Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons^™

Analytical Modeling Of A Communication Channel Based On Subthreshold Stimulation Of Neurobiological Networks, Alireza Khodaei

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The emergence of wearable and implantable machines manufactured artificially or synthesized biologically opens up a new horizon for patient-centered health services such as medical treatment, health monitoring, and rehabilitation with minimized costs and maximized popularity when provided remotely via the Internet. In particular, a swarm of machines at the scale of a single cell down to the nanoscale can be deployed in the body by the non-invasive or minimally invasive operation (e.g., swallowing and injection respectively) to perform various tasks. However, an individual machine is only able to perform basic tasks so it needs to exchange data with the others …

Encoding Of Saltatory Tactile Velocity In The Adult Orofacial Somatosensory System, Rebecca Custead

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Processing dynamic tactile inputs is a key function of somatosensory systems. Spatial velocity encoding mechanisms by the nervous system are important for skilled movement production and may play a role in recovery of motor function following neurological insult. Little is known about tactile velocity encoding in trigeminal networks associated with mechanosensory inputs to the face, or the consequences of movement.

High resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the neural substrates of velocity encoding in the human orofacial somatosensory system during unilateral saltatory pneumotactile inputs to perioral hairy skin in 20 healthy adults. A custom multichannel, scalable …

Clique Topology Reveals Intrinsic Geometric Structure In Neural Correlations, Chad Giusti, Eva Pastalkova, Carina Curto, Vladimir Itskov

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Detecting meaningful structure in neural activity and connectivity data is challenging in the presence of hidden nonlinearities, where traditional eigenvalue-based methods may be misleading. We introduce a novel approach to matrix analysis, called clique topology, that extracts features of the data invariant under nonlinear monotone transformations. These features can be used to detect both random and geometric structure, and depend only on the relative ordering of matrix entries. We then analyzed the activity of pyramidal neurons in rat hippocampus, recorded while the animal was exploring a 2D environment, and confirmed that our method is able to detect geometric organization using …

Asenapine Sensitization From Adolescence To Adulthood And Its Potential Molecular Basis, Qing Shu, Rongyin Qin, Yingzhu Chen, Gang Hu, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Asenapine is a new antipsychotic drug that induces a long-lasting behavioral sensitization in adult rats. The present study investigated the developmental impacts of adolescent asenapine treatment on drug sensitivity and on 3 proteins implicated in the action of antipsychotic drugs (i.e. Brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), dopamine D₂ receptor, and ΔFosB) in adulthood. Male adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats (postnatal days, P 43-48) were first treated with asenapine (0.05, 0.10 or 0.20 mg/kg, sc) and tested in the conditioned avoidance or PCP (2.0 mg/kg, sc)-induced hyperlocomotion tasks for 5 days. After they became adults (∼P 76), asenapine sensitization was assessed in a …

Effects Of 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2c Receptor Agonist Mk212 And 2a Receptor Antagonist Mdl100907 On Maternal Behavior In Postpartum Female Rats, Weihai Chen, Qi Zhang, Wenxin Su, Yu Yang, Jing Qiao, Nan Sui, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Maternal behavior in rats is a highly motivated and well-organized social behavior. Given the known roles of serotonin (5-HT) in emotion, motivation, social behavior, and major depression – and its known interaction with dopamine – it is likely that serotonin also plays a crucial role in this behavior. So far, there are surprisingly few studies focusing on 5-HT in maternal behavior, except for maternal aggression. In the present study,we examined the effects of 5-HT_2C receptor agonism and 5-HT_2A receptor antagonism on maternal behavior in postpartum female rats.We hypothesized that activation of 5-HT_2C receptors and blockade of 5-HT …

Iptakalim Attenuates Self-Administration And Acquired Goal-Tracking Behavior Controlled By Nicotine, S. Charntikov, N. Swalve, Steven T. Pittenger, K. Fink, S. Schepers, G. C. Hadlock, A. E. Fleckenstein, G. Hu, Ming Li, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Iptakalim is an ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener, as well as an a4b2-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist. Pretreatment with iptakalim diminishes nicotine-induced dopamine (DA) and glutamate release in the nucleus accumbens. This neuropharmacological profile suggests that iptakalim may be useful for treatment of nicotine dependence. Thus, we examined the effects of iptakalim in two preclinical models. First, the impact of iptakalim on the interoceptive stimulus effect of nicotine was evaluated by training rats in a discriminated goal-tracking task that included intermixed nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, SC) and saline sessions. Sucrose was intermittently presented in a responseindependent manner only on nicotine sessions. …

Repeated Asenapine Treatment Produces A Sensitization Effect In Two Preclinical Tests Of Antipsychotic Activity, Rongyin Qin, Yingzhu Chen, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Among several commonly used atypical antipsychotic drugs, olanzapine and risperidone cause a sensitization effect in the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and phencyclidine (PCP)- induced hyperlocomotion paradigms – two well established animal tests of antipsychotic drugs, whereas clozapine causes a tolerance effect. Asenapine is a novel antipsychotic drug recently approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic disorders. It shares several receptor binding sites and behavioral features with other atypical antipsychotic drugs. However, it is not clear what type of repeated effect (sensitization or tolerance) asenapine would induce, and whether such an effect is transferrable to other atypicals. In this study, …

Olanzapine Sensitization And Clozapine Tolerance: From Adolescence To Adulthood In The Conditioned Avoidance Response Model, Jing Qiao, Hong Li, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Disruption of conditioned avoidance response (CAR) in rodents is one trademark feature of many antipsychotic drugs. In adult rats, repeated olanzapine (OLZ) treatment causes an enhanced disruption of avoidance response (sensitization), whereas repeated clozapine (CLZ) treatment causes a decreased disruption (tolerance). The present study addressed (1) whether OLZ sensitization and CLZ tolerance can be induced in adolescent rats, and (2) the extent to which OLZ sensitization and CLZ tolerance induced in adolescence persists into adulthood. Male adolescent Sprague–Dawley rats (approximate postnatal days (BP) 43–47) were first treated with OLZ (1.0 or 2.0 mg/kg, subcutaneously (sc)) or CLZ (10 or 20 …

Conditioned Response Evoked By Nicotine Conditioned Stimulus Preferentially Induces C-Fos Expression In Medial Regions Of Caudate-Putamen, Sergios Charntikov, Matthew E. Tracy, Changjiu Zhao, Ming Li, Rick A. Bevins

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Nicotine has both unconditioned and conditioned stimulus properties. Conditioned stimulus properties of nicotine may contribute to the tenacity of nicotine addiction. The purpose of this experiment was to use neurohistochemical analysis of rapidly developing c-Fos protein to elucidate neurobiological loci involved in the processing of nicotine as an interoceptive conditioned stimulus (CS). Rats were injected (SC) in an intermixed fashion with saline or nicotine (16 sessions of each) and placed in conditioning chambers where they were given one of the three conditions depending on group assignment: (a) nicotine paired 100% of the time with intermittent access to sucrose (nicotine-CS condition), …

Iptakalim Preferentially Decreases Nicotine-Induced Hyperlocomotion In Phencyclidine-Sensitized Rats: A Potential Dual Action Against Nicotine Addiction And Psychosis, Nick Volf, Gang Hu, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Iptakalim is a putative ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel opener. It is also a novel nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) blocker and can antagonize nicotine-induced increase in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Our recent work also shows that iptakalim exhibits a clozapine-like atypical antipsychotic profile, indicating that iptakalim may possess a dual action against nicotine addiction and schizophrenia.

Methods: The present study examined the potential therapeutic effects of iptakalim on nicotine use in schizophrenia. We created an animal model of comorbidity of nicotine addiction and schizophrenia by injecting male Sprague-Dawley rats with nicotine (0.40 mg/kg, subcutaneously［sc］) or saline, in combination …

Orbitofrontal Cortex Provides Cross-Modal Valuation Of Self-Generated Stimuli, William A. Cunningham, Ingrid J. Haas, Ashley S. Waggoner

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Prior research has shown that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays an important role in the representation of the evaluation of stimuli, regardless of stimulus modality. Based on these findings, researchers have proposed that the OFC serves a common currency function, allowing for the direct comparison of different types of perceptual stimuli (e.g. food, drink, money). The present study was designed to extend this research and investigate whether these same regions of OFC that have been identified in previous research are involved in evaluating imagined stimuli. Specifically, we asked participants to draw on prior attitudinal knowledge to generate internal representations of …

Metastability And Plasticity In A Conceptual Model Of Neurons, Bo Deng

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

For a new class of neuron models we demonstrate here that typical membrane action potentials and spike-bursts are only transient states but appear to be asymptotically stable; and yet such metastable states are plastic — being able to dynamically change from one action potential to another with different pulse frequencies and from one spike-burst to another with different spike-per-burst numbers. The pulse and spike-burst frequencies change with individual ions’ pump currents while their corresponding metastable-plastic states maintain the same transmembrane voltage and current profiles in range. It is also demonstrated that the plasticity requires two one-way ion pumps operating in …

Critical Flicker Frequency In A Harp Seal, Pagophilus Groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777), Charles D. Bernholz

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Critical flicker frequency (CFF) in a free-swimming harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) was investigated using behavioral techniques. The resulting CFF versus intensity contour indicates a definite rod-cone break, confirming a duplex photoreceptor population whose presence had not been observed in previous morphological reports.