Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons^™

Identifying Dopamine Receptor Genes And Transcription Marbled Crayfish, Wolfgang Stein, Saisupritha Talasu

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Modulatory transmitters are major contributors to nervous system plasticity and behavioral flexibility, they determine motivational states and are involved in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Neuromodulators act through a variety of distinct receptors and due to the diversity in receptor subtypes and distribution, a single neuromodulator can exert many different actions. A prerequisite to understand the ways modulators work is thus to identify which receptors are expressed in an animal.

I studied which Dopamine receptors are present in the Procambarus virginalis, a highly invasive species of all female genetic clones with high quality genome and transcriptomes. Their broad behavioral repertoire makes …

Major Neurotransmitters In The Brain, Amy S. Yu '17

Independent Study

Arguably the most important and powerful organ in the human body, the brain controls virtually everything one does. From chewing gum to running a marathon, the brain dictates one’s physical responses and actions, while also mediating learning, memory, and emotions. These functions are all regulated by neurotransmitter activity in the brain. While the brain works in complex ways, recent discoveries about neurotransmitters allow us to better understand the underlying mechanisms of brain operation. Each neurotransmitter fulfills a distinct role, but they rely on one another to perform certain activities in the brain as well. The purpose of this review is …