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Articles 1 - 25 of 25
Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Examining Limbic Sexual Dimorphisms In Schizophrenia, Kennedy S. Madrid
Examining Limbic Sexual Dimorphisms In Schizophrenia, Kennedy S. Madrid
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects a significant number of individuals in the United States and can have numerous different symptoms. Recently, interest in the differences between the neuroanatomy of individuals with schizophrenia and individuals without schizophrenia has emerged, specifically the sexual dimorphism in individuals with schizophrenia. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of the sexual dimorphisms of two structures in the limbic system: the hippocampus and amygdala. Data was harmonized and analyzed from two datasets to determine the sexual dimorphic factor of these structures in healthy controls and individuals with schizophrenia. Demographic features were also taken …
Mapping Auditory And Vestibular Response Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Larval Zebrafish, Erika Marks, Arminda Suli
Mapping Auditory And Vestibular Response Neurons In The Optic Tectum Of Larval Zebrafish, Erika Marks, Arminda Suli
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Cellular mapping of the sensory receptive fields of brain structures is a critical step in understanding function and dysfunction in development. Deficits in the ability to receive, process and integrate the senses leads to difficulties recognizing and responding appropriately to stimuli. To understand how the senses are integrated, it is first necessary to map the neurons receptive to inputs from individual senses. The optic tectum of zebrafish is a structure known for its homology to the superior colliculus of mammals and is a center of multisensory integration – including visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli. However, the microcircuitry of this important …
Effects Of Catharanthine On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens And Ethanol Consumption, Emily Baldwin
Effects Of Catharanthine On Dopamine Release In The Nucleus Accumbens And Ethanol Consumption, Emily Baldwin
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis discusses the history of catharanthine and related compounds, and their potential anti-addictive properties. Current research is exploring possible mechanisms of these properties. Past studies have found catharanthine has effects on neurons that project to the mesocorticolimbic system, an area implicated in addiction. We have seen that catharanthine decreases evoked dopamine (DA) release but increases basal DA release. This is the first study to investigate catharanthine’s effect on DA transmission in vivo. Using microdialysis, we determined the effect of catharanthine on DA in the nucleus accumbens of the striatum. This study determines the effect of different doses of …
Facing Fears When Fearing Faces: Binocular Rivalry Perceptual Alternation And Approach-Avoidance In College-Aged Women With Autistic Traits And A History Of Adverse Experiences, Sarah Kamhout
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Women with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASCs) may be more likely to experience symptoms of trauma exposure due to greater likelihood of facing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). In order to gain a better understanding of the neural mechanisms involved with ASC and PTSD in women who experience difficulty with social interactions, I examined the ability of two vision tasks-- Binocular Rivalry Perceptual Alternation (BR) and Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST)-- to predict symptoms of both conditions as well as differentiate between them. I also examined differences in response to neutral or emotional (angry or fearful) faces under both paradigms. …
Preventing Alzheimer's: Effects Of Second Language Acquisition In Older Populations, Joshua Rhead
Preventing Alzheimer's: Effects Of Second Language Acquisition In Older Populations, Joshua Rhead
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Alzheimer’s disease continues to be a problem that medicine has few answers for. As a result, much research has been focused on finding a cure as well as interventions to help prevent the onset of the disease. One such intervention that has been proposed is to improve the brain’s efficiency and connectivity. A controversial method of achieving these results is through second language acquisition. Many provide evidence for or against the benefits of this intervention, but much remains unclear. Most of these studies focus on cognitive function and functional connectivity in language areas, but the default mode network, which is …
Barriers To Prenatal Care For Hispanic Immigrants In Utah County, Maren Monson
Barriers To Prenatal Care For Hispanic Immigrants In Utah County, Maren Monson
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis examines four barriers that may inhibit Hispanic immigrant women from receiving care in Utah County, including language, insurance, documentation, and education. Six clinics in Utah County were contacted to determine how the services they provide account for these barriers. Nine Hispanic women were then interviewed about their experience with prenatal care in Utah County with respect to the four barriers. Interpretation services were offered by each clinic, though none of the women interviewed used professional interpretation—either their husbands translated, or they met with a Spanish-speaking doctor. Every clinic accepted insurance and Medicaid, while one clinic had a flexible …
An Event-Related Potential Study Of Inhibition To Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Hanel Watkins
An Event-Related Potential Study Of Inhibition To Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Hanel Watkins
Undergraduate Honors Theses
In the United States, the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages per capita from 1977 to 2002 doubled across all age groups. One factor that may contribute to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is inhibitory control, or the ability to withhold a dominant response in order to correctly respond to one’s environment. Studies suggest that increased recruitment of inhibitory control resources plays a role in decreasing the consumption of high-calorie foods and that strengthening an individual’s inhibitory control may help them manage their food intake. However, the neural response to sugar-sweetened beverages versus non-sweetened beverages is unknown. Thus, we tested event-related potential …
Sex Differences In Ethanol Modulation Of Dopamine Release In The Mesolimbic Reward System, Mandy Parsons
Sex Differences In Ethanol Modulation Of Dopamine Release In The Mesolimbic Reward System, Mandy Parsons
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis seeks to synthesize previous studies that have shown sex differences in response to drugs of abuse, specifically cocaine and alcohol. These differences have been noted through the study of behavior, nitric oxide levels in the medial amygdala, and dopamine release within the mesolimbic system. Importantly, it has been consistently found that these differences seem to correlate with the changing hormonal environment produced by the estrus cycle in females. Furthermore, this thesis examines new research on how the estrus cycle modulates dopamine release within the reward circuit through the utilization of fast scan cyclic voltammetry and microdialysis techniques. A …
Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills
Mechanoreceptor Activation In The Treatment Of Drug-Use Disorders: Mechanism And Outcome, Kyle Bills
Theses and Dissertations
The therapeutic benefits attributed to activation of peripheral mechanoreceptors are poorly understood. There is growing evidence that mechanical stimulation modulates substrates in the supraspinal central nervous system (CNS) that are outside the canonical somatosensory circuits. This work demonstrates that activation of peripheral mechnoreceptors via mechanical stimulation (MStim) is sufficient to increase dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), alter neuron firing rate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increase membrane translocation of delta opioid receptors (DORs) in the NAc. Further, we demonstrate that these effects are dependent on DORs and acetylcholine receptors. Additionally, MStim can block neuronal markers of …
A Quantitative Motor Assessment Linked To Underlying Damage In Traumatic Brain Injury, Paula K. Johnson
A Quantitative Motor Assessment Linked To Underlying Damage In Traumatic Brain Injury, Paula K. Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability in the United States (Coronado et al., 2011). There is a recognized need for better motor assessments to help mitigate these disabilities. Advances in markerless motion capture and in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide an opportunity to improve clinical assessments, and link them to damage measured in MRI scans. The primary aims of this research were to 1) develop a quantitative motor assessment (QMA), and seed a normative database to enable comparison of impaired behavior to unimpaired, 2) test the sensitivity of the QMA, and 3) link QMA results to …
"Where Was I?": Linguistic Reprocessing In Distracted Reading, Katrina Hillam
"Where Was I?": Linguistic Reprocessing In Distracted Reading, Katrina Hillam
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis examines the impact of repeated auditory and task-oriented distractors on linguistic processing. Impact was measured through eye tracking software recording first fixation duration, gaze duration, and total time spent on distractor words. This study found consistent significant difference only in the total time category, suggesting that the processing stage most impacted by distraction is global context—our awareness of how a word fits in to the paragraph at large. Participants were skilled at regaining reading speed after distraction, showing no overall impairment for other processing levels. This phenomenon could be dangerous for student comprehension, as reading speed will be …
Self-Regulation, Threat Perception, And Inhibitory Control: An Fmri Investigation Of Children With Adhd, Erin Kaseda
Self-Regulation, Threat Perception, And Inhibitory Control: An Fmri Investigation Of Children With Adhd, Erin Kaseda
Undergraduate Honors Theses
This thesis examines the role of perceived parental support on adolescents aged 12-19 who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Specifically, the study focused on inhibitory control, one form of cognitive executive control often implicated in ADHD, in three ways: first, through the use of a Go/No-Go task during a functional MRI scan of the brain; second, through the use of a neuropsychological cognitive battery using the NIH Toolbox; and third, through a qualitative interview that examined self-control in school and home contexts. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, parental support was found to be negatively correlated with inhibitory control …
Resolving Disulfide Bond Patterns In Snap25b Cysteine-Rich Region Using Lc Mass Spectrometry, Nozomi Ogawa
Resolving Disulfide Bond Patterns In Snap25b Cysteine-Rich Region Using Lc Mass Spectrometry, Nozomi Ogawa
Theses and Dissertations
A global analysis of the human proteome demonstrates that there are ~5500 tryptic fragments that contain four cysteines in close proximity. Elucidating whether they form disulfide bonds in vivo under different conditions is particularly important because cysteines are known to be a vital cellular redox sensor as well as a catalytic site for important biochemical reactions. However, currently there are no methods that can resolve disulfide patterns in closely-packed cysteine residues from a complex sample. In order to address this problem, we have developed a novel mass-spectrometry-based method to identify the different disulfide bonding patterns possible, using SNAP25B cysteine-rich region …
The Putative Cannabinoid Receptor Gpr55 Modulates Synaptic Plasticity In The Hippocampus, Corinne Marie Badgley
The Putative Cannabinoid Receptor Gpr55 Modulates Synaptic Plasticity In The Hippocampus, Corinne Marie Badgley
Theses and Dissertations
Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are small molecules that are capable of modulating synaptic plasticity of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the brain. While eCBs bind to transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) in the central nervous system, we recently identified a form of non-CB1, non-TRPV1 mediated long term depression activated by the eCB anandamide at CA1 hippocampal stratum radiatum interneurons. GPR55, an orphan G-protein receptor, has been identified in the hippocampus and is capable of activation by eCBs, making it a good candidate for mediating this non-CB1, non-TRPV1 form of synaptic plasticity. Here we performed whole-cell …
A Parametric Investigation Of Pattern Separation Processes In The Medial Temporal Lobe, Sarah E. Motley
A Parametric Investigation Of Pattern Separation Processes In The Medial Temporal Lobe, Sarah E. Motley
Theses and Dissertations
The hippocampus is thought to be involved in memory formation and consolidation, with computational models proposing the process of pattern separation as a means for encoding overlapping memories. Previous research has used semantically related targets and lures to investigate hippocampal responses to mnemonic interference. Here, we attempted to define the response function of the hippocampus and its inputs during pattern separation by parametrically varying target-lure similarity in a continuous recognition task. We also investigated the effect of task demands (intentional versus incidental encoding) on pattern separation processes. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data while participants were shown a …
Association Between Academic Performance And Electrocortical Processing Of Cognitive Stimuli In College Students, Mary Menn Wolf
Association Between Academic Performance And Electrocortical Processing Of Cognitive Stimuli In College Students, Mary Menn Wolf
Theses and Dissertations
Because event-related potentials (ERPs) can reflect individual differences in intellectual ability, individual differences in college grade-point average (GPA) may be associated with specific individual ERP waves, such as the P300. However, P300 amplitude is higher in women than in men and varies across the menstrual cycle, factors that could confound the association between GPA and ERPs. In this regard, our objective was to determine whether differences in GPA are reflected in ERPs while standardling for sex and menstrual phase. After participants provided informed consent, we obtained GPAs from 22 right-handed college students (11 male, age range 22 to 26 and …
Gender And Color Specific Differences In Event Related Potentials, Abhishek Trikha
Gender And Color Specific Differences In Event Related Potentials, Abhishek Trikha
Theses and Dissertations
This project analyzed gender and color-specific differences in event-related potentials (ERPs). Previous studies have shown that males process color differently than females. In a recent study, sex differences were found in ERPs during a visual object recognition task. There were higher EEG amplitudes in females (especially P300) than males. Significant sex and color-specific differences have been found in diseases involving altered dopamine (DA) machinery. Thus, we analyzed differences between ERPs in males vs females during a color task. We also compared the color-specific differences in ERPs between males and females. Males and females participated in EEG recording sessions for 2 …
Cocaine And Mefloquine-Induced Acute Effects In Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine And Gaba Neurons, David Wilbanks Allison
Cocaine And Mefloquine-Induced Acute Effects In Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine And Gaba Neurons, David Wilbanks Allison
Theses and Dissertations
The aim of the two studies presented here was to evaluate the effects of cocaine and mefloquine (MFQ) on γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Cocaine: In vivo, lower doses of intravenous cocaine (0.25-0.5 mg/kg), or methamphetamine (METH), enhanced VTA GABA neuron firing rate via D2/D5 receptor activation. Higher cocaine doses (1.0-2.0 mg/kg) inhibited their firing rate. Cocaine and lidocaine inhibited the firing rate and spike discharges induced by stimulation of the internal capsule (ICPSDs) at dose levels 0.25-2 mg/kg (IC50 1.2 mg/kg), but neither DA nor METH reduced ICPSDs. In VTA …
The Role Of Connexin-36 Gap Junctions In Alcohol Intoxication And Reward, Kathryn Diane Bradley
The Role Of Connexin-36 Gap Junctions In Alcohol Intoxication And Reward, Kathryn Diane Bradley
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this thesis project was to examine the function of connexin-36 (Cx36) gap junctions (GJs) in producing alcohol's intoxicating and rewarding effects. GABA neurons are thought to inhibit dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the mesocorticolimbic system, which originates in the midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects to limbic structures such as the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). The mesolimbic DA system is believed to be the neural substrate of alcohol intoxication and addiction (Tepper, Paladini, & Celada, 1998). Alcohol suppresses the firing rate of GABA neurons in the VTA (Gallegos, Criado, Lee, Henriksen, & Steffensen, 1999) and presumably disinhibits DA …
Expression Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Mrna As A Function Of Age In Whole Hippocampus Preparations From Wistar Rats, Kasey C. Welch
Expression Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Mrna As A Function Of Age In Whole Hippocampus Preparations From Wistar Rats, Kasey C. Welch
Theses and Dissertations
Whole hippocampus preparations, isolated bilaterally, from untreated Wistar rats at various ages (10-90 days old) were analyzed for the mRNA expression of the alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 5, alpha 7, beta 2, beta 3, and beta 4 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. To do so, RNA was isolated from acutely isolated hippocampal samples, converted to cDNA by means of a reverse transcription reaction, then analyzed with quantitative real-time PCR to determine the relative levels of the mRNAs the cells were expressing at the age when the samples were obtained. The relative expression of the levels of RNA …
Neuronal And Molecular Adaptations Of Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area To Chronic Alcohol, Kimberly Hales
Neuronal And Molecular Adaptations Of Gaba Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area To Chronic Alcohol, Kimberly Hales
Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this thesis project was to examine the effects of chronic alcohol on the excitability and molecular adaptation of GABA neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). GABA neurons are of interest with regards to ethanol intoxication, reinforcement, and dependence due to their widespread distribution and connectivity to mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons implicated in alcohol reward and addiction. Since we have previously shown adaptation of VTA GABA neuron firing rate to chronic ethanol (Gallegos, Criado et al. 1999) and suppression of gap-junction (GJ) mediated coupling between these neurons by acute ethanol (Stobbs, Ohran et al. 2004), we wanted …
Palmitoylation And Oxidation Of The Cysteine Rich Region Of Snap-25 And Their Effects On Protein Interactions, Derek Luberli Martinez
Palmitoylation And Oxidation Of The Cysteine Rich Region Of Snap-25 And Their Effects On Protein Interactions, Derek Luberli Martinez
Theses and Dissertations
Neurons depend upon neurotransmitter release through regulated exocytosis to accomplish the immense processing performed within the central nervous system. The SNARE hypothesis points to a family of proteins that are thought to enable the membrane fusion that leads to exocytosis. The secondary structure of SNAP-25 is unique among SNARE proteins in that it has two alpha helical SNARE motifs and a cysteine rich (C85, C88, C90, C92) membrane interacting region but notransmembrane domain. The cysteines may be modified by palmitoylation or oxidation but the role of these modifications in vivo is not well understood. Our goal is to elucidate possible …
Effects Of Exposure To Perinatal Ultrasound Radiation On Information Processing In The Auditory System, Jennifer Burnett
Effects Of Exposure To Perinatal Ultrasound Radiation On Information Processing In The Auditory System, Jennifer Burnett
Theses and Dissertations
Ultrasound (US) has become a standard procedure used during pregnancy to document the health and development of a fetus. When ultrasound was first developed, some researchers urged caution, suggesting that the possibility of hazard should be kept under constant review. Given the routine application of fetal ultrasound imaging, any possibility of deleterious developmental effects resulting from its use is an important public health issue. Rats have a well characterized central nervous system whose neurochemical pathways and neuronal electrophysiology qualitatively correspond to those of humans. Because of this, we opted to use Wistar rats as an animal model to document effects …
Brain Stimulation Reward Is Integrated By A Network Of Electrically-Coupled Gaba Neurons, Matthew Brian Lassen
Brain Stimulation Reward Is Integrated By A Network Of Electrically-Coupled Gaba Neurons, Matthew Brian Lassen
Theses and Dissertations
Although it is well-established that animals will self-stimulate electric current to various diverse brain structures, the neural substrate of brain stimulation reward (BSR) has eluded identification since its discovery more than a half-century ago. We show that GABA neurons in the midbrain, hypothalamus and thalamus express connexin-36 (Cx36) gap junctions and couple electrically with dopamine application or by stimulation of the internal capsule (IC), which also supports self-stimulation. The threshold for responding for self-stimulation of the IC is the threshold for coupling between these GABA neurons, the degree of responding for IC ICSS is proportional to the magnitude of electrical …
Classification Of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Rat Ca1 Hippocampal Interneuron Subpopulations Defined By Calcium-Binding Protein Mrna Expression, Richard M. Burgon
Classification Of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Rat Ca1 Hippocampal Interneuron Subpopulations Defined By Calcium-Binding Protein Mrna Expression, Richard M. Burgon
Theses and Dissertations
In this study, the single-cell relative quantitative mRNA expression of three Calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs; calbindin, calretinin, parvalbumin) and eight nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits (alpha2-alpha5, alpha7, beta2-beta4) from interneurons from the stratum radiatum or stratum oriens within the CA1 region of rat hippocampi was analyzed using quantitative real time RT-PCR. Eighty-seven percent of the interneurons examined expressed CaBP mRNA. Parvalbumin mRNA was detected in 64%, while calbindin and calretinin expression was detected in 26% and 40% of interneurons, respectively. CaBP expression was not exclusive; the average number of CaBP mRNA detected per interneuron of the 47 interneurons examined for CaBP …