Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Identification And Delineation Of Neuronal Pathways Underlying Hypophagia, Jing Cai
Identification And Delineation Of Neuronal Pathways Underlying Hypophagia, Jing Cai
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
In terms of metabolism, eating disorders manifest in two extreme directions: overnutrition, which can lead to obesity, and malnutrition, which can result in underweight or even starvation. Both extremes compromise the quality of life. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) standard, eating disorders affect up to 17.9% of young women and 2.4% of young men. Although eating disorders are primarily defined as mental disorders rather than metabolic disorders, they are intertwined with complex emotions and sensory perceptions. However, in contemporary animal research related to eating disorders and feeding behaviors, the majority of neuroscientists still examine …
Sex Differences In Mood And Anxiety-Related Outcomes In Response To Adolescent Nicotine Exposure, Tsun Hay Jason Ng
Sex Differences In Mood And Anxiety-Related Outcomes In Response To Adolescent Nicotine Exposure, Tsun Hay Jason Ng
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Nicotine dependence is causally linked to increased risk of mood/anxiety disorders in later life. Females are reported to experience a higher prevalence of anxiety/depressive disorders and challenges in smoking cessation therapies, suggesting a potential sex-specific response to nicotine exposure and mood/anxiety disorder risk. However, pre-clinical evidence of sex-specific responses to adolescent nicotine exposure is unclear. Thus, to determine any sex differences in anxiety/depressive-related outcomes, adolescent male and female Sprague Dawley rats received nicotine (0.4 mg/kg; 3x daily) or saline injections for 10 consecutive days, followed by behavioural testing, in-vivo electrophysiology and Western Blot analyses. Our results revealed that adolescent nicotine …
Quantifying Psychostimulant-Induced Sensitization Effects On Dopamine And Acetylcholine Release Across Different Timescales, Georg Lange
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Drug-induced behavioral sensitization describes the phenomenon that behavioral response to a drug of abuse is getting stronger if the same psychostimulant is delivered multiple times which is much more pronounced if done in the same environmental context. A proposed neural basis is the formation of an association between contextual cues and the rewarding drug which is mediated by dopamine. Dopamine operates at different timescales and to fully understand dopamine sensitization, it is necessary to investigate dopamine release at slow (tens of minutes) but also faster (sub-second) timescales. But creating a holistic view has been difficult due to a lack of …
The Neurobiological Underpinnings Of Depression-Related Maternal Behavior Deficits, Sarah B. Winokur
The Neurobiological Underpinnings Of Depression-Related Maternal Behavior Deficits, Sarah B. Winokur
Doctoral Dissertations
Maternal caregiving is a dynamic process that requires extensive cognitive, motivational, and affective processing. World-wide, approximately 17% of mothers are diagnosed with postpartum depression yearly (Wang et al., 2021). Untreated, mothers with postpartum depression experience deficits in cognition, motivation, affect, and parenting (Arteche et al., 2011; Dix and Meunier, 2009; Lovejoy et al., 2000). Although postpartum depression is related to compromised parenting, to date, few studies have examined the neurobiological mechanisms by which maternal behavior is compromised in postpartum depression (Field, 2010; Murray et al., 1996). This dissertation aims to examine how depression neurobiologically disrupts parenting abilities. These studies …
Neural Substrates Of Reward, Error, And Effort Processing Underlying Adaptive Motor Behaviour, Dimitrios J. Palidis
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 …
Structure And Function Of Dopamine In The Inner Ear And Auditory Efferent System Of A Vocal Fish, Jonathan T. Perelmuter
Structure And Function Of Dopamine In The Inner Ear And Auditory Efferent System Of A Vocal Fish, Jonathan T. Perelmuter
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The neuromodulator dopamine is considered essential for coordinating the internal motivational state of an organism with appropriate behavioral responses to stimuli in the external environment. This could be accomplished by modifying the function of neural circuits involved in sensory processing such that they are “tuned in” and optimally sensitive to important stimuli during critical time windows. While dopamine modulation of auditory processing has been studied in the central nervous system, neuromodulation can also occur outside the brain, in the inner ear. The majority of investigations of dopamine in the ear are conducted using rodents and focus on its role in …
Modeling And Mapping Addiction In The Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Bradley Serpa
Modeling And Mapping Addiction In The Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Bradley Serpa
Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses
Driven by the communication of dopamine, the vertebrate reward system has been evolutionarily conserved to maintain survival and optimize fitness. The neural circuits governing this system integrate sensory stimuli to produce appropriate, self-preserving responses that underlie experience-based learning. In the most primitive vertebrates, dopamine release in neuronal circuits drives homeostatic behaviors, such as seeking nutrients, finding a mate, or avoiding danger. From agnathans to mammals, dopaminergic synthesis and signaling genes and molecules, along with neuronal pathways and reward system-based behaviors, remain highly conserved. Dopamine signaling proteins include two classes of metabotropic G-Protein Receptor Coupled Dopamine Receptors, D1-like (DRD1) and D2-like …
Effort-Related Motivational Dysfunctions: Behavioral And Neurochemical Studies Of The Wistar-Kyoto Rat Model Of Depression, Brendan Abbott
Effort-Related Motivational Dysfunctions: Behavioral And Neurochemical Studies Of The Wistar-Kyoto Rat Model Of Depression, Brendan Abbott
Masters Theses
Depression and related disorders are characterized by motivational dysfunctions, including deficits in behavioral activation and exertion of effort. Animal models of relevance to depression represent a critical starting point in elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivational dysfunctions. The present study explored the use of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) animal model of depression to examine effort-related functions as measured by voluntary wheel running and performance on a mixed fixed ratio 5/progressive ratio (FR5/PR) operant task. Given the known link between activational aspects of motivation and the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system, the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg, IP), a psychostimulant …
The Integration Of Extrinsic And Intrinsic Neuromodulators In The Olfactory System, Kristyn M. Lizbinski
The Integration Of Extrinsic And Intrinsic Neuromodulators In The Olfactory System, Kristyn M. Lizbinski
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Neuromodulation is a ubiquitous feature of neural systems, allowing flexible, context specific control over network dynamics by adjusting the biophysical and synaptic properties of neurons. Neuromodulation was first described in invertebrate motor systems and early work established a basic dichotomy for neuromodulation as having either an intrinsic origin (i.e. neurons that participate in network coding) or an extrinsic origin (i.e. neurons from independent networks). Although this dichotomy has been thoroughly considered in motor systems, it has received far less attention in sensory systems. Furthermore, nervous systems are continually subject to a dynamic cocktail of both intrinsic and extrinsic modulators. However, …
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
The model of basal ganglia function proposed by Albin, Young and Penney (1989) describes two anatomically independent motor pathways, the direct and indirect. However, under normal conditions striatal dopamine (DA) is required for the expression of motor behavior, and DAergic control of the two pathways (via D1 and D2 receptors, respectively) is dependent on co-activation. We tested for a possible breakdown of D1/D2 synergism using transgenic R6/1 mice bearing the human huntingtin allele (Htt). Motor stereotypy, observed prior to the onset of HD-related symptoms, was rated on a 5-point scale following activation of: A) D1 receptors alone, B) D2 receptors …
Distribution And Activation Of Catecholaminergic Neurons In The Brain Of Male Plainfin Midshipman Fish: Divergence In Behavior And Reproductive Phenotype, Zachary Ghahramani
Distribution And Activation Of Catecholaminergic Neurons In The Brain Of Male Plainfin Midshipman Fish: Divergence In Behavior And Reproductive Phenotype, Zachary Ghahramani
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus, provides an excellent opportunity for delimiting the influence of neurochemical content on vertebrate vocal behavior, in part because the production and recognition of social-acoustic signals is vital to their reproductive behavior. There are two distinct reproductive male morphs that follow divergent developmental trajectories with corresponding alternative reproductive tactics: type I males are the territorial/nesting morph that vocally court females during the summer breeding season while type II males do not court females, but instead sneak spawn in competition with type I males. Catecholaminergic neurons, which synthesize and release the neurotransmitters dopamine or noradrenaline, …
Prefrontal Cortex Dopamine Transmission Regulates Emotional Memory Processing And Morphine Reward Salience: Implications For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Addiction Comorbidity, Jing Jing Li
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and addiction are strongly comorbid. However, the underlying neural mechanisms by which traumatic memory recall may increase addiction liability are poorly understood. The inability to suppress memory recall related to either stressful or rewarding, drug-related experiences may be an underlying neuropsychological feature capable of triggering both PTSD or addiction-related behaviours. Our previous research has shown that transmission through dopamine (DA) D4 and D1 receptor subtypes (D4R, D1R) within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) strongly modulates emotional memory acquisition and recall (Lauzon et al., 2009). Using olfactory fear conditioning and morphine conditioned …
Dopaminergic And Activity-Dependent Modulation Of Mechanosensory Responses In Drosophila Melanogaster Larvae, Josh S. Titlow
Dopaminergic And Activity-Dependent Modulation Of Mechanosensory Responses In Drosophila Melanogaster Larvae, Josh S. Titlow
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
A central theme of this dissertation is nervous system plasticity. Activity-dependent plasticity and dopaminergic modulation are two processes by which neural circuits adapt their function to developmental and environmental changes. These processes are involved in basic cognitive functions and can contribute to neurological disorder. An important goal in modern neurobiology is understanding how genotypic variation influences plasticity, and leveraging the quantitative genetics resources in model organisms is a valuable component of this endeavor. To this end I investigated activity-dependent plasticity and dopaminergic modulation in Drosophila melanogaster larvae using neurobiological and genetic approaches.
Larval mechanosensory behavior is described in Chapter 2. …