Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Hemodynamic Characterization Of Cardiac Dysfunction After Traumatic Brain Injury Using A Controlled Cortical Impact Model In Male Rats, Preston So, Amit Iyengar, Noah Weingarten, Mrinal Patel, Jessica Dominic, Andrew Belec, Joyce Ho, Samuel Shin, Pavan Atluri

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with cardiovascular dysfunction that worsens clinical outcomes, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly under stood. Clinical studies are limited by heterogeneity, highlighting the need for con trolled experimental models. Controlled cortical impact (CCI) provides precise control of injury severity, and invasive pressure- volume (PV) loop analysis allows detailed hemodynamic assessment. Adult male Wistar rats underwent sham op eration or mild or severe CCI- induced TBI. PV- loop assessment and transtho racic echocardiography were performed at 8 or 24 h after TBI or sham. Serum epinephrine (EPI) and norepinephrine (NE) were quantified by ELISA. At …

A Novel Role For The Infralimbic Cortex In Conditioned Fear Responding, Julia R. Mitchell, Samantha Tuberman, Rylin Lubash, Leticia C. N. Takasumi, Emmett Bergeron, Roberto Calitri, Mikaela A. Laine, Maryclare Pikus, Victoria Vance, Leena Ziane, Rebecca M. Shansky

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

Freezing during Pavlovian fear conditioning is the most commonly used indicator of learned fear in rodents. Although freezing and its neural underpinnings have been widely studied, the field has largely ignored other potential indicators of learned fear. Darting, an escape-like conditioned fear response, occurs more frequently in females and is reliably predicted by a distinct behavioral phenotype: heightened shock response and decreased freezing compared to rodents that do not engage in darting. The experiments in this study sought to expand the field’s understanding of conditioned fear by investigating the neural correlates of conditioned darting, focusing on the infralimbic cortex (IL) …

Temporal Dynamics Of Sensorimotor Integration For Auditory And Proprioceptive Target Information During Movement Preparation And Execution, Ivan Camponogara

All Works

Actions toward non-visual targets exhibit modality-specific patterns of endpoint variability, with movements toward auditory targets being more variable than those toward proprioceptive or multisensory targets. However, whether such modality-specific effects emerge already during movement preparation and how they evolve across movement execution remains unclear. The present study addressed this question by asking participants to perform reaching movements toward auditory, proprioceptive, or audio-proprioceptive targets while electromyography and movement kinematics were recorded. Movement preparation and initiation was assessed by analyzing two temporal components of reaction time, premotor and motor, together with movement kinematics at peak acceleration. Movement execution was investigated by analyzing …

Bridging The Gap In Science Research: Preparing Students For College- Level Research In The Sciences, Victoria Helwig, Yaoguang Li

UConn Library Presentations

Many first-year students enter college unprepared to fully engage with scientific literature and academic library resources. Drawing on experiences from academic librarians working with STEM students, this session explores common gaps in science research skills, including navigating databases, identifying scholarly sources, and understanding the structure of scientific literature. Participants will be introduced to practical strategies and classroom-ready activities to better prepare students for college-level research. Discussion questions: What science research skills do students struggle with most when entering college? How can high school instruction better support these skills? Where can librarians and educators collaborate to support student success?

Developmental Stability Of Task-Rest Neural Efficiency In Youth Using A Threat And Cognitive Control Task, Parmis Khosravi, Julia O. Linke, Anjali D. Poe, Chase Antonacci, Reut Naim, Elise M. Cardinale, Katharina Kircanski, Anderson M. Winkler, Nathan A. Fox, Daniel Samuel Pine, Simona P. Haller

School of Medicine Publications

Behaviors arise from coordinated neural activity across diverse spatial and temporal scales. Prior work has linked better task performance and cognitive functioning to patterns of global network connectivity requiring minimal reconfiguration when switching between task demands. This metric indexing similarity in functional connectivity across task and rest has been termed “neural efficiency.” Here we assess stability of neural efficiency over approximately 3 years in adolescence, specificity across two task-rest combinations and associations with anxiety. At approximately age 16 and/or 19, 95 participants completed a resting state scan alongside a cognitive control and/or threat task. Neural efficiency was quantified as partial …

The Double Attraction Paradox, Rem Jaen D. Krafft

Publications and Research

The Double Attraction Paradox is a podcast series that teaches adolescents how to navigate attraction through body language, limerence, and mirroring while understanding the psychology behind emotional connection. It is a manuscript that combines personal experience, observations, and research, inspired by Rem Jaen D. Krafft's high school crush. Not only does it provide a guide for teenagers and young adults, but it also encourages readers to better understand attraction, communication, and emotional development. The final chapter examines how peer pressure, traditional high school cliques, fear of rejection, and fear of intimacy may influence societal norms, emotional contagion, and relationship formation …

Acute Intermittent Hypoxia And Acute Intermittent Hypercapnic Hypoxia Elicit Cortico-Diaphragmatic Plasticity In People With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury, Alysha Bogard, Michela Mir, Tommy Sutor, Jessica Dunn, Kathryn Cavka, Arian Vistamehr, Hannah Snyder, Joseph Welch, Jayakrishnan Nair, Gina Brunetti, Gordon Mitchell, Emily Fox

Department of Physical Therapy Faculty Papers

Respiratory impairment is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after spinal cord injury (SCI), highlighting the need for interventions that improve breathing function. In people with SCI, acute intermittent hypoxia (AIH) elicits respiratory motor plasticity and improves inspiratory function. However, in uninjured people facilitation of corticospinal diaphragm motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude occurs only when AIH is combined with mild hypercapnia (acute intermittent hypercapnic hypoxia; AIHH). It remains unclear whether AIHH similarly enhances diaphragm corticospinal excitability after SCI. We tested the hypothesis that AIHH increases diaphragm MEP amplitude and reduces MEP onset latency in individuals with chronic SCI, whereas …

Interpretable Machine Learning Of Plasma Proteomics Reveals Stage-Specific Signatures Across The Alzheimer's Disease Continuum, Hemshankar Laugi

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

Alzheimer’s pathology begins years before clinical symptoms, starting early with amyloid-β accumulation, followed by tau deposition and neurodegeneration. Although existing tools, such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) screening and PET/MRI imaging, can accurately track disease progression, they are invasive, expensive, and not scalable for population-level screening. So, there is a growing interest in using blood-based plasma biomarkers as a scalable alternative. While recent studies demonstrate strong predictive performance with plasma biomarkers, most rely on a small set of canonical blood-based protein biomarkers such as amyloid-β, p-tau, and neurofilament light. These biomarkers primarily reflect downstream brain pathology and may fail to capture …

Intrathecal (G4c2)149 Delivery In C9orf72-Deficient Mice Yields Mild Motor Dysfunction And Als/Ftd Pathological Hallmarks, Katelyn Russell, Amelia Shahrabi, Suleyman Akerman, Matthew D. Byrne, Jeffrey Rothstein, Davide Trotti, Brigid Jensen, Aaron Haeusler

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

A repeat expansion in C9ORF72 is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), yet existing mouse models incompletely engage spinal regions implicated in disease. Here, an adeno-associated virus encoding (G4C2)149 repeats was delivered via neonatal intrathecal injection, achieving widespread CNS expression with robust spinal cord targeting. This approach was applied to mice with graded loss of endogenous C9orf72 to interrogate both gain- and loss-of-function mechanisms. Longitudinal motor, behavioral, and pathological analyses revealed that repeat expression primarily drives mild, progressive muscle weakness, whereas coordination deficits were largely genotype dependent. Subtle gait abnormalities and hyperactivity …

Children With Cerebellar Malformations And Co-Occurring Autism: A Phenomenological Study Exploring Challenges Faced With The Dual Diagnosis Process, Service Acquisition, And Psychosocial Impacts, Ladeana W. Gambill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parents of children who have been diagnosed with cerebellar malformations, such as Dandy-Walker Malformation, often face confusion and frustration as they are given uncertain prognoses about their child’s future. The uncertainty is further compounded when there are concerns for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and testing is sought, with conflicting answers on whether their child has autism or not. Acquisition of autism-specialty services may be delayed if a diagnosis of autism is not received in a timely manner. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences and challenges faced by parents of children with cerebellar malformations …

Off-Label Neuroimaging, Jane C. Moriarty

Law Faculty Publications

The growth of neuroimaging evidence in the courtroom is consistent with the increased reliance on technical and machine-based specialties at trial. Litigants routinely seek to introduce neuroimaging evidence in both civil and criminal trials to supplement traditional medical, psychiatric, and psychological opinion testimony. A substantial portion of neuroimaging evidence is still in the developmental stage—what I term “off-label neuroimaging.” Unsurprisingly, evaluating the reliability of developing neuroimaging poses challenging questions for gatekeeping courts. Among the complex evidentiary issues neuroimaging presents for courts and litigants, this Article considers one foundational question: How should courts determine whether neuroimaging evidence is sufficiently reliable for …

Invisible Shipwrecks And Neurological Endangerment: The Trade-Off In Seeking Asylum - Reframing The Neurobiological Cost Of Forced Migration, Eisha Giran

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Forced migration along the Spain–Morocco route represents one of the most visible humanitarian crises of the twenty-first century, yet its neurological dimensions remain insufficiently examined. This paper investigates how prolonged displacement and trauma reshape neural systems involved in stress regulation, memory, and emotional processing. It introduces the concept of neurological endangerment, defined as a condition of prolonged and inescapable threat exposure during forced migration in which stress-response systems remain chronically activated, opportunities for recovery are structurally constrained, and cumulative neurobiological risk persists beyond the period of immediate danger.

To address the gap between biological measurement and lived experience, this paper …

Preclinical Animal Modeling To Investigate Redox-Mediated Molecular Dysfunction In Traumatic Brain Injury, Brandon Z. Mcdonald

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Impacts associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) induce a multitude of neurological morbidities mediated by a spread of biochemical dysfunction. Redox stress is a significant contributor to TBI pathophysiology and several redox stress markers have substantial evidence to support their role in diagnosing preclinical and clinical TBI. However, there is a critical need to verify their translational utility through correlations with behavioral, imaging, and molecular modalities. In chapter two, we examined the therapeutic efficacy of an antioxidant treatment (NPC3) using a controlled cortical impact (CCI) mouse model of TBI. NPC3 alleviated glial expression and reactivity while influencing the expression of …

Clinical And Demographic Characteristics Of Hospitalized Patients With Xylazine-Related Wounds, Elizabeth Novick, Nikhil Seval, Dagan Coppock, Mollie Tucker, Daniel Taupin, John Zurlo, Carolyn Kramer

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the demographic and clinical features of patients with xylazine-related wounds. We sought to characterize hospitalized patients with substance use disorder (SUD) and xylazine-related wounds seen for infectious diseases consultation.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 193 patients diagnosed with SUD at 3 Philadelphia hospitals between October 2023 and January 2024. Patients were identified as either being diagnosed with (n=73) or without (n=120) xylazine-related wounds. We compared the demographic and clinical features between the 2 groups.

RESULTS: Patients diagnosed with wounds were younger ( P < 0.001), more likely to be White or Hispanic and less likely to be Black/AA ( P < 0.001), more likely to have tested positive for fentanyl ( P < 0.001), amphetamines ( P < 0.001), and cocaine ( P 0.001), more likely to acknowledge injection ( P < 0.001), and more likely to leave the hospital by patient-directed discharge (PDD) ( P < 0.001). Most patients had multiple wounds (75%), and more than half (53%) had at least one wound greater than 10 cm at its widest dimension. Although most patients diagnosed with wounds received antibiotics, many did not have symptoms or signs of infection.

CONCLUSIONS: Xylazine-related wounds are highly associated with illicitly manufactured …

Adventitial Macrophage Accumulation Impairs Perivascular Nerve Function In Mesenteric Arteries With Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Elizabeth A. Grunz, Benjamin W. Jones, Olubodun Michael Lateef, Sidharth Sen, Katie Wilkinson, Trupti Joshi, Erika M. Boerman

Biomedical Sciences

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease involves aberrant immune responses and is associated with both cardiovascular disease risk and altered intestinal blood flow. However, little is known about how inflammatory bowel disease affects regulation of perivascular nerves that mediate blood flow. Previous work found perivascular nerve function is impaired in mesenteric arteries with Inflammatory bowel disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanism of impaired perivascular nerve function.

Methods: RNA sequencing was performed on mesenteric arteries from IL10−/− mice treated with H. hepaticus to induce disease (inflammatory bowel disease) or left non-gavaged (Control). For all other studies, Control and …

A Case For Mtor Pathway Screening In Early Epilepsy Diagnosis, David Seamons

Student Works

Mutations in the mTOR pathway can give rise to epileptic seizures in patients. While a variety of antiepileptic drugs are available to treat epilepsy, a large proportion of patients will experience refractory seizures (Chen et al., 2018). Additionally, patients with mTOR-related epilepsy may experience reduced efficacy in traditional therapeutic options to treat seizures (French et al., 2016; Hadzsiev et al., 2023; Kato et al., 2022; Moloney et al., 2023). Mutations resulting in mTOR-related epilepsy are genetically inherited; however, some variability in family histories of epilepsy may be due to second-hit somatic mutations in focal areas of the brain (Dawson et …

Medial Prefrontal Cortical Ensembles Direct Behavior In Response To Competing Needs, Francesca H. Schaub, Kaelin S. Mccaffrey, Madison A. Rohr, Olivia L. Belt, Emma N. Morley, Claire Kelly, Noah A. Ashby, Alonie L. Ashley

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Clec7a Deficiency Affects Cerebellar Microglia Development And Purkinje Cell Axon Myelination, Olivia Barbarini, Grace Belt, Lauren Bedford, Julia Carson, Kayla Fordyce, Michael Martinez, Lindsay Walsh

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Music Tempo And Genre On Attention Mediated By Arousal, Ethan Moore, Kenneth Diaz, Emily Faenza, Jenna Gomez-Nieto, Crismar Ramos Marti

Neuroscience Program Student Scholarship

This study investigates how music genre and tempo influence attention mediated by arousal. The Yerkes-Dodson law tells us that high arousal increases performance levels on simple tasks. We hypothesized that higher arousal levels will enhance performance on an hour-long Lexical Decision Task. Thirty-six participants were categorized into six groups: Country, Jazz, or Metronome at high and low tempos. Attention was measured using accuracy, response times, and event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded via EEG. By controlling for verbal proficiency through TOWRE assessments, we aim to uncover the neural mechanisms linking musical components to cognitive processing.

Quantifying Sleep Wake Rhythms In The Hospital Environment With Digital Technologies, Carsten Skarke, Nadim El Jamal, Michael V. Genuardi, Thomas G. Brooks, Antonijo Mrčela, Nicholas F. Lahens, Makayla Cordoza, Sean Sarles, Amarachi Mbadugha, Dineth R. Karunamuni, Shikhar Gupta, Charles J. Bae, Amita Sehgal, Thomas P. Cappola, Jacob T. Gutsche, Pavan Atluri, Nimesh D. Desai, Michael A. Acker, Gregory R. Grant, Richard J. Schwab, Ilene M. Rosen, Garret A. Fitzgerald

Division of Cardiology Faculty Papers

Postoperative clinical care is prone to circadian desynchronization that may influence health outcomes. In an exploratory, feasibility-oriented and signal-exploration effort, we collected 1.8 million data points using 11 remote sensors during preoperative, in-hospital and post-discharge settings in 13 elective cardiac surgery patients (5.2% enrolled from 252 screened). We found that room traffic continued during nighttime with ≥1 visit/h. Sound levels exceeded the recommended 45 dBA threshold (51.9 ± 3.3 vs. 48.3 ± 4.2 dBA during nighttime). Brightness dropped at night (89.9 ± 87.7 to 3.7 ± 9.8 lux), but bright light exposures occurred. Ambient room temperature lacked sleep-inducing diurnal variability. …

Temporal Interference Stimulation Effectively Reduces Parkinsonian Beta Band Activity In A Computational Model Of The Basal Ganglia Network, Anna Stolle

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, leading to impaired motor function and disrupted basal ganglia activity. One of the most effective treatments is deep brain stimulation (DBS), which targets deep brain regions to restore abnormal firing patterns. However, DBS requires invasive surgery to implant electrodes, posing surgical risks and limiting accessibility. This has driven interest in non-invasive alternatives that achieve similar therapeutic outcomes. Transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) is a non-invasive technique delivering two high-frequency currents through scalp electrodes. These currents overlap to produce a low-frequency "beat" capable of reaching deep structures …

Transcranial Temporal Interference Stimulation Modulates Spike Timing Of Subthalamic Nucleus Neurons In A Computational Neuron Model, Kimberly Maldonado

25th Annual A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2026)

The established treatment for Parkinson’s disease is deep brain stimulation (DBS), an effective but invasive procedure requiring surgical implantation of electrodes. Transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) is a novel, noninvasive technique with potential to target deep brain regions. It applies two high-frequency currents with a slight offset through scalp electrodes, producing a low-frequency envelope that may modulate neuronal activity where the fields overlap. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is the favored DBS target in advanced Parkinson’s disease. While tTIS has been studied in humans, animals, and generic neuron models, no work has examined tTIS on optimized models of STN neurons. We …

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Risk Perceptions And Patient Burden, John William Glisson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional correlational study examined relationships among perceived environmental risk factors, depressive symptoms, and functional symptom burden in adults diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative condition with an unclear etiology, and some individuals attribute the diagnosis to environmental exposures such as pesticides or military service. The purpose of this study was to assess whether environmental risk perceptions were associated with depressive symptoms or functional impairment, and whether depressive symptoms were associated with functional status. Participants were recruited through online ALS support networks and advocacy organizations, resulting in a final sample of 145 adults …

Survivin And Caspases Coordinate Proteolytic Cleavage Of The Saga Chromatin Modifying Complex, Elinor Harrison, Alejandro Damian, Cj Talton

Medical Student Research Symposium

Title: Survivin and Caspases Coordinate Proteolytic Cleavage of the SAGA Chromatin Modifying Complex

Elinor Harrison¹, Alejandro Damian¹, CJ Talton¹, Jelly H Soffers¹, Abudu I Bello¹, Kara M Costanzo¹, Joe Bean¹, Ryan D Mohan¹

¹Wayne State University School of Medicine

Background: The Spt Ada Gcn5 Acetyltransferase (SAGA) chromatin modifying complex is a critical regulator of gene expression. Mutation or stoichiometric imbalance of SAGA subunits leads to a spectrum of diseases in model organisms and in humans, including neurodegeneration. SAGA contributes to gene activation through coordinated …

Assessing Functional Visual Recovery After Retinal Regeneration In Zebrafish Using The Optokinetic Response (Okr), Yeganeh Tabatabaei Alavi, Yeganeh Tabatabaei Alavi

Medical Student Research Symposium

Zebrafish have a unique ability to regenerate retinal neurons through Müller glia-mediated reprogramming, a process not found in mammals. While structural regeneration has been extensively documented, the degree to which regenerated photoreceptors restore functional vision remains unclear. The optokinetic response (OKR), a reflexive eye-tracking behavior triggered by moving visual stimuli, provides a quantitative, non-invasive method to assess visual performance. This study aims to determine whether photoreceptor regeneration following acute and chronic light-induced injury results in functional restoration of vision. Adult zebrafish will be divided into three groups: uninjured control, acute injury (short-term high-intensity light), and chronic injury (long-term low-intensity light). …

Exposure To Manganese During Juvenile Development Increases Microglial Activation In The Hippocampus Following Systemic Infection With A/California/04/2009 Influenza A H1n1 Virus, Megan Hager, Adam Schuller, Omar Yanouri, Collin Bantle, Richard Smeyne, Ronald Tjalkens

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Up to 80% of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) develop dementia within 20 years of diagnosis. Although the etiology of PD and related neurodegenerative disorders is poorly understood, risk factors including environmental toxicants and viral infections are linked to disease onset and progression. Exposure to high doses of the essential element, manganese (Mn), causes neurotoxicity associated with parkinsonian symptoms and cognitive impairment in humans. Additionally, epidemiologic studies indicate that viral infections increase risk of developing PD. Previously, our lab demonstrated that mice exposed to Mn during juvenile development showed greater neuroinflammatory changes in microglia within the substantia nigra following systemic …

Epigenetic Mechanisms For Mediating The Transmission Of Prenatal Maternal Stress And Associated Neurodevelopmental Outcomes, Kaylee Vis

Senior Honors Theses

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the primary stress response system responsible for regulating cortisol release. During pregnancy, maternal stress can dysregulate the HPA axis, leading to elevated cortisol and corticosterone levels that impact fetal development. Excessive prenatal exposure to stress has been associated with alterations in fetal brain structure and function, increasing the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and anxiety. Emerging research supports the idea that these neurodevelopmental effects may be transmitted through epigenetic mechanisms. However, a gap remains in the literature regarding the specific mechanism of interaction between environmental stressors, heritable epigenetic information, …

Factors Influencing Sex-Based Movement Patterns In The Banded Garden Spider, Argiope Trifasciata (Forskal, 1776), Brandon R. Marrone

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Movement is a fundamental ecological process shaping how individuals acquire mates, secure resources, and navigate heterogeneous landscapes. In species with extreme sexual size dimorphism (eSSD), such as the orb‑weaving spider Argiope trifasciata, males and females are predicted to experience different movement pressures driven by their reproductive roles. This thesis examines how individual traits and environmental conditions jointly influence movement across both sexes. Across two field seasons, we used intensive mark–recapture methods to quantify natural movement patterns of males and females within mapped prairie plots. The first chapter tested long‑standing predictions gravity hypothesis, which posits that smaller males benefit from …

Blink & Beat: Pupillometry Response In Autonomic Nervous System Monitoring, Ximena Castillo

2026 Spring Honors Capstones Projects

In the neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU), nurses rely on advanced monitoring tools to detect neurological deterioration. Two noninvasive measures, heart rate variability (HRV) and pupillary light reflex (PLR), are used to assess autonomic nervous system function; however, it remains unclear whether these indicators provide overlapping or distinct information. The purpose of this observational prospective study is to evaluate the relationship between HRV and quantitative pupillometry measurements to determine whether these noninvasive indicators provide congruent information. Data already collected as routine care from NSICU patients is extracted from the medical record for analysis. Understanding the correlation between HRV and PLR …

The Sentience Of The Horse And The Philosophy Of Natural Horsemanship: Implications For Hrd Leadership, Rob E. Carpenter

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper advances a biologically grounded philosophy of leadership through the lens of Natural Horsemanship. It reframes leadership as an embodied, sentient process rather than a purely cognitive or behavioral construct. Drawing from neuroscience, affective biology, sociology, and human resource development (HRD), it proposes that the horse–human relationship provides a living model for relational intelligence. The horse’s exquisite attunement to human emotion—mediated through limbic regulation and bio-behavioral synchrony—reveals that influence arises not from authority but from coherence. Leadership, like horsemanship, is a reciprocal act of co-regulation in which trust, safety, and communication are revealed through physiology before language. By examining …