Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Prenatal Exposure To A Climate-Related Disaster Results In Changes Of The Placental Transcriptome And Infant Temperament, Jessica Buthmann, Dennis Huang, Patrizia Casaccia, Sarah O'Neill, Yoko Nomura

Advanced Science Research Center

Maternal stress during pregnancy exerts long-term effects on the mental well-being of the offspring. However, the long-term effect of prenatal exposure on the offspring’s mental status is only partially understood. The placenta plays a vital role in connecting the maternal side to the fetus, thereby serving as an important interface between maternal exposure and fetal development. Here, we profiled the placental transcriptome of women who were pregnant during a hurricane (Superstorm Sandy), which struck New York City in 2012. The offspring were followed longitudinally and their temperament was assessed during the first 6–12 months of age. The data identified 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 …

Exercise In The Heat: Perceptual Measures In Hydrated And Dehydrated Conditions, John Kromer

Honors Scholar Theses

Introduction: Athletes, warfighters, and laborers are often exposed to extreme environmental conditions that can result in heat-related illnesses negatively impacting performance and productivity.

Purpose: To evaluate Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) from pre-trial to post-trial surrounding exercise in the heat. The secondary purpose was to compare post-trial measures between hydration status as well as environmental conditions.

Methods: Twenty-six male and female subjects performed four trials. Two trials were conducted in temperate conditions (24 ℃, 55% relative humidity) and two in extreme heat conditions (35 ℃, 55% relative humidity), in both hydrated and dehydrated conditions. The Profile of Moods States survey was …

The Various Nervous System Drugs Commonly Used For Treatment And The Disparities In Availability Of These Drugs In Minority Groups, Iman Haurami

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

The nervous system is a complex network in our body that is responsible for actions, reflexes, and even sensations. With the brain being part of the CNS, many common nervous system disorders are due to a defect in the central nervous system and the functions of this organ. These disorders include mental health problems, degenerative diseases, seizures, infections, and other possible genetic diseases. Many of these diseases are common in society and constantly researched. Even though these diseases are common, treatment accessibility and effects on people of minority groups are overlooked compared to the focus on majority groups. For drug …

The Effects Of Paclitaxel On Cellular Migration And The Cytoskeleton, Ashley Salguero-Gonzalez

Thinking Matters Symposium

In a clinical setting, some patients are exposed to an anti-cancer chemotherapy agent, paclitaxel. Cancerous cells undergo rapid, continuous cell division without control. Chemotherapy treatments try to slow and stop the uncontrollable cell division cycles and eliminate cancerous cells in the process. Paclitaxel serves as a treatment for some types of cancers, including lung, melanoma, bladder, and esophageal. Because it targets the cytoskeleton, paclitaxel can also influence cell migration. This project utilizes a cellular migration assay and an immunohistochemistry assay to analyze the effects of paclitaxel on the movement of cells and on the cytoskeleton of neuroglia rat cells with …

Sex Differences In The Fecal Microbiome And Hippocampal Glial Morphology Following Diet And Antibiotic Treatment, Anju Saxena, Roberta R M Moran, Meghan R. Bullard, Emma O. Bondy, Matthew Foster Smith, Lainie Morris, Nicaella Fogle, Jagroop Singh, Brendan Jarvis, Tammy Ray, Juhi Saxena, Linnea Ruth Freeman

Open Access Fund Publications

Rising obesity rates have become a major public health concern within the United States. Understanding the systemic and neural effects of obesity is crucial in designing preventive and therapeutic measures. In previous studies, administration of a high fat diet has induced significant weight gain for mouse models of obesity. Interestingly, sex differences in high-fat diet-induced weight gain have been observed, with female mice gaining significantly less weight compared to male mice on the same high-fat diet. It has also been observed that consumption of a high-fat diet can increase neurogliosis, but the mechanism by which this occurs is still not …

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, Christina A. Small, Dallin Z. Otteson, Scott C. Steffensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2022

Whole body vibration at 80 Hz has 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.

Glia Excitation In The Cns Modulates Intact Behaviors And Sensory-Cns-Motor Circuitry, Shelby Mccubbin, Douglas A. Harrison, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

Glial cells play a role in many important processes, though the mechanisms through which they affect neighboring cells are not fully known. Insights may be gained by selectively activating glial cell populations in intact organisms utilizing the activatable channel proteins channel rhodopsin (ChR2XXL) and TRPA1. Here, the impacts of the glial-specific expression of these channels were examined in both larval and adult Drosophila. The Glia > ChR2XXL adults and larvae became immobile when exposed to blue light and TRPA1-expressed Drosophila upon heat exposure. The chloride pump expression in glia > eNpHR animals showed no observable differences in adults or larvae. In …

Novel Strategies For Glutamate Clearance In The Glia-Deprived Synaptic Hub Of C. Elegans, Joyce Chan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain, Glutamate (Glu) is critical for normal neuronal physiology. Disruption in Glu clearance results in hyper-stimulation of glutamatergic circuits, potentially leading to excitotoxic neurodegeneration. The canonical model of brain connectivity describes glutamatergic synapses as well insulated and enveloped by glia. These glia express Glu Transporters (GluTs) which work to clear Glu following synaptic activity. However, critical areas of the brain such as the mammalian hippocampus display poor synaptic isolation, which may result in Glu spillover between adjacent synapses and subsequent loss of circuit specificity. How accurate signal transmission is achieved in these …

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 …

Generalizing Frameworks For Sentience Beyond Natural Species, Michael Levin

Animal Sentience

Crump et al. (2022) offer a well-argued example of an essential development: a rigorous framework for assessing sentience from the perspective of moral concern over an agent’s welfare. Current and forthcoming developments in bioengineering, synthetic morphology, artificial intelligence, biorobotics, and exobiology necessitate an expansion and generalization of this effort. Verbal reports (the Turing Test) and homology to human brains are utterly inadequate criteria for assessing the status of novel, unconventional agents that offer no familiar touchstone of phylogeny or anatomy. We must develop principled approaches to evaluating the sentience of (and thus, our responsibility to) beings of unfamiliar provenance and …

Importin-Mediated Pathological Tau Nuclear Translocation Causes Disruption Of The Nuclear Lamina, Tdp-43 Mislocalization And Cell Death, Robert F. Candia, Leah S. Cohen, Viktoriya Morozova, Christopher Corbo, Alejandra D. Alonso

Publications and Research

Tau is a cytosolic protein that has also been observed in the nucleus, where it has multiple proposed functions that are regulated by phosphorylation. However, the mechanism underlying the nuclear import of tau is unclear, as is the contribution of nuclear tau to the pathology of tauopathies. We have previously generated a pathological form of tau, PH-tau (pseudophosphorylation mutants S199E, T212E, T231E, and S262E) that mimics AD pathological behavior in cells, Drosophila, and a mouse model. Here, we demonstrated that PH-tau translocates into the nucleus of transiently transfected HEK-293 cells, but wildtype tau does not. We identified a putative …

Characterizing Cellular Stress, Hippocampal Function, And Behavior In A Novel Rat Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Anne A. Schulman

Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 5 million individuals in the United States alone. While AD is primarily thought of as a disease that destroys neural networks required for memory recall and formation, AD also cause impairment in emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and executive function pathways. The cause of AD is unknown; however, the allele ApoE4 has been identified as a risk factor for the onset of AD. ApoE4 provides a valuable opportunity to study AD through animal models. This thesis utilized a human ApoE4 transgenic rat model (hApoE4) to investigate the biological and behavioral …

Mechanisms Underlying Pre- And Postnatal Development Of The Mouse Vomeronasal Organ, Raghu Ram Katreddi

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a specialized olfactory sensory organ located in the ventral region of the nasal cavity in rodents. The vomeronasal epithelium (VNE) of rodents is composed of 2 major types of vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs): 1) VSNs distributed in the apical VNE regions that express vomeronasal type-1 receptors (V1Rs) and the G protein subunit Gi2, and 2) VSNs in the basal territories of the VNE that express vomeronasal type-2 receptors (V2Rs) and the G subunit Go. Besides these two neuronal types, VNE also accommodate a third non-neuronal cell type called Sustentacular cells that lie anatomically above apical …

Not Coming Home: The Flaws In Skilled Nursing Facilities And Their Contribution To Cyclical Hospitalizations Of Post-Acute Patients, Kate Eisenbraun

Pitzer Senior Theses

This literature review will discuss the experience of patients within the US healthcare system, focusing on skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and their contribution to cyclical hospitalizations. SNFs differ from nursing homes and other long-term care facilities by providing short-term, post-operational rehabilitation at a cost lower than what is offered at hospitals. Despite their critical role, SNFs often face fundamental issues, such as understaffing, underfunding, and staff burn-out, which result in lower quality patient care. This thesis argues that the issues faced by SNFs are a result of inconsistencies with state and federal staffing regulations, as well as inadequate insurance reimbursements. …

Investigation Of The Neuroprotective Effects Of Grape Seed Extract On Trigeminal Ganglion Primary Cultures, Sophia Rose Antonopoulos

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Migraine and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are prevalent, debilitating orofacial pain conditions involving peripheral and central sensitization of the trigeminal system. The pro-inflammatory neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is synthesized and secreted from trigeminal ganglion neurons, is implicated in the underlying pathology of migraine and TMD. Secreted CGRP modulates the excitability state of neurons and glial cells that express CGRP receptors. Recent studies from our lab in preclinical models of migraine and TMD have provided evidence that dietary supplementation with a proanthocyanin-enriched grape seed extract (GSE) inhibits trigeminal pain signaling. The effect of GSE was blocked by an antagonist of …

Chemogenetic Induced Tinnitus Model, Cara Bunner

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project will use chemogenetic drug activation in the inferior colliculus (IC) to formulate a new tinnitus model in animals. Gq-signaling DREADD [AAV8-CaMIIKa-HDM2(Gq)-mCherry] will be used to selectively activate glutamatergic neurons in the mouse, then the brain will be dissected to obtain the IC. The IC will be immunohistochemically stained to visualize the AAV mCherry, the glutamatergic neuron distribution, and the GABAergic neuron distribution within the IC. Thus, the findings of this study will better our understandings of the pathological mechanisms of tinnitus.

A Combinatorial 5-Htr Expression Pattern Within The Ventral Projection Neurons Of The D. Melanogaster Olfactory Circuit., Mohd Freezely Ezzani Bin Mazri

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Neuromodulation allows neurons within a circuit to respond to stimuli from the environment according to the correct ecological value, context, and internal state of the animal. Serotonin (5-HT) is a neuromodulator that can generate different outcomes based on its target’s serotonin receptor (5-HTR) expression by affecting secondary messenger cascades. Within the Drosophila olfactory system, ventral projections neurons (vPN) express all five insect 5-HTR that project into two olfactory processing regions, the antennal lobe (AL) and the lateral horn (LH). The significance of this 5-HTR expression is unknown. In this study, I theorized the patterns of 5-HTR expression of vPNs. I …

Chronic Adolescent Stress As A Predictive Factor For The Risk Of Developing Ptsd-Like Symptoms In Adulthood, Grace K. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a stress and trauma based psychological disorder that is defined by the DSM-IV as an anxiety disorder that affects approximately 7.8% of people in the United States. PTSD is when those who suffer a traumatic event have intense and distressing feelings, emotions, and memories for a prolonged period of time after the event. A prominent feature of PTSD is the impaired ability to properly extinguish a fear response after a dangerous trigger or stressor is no longer present, also known as safety learning. Stressors are threats perceived within the environment that activate a response within the …

Transgenerational Differences Between Two Culturally Distinct Prairie Vole Populations, Richard Joaquin Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Culture can be described as a system of environmental beliefs, values, and social practices within one’s environment. This system is passed on from generation to generation and provides a basis for an individual’s behaviors and cognitive perceptions. Cultural neuroscience is an emerging field that intertwines domains of anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, and genetics to help understand the underlying processes, neural mechanisms and genomic factors that vary across cultures. Similar to humans, the socially monogamous prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) display populational differences in prosocial behavior and aggression based upon region-specific cultural upbringing and parental lineage. Prairie voles originating from Kansas (KS) display …

Modulation Of Stress-Induced Behaviors Through Orexinergic Signaling In The Basolateral Amygdala, Jazmine D W Yaeger

Dissertations and Theses

Stress initiates behavioral disturbances, which are often seen as symptoms of psychiatric disorders, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. While stress is involved in the formation of disordered states, only certain individuals are vulnerable to, and therefore experience, these outcomes. Further, females are more likely to be diagnosed with stress-induced psychiatric disorders. Elements within stress neurocircuitry offer insight into differential behavioral outcomes associated with stressful experiences; and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), where pro- and anti-stress signals are integrated, is likely an important mediator in phenotype development. The orexin system, too, while being strongly associated with sleep, motivation, and …

The Evolutionary Origins Of Autism Associated Genes And Their Role In Great Ape Socio-Communicative Behavior, Azeeza Abdulrauf

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a set of neurological disorders characterized by reduced social interactions and deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication. Although there are no clear genetic markers for ASD, studies have found associations between gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and patients diagnosed with ASD. For this study, the focus is on OXTR, AVPR1A, and FOXP2. OXTR is reported to regulate empathy and stress reactivity while AVPR1A is reported to regulate stress management and territorial aggression, as well as social bonding and recognition. FOXP2 is one of the first genes to be associated with both speech and language recognition …

The Effect Of Calcium Ions On Mechanosensation And Neuronal Activity In Proprioceptive Neurons, Devan E. Atkins, Kimberly L. Bosh, Grace W. Breakfield, Sydney E. Daniels, Makayla J. Devore, Hailey E. Fite, Landys Z. Guo, Danielle K. J. Henry, Alana K. Kaffenberger, Katherine S. Manning, Tatum E. Mowery, Cecilia L. Pankau, Nyla Parker, Malina E. Serrano, Yamaan Shakhashiro, Hannah N. Tanner, Ruth. A. Ward, Aubrey H. Wehry, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

Proprioception of all animals is important in being able to have coordinated locomotion. Stretch activated ion channels (SACs) transduce the mechanical force into electrical signals in the proprioceptive sensory endings. The types of SACs vary among sensory neurons in animals as defined by pharmacological, physiological and molecular identification. The chordotonal organs within insects and crustaceans offer a unique ability to investigate proprioceptive function. The effects of the extracellular environment on neuronal activity, as well as the function of associated SACs are easily accessible and viable in minimal saline for ease in experimentation. The effect of extracellular [Ca²⁺] on …

The Effect Of Optogenetically Activating Glia On Neuronal Function, Cecilia Pankau, Shelby Mccubbin, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

Glia, or glial cells, are considered a vital component of the nervous system, serving as an electrical insulator and a protective barrier from the interstitial (extracellular) media. Certain glial cells (i.e., astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes) within the CNS have been shown to directly affect neural functions, but these properties are challenging to study due to the difficulty involved with selectively-activating specific glia. To overcome this hurdle, we selectively expressed light-sensitive ion channels (i.e., channel rhodopsin, ChR2-XXL) in glia of larvae and adult Drosophila melanogaster. Upon activation of ChR2, both adults and larvae showed a rapid contracture of body wall …

Estrogen Modulation Of Vta Dopamine Neuron Physiology And Behavioral Responsivity To Variable Social Stressors, Mary R. Shanley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The behavioral output of different animals, or even the same animal in different contexts, is remarkably variable in response to the same external stimulus. This behavioral diversity is due to the complex integration of external and internal stimuli, through both neuronal and hormonal signals that selects the best behavioral response. By their nature as long-distance signaling molecules, hormones play a critical role in communicating information about internal states across the organism. Many hormones produced in the periphery target the central nervous system to modulate animal behavior, selecting for behaviors that are appropriate over behaviors that are maladaptive in that specific …

Analysis Of Transplantable Photoreceptor Replacement Cell Chemotactic Mechanisms In Retinal Biomimetic Ligand Gradients, Onyekwere Onwumere

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Disease or trauma induced loss of rod and cone photoreceptors is a major cause of vision loss worldwide. To replace lost photoreceptors and restore vision, laboratories around the world are investigating photoreceptor replacement strategies using subretinal injection of photoreceptor precursor cells (PPCs) and retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). A major obstacle in the field is that transplanted photoreceptor replacement cells exhibit extremely limited migration into host retina following injection into the subretinal space. In this work, we show that PPCs and host retinal interaction bioinformatics modeling can identify key pathways involved in photoreceptor replacement cell migration and invasion behaviors. In addition, …

Altering Sensory Learning By Chronic Inactivation Of Vip Interneurons, Christopher Alba, Hannah Selwyn, Katie Ferguson, Jessica Cardin

The Yale Undergraduate Research Journal

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-expressing interneurons (VIP-INs) play a key role in the regulation of cortical circuits and are implicated in perceptual function and psychiatric disease. However, their role in perceptual augmentation and learning remains understudied. We performed chronic, localized ablation of VIP-INs in the primary visual cortex of adult mice using caspase-induced apoptosis to better understand how VIP-INs contribute to visual perception and the ability to learn a visual detection task. We find that chronic VIP-IN ablation does not affect naïve performance on a full-screen visual contrast detection task. However, mice with suppressed levels of VIP-INs achieved their final expert state …

Effects Of Palmitate On The Expression Of Inflammatory Cytokines In Microglial Cells, Shiyu Ma

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Obesity has become a pandemic health issue for the development of more serious illnesses such as insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension. Among those pathological conditions, low grade chronic inflammation triggered by saturated fatty acids (SFA) such as palmitate (PA) has been suggested to be the culprit of crimes and various signaling modulators ranging from cellular surface receptors such as toll like receptors (TLRs) and G- protein – coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) to intracellular kinases like mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase C (PKC) have been postulated. In this study, mouse BV2 cells were treated with different concentrations of …

Having A High-Activity Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Allele Is Associated With Elevated Anxiety And Lower Salivary Dehydroepiandrosterone But Also Lower Alpha Amylase In Children With Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome., Jessie Beebe

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) results from a hemizygous deletion located on the long arm of chromosome 22. The most common deletion sizes affect between 30 and 90 genes. Individuals with 22q11.2DS may develop serious developmental and psychiatric disorders. The phenotype is highly variable, however, and may be influenced by allelic variation of the retained copies of genes covered by the deletion. I set out to examine the effects of two genes, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and proline dehydrogenase (PRODH), in relation to anxiety in children and adolescents with 22q11.2DS. Individuals with the major COMT allele (higher activity) have significantly higher anxiety …