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Behavior

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Do Outcomes From A Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention Differ In Alabama Vs Colorado?, Julianne Clina Jan 2021

Do Outcomes From A Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention Differ In Alabama Vs Colorado?, Julianne Clina

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There are well-established regional differences in obesity prevalence in the U.S., but relatively little is known about whether these differences impact efforts for weight loss. The objective of the study was to determine whether changes in body weight, engagement in physical activity (PA), and psychosocial factors differed in Colorado (CO) vs Alabama (AL) in response to a 16 week standardized behavioral weight management program. We hypothesized that weight loss would be greater in Colorado due to a more favorable physical and social environment.This is an ancillary study to a weight loss intervention being conducted simultaneously in AL and CO with …


Modeling Mild And Repeated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Induced Functional And Pathophysiological Alterations, Jessica Nicole Nichols Jan 2017

Modeling Mild And Repeated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Induced Functional And Pathophysiological Alterations, Jessica Nicole Nichols

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Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a major health concern and accounts for over 75% of the 2.5 million brain injuries reported annually in the United States. Afflicted individuals typically experience a broad spectrum of physical, cognitive, and neuropsychological symptoms. Repeated mTBIs (rmTBIs) can further exacerbate these physiological alterations and negatively impact patient quality of life. Currently, there are no therapeutic agents that have successfully navigated clinical trials to be shown efficacious despite mounds of preclinical evidence suggesting to the contrary. This lack of translation exposes the dire need to design, characterize, and implement better and more relevant model systems …


Norepinephrine Circuits In Mediating Stress-Elicited Behavior, Hyungwoo Nam Jan 2015

Norepinephrine Circuits In Mediating Stress-Elicited Behavior, Hyungwoo Nam

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Norepinephrine in the central nervous system (CNS) is a key mediator of stress-elicited behavioral and physiological adaptations. However, our understanding of central noradrenergic circuitry that regulates specific stress-elicited adaptations is incomplete. The working model for the studies described in this dissertation is that disruptions of specific noradrenergic circuits are responsible for the manifestation of distinct stress-elicited behaviors. Initially the organization of descending noradrenergic neurons with poly-synaptic collaterals to the adrenal gland and skeletal muscle was defined. These noradrenergic presympathetic-premotor neurons (PSPMNs) were distributed within the ventral locus coeruleus (LC), nucleus subcoeruleus (SubC), and the A7 cell group. Then behavioral characterization …


The Role Of Protease-Activated Receptor-1 In Synaptic Plasticity And Memory, Antoine Gabriel Almonte Jan 2011

The Role Of Protease-Activated Receptor-1 In Synaptic Plasticity And Memory, Antoine Gabriel Almonte

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Protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) is an unusual G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that is activated through proteolytic cleavage by extracellular serine proteases. While previous work has shown that inhibiting PAR1 activation is neuroprotective in models of ischemia, traumatic injury, and neurotoxicity, surprisingly little is known about PAR1's contribution to normal brain function. In the central nervous system (CNS), PAR1 is expressed in glial cells in the hippocampus, a brain region critical for memory formation. I am particularly interested in PAR1 because its activation enhances the function of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), which are required for some forms of behavioral learning and synaptic plasticity. …


Regulation Of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 In The Pathophysiology And Treatment Of Mood Disorders, Abigail Marie Polter Jan 2010

Regulation Of Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 In The Pathophysiology And Treatment Of Mood Disorders, Abigail Marie Polter

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Mood disorders are devastating psychiatric illnesses that will affect as many as one in every five persons worldwide over the course of their lifetime. Significant gaps still remain in our understanding of these illnesses and outcomes for many patients are far from optimal. Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 (GSK3) is a protein kinase that is increasingly recognized as playing an important role in a number of neuronal functions, as well as in pathological states such as mood disorders. GSK3 is inhibited in the brain by phosphorylation on an N-terminal serine. Several treatments for mood disorders, including lithium, antidepressants, and atypical antipsychotics …