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Behavioral Neurobiology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Neurobiology

Identification And Delineation Of Neuronal Pathways Underlying Hypophagia, Jing Cai Dec 2023

Identification And Delineation Of Neuronal Pathways Underlying Hypophagia, Jing Cai

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

In terms of metabolism, eating disorders manifest in two extreme directions: overnutrition, which can lead to obesity, and malnutrition, which can result in underweight or even starvation. Both extremes compromise the quality of life. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) standard, eating disorders affect up to 17.9% of young women and 2.4% of young men. Although eating disorders are primarily defined as mental disorders rather than metabolic disorders, they are intertwined with complex emotions and sensory perceptions. However, in contemporary animal research related to eating disorders and feeding behaviors, the majority of neuroscientists still examine …


Sex Differences In Mood And Anxiety-Related Outcomes In Response To Adolescent Nicotine Exposure, Tsun Hay Jason Ng Aug 2023

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 …


Recovery From Social Isolation In Drosophila: The Role Of Dopamine And The Autism-Related Gene Nlg3., Ryley T. Yost Jul 2023

Recovery From Social Isolation In Drosophila: The Role Of Dopamine And The Autism-Related Gene Nlg3., Ryley T. Yost

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Within a group, individuals establish their preferred distance from each other, or social space, a form of social behaviour. The resulting distance depends on the exchange of social cues from others that needs to be perceived and integrated within the organism’s neural circuitry. In humans, social spacing can be impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. When organisms are subject to social isolation, profound changes in social behaviour are observed in a variety of species from insects to mammals, including social space. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms modulating a behavioural response to isolation and possible recovery remain …


Role Of Nucleus Accumbens Dopamine Receptor Signaling In The Suppression Of Punished Reward Seeking, Grace M. Joyner, Anna Caroline Toburen Apr 2023

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 …