Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Global Dna Methylation Changes On Neurobehavior In Zebrafish, Matthew Christopher Pickens

Theses and Dissertations

A number of environmental neurotoxicants modulate DNA methylation, but its influence on neurobehavior remains unclear. The laboratory has established that low-level developmental methylmercury exposure induces neurobehavioral deficits; the current results demonstrate that it also induces global DNA hypomethylation. DNA methyltransferase 1-mutant zebrafish (exhibit ~70% reduction in enzymatic activity) were used to assess the role of DNA hypomethylation on behavior. Several neurobehavioral assays including the C-start escape, circadian rhythm, basic locomotion and visual-motor response (VMR) were also performed. There was a significant difference in VMR between the wild type and mutant animals. Other behavior assays revealed no significant difference, primarily due …

Contaminants Of Emerging Concern: Effects Of Known Neuroactive Agents, Antibiotics, And Chemically Uncharacterized Photodegredates On Behavior And Physiology Of Daphnia Pulex, Vibhuti Matta

Wayne State University Theses

Emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), herbicides, pesticides, plasticizers, fire retardants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other organic waste are increasingly being detected in surface water and ground water. These contaminants can enter into the environment through wastewater treatment plant effluent and agriculture runoff. Many of these emerging contaminants tend to be biologically active at very low concentrations, typically occur in water as part of complex mixtures, and may impact biota at concentrations not detected using traditional toxicity tests (e.g. LC 50 tests).

This study focuses on utilizing novel Daphnid optical bioassays to examine the toxicity …

Expression And Pharmacological Modulation Of Pain-Depressed Behavior In Rats, Michael D. Leitl

Theses and Dissertations

Pain is often associated with depression of behavior and mood, and relief of pain-related depression is a common goal of treatment. This goal of this dissertation was to conduct preclinical research experiments designed to address a set of three inter-related aims that examine the expression, mechanisms and treatment of pain-related depression of Intracranial Self-Stimulation (ICSS) in rats. First, studies evaluated the hypothesis that acute acid-induced depression of ICSS was mediated by a kappa opioid receptor mediated decrease in mesolimbic dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Results support a role for depressed mesolimbic dopamine release in pain-related depression of ICSS; however, …