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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Beta 2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Contributions To Anxiety-Like Behavior, Shawn Anderson
Beta 2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Contributions To Anxiety-Like Behavior, Shawn Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
Nicotine is a major psychoactive ingredient in tobacco that is thought to promote smoking behavior via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. Given reports that people smoke to relieve anxiety and that anxiety precipitates relapse, the overarching goal of this dissertation research is to assess beta 2 subunit containing nAChR (beta2*nAChR) contributions to anxiety-like behavior. Nicotine’s activity at beta2*nAChRs is concentration-dependent, with high concentrations facilitating activation followed by rapid desensitization and low concentrations preferentially desensitizing beta2*nAChRs; hence, activation or inhibition of beta2*nAChRs may support smoking behavior. Rodent studies reveal that nicotine affects anxiety-like behavior dose-dependently: low doses promote anxiolysis- …
Genetic Dissection Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Substances Of Abuse, Jo Lynne Harenza
Genetic Dissection Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Substances Of Abuse, Jo Lynne Harenza
Theses and Dissertations
It has been reported that an individual’s initial level of response to a drug might be predictive of his or her future risk of becoming dependent, thus basal gene expression profiles underlying those drug responses may be informative for both predicting addiction susceptibility and determining targets for intervention. This dissertation research aims to elucidate genetic risk factors underlying acute alcohol and nicotine dependence phenotypes using mouse genetic models of addiction. Phenotyping, brain region-specific mRNA expression profiling, and genetic mapping of a recombinant inbred panel of over 25 mouse strains were performed in order to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) harboring …
On The Genetic And Environmental Associations Between Body Composition, Depression Symptoms And Smoking Behavior., Roseann Peterson
On The Genetic And Environmental Associations Between Body Composition, Depression Symptoms And Smoking Behavior., Roseann Peterson
Theses and Dissertations
Obesity is a serious public health crisis and recent estimates of its incidence are the highest in United States history, with 35% and 17% of American adults and children affected, respectively. The clinical definition of adult obesity is operationalized as a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 kg/m2. Although the prevalence of common obesity has increased dramatically over the past 30 years–largely thought to be due to changes in the environment, such as high calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles—twin and family studies have shown consistently that relative body weight is under considerable genetic influence in both children and adults, …
The Role Of High Affinity Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors On Anxiety-Like Behavior: A Study In Female Mice, Jessicka Hall
The Role Of High Affinity Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors On Anxiety-Like Behavior: A Study In Female Mice, Jessicka Hall
Theses and Dissertations
Tobacco dependence is high in women who suffer from anxiety disorders yet little is known about the contributions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on anxiety-like behavior. β2*nAChRs (*denotes assembly with other subunits) are the most abundantly expressed nAChRs in the brain yet little is known about the contributions of β2*nAChRs on anxiety-like behavior in female mice. In this study, antagonism and nicotine effects on anxiety-like behavior was investigated across the life span in 6, 12 and 24-month-old drug-naïve knockout (KO), heterozygous (HET) and a gain of function α6L9S mice and wild type (WT). HET mice showed increased sensitivity to di-hydrobeta-erythroidine …
The Effects Of Footshock On The Reinforcing Efficacy Of Cocaine In Male Long-Evans Rats, Elizabeth S. Hendrick
The Effects Of Footshock On The Reinforcing Efficacy Of Cocaine In Male Long-Evans Rats, Elizabeth S. Hendrick
Theses and Dissertations
Many links exist between cocaine abuse and stress. The literature and laboratory studies in rats suggest that this could be because stress increases the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine. Using male Long-Evans rats, experiments in this thesis tested effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine using a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. They also examined effects of footshock on the reinforcing efficacy of a half-maximal dose of cocaine. Finally, they tested the effects of footshock on cocaine self-administration in rats initially resistant to acquisition of cocaine self-administration. Footshock did not increase reinforcing efficacy of cocaine on a PR schedule …