Systems Neuroscience Commons^™

Validation Of The 40 Hz Auditory Steady State Response As A Pharmacodynamic Biomarker Of Evoked Neural Synchrony, Muhammad Ummear Raza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schizophrenia is a troubling and severe mental illness that is only incompletely treated by currently available drugs. New drug development is hindered by a scarcity of functionally relevant pharmacodynamic biomarkers that are translatable across preclinical and human subjects. Although psychosis is a major feature of schizophrenia, cognitive and negative symptoms determine the long-term functional outcomes for patients. Stimulus-evoked neural synchrony at gamma (~ 40 Hz) frequency plays an important role in the processing and integration of sensory information. Not surprisingly, schizophrenia patients show deficits in gamma oscillations. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation on fast-spiking parvalbumin-positive interneurons is deemed important for the generation ...

Probability Distributions Of Active Sensing, Kathleen Hoffman

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Local And Global Statistics In Three Kinds Of Medical Images, And An Example Of Their Role In A Clinical Judgment, Jonathan Victor, Amanda Simon, Craig K. Abbey

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

A Two-Layer Model Explains Higher-Order Feature Selectivity Of V2 Neurons, Timothy D. Oleskiw, Justin D. Lieber, J. Anthony Movshon, Eero P. Simoncelli

MODVIS Workshop

Neurons in cortical area V2 respond selectively to higher-order visual features, such as the quasi-periodic structure of natural texture. However, a functional account of how V2 neurons build selectivity for complex natural image features from their inputs – V1 neurons locally tuned for orientation and spatial frequency – remains elusive.

We made single-unit recordings in area V2 in two fixating rhesus macaques. We presented stimuli composed of multiple superimposed grating patches that localize contrast energy in space, orientation, and scale. V2 activity is modeled via a two-layer linear-nonlinear network, optimized to use a sparse combination of V1-like outputs to account for observed ...

Does Bisphenol-A, An Estrogen-Like Environmental Toxin, Disrupt Expression Of The Neuronal Chloride Exporter Protein During Early Brain Development?, Mayra S. Mendez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Bisphenol A (BPA), a manufactured compound found in consumer products, is known to adversely affect early brain development by disrupting normal estrogen signaling. Recently, BPA was reported to suppress expression of a gene encoding the neuron-specific chloride ion transporter, KCC2. Human and animal studies show suppressing KCC2 can cause neuronal and behavioral hyperactivity. Therefore, some adverse effects of BPA may be due to KCC2 suppression and consequent neuronal hyperactivity. This study aimed to determine whether BPA exposure during brain development alters KCC2 expression. A secondary purpose was to evaluate whether a new transgenic zebrafish line, KCC2:mCitrine,could be used ...

Role Of The Prefrontal Cortex In Reward Seeking Behaviors, Jessica Caballero-Feliciano

Doctoral Dissertations

Disorders associated with compulsive seeking of rewards, like binge-eating, are associated with abnormalities of the prefrontal cortex in humans, which is analogous to the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in rodents. Although studies have examined the role of the mPFC in drug seeking behaviors, studies examining natural reward seeking behaviors (i.e. food and sucrose) are often unclear and contradictory. This dissertation aims to characterize the role of the PL and IL mPFC in operant sucrose seeking behaviors. We used pharmacological and chemogenetic tools to selectively inactivate the PL, IL and PL-nucleus accumbens ...

Motor Unit Firing Rate Control Of Agonist Skeletal Muscle During Voluntary Isometric And Shortening Contractions With Limb Movement, Eric A. Kirk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Voluntary movements throughout mammalian lifespan require skeletal muscle contractions that are controlled by time- and recruitment-dependent firing rate patterns. Single motor unit (MU) activity reflects the final efferent neural drive to the muscle, yet the underlying neural control of movement at the MU level is not well understood. Using intramuscular electromyography single MU recordings, relationships between voluntary contraction kinematics and MU firing rates were evaluated in vivo, in groups of young and older adult participants.

The purpose of study one was to characterize how MU firing rates are differently scaled among muscles relative to voluntary contraction intensity. Across 12 different ...

The Classification Of Basket Neural Cells In The Mammalian Neocortex, Sreya Pudi

Senior Theses

Basket neuronal cells of the mammalian neocortex have been classically categorized into two or more groups. Originally, it was thought that the large and small types are the naturally occurring groups that emerge from reasons that relate to neurobiological function and anatomical position. Later, a study based on anatomical and physiological features of these neurons introduced a third type, the net basket cell which is intermediate in size as compared to the large and small types. In this study, multivariate analysis was used to test the hypothesis that the large and small types are morphologically distinct groups. The results of ...

Tracking The Mechanisms Of Short-Term Motor Adaptation Within The Framework Of A Two-State Model, Susan K. Coltman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The motor system is continuously monitoring our performance, ensuring that our actions are occurring as planned. Sensory prediction errors, which arise from a discrepancy between the expected and actual sensory consequence of a motor command (i.e., a planned action), are assumed to drive sensorimotor adaptation. Sensorimotor adaptation is thought to involve changes in motor output that allow the motor system to regain its former level of performance in perturbed circumstances. We employed experimental paradigms that involved both mechanical and visual perturbations to evoke sensory prediction errors while participants performed planar reaching movements. Movement error activates learning processes in the ...

Brain Representations Of Dexterous Hand Control: Investigating The Functional Organization Of Individuated Finger Movements And Somatosensory Integration, Spencer Arbuckle

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using our hands to manipulate objects in our daily life requires both dexterous movements and the integration of somatosensory information across fingers. Although the primary motor (M1) and somatosensory cortices (S1) are critical for these two complementary roles, it is unclear how neural populations in these regions functionally represent these processes. This thesis examined the functional organization of brain representations (the representational geometry) in M1 and S1 for dexterous hand control and somatosensory processing. To that end, representational geometries were estimated from fine-grained brain activity patterns measured with functional MRI (fMRI). Since fMRI measures a blood-based proxy of neural activity ...

Neural Substrates Of Reward, Error, And Effort Processing Underlying Adaptive Motor Behaviour, Dimitrios J. Palidis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Human motor control is highly adaptive to new tasks and changing environments. Motor adaptation relies on multiple dissociable processes that function to increase attainment of reward and to reduce sensory error and physical effort as costs. This thesis tests the hypothesis that fronto-striatal and dopaminergic neural systems contribute to specific aspects of motor adaptation that occur through reinforcement of rewarding actions.

Behavioral tasks were designed to isolate learning in response to feedback conveying information about reward, error, and physical effort. We also measured behavioral effects of savings and anterograde interference, by which memories from previous motor learning can facilitate or ...

The Neurological Asymmetry Of Self-Face Recognition, Aleksandra Janowska, Brianna Balugas, Matthew Pardillo, Victoria Mistretta, Katherine Chavarria, Janet Brenya, Taylor Shelansky, Vanessa Martinez, Kitty Pagano, Nathira Ahmad, Samantha Zorns, Abigail Straus, Sarah Sierra, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990s brought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis of self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) examinations, revealed a right-hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the dorsal frontal lobe, the temporal parietal junction, and the medial temporal cortex. In this systematic review, we provide confirmation of these data (which are ...

Sensory Representation Of Social Stimuli In Aromatase Expressing Neurons In The Medial Amygdala, Charles J. Gualtieri

Masters Theses

The ability of animals to sense, interpret, and respond appropriately to social stimuli in their environment is essential for identifying and distinguishing between members of their own species. In mammals, social interactions both within and across species play a key role in determining if an animal will live to pass on its genes to the next generation or else be removed from the gene pool. The result of this selection pressure can be observed in specialized neural circuits that respond to social stimuli and orchestrate appropriate behavioral responses. This highly conserved network of brain structures is often referred to as ...

The Effects Of Mapk Signaling On The Development Of Cerebellar Granule Cells, Kerry Morgan

Honors Scholar Theses

The granule cells are the most abundant neuronal type in the human brain. Rapid proliferation of granule cell progenitors results in dramatic expansion and folding of the cerebellar cortex during postnatal development. Mis-regulation of this proliferation process causes medulloblastoma, the most prevalent childhood brain tumor. In the developing cerebellum, granule cells are derived from Atoh1-expressing cells, which arise from the upper rhombic lip (the interface between the roof plate and neuroepithelium). In addition to granule cells, the Atoh1 lineage also gives rise to different types of neurons including cerebellar nuclei neurons. In the current study, I have investigated the ...

Cortical Dynamics Of Language, Kiefer Forseth

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The human capability for fluent speech profoundly directs inter-personal communication and, by extension, self-expression. Language is lost in millions of people each year due to trauma, stroke, neurodegeneration, and neoplasms with devastating impact to social interaction and quality of life. The following investigations were designed to elucidate the neurobiological foundation of speech production, building towards a universal cognitive model of language in the brain. Understanding the dynamical mechanisms supporting cortical network behavior will significantly advance the understanding of how both focal and disconnection injuries yield neurological deficits, informing the development of therapeutic approaches.

Corticospinal Excitability During A Perspective Taking Task As Measured By Tms-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials, Elizabeth Murray, Janet Brenya, Katherine Chavarria, Karen J. Kelly, Anjel Fierst, Nathira Ahmad, Caroline Anton, Layla Shaffer, Kairavi Kapila, Logan Driever, Kayla Weaver, Caroline Dial, Maya Crawford, Iso Hartman, Tommy Infantino, Fiona Butler, Abigail Straus, Shakeera L. Walker, Brianna Balugas, Matthew Pardillo, Briana Goncalves, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Only by understanding the ability to take a third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one’s inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral ...

Biomechanics Of Trail Running Performance: Quantification Of Spatio-Temporal Parameters By Using Low Cost Sensors In Ecological Conditions, Noé Perrotin, Nicolas Gardan, Arnaud Lesprillier, Clément Le Goff, Jean-Marc Seigneur, Ellie Abdi, Borja Sanudo, Redha Taiar

Publications

The recent popularity of trail running and the use of portable sensors capable of measuring many performance results have led to the growth of new fields in sports science experimentation. Trail running is a challenging sport; it usually involves running uphill, which is physically demanding and therefore requires adaptation to the running style. The main objectives of this study were initially to use three “low-cost” sensors. These low-cost sensors can be acquired by most sports practitioners or trainers. In the second step, measurements were taken in ecological conditions orderly to expose the runners to a real trail course. Furthermore, to ...

Open Neuroscience Initiative, Austin Lim

College of Science and Health Full Text Publications

The Open Neuroscience Initiative is a free-to-use textbook

This project began as a means to overcoming the financial burden that face undergraduate neuroscience students when buying textbooks. By compiling and writing a completely free-to-access textbook that covers the foundations of a typical college introduction to neuroscience course, students would have one less obstacle to overcome in their educational career, allowing them to focus their valuable time and attention on learning rather than finances. To make this project a reality, I began with a humble tweet in May 2019 that managed to gain a tiny bit of traction among the neuroscience ...

Rehabilitative Movement Approaches And Dance Interventions In Parkinson’S Disease, Cecilia Fontanesi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The scope of this work is to address the functional deficits and symptoms experienced by those living with Parkinson’s Disease through movement interventions.

Chapter 1 offers a brief overview of current pharmacotherapy and rehabilitation approaches in Parkinson’s, focusing on dance in particular as a movement intervention that may be particularly suited to this population.

Chapter 2 focuses on brain plasticity and motor learning in PD, reporting the effects of rTMS applied after the acquisition of a motor skill. In this study, adaptation tested in patients with PD was comparable in the sham and TMS sessions, while retention indices ...

Sensory Perception, Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras

Open Educational Resources

Different types of sensory systems with their functional modalities will be presented. The biological bases for how these functions are generated and modified will then be described. Scientific information will be integrated into the lectures, such that students use critical skills in interpreting data, proposing hypotheses and designing experiments.