Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Ventral Tegmental Area Neuronal Responses To Methylphenidate Correlated To Behavioral Responses Of Adolescent And Adult Rats, Zachary Jones

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Methylphenidate (MPD) is a psychostimulant used in the treat treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and more recently is being used as a cognitive enhancement and recreational drug. Its therapeutic effects are not fully understood, nor are the long term effects of the drug on brain development. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a site of psychostimulant action thought to be involved in behavioral sensitization. The aim of the this study was to first determine if there are differences in neuronal responses between individuals, with respect to neuronal firing patterns in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and whether these differences …

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- …

Identification And Characterization Of Ethanol Responsive Genes In Acute Ethanol Behaviors In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Joseph Alaimo

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol abuse and dependence are complex disorders that are influenced by many genetic and environmental factors. Acute behavioral responses to ethanol have predictive value for determining an individual’s long-term susceptibility to alcohol abuse and dependence. These behavioral responses are strongly influenced by genetics. Here, we have explored the role of genetic influences on acute behavioral responses to ethanol using the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. First, we explored the role of ethanol metabolism in acute behavior responses to ethanol. Natural variation in human ethanol metabolism machinery is one of the most reported and reproducible associations found to alter drinking behavior. Ethanol …

The Effect Of Self-Esteem And Prosocial Tendencies On Helping Behavior In The Bystander Effect, Alexandra Napp

Honors Theses

While there has been considerable research on the bystander effect, little is known about how personality moderates the process. The current study examines the ways in which prosocial behavior and self-esteem moderate the bystander effect. In this study, participants were asked about their self-esteem and prosocial tendencies using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Prosocial Tendencies Measure, respectively. While completing their work, participants were exposed to an emergency situation in which the researcher apparently fell ill. The participants’ responses to the emergency were recorded. Surprisingly, participants lower in prosocial behavior were more likely to help than participants higher in prosocial …

Effect Of Cannabinoids On Pain-Stimulated And Pain-Depressed Behavior In Rats, Andrew Kwilasz

Theses and Dissertations

Cannabinoids produce antinociception in many preclinical models of acute and chronic pain. In contrast, cannabinoids produce inconsistent analgesia in humans, showing little or no efficacy in treating acute pain, with modest efficacy in treating chronic inflammatory pain. This discrepancy may reflect an overreliance on preclinical assays of pain-stimulated behaviors, defined as behaviors that increase in rate or intensity following delivery of a noxious stimulus. In these assays, antinociception is indicated by a reduction in pain-stimulated behaviors, and antinociception is produced either by a reduction in sensory sensitivity to the noxious stimulus (i.e. true analgesia) or by false positive motor impairment. …

Behavioral Responses To Methylphenidate: Correlations With Neuronal Activity In The Caudate Nucleus, Catherine M. Claussen

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Methylphenidate is currently a drug of abuse and readily prescribed to both adolescents and adults. Chronic methylphenidate (MPH) exposure results in an increase in DA in the motive circuit, including the caudate nucleus (CN), similar to other drugs of abuse. This study focuses on research aimed to elucidate if there are intrinsic underlying differences in the CN electrophysiological activity of animals exhibiting different chronic responses to the same dose of MPH. Behavioral and caudate nucleus (CN) neuronal activity following acute and chronic doses of MPH was assessed by simultaneously recording the behavioral and neuronal activity. The experimental protocol lasted for …

Striatal Dopamine Dynamics Upon Manganese Accumulation, Madiha Khalid

Wayne State University Dissertations

STRIATAL DOPAMINE DYNAMICS UPON MANGANESE ACCUMULATION

by MADIHA KHALID

August 2013

Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Mathews

Major: Chemistry (Analytical)

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Although manganese (Mn) is fundamental for many biological processes, exposure to excess amounts leads to a neurological disorder termed manganism. Due to its symptomatic similarity to Parkinson's disease, as well its preferential accumulation in dopamine rich brain regions, alterations in the dopamine system are implicated in the onset of manganism. In my research, Mn overexposure is mimicked via subcutaneous administration of manganese chloride to C57BL/6 mice over the course of seven days using a protocol that has been …