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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Neural Responses To Looming Objects In The Dragonfly, Elon Gaffin-Cahn
Neural Responses To Looming Objects In The Dragonfly, Elon Gaffin-Cahn
Honors Theses
Dragonflies have high visual acuity, which, when combined with a remarkably fast visual response, allows them to hunt small insects with a high success rate. Rather than aiming at the prey’s current location, the dragonfly predicts the prey’s future location and intercepts the insect mid-flight. Eight bilateral pairs of large Target-Selective Descending Neurons (TSDNs) of the dragonfly ventral nerve cord respond to small, contrasting objects, which presumably represent potential prey. These interneurons are part of the neuronal circuitry that triggers small changes in wing angle and position to control flight during prey interception. In flight, dragonflies extend their legs out …
The Effect Of Emotional Landmarks On Navigation, Jacqueline Litvak
The Effect Of Emotional Landmarks On Navigation, Jacqueline Litvak
Honors Theses
Navigation is an essential activity that dictates which environments individuals choose to travel through. Effective navigation occurs when individuals reach their destination point efficiently and without harm. Previous research dictates that landmarks are one of the most popular ways in which individuals maintain orientation and remember a route. The goal of the current study was to investigate how emotional landmarks (landmarks that hold either a positive or negative connotation) effect navigational decision-making. Based on individuals’ tendencies to choose low risk options, it was hypothesized that participants would use the positive landmarks more effectively (i.e. participants would travel in the direction …
Sugar Goes Spelunking: An Engine To Build Your Own Text Adventure, Avita Rutkin
Sugar Goes Spelunking: An Engine To Build Your Own Text Adventure, Avita Rutkin
Honors Theses
Computer games can be effective educational tools. Studies show that classroom computers increase students’ motivation to learn, promote collaboration among peers, and have the potential to improve classroom performance. Text adventures, a form of technological storytelling, particularly align with many of the qualities of successful learning games. To that end, I developed an activity for Sugar, One Laptop Per Child’s free and open-source desktop environment, in which children can create and play their own text adventures. My activity, Spelunk, will launch on Sugar in the spring of this year.
The Effects Of Prenatal Exposure To Altered Melatonin Levels On Hippocampal Gene Expression In The Male Rat, Anna Uehara
The Effects Of Prenatal Exposure To Altered Melatonin Levels On Hippocampal Gene Expression In The Male Rat, Anna Uehara
Honors Theses
The stability of the circadian rhythm for mammals depends on the levels of serotonin and melatonin, neurohormones that signal for lightness and darkness, respectively. Disruption in the stability of neurohormones has been shown to be a critical factor in psychopathological disorders in humans. For example, altering levels of melatonin in utero through administration of melatonin or the melatonin receptor antagonist, luzindole, has been shown to cause changes in developmental growth and adult behavior in the male rat. Analysis of relative adult hippocampal gene expression with RT-PCR revealed differences in ARNTL expression that suggested abnormality in clock gene expression of the …