have largely relied on self-report questionnaires assessing empathy as a general tendency (i.e., trait). No studies have examined differences in …

Neutrophils In The Geniculate Ganglion Following Chorda Tympani Transection In Adult Rats, Carlos Vera-Esquivel

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Neutrophils in the Geniculate Ganglion Following Chorda Tympani Transection in Adult Rats

The chorda tympani nerve (CT) innervates taste buds on the tongue. The CT’s cell bodies are in the geniculate ganglion (GG). Previous work in our lab found that severing the CT (CTX) results in a reduction of taste bud numbers, and substantial immune responses at the tongue and in the brain. However, there is limited information on how the immune system responds at the GG following CTX. Neutrophils are critical members of the first wave of immune response to nerve injury, attacking foreign pathogens and clearing debris. The …

Comparison Of Amygdalar Neuronal Networks That Regulate Fear Behaviors Among Vertebrates, Sushmita Adhikari

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Introduction and Methods: Fear is a basic, conserved emotion that is essential for survival, yet little is known about how fear responses evolved. This research combined gene expression and behavioral analyses to study the evolution of the neuronal network that regulates fear behaviors. Using in situ hybridization, we examined the expression patterns of three genes, protein kinase C δ (prkcd), gastrin-releasing peptide (grp), and glypican 3 (gpc3), that are implicated in fear behaviors in Danio rerio (zebrafish), Xenopus tropicalis, and Gallus gallus domesticus. Additionally, anxiety behaviors were examined in young zebrafish that lacked genes for grp, grp receptor (grpr), and …

Contextual Fear Learning And Memory In Alternative Stress Coping Styles, Matthew R. Baker, Ryan Y. Wong

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Animals frequently must overcome stressors, and the ability to encode and recall these salient experiences is essential to an individual’s survival. Across many taxa, studies have documented two alternative stress coping styles (proactive and reactive) that differ in behavior, cognition, stress physiology, and underlying neuromolecular mechanisms. The role of stress in cognitive traits (e.g. learning and memory) has been well documented, however, the influence of an animal’s stress coping style on learning and memory capabilities is only beginning to be understood. Here, we developed a contextual fear learning paradigm to characterize learning and memory differences between proactive and reactive stress …

The Role Of The Chorda Tympani Nerve In The Structural Development Of Brainstem Neurons, Louis Martin

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The brain changes substantially throughout development. In the taste system, brainstem neurons undergo dramatic structural alterations after birth. Most notably, these cells’ dendrites, branch-like projections that that receive sensory input, grow 3-4 times longer by adulthood. It is not clear whether incoming signals about taste are necessary for these structural changes to occur. We have consistently found that when the chorda tympani taste nerve (CT) is cut at an early age in rats, it does not regenerate. With this manipulation, we can permanently limit the amount of taste information that reaches the brain. To determine the role of taste input …

Differences In Habenula Kisspeptin Expression And Its Effects On Stress Coping Styles In Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Andrew Wahl

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Two particular styles of stress coping behaviors have been identified as evolutionarily conserved across vertebrate species and are referred to as proactive and reactive. Reactive and proactive stress coping styles have distinct 5-HT expression profiles with greater expression of 5-HT found in proactive individuals. It was previously shown that kiss1 expression in the ventral habenula (vHb) presynaptically activates kiss-r1 which can alter glutamatergic levels in co-localizing cells in the vHb that terminate in the median raphe (MR). This can directly or indirectly increase 5-HT expression in the MR via glutamate. It is unknown whether kisspeptin expression in the vHb can …

Differences In Behavioral Responses To Stress In Zebrafish: Exploring Underlying Neural Mechanisms, Jacalyn B. Russ

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Two alternative “stress coping styles” are documented across a wide range of taxa: proactive and reactive. While behavior differences can be observed between coping styles, brain regions potentially mediating these differences have not been studied extensively. Understanding differences in how the brain processes information between the coping styles can lead to insights on how these responses might be controlled. To assess the neural mechanisms underlying alternative stress coping styles, I utilized Danio rerio (zebrafish) and the Novel Tank Diving Test (NTDT). I hypothesize (i) that proactive fish will spend less time in the lower portion of the NTDT and spend …

Comparing Consistency Of Stress And Anxiety-Related Behaviors Across Time In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Matthew R. Baker, Alex Goodman

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Animals are frequently faced with stressors in their environment that they must overcome to survive and reproduce. Across vertebrates, two distinct stress coping styles or ‘personalities’ have been observed known as proactive (bold) and reactive (shy). Animal personalities may be advantageous by limiting individual variation and balancing different trade-offs in unpredictable environments. When identifying animal personalities, behavioral phenotypes must be consistent and repeatable across contexts and time. Here we use selectively bred lines of shy and bold zebrafish, previously shown to have consistent divergent fear- and anxiety-related behaviors across contexts, to test the repeatability and consistency of these behaviors across …

Genetic Variants Contributing To Frontotemporal Dementia With Parkinsonism, Elizabeth C. Oduwo

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism (FTDP) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by disturbances in cognition, language, and personality, which also has features of parkinsonism. This disease is associated with multiple genes including two located close together on chromosome 17: MAPT and GRN. Human and medical genetics can be used to identify the genes that contribute to the risk of this disease.

Earlier work in the Chase lab had identified a large Mennonite kindred (MEN-1) where parkinsonism and dementia were found in five members of a nuclear family. These symptoms parallel those seen in FTDP and all of the affected members share …

Movement Variability And Sensorimotor Cortical Activation During Forward And Backward Walking, Boman Groff

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Previous research has used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to show that motor areas of the cortex are activated more while walking backward compared to walking forward. It is also known that head movement creates motion artifacts in fNIRS data. The aim of this study was to expand on previous findings by examining cortical activation during forward and backward walking, while also measuring head movement. We hypothesized that greater activation in motor areas while walking backward would be concurrent with increased head movement.

Participants (N=8) performed forward and backward walking on a treadmill. Participants wore motion capture markers on their head …

Assessment Of Olfactory-Based Social Recognition: Designing A Paradigm For Marmosets, Stephanie Womack

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Navigation of the social world depends largely on one’s responsiveness to social stimuli and information from a wide range of senses can be used to discriminate between individuals. Mammals use several sensory modes to communicate and respond to their surroundings, but olfaction is the dominant sense across most species. Chemosignals provide a wealth of information including sex, age, reproductive status, and individual identity. Currently, assessment of olfaction is largely limited to the habituation-dishabituation paradigm or the two-choice discrimination task used primarily in rodents. These paradigms are limited by their reliance on inherent reward of interaction with stimuli without providing additional …

The Effect Of Observing Aggressive Interactions On The Personality Traits Of Danio Rerio, Jessica L. Bargstadt

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Social animals are easily influenced by other members of their species. Individuals will adjust their behaviors and actions both when observing another conspecific and when interacting with one. The effect that these social experiences can have on an individual vary in both magnitude and permanence, depending on the type of experience. We seek to examine the lasting effect that observing an aggressive interaction can have on the personality type of an individual.

Personality traits of Danio rerio will be examined in a novel environment setting in which the subject’s movements are recorded to determine their reactivity or proactivity in response …