Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Physically, Mentally, And Emotionally Drained, Kaitlin Medina

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Hormonal cycles play an essential role in the development and maturation of young boys and girls into men and women. As teenagers enter their late teens and early twenties, their hormonal cycles are primarily responsible for functions related to fertility and hormone production. During this period of time, these men and women are often in their collegiate years. Overall, the college experience is enjoyable for many students, but it can also be a very stressful time due to a difficult class load and the students’ need to balance their academic, social, and personal lives. Recent studies have analyzed the effects …

Microglial Response To Glucocorticoids During Chronic Sleep Fragmentation, Christian Chelson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sleep is one of the body’s greatest and most basic needs. Chronic sleep loss (<6 hours a day) is linked to many cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and inflammatory conditions and has been shown to lower life expectancy. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a complication that causes sleep fragmentation in >8% of adults from developed countries, and many with OSA may be unaware of their condition. Having long-term OSA is linked to neuroinflammation caused by activated microglia in the brain, but the mechanics of this inflammation are not well understood. It is known that glucocorticoids, steroid hormones produced and released from the adrenal glands, have a suppressive effect on microglia. The purpose of this study is to explore the role that glucocorticoids have upon microglia activation induced by chronic sleep fragmentation (SF). C57BL/6J mice were …

Role Of Chronic Stress-Induced Neuroinflammation In Rodent Locus Coeruleus Physiology And Anxiety-Like Behaviors, Arthur Anthony Alfonso Reyes

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The locus coeruleus (LC), the primary site of brain norepinephrine (NE), is a key anatomical brain region implicated in the stress response. Stress is a neuroendocrine physiologic response to a stressor that promotes organism survival through adaptive change and restoration of homeostasis. The central stress response, which drives behavioral and physiological change, is primarily mediated by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. While advantageous in the short term, chronic stress exposure can lead to HPA axis and LC dysregulation, which are thought to contribute to the etiology of anxiety disorders. Previous studies demonstrate the effects of acute stress in increasing LC …

The Psychophysiological Correlates Of Personality, Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Social Support, Meghan E. Pierce

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Theories considering the etiology of psychopathy suggest that trauma exposure, specifically childhood maltreatment and sexual abuse, is related to the development of callous-unemotional traits in children and adolescents, which are precursors to psychopathic traits in adulthood. Furthermore, posttraumatic stress disorder has an opposite relationship with many of the emotional and behavioral components of the two-factor model of psychopathy. Specifically, PTSD is positively associated to IA and traits associated with it and negatively associated with FD. Thus, this study sought to expand upon the current theories of a trauma-based etiology of psychopathy by investigating the relationship between trauma, PTSD, and psychopathic …

Corticotropin Releasing Factor Receptor Type 1 Signaling In Epilepsy And Traumatic Brain Injury, V V Chakravarthi Narla

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Stress increases the frequency by which epileptic seizures occur. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) coordinates neuroendocrine, autonomic and behavioral response to stress. This thesis sought to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which CRF regulates the activity of neural circuits in the piriform cortex (PC) in normal and epileptic states. The PC is richly innervated by CRF and 5-HT containing axons arising from the central amygdala and raphe nucleus. CRFR₁ and 5-HT_2A/CRs have been shown to interact in a manner where CRFR activation subsequently potentiates the activity of 5-HT_2A/CRs. The first purpose of this thesis was …

Restraint Stress Alters Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Expression And Increases Superoxide Dismutase In The Rat Hypothalamus And Hippocampus, Kristina Isabel Barron

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The impact of restraint stress on changes in cytokine expression and oxidative stress markers in hippocampal (Hipp) and hypothalamic (Hyp) regions of the brain, were assessed in a rat model. In addition, immune and inflammatory variables were assessed in peripheral blood. Male Wistar rats were acutely (30 min) or repeatedly (30 min/d for 14 consecutive days) exposed to a restraint stress, or maintained as non-stressed controls. At the time of sacrifice, whole blood and brain tissues enriched in Hyp or Hipp regions were collected; blood was collected with EDTA as an anticoagulant and centrifuged to yield plasma. All tissue samples …

House Finches, Carpodacus Mexicanus: Hormones, Stress, And Song Control Regions, Katherine Olivia Ganster

Master's Theses

Song production in songbirds is controlled by parts of the brain known as the song control regions (SCRs). During spring, gonads increase in size, males sing to attract mates, and SCRs become larger. This neuroplasticity is controlled by the change in day length and increased plasma testosterone (T) levels. Plasma T can be reduced by stress through the production of corticosterone (CORT), through the production of beta-endorphin, or through direct effects on the testes via the nervous system. We determined the T, estradiol, and CORT hormonal profiles of wild House Finches by capturing and sampling blood from the finches every …

Salivary Cortisol, Psychological Stress And Depressive Symptoms Among Patients Undergoing Colon Cancer Screenings, Allyson Reid

Honors Scholar Theses

As the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, colon cancer has a high cure rate if detected early by a colonoscopy (U.S.

Cancer Statistics Working Group, 2007). However, more than 41 million at-risk Americans are not properly receiving colonoscopy screenings according to the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control. This study provides insight into the physiological and psychological benefits of the colonoscopy procedure over and above cancer detection and prevention. Thirty-six patients receiving colonoscopic screening at the University of Connecticut Health Center participated in this study. A questionnaire battery that assessed perceived stress, depressive symptoms, …

A Role For The Forebrain In Mediating Time-Of-Day Differences In Glucocorticoid Counterregulatory Responses To Hypoglycemia In Rats, Lori M. Gorton, Arshad M. Khan, Maryann Bohland, Graciela Sanchez-Watts, Casey M. Donovan, Alan G. Watts

Arshad M. Khan, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Intravenous 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose Injection Rapidly Elevates Levels Of The Phosphorylated Forms Of P44/42 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (Extracellularly Regulated Kinases 1/2) In Rat Hypothalamic Parvicellular Paraventricular Neurons, Arshad Khan, Alan G. Watts

Arshad M. Khan, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Ethological Causes And Consequences Of The Stress Response, Neil Greenberg, James A. Carr, Cliff H. Summers

Neil Greenberg

Stress involves real or perceived changes within an organism or in the environment that activate an organism’s attempts to cope by means of evolutionarily ancient neural and endocrine mechanisms. Responses to acute stressors involve catecholamines released in varying proportion at different sites in the sympathetic and central nervous systems. These responses may interact with and be complemented by intrinsic rhythms and responses to chronic or intermittent stressors involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Varying patterns of responses to stressors are also affected by an animal=s assessment of their prospects for successful coping. Subsequent central and systemic consequences of the stress response include …

Ethological Causes And Consequences Of The Stress Response, Neil Greenberg, James A. Carr, Cliff H. Summers

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Stress involves real or perceived changes within an organism or in the environment that activate an organism’s attempts to cope by means of evolutionarily ancient neural and endocrine mechanisms. Responses to acute stressors involve catecholamines released in varying proportion at different sites in the sympathetic and central nervous systems. These responses may interact with and be complemented by intrinsic rhythms and responses to chronic or intermittent stressors involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Varying patterns of responses to stressors are also affected by an animal=s assessment of their prospects for successful coping. Subsequent central and systemic consequences of the stress response include …