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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology

Ros Regulation Of Axonal Mitochondrial Transport, Pin-Chao Liao Dec 2016

Ros Regulation Of Axonal Mitochondrial Transport, Pin-Chao Liao

Open Access Dissertations

Mitochondria perform critical functions including aerobic ATP production and calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis, but are also a major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. To maintain cellular function and survival in neurons, mitochondria are transported along axons, and accumulate in regions with high demand for their functions. Oxidative stress and abnormal mitochondrial axonal transport are associated with neurodegenerative disorders. However, we know little about the connection between these two. Using primaryDrosophila neuronal cell culture and the third instar larval nervous system as in vitro and in vivo models, respectively, we studied mitochondrial transport under oxidative stress conditions. In vitro …


Acrolein As A Novel Therapeutic Target For Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain, Jonghyuck Park Oct 2014

Acrolein As A Novel Therapeutic Target For Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain, Jonghyuck Park

Open Access Dissertations

Despite years of research, post-spinal cord injury (SCI) chronic neuropathic pain remains refractory to treatment and drastically impairs quality of life for SCI victims beyond paralysis. Although inflammation and free radicals contribute to neuropathic pain in SCI, the mechanism is not completely clear. We have recently demonstrated that acrolein, a product and catalyst of lipid peroxidation, induces a vicious cycle of oxidative stress, amplifying its effects and perpetuating oxidative stress and inflammation. In the current study, we have confirmed that acrolein is elevated significantly at least two weeks post-SCI which coincides with the emergence of hyperalgesia (mechanical, cold and thermal). …


Nano-Engineered Polymers In Drug Delivery: Potential Approaches For Attenuation Of Secondary Injury After Spinal Cord Trauma, Wen Gao Oct 2014

Nano-Engineered Polymers In Drug Delivery: Potential Approaches For Attenuation Of Secondary Injury After Spinal Cord Trauma, Wen Gao

Open Access Dissertations

Secondary injury elicits a complex series of pathophysiological events after the primary spinal cord trauma and even after its implantation treatment for neural functional recovery. These secondary injuries include an up-regulation of glial cells associated reactive oxygen species, nitrogen species, and reactive astrogliosis, and they can result in various levels of cellular and tissue damage. The inhibition of them has been proved to lead to functional recovery of the spinal cord. In this study, we concentrated on developing polymers and nano-techniques based drug delivery strategies to eliminate these secondary injuries. ^ To maintain and improve the performance of the implants …


Quantitative Modeling Of Spatiotemporal Systems: Simulation Of Biological Systems And Analysis Of Error Metric Effects On Model Fitting, James Hengenius Oct 2014

Quantitative Modeling Of Spatiotemporal Systems: Simulation Of Biological Systems And Analysis Of Error Metric Effects On Model Fitting, James Hengenius

Open Access Dissertations

Understanding the biophysical processes underlying biological and biotechnological processes is a prerequisite for therapeutic treatments and technological innovation. With the exponential growth of computational processing speed, experimental findings in these fields have been complemented by dynamic simulations of developmental signaling and genetic interactions. Models provide means to evaluate "emergent" properties of systems sometimes inaccessible by reductionist approaches, making them test beds for biological inference and technological refinement.^ The complexity and interconnectedness of biological processes pose special challenges to modelers; biological models typically possess a large number of unknown parameters relative to their counterparts in other physical sciences. Estimating these parameter …


Morphometric Characterization Of Individual Sympathetic Postganglionic Axons Innervating The Muscle Layers Of The Gastrointestinal Tract Of The Rat: A Complex Effector Model, Gary C. Walter Oct 2014

Morphometric Characterization Of Individual Sympathetic Postganglionic Axons Innervating The Muscle Layers Of The Gastrointestinal Tract Of The Rat: A Complex Effector Model, Gary C. Walter

Open Access Dissertations

A full description of the terminal morphology of sympathetic postganglionic axons innervating the musculature of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has not been available. Furthermore, common assumptions about the morphology and distribution of catecholaminergic terminal fields have been strongly shaped by the limitations of the techniques employed to distinguish the fibers and complicated by inconsistent findings generated with various methodologies. Thus, the present experiment used modern neural tracer techniques to provide high-resolution labeling of sympathetic fibers projecting to the smooth muscle wall of the GI tract. Fischer 344 rats (N = 50) received injections of dextran biotin into the left …