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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Neurobiology
Sex Differences In Mood And Anxiety-Related Outcomes In Response To Adolescent Nicotine Exposure, Tsun Hay Jason Ng
Sex Differences In Mood And Anxiety-Related Outcomes In Response To Adolescent Nicotine Exposure, Tsun Hay Jason Ng
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Nicotine dependence is causally linked to increased risk of mood/anxiety disorders in later life. Females are reported to experience a higher prevalence of anxiety/depressive disorders and challenges in smoking cessation therapies, suggesting a potential sex-specific response to nicotine exposure and mood/anxiety disorder risk. However, pre-clinical evidence of sex-specific responses to adolescent nicotine exposure is unclear. Thus, to determine any sex differences in anxiety/depressive-related outcomes, adolescent male and female Sprague Dawley rats received nicotine (0.4 mg/kg; 3x daily) or saline injections for 10 consecutive days, followed by behavioural testing, in-vivo electrophysiology and Western Blot analyses. Our results revealed that adolescent nicotine …
Role Of Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Receptor Signaling In The Suppression Of Punished Reward Seeking, Grace M. Joyner, Anna Caroline Toburen
Role Of Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Receptor Signaling In The Suppression Of Punished Reward Seeking, Grace M. Joyner, Anna Caroline Toburen
Senior Theses
Previous studies have shown that within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain region associated with motivation and reinforcement learning, activity of neurons expressing the dopamine D2 receptor (D2R neurons) act as a “break” on risky behavior associated with negative outcomes. Moreover, when these neurons are stimulated, rats were found to become more risk averse. However, the impact of dopamine signaling through NAc D2R neurons in risk avoidance is still unclear. To further explore the role of NAc dopamine signaling in punished reward-seeking, we tested rats in a novel punished food-seeking paradigm in which subjects are trained to choose between a …
A Polypharmacological Approach To Relapse Prevention In An Animal Model Of Heroin Addiction, Scott T. Ewing
A Polypharmacological Approach To Relapse Prevention In An Animal Model Of Heroin Addiction, Scott T. Ewing
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Chemical compounds that target dopamine (DA) D1 or D3 receptors have shown promise as potential interventions in animal models of cue-induced relapse. However, undesirable side effects or pharmacodynamic profiles have limited the advancement of new compounds in preclinical studies when administered as independent treatments. In this series of experiments, we explored the effects of co-administration of a D1-recepter partial agonist (SKF 77434) and a D3-receptor antagonist (NGB 2904) in heroin-seeking rats within a ‘conflict’ model of abstinence and cue-induced relapse. Rats were first trained to press a lever to self-administer heroin and drug delivery was paired contingently with cues (e.g., …
The Role Of Dopamine In Decision Making Processes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Michelle C. Bowers
The Role Of Dopamine In Decision Making Processes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Michelle C. Bowers
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Understanding the neural processes that mediate decision making is a relatively new field of investigation in the scientific community. With the ultimate goal of understanding how humans decide between one path and another, simpler models such as Drosophila Melanogaster, the common fruit fly, are often utilized as a way of determining the neural circuits involved in these decision-making processes. One of the most important decisions flies make is the decision of where to lay their eggs (oviposit). Choosing the proper substrate upon which to lay eggs is a crucial decision that can ultimately impact their fecundity. This paper investigates the …
Activation Of The Sonic Hedgehog Effector Smoothened Counteracts L-Dopa Induced Dyskinesia By Restoring Cholinergic Interneuron Function, Lauren Malave
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Many types of neurons act as multimodal signaling centers. Yet, we have only limited insight into the regulation and functional consequences of neuronal co-transmission. For example, dopamine (DA) neurons, whose degeneration causes motor deficits characteristic of Parkinson’s Diseases (PD), communicate with all their targets by DA but only a selective subset of their targets using GABA, Glutamate, and the secreted cell signaling protein Sonic Hedgehog (Shh). It is unknown whether Levo-dopamine (L-Dopa) induced dyskinesia (LIDs), a severely debilitating side effect of DA supplementation in PD, might appear because DA neuron targets are exposed to high DA- but low Shh- signaling …
Modeling And Mapping Addiction In The Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Bradley Serpa
Modeling And Mapping Addiction In The Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Bradley Serpa
Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses
Driven by the communication of dopamine, the vertebrate reward system has been evolutionarily conserved to maintain survival and optimize fitness. The neural circuits governing this system integrate sensory stimuli to produce appropriate, self-preserving responses that underlie experience-based learning. In the most primitive vertebrates, dopamine release in neuronal circuits drives homeostatic behaviors, such as seeking nutrients, finding a mate, or avoiding danger. From agnathans to mammals, dopaminergic synthesis and signaling genes and molecules, along with neuronal pathways and reward system-based behaviors, remain highly conserved. Dopamine signaling proteins include two classes of metabotropic G-Protein Receptor Coupled Dopamine Receptors, D1-like (DRD1) and D2-like …
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
The model of basal ganglia function proposed by Albin, Young and Penney (1989) describes two anatomically independent motor pathways, the direct and indirect. However, under normal conditions striatal dopamine (DA) is required for the expression of motor behavior, and DAergic control of the two pathways (via D1 and D2 receptors, respectively) is dependent on co-activation. We tested for a possible breakdown of D1/D2 synergism using transgenic R6/1 mice bearing the human huntingtin allele (Htt). Motor stereotypy, observed prior to the onset of HD-related symptoms, was rated on a 5-point scale following activation of: A) D1 receptors alone, B) D2 receptors …