Do Microglia Play An Active Role In Developmental Neuronal Cell Death?, 2017 Georgia State University
Do Microglia Play An Active Role In Developmental Neuronal Cell Death?, Andrew Jacobs
Georgia State Undergraduate Research Conference
No abstract provided.
P35. Investigating The Effect Of Maternal Immune Activation On Sensory Filtering, Social Behaviour And Attention, 2017 Western University
P35. Investigating The Effect Of Maternal Immune Activation On Sensory Filtering, Social Behaviour And Attention, Faraj Haddad
Western Research Forum
Background
Altered brain development is associated with many neuropsychiatric disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia. Environmental insults can interfere with neurodevelopment, and a prominent example is maternal infection during pregnancy. Epidemiological studies show that children born to mothers who were infected during pregnancy display a higher risk of developing ASD and schizophrenia, and this effect is mainly due to the maternal immune response. Polyinosinic-polycytidilic acid (Poly I:C) is a double stranded RNA molecule that mimics viral markers and elicits an immune response. When injected in pregnant rodents, this model produces offspring that exhibit core symptoms of ASD and …
Maternal Nutrient Restriction In Pregnant Guinea Pigs And The Impact On Fetal Growth And Brain Development, 2017 The University of Western Ontario
Maternal Nutrient Restriction In Pregnant Guinea Pigs And The Impact On Fetal Growth And Brain Development, Andrew Ghaly
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Maternal nutrient restriction (MNR) in guinea pigs results in placental structural abnormalities that reduce nutrient transport contributing to fetal growth restriction (FGR). However, whether brain weights are similarly reduced, or preserved by “brain sparing” mechanisms, and whether energy levels are depleted leading to membrane failure and overt injury remains unknown. Guinea pig sows were fed ad libitum (Controls) or 70% of the control diet pre-pregnant switching to 90% at mid-pregnancy (MNR). Animals were necropsied near term for fetal growth measures and fetal brains were assessed for markers of necrotic cell injury, apoptotic cell injury, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and altered development …
The Neonatal Anti-Viral Response Fails To Control Measles Virus Spread In Neurons Despite Interferon-Gamma Expression And A Th1-Like Cytokine Profile, 2017 Duquesne University
The Neonatal Anti-Viral Response Fails To Control Measles Virus Spread In Neurons Despite Interferon-Gamma Expression And A Th1-Like Cytokine Profile, Priya Ganesan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Neonates are highly susceptible to infections in the central nervous system (CNS) and have a greater risk of viral infections and encephalopathies. Neurotropic viral infections can lead to blindness, hearing loss and neurological deficiencies such as cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and even death in the neonatal and pediatric populations. Viral infections also are hypothesized to indirectly contribute to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases such as Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease later in life due to early neuronal damage or stress. Many diverse viruses are capable of invading the neonatal CNS including Borna Disease Virus, Coxsackievirus (CV), Herpes simplex viruses (HSV), and measles virus. …
Pearls And Perils Of Pupillometry Using A Webcam, 2017 Western University
Pearls And Perils Of Pupillometry Using A Webcam, Mason Kadem, Rhodri Cusack
Undergraduate Honors Posters
Current methods to measure infants’ cognitive repertoire (i.e., collection of cognitive abilities) are limited. Previous testing paradigms required acquisition of non-age contextualized responses, and relied on measures that involved acquisition of other functions (e.g., language, motor). In addition to response limitations, cognitive functions may be difficult to observe in infants due to the difficulty in infant recruitment. Online testing has increased infant recruitment efforts and physiological responses have bypassed the motor, behavioural and linguistic limitations of infants. Recently, it has been shown that heart rate measures can be acquired through a webcam. Another feasible and reliable physiological measure is pupillometery, …
Transposon-Mediated Stable Suppression Of Gene Expression In The Developing Chick Retina, 2017 Valparaiso University
Transposon-Mediated Stable Suppression Of Gene Expression In The Developing Chick Retina, Masaru Nakamoto, Chizu Nakamoto
Biology Faculty Publications
The embryonic chick has long been a favorite model system for in vivo studies of vertebrate development. However, a major technical limitation of the chick embryo has been the lack of efficient loss-of-function approaches for analyses of gene functions. Here, we describe a methodology in which a transgene encoding artificial microRNA sequences is introduced into embryonic chick retinal cells by in ovo electroporation and integrated into the genome using the Tol2 transposon system. We show that this methodology can induce potent and stable suppression of gene expression. This technique therefore provides a rapid and robust loss-of-function approach for studies of …
Developmental Manganese Neurotoxicity In Rats: Cognitive Deficits In Allocentric And Egocentric Learning And Memory, 2017 Cleveland State University
Developmental Manganese Neurotoxicity In Rats: Cognitive Deficits In Allocentric And Egocentric Learning And Memory, Nina Atanasova, Robyn M. Amos-Kroohs, Laurie L. Davenport, Zuhair I. Abdulla, Matthew R. Skelton, Charles V. Vorhees, Michael T. Williams
Philosophy and Religious Studies Department Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
Characterizing The Role Of Key Planar Cell Polarity Pathway Components In Axon Guidance, 2017 Virginia Commonwealth University
Characterizing The Role Of Key Planar Cell Polarity Pathway Components In Axon Guidance, Grayland W. Godfrey Ii
Theses and Dissertations
An essential process to the development of the neural network of the nervous system is axon guidance. The noncanonical Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity pathway has been identified as an integral component in controlling the projection of axons during axon guidance. Prickle, ROR1 and ROR2 are PCP related proteins that do not have clearly defined roles in the process. This study aims to use zebrafish CoPA neurons as a model to study the roles of Prickle, ROR1, and ROR2 in axon guidance. Using in situ hybridization, morpholino knockdown, and CRISPR/Cas9 loss of function experiments were able to identify ror1, ror2 and …
Prosociality And Risk: How Risky Decision-Making In Young Adults Relates To Altruistic Tendencies, Empathic Concern, And Prosocial Peer Affiliation, 2017 University of North Florida
Prosociality And Risk: How Risky Decision-Making In Young Adults Relates To Altruistic Tendencies, Empathic Concern, And Prosocial Peer Affiliation, Sarah J. Beard
UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Adolescence involves an increase in risky decisions, such as reckless driving and illicit substance use, but prosocial characteristics and peer affiliation have yet to be investigated as protective factors. The present study assessed altruistic tendencies, prosocial peer affiliation (PPA), and empathic concern as predictors and moderators of risk-taking, including both self-reported health risks and riskiness in a behavioral task. Young adults from ages 20 to 25 (M = 22.55, SD = 1.38) completed a battery of behavioral tasks (including the Balloon Analogue Risk Task and the Dictator Game) and questionnaires on Amazon MTurk, measuring risk-taking (drunk driving, texting while …
Effects Of Chromium On Mouse Splenic T Lymphocytes And Effects Of Ethanol Exposure During Early Neurodevelopment On Behaviors In Mice, 2017 University of Kentucky
Effects Of Chromium On Mouse Splenic T Lymphocytes And Effects Of Ethanol Exposure During Early Neurodevelopment On Behaviors In Mice, Lu Dai
Theses and Dissertations--Toxicology and Cancer Biology
The dissertation consists of three major projects with the focus on the immunotoxicity of chromium and the behavior disorders caused by early ETOH exposure respectively.
Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is widely used in various industrial processes and has been recognized as a carcinogen. As the first line of host defense system, the immune system can be a primary target of Cr(VI). T cell population represents a major arm of the immune system that plays a critical role in host anti-tumor immunity. Dysfunction of T cells compromises host anti-tumor immunity resulting in oncogenesis. Using mouse splenic T cells as an in vitro …
Changes In Postural Sway Behavior Across The Life Span, 2017 University of Montana
Changes In Postural Sway Behavior Across The Life Span, Maria M B N R Santos
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The present study aimed to investigate human balance control by assessing postural sway on three groups representing three stages of life (6-12, 19-40 and 65-74 years old). There were 14 individuals in each group and they were tested during upright bipedal stance with either eyes open or closed. Focus was given to multiple sway indices representing multi-dimensional features of postural sway in quiet stance and included: the center of pressure area, amplitude, root mean square (RMS), velocity, jerkiness, and sample entropy. Results confirmed that children and seniors swayed more (p<.004), faster (p<.001) and their body sway was shakier (p<.001) than young adults. Seniors also presented faster (p<.006) and shakier (p<.001) sway than children and a more unpredictable pattern of body sway in time (p<.002) than children and young adults. In addition, children presented a more random anterior-posterior sway (p<.034) and a more regular medio-lateral sway (p<.043) than young adults, and a higher synchronization between anterior-posterior and medio-lateral body sway (p<.012) than young adults and seniors. We also observed that postural control of children and young adults becomes relatively more challenged in experimental situations when eyes were closed for most postural indices. In conclusion, this study suggests that multi-dimension posturography is sensitive to detect subtle age-related changes in the postural behavior and each stage of life may have their own signature patterns of postural behavior. Therefore, we expect that quantifications of this nature may be used to assess not only postural instability and fall risk but also to aid the testing of the efficacy of balance interventional protocols.
Effects Of Adolescent Alcohol Binge Drinking On Prefrontal Myelin, 2016 University of Massachusetts Amherst
Effects Of Adolescent Alcohol Binge Drinking On Prefrontal Myelin, Wanette M. Vargas-Rodriguez
Doctoral Dissertations
Alcohol binge drinking is highly prevalent in teenagers and is associated with various harmful health effects and social problems. During adolescence, brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are still undergoing active development, characterized by increases in white matter volume. While the morphological details and the cellular and molecular sequences governing adolescent white matter development are not fully known, it is known that this development process is sensitive and can be disrupted. Although consumption of alcohol in a binge drinking pattern has been linked to lower white matter integrity in humans, it is important to determine if alcohol is …
Brain Networks Supporting Literacy Development, 2016 Florida International University
Brain Networks Supporting Literacy Development, Iris J. Broce
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The development of fluent reading requires coordinated development of key fiber pathways. While several fiber pathways have been implicated in reading, including the recently re-identified vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), arcuate fasciculus and its 3 components, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF), whether these fiber pathways support reading in young children with little to no exposure to print remains poorly understood. Consequently, over the course of three studies, the current dissertation aimed to narrow this research gap by addressing the following research questions: 1) Which fiber pathways support early literacy skill in young children 5-10 years old? 2) …
Pigment Dispersing Factor: Transcriptional Regulation And Its Role In Metabolism In Drosophila Melanogaster, 2016 University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Pigment Dispersing Factor: Transcriptional Regulation And Its Role In Metabolism In Drosophila Melanogaster, Sudershana Nair
Doctoral Dissertations
Almost all living organisms have circadian clocks coordinating physiology and behavior, and an innate molecular clock drives rhythmic changes by integrating environmental and metabolic stimuli to generate 24 hour timing. Drosophila melanogaster has proved to be an excellent model organism with a well-characterized circadian clock and the neural circuits underlying clock have been intensely investigated. The neuropeptide pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) plays an essential role in maintaining circadian rhythmicity and synchronizes circadian clock neurons. However, the regulation of Pdf has been a black box with no known protein identified that directly regulates it, and its role in metabolism hasn’t been looked …
Funciones Sensoriales En Niños Menores De 3 Años Diagnosticados Con Trastorno Del Espectro Autista (Tea) / Sensory Processing In Toddlers Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), 2016 Therapy West, Inc.
Funciones Sensoriales En Niños Menores De 3 Años Diagnosticados Con Trastorno Del Espectro Autista (Tea) / Sensory Processing In Toddlers Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Juliana Gutiérrez, Megan Chang, Erna Imperatore Blanche
Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity
Spanish: Las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) están ampliamente descritos en la literatura principalmente mediante el uso de encuestas a padres y observaciones. Con menor frecuencia se han descrito las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños menores de 3 años de edad que han sido posteriormente diagnosticados con TEA. Este studio retrospectivo está basado en 84 niños (28 diagnosticados con TEA, 28 con retraso en el desarrollo, y 28 niños con desarrollo típico) entre 18 y 36 meses de edad que asistieron a un programa de intervención temprana y cuyos padres completaron el …
Computational Modeling Of Facial Response For Detecting Differential Traits In Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2016 Old Dominion University
Computational Modeling Of Facial Response For Detecting Differential Traits In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Manar D. Samad
Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations
This dissertation proposes novel computational modeling and computer vision methods for the analysis and discovery of differential traits in subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) using video and three-dimensional (3D) images of face and facial expressions. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs an individual’s nonverbal communication skills. This work studies ASD from the pathophysiology of facial expressions which may manifest atypical responses in the face. State-of-the-art psychophysical studies mostly employ na¨ıve human raters to visually score atypical facial responses of individuals with ASD, which may be subjective, tedious, and error prone. A few quantitative studies use intrusive sensors on …
Cuestionario De Proceso Sensorial En Adultos: Comparación De Resultados Entre Población De Usa Y De Chile: Resultados Preliminares/Sensory Processing Questionnaire In Adults: Comparison Of Results Between Usa And Chile Population: Preliminary Results, Silvia Gómez, Megan Chang, Dianne Parham, Erna Imperatore
Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity
Spanish: Existen escasos estudios sobre la forma de evaluar el proceso sensorial en adultos; una de estas formas es el uso de perfil sensorial desarrollado por Brown y Dunn en el año 2002, aplicable tanto para la población infantil como adulta de habla inglesa. Hasta el momento no existe una evaluación de procesamiento sensorial del adulto validada en castellano. En base a estos antecedentes, el principal objetivo de este estudio es validar la construcción interna de una escala de procesamiento sensorial en el adulto a través del Cuestionario del Proceso Sensorial del Adulto (CPSA) con una población de habla hispana, …
The Role Of Daf-19 In Non-Ciliated Neurons: How Is Neural Development Regulated By Different Daf-19 Isoforms?, 2016 Lawrence University
The Role Of Daf-19 In Non-Ciliated Neurons: How Is Neural Development Regulated By Different Daf-19 Isoforms?, Zabdiel Ek Vazquez
Lawrence University Honors Projects
A degenerative disease-like phenotype, specifically reduction in synaptic protein levels in adult worms, is correlated with loss-of-function of the only RFX transcription factor gene, daf-19, in C. elegans. This gene encodes four known transcription factor isoforms, two of which are correlated with particular functions. The DAF-19C isoform activates genes responsible for cilia development, while DAF-19M is needed for cilia specification in males. A comparison of the transcriptome of daf-19 null and isogenic wild type adult worms suggests both positive and negative regulation of gene expression is correlated with the presence of DAF-19 proteins. We have assessed DAF-19 regulation …
The Effects Of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation On Learning And Forgetting In Juvenile Rats, 2016 Seton Hall University
The Effects Of Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammation On Learning And Forgetting In Juvenile Rats, Michele Barry
Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)
The inability to remember events experienced very early in life is referred to as Infantile Amnesia (IA) and has been observed in both humans and animals. Over the years interest in the phenomenon waned, but has recently increased with the discovery of new neurobiological methods to study brain function (e.g., Callaghan, Li & Richardson, 2014). The neurobiological mechanism behind IA has yet to be determined, but several innovative theories have been developed with these new research methods. The neurogenesis hypothesis theorizes that increased neurogenesis during early development disrupts previously established memories. The hippocampus, an area that mediates both the memory …
Working Memory Impairments In Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: The Roles Of Anxiety And Stress Physiology, 2016 University of New Orleans
Working Memory Impairments In Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: The Roles Of Anxiety And Stress Physiology, Ashley F. P. Sanders
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Stress and anxiety negatively impact the working memory system by competing for executive resources. Broad memory deficits have been reported in individuals with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS). We investigated anxiety and physiological stress reactivity in relation to visuospatial working memory impairments in 20 children with 22q11.2DS and 32 typically developing children (M = 11.10 years, SD = 2.95). Results indicate reduced post-stress RSA recovery and overall increased levels of cortisol in children with 22q11.2DS. Additionally, anxiety mediated the relationship between 22q11.2DS and visuospatial working memory impairment. However, there was no indication that stress response physiology mediated this association. …