Anatomy Commons^™

The Impact Of The Tau Mutation On Reproductive Function In The Golden Hamster, Eliza Leake Thomasson

Theses and Dissertations

The tau mutation affects the circadian system of the golden hamster primarily by decreasing the period of the activity cycle from 24 to 20 hours. To study the effect of this mutation on reproductive function in the golden hamster, 3 experiments have been designed. In the first experiment, wild-type and tau female hamsters will be maintained in conditions of 14:10 LD and 11.7:8.3 LD, respectively. Blood samples will be taken and analyzed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) to determine the timing of the proestrus LH surge. In the second experiment, wild-type and tau males will be transferred to shortened photoperiods of 10:14 …

Nmda Receptor-Mediated Synaptic Plasticity In Developing Mammalian Visual Pathways, Gregory S. Perens

Theses and Dissertations

Precise connections in many mammalian nervous systems require a great deal of remodeling during development. In the visual system, many excess synapses are originally formed in the lateral geniculate nucleus and striate cortex. Only the correct set of axon terminals are retained during normal development, while imprecise ones withdraw. The mechanism by which only correct axons are retained requires neural activity, and may be regulated by specific receptors at synapses.

The transmission of neural signals at these synapses is carried out in part by the glutamate-activated NMDA receptor. It is hypothesized that NMDA receptor activation plays a crucial role in …