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Behavioral Neurobiology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Behavioral Neurobiology

Assessment Of Autistic-Like Behaviour Of Mice Lacking Atrx In Forebrain Glutamatergic Neurons, Nicole A. Martin-Kenny Aug 2020

Assessment Of Autistic-Like Behaviour Of Mice Lacking Atrx In Forebrain Glutamatergic Neurons, Nicole A. Martin-Kenny

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mutations in ATRX, which encodes a chromatin remodeling protein, have been identified in patients with autism and are associated with ATR-X syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by cognitive deficits, developmental delays, and autistic-like behaviour. Despite the relationship between ATRX and autism, it is not yet known how mutations lead to autistic behaviour. To investigate this relationship, we generated two mouse models displaying distinct timing of Atrx inactivation in forebrain excitatory neurons. With these models, we performed behavioural paradigms to assess behaviour related to autism. Behavioural testing revealed that the conditional deletion of Atrx in differentiated forebrain neurons during …


The Influence Of Canine Aggression And Behavioral Treatment On Heart Rate Variability, Lydia Craig Apr 2016

The Influence Of Canine Aggression And Behavioral Treatment On Heart Rate Variability, Lydia Craig

Psychology Honors Projects

Dog aggression affects many, with nearly 5 million dog bites reported yearly in the United States alone. With the physical, emotional, and monetary costs of bites, it is of considerable interest to identify dogs that are likely to bite. One physiological measure that might serve as an index of aggression is heart rate variability (HRV), which refers to vagally mediated beat-to-beat change in heart rate. Low HRV has been associated with impaired emotional and behavioral regulation and stress in both humans and animals. To assess whether this measure corresponds with aggression in dogs, resting HRV was measured for dogs with …


Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester Jan 2016

Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Aggression is a dynamic and costly feature of human behavior. One reliable cause of aggression is social rejection, though the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain to be fully understood. Previous research has identified two psychological processes that are independently linked to aggressive retaliation: pain and pleasure. Given recent findings that pain magnifies the experience of pleasure, I predicted that the pain of rejection would promote the pleasure of aggression and thus, aggression itself. I also expected that this indirect effect of aggressive pleasure would only be observed among individuals with weaker self-regulatory abilities that are necessary to cope with …


The Effects Of Arginine Vasopressin On Maternal Behavior And Aggression In Peromyscus Californicus Mothers, Nathaniel Ng Jun 2015

The Effects Of Arginine Vasopressin On Maternal Behavior And Aggression In Peromyscus Californicus Mothers, Nathaniel Ng

Honors Projects

Research studies since the 1950s have shown that a chemical within the brain called arginine vasopressin (AVP) is associated with the modulation of many different social behaviors in mammals. Some of these behaviors are related to parenting, such as parental care initiation, aggression, social recognition, depression and anxiety. Understanding the physiology behind AVP regulation could allow for the creation of new therapies for treating human social disorders, such as using an AVP receptor antagonist to attenuate anxiety. This project examines how neural injections of AVP and an AVP receptor antagonist affect both maternal care and aggression in female Peromyscus californicus …