Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Analysis Of The Distributed Representation Of Operant Memory In Aplysia, Renan Murillo Costa

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Operant conditioning, a ubiquitous form of learning in which animals learn from the consequences of behavior, engages a high-dimensional neuronal population space spanning multiple brain regions. A complete characterization of an operant memory remains elusive. Some sites of plasticity participating in the engram underlying an example of operant memory in Aplysia have been previously uncovered. Three studies are described here that sought to draw closer to a thorough characterization of this memory. The first study used a computational model to examine the ways in which sites of plasticity (individually and in combination) contribute to memory expression. Each site of plasticity …

Non-Photic Mechanisms Of Entrainment In Bmal1 Deficient Conditions, Jamie Tran

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Maintaining our internal circadian (i.e. 24 -hour) clock is imperative to our daily biological and mental well-being. Large epidemiological studies have shown that disruptions of our circadian rhythms can lead to poor mental health, metabolic diseases, and various types of cancer. Various external cues that have become a part of the modern times such as electricity, shift -work, rapid travel across various time zones, easier access to nutritionally unbalanced food items, and various rigid social demands have deleterious effects on our internal clock, and generally reduce robustness of the circadian clock. The two following projects aim to examine two fundamental …

Spatial Representation In Postrhinal Cortex, Patrick Lachance

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Animals rely on a variety of internal and external cues to orient themselves when navigating their environments and determining their current spatial context. Information regarding these cues enters the brain from the navigator’s first-person perspective. Information of this type is considered to be egocentric, or self-centered. However, decades of behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging research suggest that the brain contains a rich collection of spatial representations that are unrestricted by the animal’s first-person perspective, and instead are defined relative to the surrounding environment. These representations are considered allocentric, or world-centered. Despite an abundance of promising modeling work, the specific mechanisms by …

Mirnas Levels In A Streptozocin Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Nada Moustafa

Theses and Dissertations

Dementia entails a progressive decrease in cognitive functions, with 50%-75% of cases attributed to Alzheimer’s disease (AD); an aging-associated condition characterized by the build-up of tangled phosphorylated Tau (p-Tau) protein and beta-amyloid (Aβ) depositions. Sporadic AD (sAD) is multifactorial in nature, resulting from a combination of environmental and genetic predisposing factors. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a leading risk factor for dementia, and deregulation of brain glucose metabolism is associated with early cognitive affection in sAD. Thus, the diabetogenic agent Streptozotocin (STZ) is used to experimentally create an AD model in animals (STZ-induced sAD), in which abnormalities in cerebral …

Norepinephrine Regulation Of Spatial Memory Using The Barnes Maze In Male And Female Rats, Serena Simpson, Ali Gheidi Phd, Nareen Sadik, Cameron J. Davidson Phd, Shane A. Perrine Phd

Medical Student Research Symposium

The role of norepinephrine (NE) in learning and memory has been extensively studied, yet its contribution remains to be clarified. This study aimed to investigate the role of NE on spatial learning and memory in female and male rats using a Barnes maze assay. We used N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4), a specific noradrenergic neurotoxin that can cross the blood brain barrier, to deplete NE stores. We hypothesized that brain NE ablation would attenuate spatial learning and memory in rats. Loss of NE by DSP-4 was determined by measuring NE (and dopamine and serotonin) levels in several brain regions using HPLC. For the …

The Effects Of Floral Attributes And Conspecifics On Bumble Bee Forager Memory, Lucas Lauter, Tiffany Dinh

Undergraduate Research Symposium

What do bees remember about flowers? These memories are important for both bees and flowers. The bees have better foraging success and gain more nectar and pollen from flowers when they remember the most rewarding flower types. More memorable flowers will be visited more frequently, resulting in more successful pollination for the plant. At the same time, bees can also learn about flowers from other bees and may remember this information differently. We are training and testing three floral cues and a single social cue to see how the different types of cues affect their learning and memory of rewarding …

Withdrawal From Voluntary Oral Methamphetamine Reveals Female Specific Susceptibilities To Behavioral Deficits And Neurochemical Perpetuators Of Neurotoxicity And Drug Seeking Behavior, Nicoletta K. Memos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

MA is a potent, highly addictive psychomotor stimulant known to produce neurotoxic effects on the brain leading to neurological impairments^1-6 characterized by neurodegeneration of dopaminergic fibers, cell bodies and pathways, as well as brain regions such as the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and midbrain^1,5.

In MA addiction, women are more vulnerable to the behavioral and cognitive effects of MA compared to men. Adult human literature reveals gender differences in usage patterns and women demonstrate increased vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects and health effects of MA use. Women begin drug use at an earlier age, escalate drug use quicker, …

Regulation Of Activity Patterns In Astyanax Mexicanus Cavefish, Udodirim Nwosu

Theses

Organisms commonly modulate their behavioral activity in relation to the 24-hour solar cycle. This modulation of behavior is driven by a combination of responses to external cues in the environment, such as light/dark visual signals, and internal pattern generators that can persist in the absence of external cues. However, there are animals that live in caves or in the deep sea that are isolated from solar circadian cues. How these animals regulate their behavioral activity in relation to external and internal rhythms is an open question in neuroscience that may help us to understand the mechanisms that other animals, including …

Sex-Specific Effects Of Chaperone And Glial Defenses On Experimental Lewy Body Disease, Tarun Bhatia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lewy body disorders are a group of neurodegenerative conditions characterized by the pathological misfolding and aggregation of the abundant protein, α-synuclein. The most common Lewy body disorders are Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Apart from ageing, male sex is a major risk factor for Lewy body disorders, as men are at ~1.5-fold higher risk for these diseases than women. Yet, preclinical studies on Lewy body disorders rarely examine sex as a biological variable, and the mechanisms underlying sex-skewedness in disease risk remain undetermined.

Here, we developed a sex-stratified model of Lewy body disorders by exposing primary neurons harvested …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

The Effects Of Astrocytic Derived Insulin-Like Growth Factor (Igf-1) On Cognition And Astrocytes, Destiny Wilson

Honors Theses

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a neuroendocrine signaling hormone that plays a vital role in growth and development, as well as learning and memory. Inhibition of this hormone results in cognitive impairments like those seen with age-related decline. While a majority of research has focused on the role of IGF-1 on neurons, the role of astrocytes still needs to be explored. Our research investigates how astrocytes and cognition are affected as a result of direct regulation of localized IGF-1 production in early development and after puberty. Preliminary studies in our laboratory established a connection between IGF-1 and glial fibrillary …

Examining Levels Of Catecholamine Neurotransmitter Regulatory Proteins Within The Prefrontal Cortex Of Rodents Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Eleni Papadopoulos, Christopher P. Knapp, Claire M. Corbett, Jessica Loweth, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from impact to the head can cause long lasting impairments of cognitive processes that lead to increased risk-taking behavior in clinical populations. Our laboratory has recently shown that female, but not age-matched male, rats increase preference for risky choices after multiple experimentally-induced mild TBI’s. Our overarching goal is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying TBI-induced increases in risk-taking behavior.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a prominent role in risk-based decision making. Sub[1]regions of the PFC include the medial PFC (mPFC), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and these sub[1]regions play specific …

The Effects Of Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Thc) On Responding For Non-Drug Reinforcers In Rats., Anna Radford

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Although cannabis is widely consumed by humans for the intoxicating effects that are mediated by delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), pre-clinical models of THC self-administration have been difficult to establish. We hypothesized that THC may have reinforcement enhancing effects comparable to other drugs (e.g., nicotine and caffeine), which are also widely consumed by humans but difficult to establish as primary reinforcers in non-human animals. To investigate whether THC is a reinforcement enhancer, male (M, n=8) and female (F, n=8) rats were shaped to self-administer a reinforcing saccharin (SACC) solution (0.2% w/v) in standard operant chambers equipped with infrared beams to monitor locomotor …

Regaining Effort-Based Food Motivation: The Drug Methylphenidate Reverses The Depressive Effects Of Tetrabenazine In Female Rats, Deanna Pietrorazio

Honors Scholar Theses

Tetrabenazine (TBZ), a vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor, depletes dopamine and induces motivational deficits and other depressive symptoms in humans. Methylphenidate (MPH) is a dopamine transport blocker that is used to enhance motivational function. Previous studies have shown that in male rats, TBZ induces a shift in effort-related choice such that a low-effort bias is induced. In male rats this occurs at a dose range of 0.75-1.0 mg/kg TBZ, and this effect is reversible with co-administration of MPH. Recent studies have shown that females need a higher dose of TBZ (2.0 mg/kg) to show the low-effort bias. The …

Does Anodal Tdcs Over The Left Prefrontal Cortex Using The C3-Rso Montage Improve Cognitive Control?, Jhoan Rodriguez

Honors Scholar Theses

Executive function is the ability to change one’s behavior in order to achieve a goal, which is supported by the prefrontal cortex (for review, Abdullah et al., 2021). Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that changes the likelihood of neuronal firing by sending current through at least two electrodes on the scalp. Prior work in our lab found no enhancement of executive function on healthy participants when at- tempting to stimulate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using anodal tDCS with the F3-RSO montage (Darling et al., 2020). However, current modeling suggests that the C3-RSO montage may …

Case Study: Effects Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations On Rat Behavior And Place Cell Remapping In The Hippocampus, Qingli Hu

Honors Scholar Theses

Spatial information is known to be encoded in the hippocampus, and small changes in the environment can alter the way that it is represented by our hippocampal place cells in a process called remapping. Hearing is an important sense that can be used to orient ourselves and react to the environment accordingly. In this case study, a rat model is used to test the effects of emotional auditory stimuli, behaviorally significant ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) (50 kHz, emitted during play; 22 kHz, emitted during danger), on rat behavior on a linear track and place cell remapping in the hippocampus. Behaviorally, it …

Behavioral Effects And Neurobiological Mechanisms Of 3-Aminobenzimide In A Rodent Model Of Chronic Psychological Stress, Liza Wills

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence rate of approximately 20%. Inadequate pharmacological treatment methods for MDD are a significant debilitating factor. Patient estimates suggest that the treatment resistance rate for pharmacological interventions is over 30%. Postmortem analyses of human tissue of individuals diagnosed with MDD have shown an increase in Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) mRNA gene expression in prefrontal cortical white matter when compared to psychiatrically normal brain tissue. In order to further investigate this issue, the present study used the social defeat stress/chronic unpredictable stress (SDS + CUS) rodent …

Impact Of Brain State On Visual And Prefrontal Population Coding In Behaving Animals, Russell Milton

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Patterns of neural activity in the brain constantly shift between different processing states. Earlier studies have established that the ongoing, spontaneous activity has major repercussions regarding how the brain processes incoming sensory stimuli. However, the interaction between behavioral activity and brain states throughout the cortical hierarchy of primates has not been understood. In particular, technical considerations have greatly limited the range of physical activities in which primate neuronal activity can be recorded. We have implemented two separate strategies to overcome these limitations. First, we have advanced wireless electrophysiological methodologies that enable recording high-yield neuronal data from animals as they freely …

Early Detection Of Atypical Motor And Neurobehavior Of Infants At Risk Secondary To Opioid Exposure: A Prospective Study, Kara Boynewicz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal opioid exposure has been studied in relation to infants' medical outcomes. However, large gaps exist in the literature supporting early identification of atypical neurobehavior and motor development of infants with prenatal opioid exposure. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether prenatal opioid exposure has a negative influence on a newborn infant’s neurobehavior and motor development to aid in the early identification of potential delays. Using a prospective quasi experimental design, infants motor development using the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and neurobehavior using the NICU Neonatal Network Scale (NNNS) was assessed on 58 infants in a …

Use Of Intramodal Odor Cues In Shelter Recognition By An Amblypygid, Nathan Bostelman

Honors Projects

Amblypygids are nocturnal arthropods which live in cluttered habitats and possess the ability to navigate home after displacements of up to ten meters. Homing amblypygids rely on olfactory and tactile information gathered by their antenniform legs to navigate successfully. Given that odor signals encountered in nature are complex and dynamic, navigation via olfaction presents unique challenges related to signal uncertainty. To understand how amblypygids perceive perceive complex odors and what they learn from them, individuals of the subtropical amblypygid P. marginemaculatus were trained to associate a blend of two odors with a shelter and tested on three treatments: the reinforced …

Classical Conditioning Of Cognitive States, Arthur Burns

Neuroscience Honors Papers

Classical conditioning has been a fundamental concept and practice throughout the history of psychology. While classical conditioning traditionally seeks to elicit target behaviors in correlation to specific stimuli, we sought to do the same with cognitive states in place of behaviors. Specifically, we wanted to determine the effectiveness of conditioning states of cognitive arousal in human participants in conjunction with cues presented in a designed learning task. We designed a cognitive task specifically for this research, referred to as “the Tone Pitching Task”, which utilized a combination of working memory and mental processing in order to elicit cognitive arousal and …

Sex Differences In Lateral Hypothalamic Extracellular Glucose Concentrations During Cumulative Dosing Of Methamphetamine In Rats, Joshua A. Jolton

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The present study experimentally investigated sex differences in lateral hypothalamic glucose concentrations following cumulative dosing of methamphetamine. Male (n=17) and female (n=11) rats were surgically implanted with enzyme-based glucose biosensors in the lateral hypothalamus. Rats then received a saline injection followed by four methamphetamine doses (0.025 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg, 0.1 mg/kg, and 0.2 mg/kg) spaced 55 minutes apart. We found that while there was a general decrease in glucose baseline throughout the study for both sexes, the magnitude of the decrease was significantly greater in females compared to males. On a rapid timescale, fixed sex effects existed at the lower …

Alzheimer's And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Review Of The Literature, Madeline Hekeler

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The term “silent epidemic” is fitting for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as its negative impact is widely felt but rarely discussed. Burnout among AD caregivers has become an epidemic of its own as caregivers experience an increase in health risks, stress, and financial burden. This literature review focuses on caregiver burnout and how imperative it is that caregivers are better supported in their role. Researchers have developed instruments to assess and intervene in caregiver burnout that have shown effectiveness among caregivers and their families.Nevertheless, further longitudinal research is warranted regarding more effective interventions, including stress management and social support mechanisms.

Whole-Body Vibration Alleviates Symptoms Of Morphine Withdrawal, Gavin C. Jones, Dallin Z. Otteson, Christina A. Small, Taylor Purcell, Nathaniel Hill, Tyler Alger, Arren Hill, David W. Sant, Scott C. Steffensen, Kyle B. Bills

Annual Research Symposium

Whole-body vibration at 80 Hz has previously been shown to blunt neuropathological markers and behavioral symptoms of alcohol dependence. Here, we evaluate its ability to ameliorate symptoms of morphine use and withdrawal. Behavioral and neurophysiological symptoms of withdrawal were reduced significantly by whole-body vibration treatment.

Trkb Activity Alters Voluntary Alcohol Consumption In Nondependent Mice, Alfred Amendolara

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Novel Methodology For The Investigation Of Dmrt3a Interneurons In Larval Zebrafish, Alfred Amendolara

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Self-Conscious Emotions And The Right Fronto-Temporal And Right Temporal Parietal Junction, Adriana Lavarco, Nathira Ahmad, Qiana Archer, Matthew Pardillo, Ray Nunez Castaneda, Anthony Minervini, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

For more than two decades, research focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations has suggested a key role for specific regions in the regulation of self-conscious emotions. It is speculated that both the expression and the interpretation of self-conscious emotions are critical in humans for action planning and response, communication, learning, parenting, and most social encounters. Empathy, Guilt, Jealousy, Shame, and Pride are all categorized as self-conscious emotions, all of which are crucial components to one’s sense of self. There has been an abundance of evidence pointing to the right Fronto-Temporal involvement in the integration of cognitive processes underlying the …

Investigating Distractor-Induced Effects In Visual Search Utilizing Eye-Tracking, Anjum Shaikh

Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Papers

The present study provides an insightful look into the effects of distractors using behavioral and eye-tracking measures. In this study, two eye-tracking experiments utilizing a feature search task were conducted to investigate the distractor-induced early quitting effect with a target prevalence of 50% rather than the 100% target prevalence typical of attentional capture studies. In Experiment 1, two independent variables of target (present/absent) and distractor (target/present) were examined with behavioral measures (accuracy and response time) as well as eye-tracking methods (total fixations, total fixation durations, and total distractor saccade percentages). Distractors were categorized as salient due to their red color, …

Sentience In Decapods: Difficulties To Surmount, Michael L. Woodruff

Animal Sentience

In the target article Crump et al. present 8 criteria to assess whether decapods experience pain. Four of these -- sensory integration, motivational trade-offs, flexible self-protection, and associative learning -- could be used to assess sentience in general. In this commentary I discuss difficulties with using these criteria to provide evidence of sentience in decapods, particularly if this evidence is to change public opinion and policies. These difficulties are lack of evidence, the potential to eventually explain the neurobiological basis of the behaviors chosen as criteria, thereby eliminating any explanatory work for sentience, and the reluctance to bring animals that …

A Framework For Evaluating Evidence Of Pain In Animals, Matilda Gibbons, Lars Chittka

Animal Sentience

Crump et al. define eight criteria indicating sentience in animals, with a focus on pain. Here, we point out the risk of false negative or false positive diagnoses of pain. Criteria of different levels of inclusivity are useful for using the precautionary principle in animal welfare considerations, and for more formal scientific evidence of pain. We suggest tightening the criteria -- from more general evidence of sentience to pain alone -- because crucial evidence for animal welfare decisions might otherwise be missed for animals subjected to invasive and injurious procedures.