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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology
The Role Of Histone Demethylases In Learning And Memory In The Mushroom Body Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Crystal Keung
The Role Of Histone Demethylases In Learning And Memory In The Mushroom Body Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Crystal Keung
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with many epigenetic regulators and chromatin modifying enzymes like histone lysine methyltransferases (KMTs) and demethylases (KDMs). Here, I systematically investigate the role of 7 KDMs: Su(var)3-3, KDM2, Lid, CG2982, UTX, KDM4B, JHDM2, and 1 KMT: trr in the context of learning and memory using Drosophila melanogaster. Genetic knockdown of each gene in the mushroom body (MB) of flies are tested for short- and long-term memory impairment using courtship conditioning. Knockdown of 6 KDMs and trr resulted in memory loss. MB morphology was analyzed to determine potential cause of memory loss. …
Mushroom Body-Specific Gene Regulation By The Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Kevin Cj Nixon
Mushroom Body-Specific Gene Regulation By The Swi/Snf Chromatin Remodeling Complex, Kevin Cj Nixon
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Over the lifetime of an organism, neurons must establish, remodel, and maintain precise connections in order to form neural circuits that are required for proper nervous system functioning. Disruptions in these processes can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder. Mutations in genes encoding subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex have been implicated in ID, yet the role of this complex in neurons is poorly understood. In this project, I established cell-type specific methods to examine the effect of SWI/SNF subunit knockdowns on gene transcription and chromatin structure in the memory-forming neurons of …
Behavioural And Molecular Consequences Of Postnatal Stress In A Mouse Model Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Bonnie Alberry
Behavioural And Molecular Consequences Of Postnatal Stress In A Mouse Model Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Bonnie Alberry
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are caused by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and affect 1‑5% of the North American population. Children born with FASD often face maternal separation throughout childhood. How this early life stress (ELS) affects the severity of FASD-related deficits is poorly understood. Using a mouse model, this dissertation establishes that behavioural deficits accumulate following prenatal alcohol exposure and early life stress, assessed using tests for activity, anxiety-like behaviour as well as learning and memory. Hippocampal gene expression was evaluated using RNA-seq followed by clustering of expression profiles through weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). A set of …