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Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Methamphetamine-Induced Dna Double-Stranded Breaks: The Impact Of The Dopamine Transporter And Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Dna Damage In Mouse Neuro 2a Cells, Lizette Couto Feb 2024

Methamphetamine-Induced Dna Double-Stranded Breaks: The Impact Of The Dopamine Transporter And Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Dna Damage In Mouse Neuro 2a Cells, Lizette Couto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse remains a global health concern, with emerging evidence highlighting its genotoxic potential. In the central nervous system METH enters dopaminergic cells primarily through the dopamine transporter (DAT), which controls the dynamics of dopamine (DA) neurotransmission by driving the reuptake of extracellular DA into the presynaptic neuronal cell. Additional effects of METH on the storage of DA in synaptic vesicles lead to the dysregulated cytosolic accumulation of DA. Previous studies have shown that after METH disrupts intracellular vesicular stores of DA, the excess DA in the cytosol is rapidly oxidized. This generates an abundance of reactive oxygen species …


Utilizing Crispr Cas9 To Visualize Dopamine Receptors In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Lauren Michelle Velasquez Aug 2023

Utilizing Crispr Cas9 To Visualize Dopamine Receptors In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Lauren Michelle Velasquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Dopamine (DA) is a neurotransmitter with imperative implications in many functions including movement, reward, and cognition. Studying the pathways of dopaminergic neurons at multiple levels allows us to understand the ways in which these systems can go wrong. We study dopamine in a model system such as the worm Caenorhabditis elegans because of its relatively simple and well-characterized nervous system. DA is involved in regulating chemosensory behaviors in worms. The purpose of this research project is to definitively answer the following question: Are the dopamine receptors DOP-1 and DOP-4 expressed in chemosensory neurons? Previous reporter assays show that neither of …


The Neurobiological Underpinnings Of Depression-Related Maternal Behavior Deficits, Sarah B. Winokur Feb 2022

The Neurobiological Underpinnings Of Depression-Related Maternal Behavior Deficits, Sarah B. Winokur

Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal caregiving is a dynamic process that requires extensive cognitive, motivational, and affective processing. World-wide, approximately 17% of mothers are diagnosed with postpartum depression yearly (Wang et al., 2021). Untreated, mothers with postpartum depression experience deficits in cognition, motivation, affect, and parenting (Arteche et al., 2011; Dix and Meunier, 2009; Lovejoy et al., 2000). Although postpartum depression is related to compromised parenting, to date, few studies have examined the neurobiological mechanisms by which maternal behavior is compromised in postpartum depression (Field, 2010; Murray et al., 1996). This dissertation aims to examine how depression neurobiologically disrupts parenting abilities. These studies …


Sleep Modifications In A Drosophila Melanogaster Model Of Fragile X Syndrome, Morgan Mclaughlin May 2020

Sleep Modifications In A Drosophila Melanogaster Model Of Fragile X Syndrome, Morgan Mclaughlin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disabilities, disruptions in sleep, and autism in humans. Mutations in Fragile X Mental Retardation gene 1 (FMR1), which codes for a protein that modifies the expression of many target proteins, are primarily responsible for this disorder. Genetic modifications of FMR1 can increase or decrease the overall amount of sleep in humans. A potential pharmaceutical target of FXS is dopamine, a critical neurotransmitter in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness. In fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) dopamine has been shown to alter sleep. The mushroom body, a structure in …


Characterization Of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 And Its Role In Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis Using Drosophila, Antonio Joel Tito Jr., Sheng Zhang Dec 2016

Characterization Of Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 And Its Role In Parkinson's Disease Pathogenesis Using Drosophila, Antonio Joel Tito Jr., Sheng Zhang

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by the selective loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia nigra pars compacta region of the brain. PD is also the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the second most common movement disorder. PD patients exhibit the cardinal symptoms, including tremor of the extremities, rigidity, slowness of movement, and postural instability, after 70-80% of DA neurons degenerate. It is, therefore, imperative to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in the selective degeneration of DA neurons. Although increasing numbers of PD genes have been identified, why these largely widely expressed genes induce …