Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Ethanol-Induced Alterations To Astrocytic Glutamate Transporter Mrna Expression In The Mpfc Of Adult Mice, Zachary Evans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is one of several brain structures that is contained in the mesolimbocortical pathway and controls many processes involved in alcohol use disorder (AUD). There is vast glutamatergic output from the mPFC to other mesolimbocortical regions; neuroplastic changes to this system are believed to be closely tied to the development and maintenance of AUD. Astrocytes are key regulators of glutamatergic transmission through their uptake of excess glutamate from the synapse and recycling back into neurons. Ethanol (EtOH) alters the expression of astrocytic genes that encode for transporters that control glutamate homeostasis; these include the glutamate transporter-1 …

Dissecting The Tissue-Specific Contributions To Seizures, Cardiorespiratory Dysfunction, And Sudden Death In The Kv1.1 Mouse Model Of Epilepsy Using Conditional Knockout Approaches, Kelsey Paulhus

Biological Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), the primary cause of mortality in epilepsy, remains poorly understood. Studies suggest seizures may trigger dangerous signals affecting the heart and lungs leading to collapse and death. The Kv1.1 deficiency mouse model mirrors clinical SUDEP cases, showing spontaneous seizures, cardiorespiratory issues, and premature death. However, this model lacks regional specificity in Kv1.1 deletion, hindering insights into SUDEP’s mechanisms and anatomical substrates.

This dissertation employs three distinct conditional knockout (cKO) techniques to investigate the individual roles for the forebrain, brainstem, and heart in SUDEP related phenotypes. The findings reveal that the forebrain alone can trigger …

Associations Between Early Childhood Sleep, Memory Function, And Brain Development Across The Nap Transition, Sanna Lokhandwala

Doctoral Dissertations

Preschool-age children often distribute their sleep across a midday nap and overnight sleep. Skipping the nap is suggested to increase the duration and depth of deep sleep (i.e., slow wave activity; SWA). Moreover, missing the midday nap has been shown to impair learning processes. This may be because children’s brains at this point in development are immature, necessitating the intervening nap period to strengthen memories before they are forgotten. Nonetheless, at some point during the preschool years, many children begin transitioning naturally out of napping. It is unclear whether the memory benefits of overnight SWA after a skipped nap depend …

Frontoparietal Circuitry Underlying Saccade Control In The Common Marmoset, Janahan Selvanayagam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Our visual world is full of far more stimuli than can be processed simultaneously. Yet we are able to efficiently extract behaviourally relevant information from a scene, primarily by performing rapid saccadic eye movements. These processes are under the control the frontoparietal network, two critical nodes of which are: the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) and the frontal eye fields (FEF). Extensive research in the macaque has causally implicated these areas in visual attention and oculomotor control. However, the organization of the activity of single neurons in these areas across cortical layers remains poorly understood as these regions are deep within …

Elucidating Neuroinflammation In Multiple Sclerosis By Network Analysis, Nora C. Welsh

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a heterogeneous disease, differing on many variables, including disease course, sex, and overall activity. Key characteristics of the disease encompass demyelination, axonal damage, neuronal loss, glial cell activation, and the infiltration of peripheral immune cells. Molecular proxies of these functions are secreted proteins, including cytokines and immunoglobulins, which, in the central nervous system (CNS), can be secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). A detailed analysis of these secreted proteins can offer insights into the evolving immunological and neurodegenerative features as the disease progresses. To understand the dynamic biological processes involved in MS, I used network analysis …

Outclimbing Cognitive Decline: Age, Western Diet, Resistance Exercise, And The Brain., Leila Dzinic

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Increased age and obesity diminish motivation, perseverance, and spatial memory function. Aerobic exercise interventions have successfully rescued some of these processes. However, in older and heavier populations aerobic exercise is not as sustainable due to high risk of injury. Resistance exercise consists of physical activity where maximum oxygen consumption is not increased and has been proposed as a safe and effective intervention for this population. Here, we used touchscreen-based cognitive testing to elucidate the influence of resistance exercise on motivation and spatial memory in aged, diet-induced obese mice, using a water restriction procedure I develop in Chapter 2. Mice underwent …

Effects Of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Metamemory Vary By Task Difficulty, Tiffanie T. Li

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metamemory is broadly defined as the awareness of one’s memory and consists, in part, of a process referred to as monitoring, where one is assessing the contents of their memory. Feeling of knowing (FOK) is one metamemory monitoring judgment where one rates how strongly they believe they will remember a currently unrecalled item. Prior work has shown that HighDefinition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) led to greater metamemory accuracy and that HD-tDCS over the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) led to better recall for medium difficulty questions. Other work has also shown that effects …

Methamphetamine-Induced Dna Double-Stranded Breaks: The Impact Of The Dopamine Transporter And Insights Into The Mechanisms Of Dna Damage In Mouse Neuro 2a Cells, Lizette Couto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse remains a global health concern, with emerging evidence highlighting its genotoxic potential. In the central nervous system METH enters dopaminergic cells primarily through the dopamine transporter (DAT), which controls the dynamics of dopamine (DA) neurotransmission by driving the reuptake of extracellular DA into the presynaptic neuronal cell. Additional effects of METH on the storage of DA in synaptic vesicles lead to the dysregulated cytosolic accumulation of DA. Previous studies have shown that after METH disrupts intracellular vesicular stores of DA, the excess DA in the cytosol is rapidly oxidized. This generates an abundance of reactive oxygen species …

The Role Of Glutamate In The Medial Prefrontal Cortex In The Acquistion And Expression Of Conditioned Approach, Rudolf Nisanov

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A series of experiments were conducted to assess the role of glutamatergic stimulation in the dorsal and ventral regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in both the acquisition and expression of reward-related learning using a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm, the conditioned-approach paradigm. Rats with surgically implanted cannulas were exposed to Pavlovian conditioning sessions that occurred on three alternative days (acquisition) or seven consecutive days (expression). These 60-min conditioning sessions consisted of 30 pairings of light (CS) and food pellets (US) presented under a random time schedule. After a two-day break, rats underwent a session with no CS or US and …

The Divided Self: Internal Conflict In Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, And Neuroscience, Yulia Greyman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thematic project examines the notion of self-division, particularly in terms of the conflict between cognition and metacognition, across the fields of philosophy, psychology, and, most recently, the cognitive and neurosciences. The project offers a historic overview of models of self-division, as well as analyses of the various problems presented in theoretical models to date. This work explores how self-division has been depicted in the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe, Don DeLillo, and Mary Shelley. It examines the ways in which artistic renderings alternately assimilate, resist, and/or critique dominant philosophical, psychological, and scientific discourses about the self and its …

A Causal Inference Approach For Spike Train Interactions, Zach Saccomano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1960s, neuroscientists have worked on the problem of estimating synaptic properties, such as connectivity and strength, from simultaneously recorded spike trains. Recent years have seen renewed interest in the problem coinciding with rapid advances in experimental technologies, including an approximate exponential increase in the number of neurons that can be recorded in parallel and perturbation techniques such as optogenetics that can be used to calibrate and validate causal hypotheses about functional connectivity. This thesis presents a mathematical examination of synaptic inference from two perspectives: (1) using in vivo data and biophysical models, we ask in what cases the …

Neurochemical Signaling Of Reward-Based Learning In Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons, Kyla F. Wholley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons signal and participate in reward-related learning. Specifically, dopamine is postulated to encode reward-related environmental stimuli to compute reward prediction errors (RPEs). It is through the computation and maintenance of RPEs that learning occurs. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie how dopamine neurons compute RPEs and facilitate reward-related learning. The present study utilized fiber photometry in conjunction with a Pavlovian reward-based task to identify how GABA inputs to VTA dopamine neurons contribute to the computation of RPEs and reward-based behavior. Activity of GABA inputs to VTA dopamine neurons increased for reward-predicting …

The Relationship Between Cognitive Impairment In Psychiatric Patients And Readmission Rate To An Inpatient Facility, Cherilyn Isis Schuff

Theses and Dissertations

The primary intention of this study was to further understand the impact of assessing cognitive impairment in psychiatric patients, as a mediating factor on readmission rates. Mild cognitive dysfunction impacts a patient’s functional outcomes (Bowie & Harvey, 2006; Davis et al., 2012; Marcantonio, et al., 2001). Little information exists to guide best practices in the treatment of adults with cognitive impairment who are hospitalized for acute conditions (Davis et al., 2012). A cognitive impairment may impact patient prognosis and ability to function outside of a setting focused on stabilization. Neuropsychological testing is a valuable tool in predicting a patient’s cognitive …

Exploring A Gene Panel For Parkinson’S Disease In An Egyptian Cohort, Asmaa Saeed Gabr

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease is a highly heterogeneous disorder characterized by diverse neuropathological features, clinical presentations and progression patterns. In Egypt, Parkinson’s disease incidence rates lie outside the range reported elsewhere. The genetic background to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease has been postulated for a long time. However, Parkinson’s disease has never been systematically investigated in Egypt. This study aimed to explore genetic variants and interactions that are associated with the familial and sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease in an Egyptian cohort. This includes examining variants in PD-related genes, exploring the role of specific genes like MAPT and adjacent genomic regions, and …

Changes In Flanker Task Performance Following High-Intensity Exercise In Endurance Athletes, Felix E. Cottet-Puinel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Executive function performance following acute aerobic exercise can be influenced by multiple variables. However, little is known about the lasting effects of these exercise-induced changes. This study aimed to determine the extent to which exercise intensity impacts executive function. 14 young endurance-trained adults (5 female, 9 male) performed an Eriksen flanker task before and immediately after running high-intensity until failure and isochronal moderate-intensity (~12 min). Pre- to post-exercise-induced changes in reaction time (ms), accuracy (%), and self-reported mental effort (1-9 rating) were analyzed by overall tasks and through tasks subsections. Results showed improvement in reaction time following high- and moderate-intensity …

Target Selection And Enhancement During Attentional Tracking, Marvin R. Maechler

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

At any waking moment, we are bombarded with more sensory information than we can fully process. Attention is necessary to deal with the dynamic world we live in. One fundamental function of vision and attention is to keep track of moving objects, but what are the targets of attention during tracking?

One of the first theories of attentional tracking predicted that targets would be selected at early processing stages. By employing the double-drift illusion, which dissociates physical and perceived positions of moving objects, we investigated which of these positions is selected for tracking. Contrary to earlier theories and in line …

Puberty-Associated Changes In Kiss1r, Mc3r, And Mc4r In The Ewe, Ashleigh Caitlyn Thomson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The neural mechanisms that control the onset of puberty are not completely understood. In livestock, the onset of puberty relies on an increase in gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin neurons (KNDy) and their receptors, Kiss1r, NK3R, and KOR, respectively, are important regulators of puberty. Previous data from our laboratory has shown that KNDy neurons may be responding to other inputs, including the melanocortin system, that will affect the timing of puberty. Given this, we examined kisspeptin receptor (Kiss1r) mRNA expression in GnRH neurons as well as examining melanocortin 3 and 4 receptor …

The Combinatorial Effects Of Temperature And Salinity On The Nervous System Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, Katrina Carrier

Honors Projects

The ability of nervous systems to maintain function when exposed to global perturbations in temperature and salinity is a non-trivial task. The nervous system of the American lobster (H. americanus), a marine osmoconformer and poikilotherm, must be robust to these stressors, as they frequently experience fluctuations in both. I characterized the effects of temperature on the output of the pyloric circuit, a central pattern generator in the stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) that controls food filtration and established the maximum temperature that neurons in this circuit can withstand without “crashing” (ceasing to function but recovering when returned to normal …

Modulation Of The Stretch Feedback Pathway In The Cardiac Neuromuscular System Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, Karin Van Hassel

Honors Projects

The cardiac ganglion (CG) is a central pattern generator, a neural network that, when activated, produces patterned motor outputs such as breathing and walking. The CG induces the heart contractions of the American lobster, Homarus americanus, making the lobster heart neurogenic. In the American lobster, the CG is made up of nine neurons: four premotor pacemaker neurons that send signals to five motor neurons, causing bursts of action potentials from the motor neurons. These bursts cause cardiac muscle contractions that vary in strength based on the burst duration, frequency, and pattern.

The activity of the CG is modulated by feedback …

Neural Compensation In Response To Salinity Perturbation In The Cardiac Ganglion Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, Josephine P. Tidmore

Honors Projects

Central pattern generator (CPG) networks produce the rhythmic motor patterns that underlie critical behaviors such as breathing, walking, and heartbeat. The fidelity of these neural circuits in response to fluctuations in environmental conditions is essential for organismal survival. The specific ion channel profile of a neuron dictates its electrophysiological phenotype and is under homeostatic control, as channel proteins are constantly turning over in the membrane in response to internal and external stimuli. Neuronal function depends on ion channels and biophysical processes that are sensitive to external variables such as temperature, pH, and salinity. Nonetheless, the nervous system of the American …

Modulation Of The Crustacean Cardiac Neuromuscular System By The Sly Neuropeptide Family, Grant Griesman

Honors Projects

Central pattern generators (CPGs) are neuronal networks that produce rhythmic motor output in the absence of sensory stimuli. Invertebrate CPGs are valuable models of neural circuit dynamics and neuromodulation because they continue to generate fictive activity in vitro. For example, the cardiac ganglion (CG) of the Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) and American lobster (Homarus americanus) contains nine electrochemically coupled neurons that fire bursts of action potentials to trigger a heartbeat. The CG is modulated by neuropeptides, amines, small molecule transmitters, gases, and mechanosensory feedback pathways that enable flexibility and constrain output. One such modulator, the …

The Complexity Behind The Genetics Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Júlia Braga Kenyon

Honors Theses

It is suggested that more than 600 genes are associated with ASD. Given the high number of potential ASD-linked genes and that the disorder is a complex spectrum, categorization of the ASD-linked genetic alterations will be useful in the attempt to determine a pattern that can ultimately assist in developing genetic risk factor analysis for the disorder. This thesis aims to analyze the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms that are impacted by such ASD-linked gene alterations and how they may give rise to ASD behaviors. By making this connection, this thesis aims to shine a light on the plausible cellular …

Calcium And Proteasomal Regulation Of Er-To-Golgi Protein Transport In Neurons, Samuel A. Galindo

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Regulatory mechanisms of protein trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are critical to understand since neurodegenerative diseases involve defects in this process leading to chronic ER stress and cell death. This study aimed to better understand the calcium regulatory mechanisms of ER-to-Golgi trafficking in hybrid neuroglioblastoma cells (NG108). Specifically, we asked whether proteasomal degradation of transport machinery was involved in the previously demonstrated upregulation of ER-to-Golgi transport evoked by calcium signaling. Based upon previous literature, we believe that the calcium induced increase in transport is due to the activation of the calcium sensitive regulatory protein apoptosis linked gene 2 (ALG-2) …

Traumatic Brain Injury Induces Cerebrovascular Dysfunction: Consequences For Ischemia And Cerebral Hypoperfusion, Bailey J. Whitehead

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant health concern across the United States as well as the broader globe, affecting millions of individuals on an annual basis. While most recover from their TBI and resume their lives normally, some subsets of TBI survivors continue to experience impairments and increased risk for future diseases like cardiovascular disease, stroke, and aging related disease like Alzheimer’s Disease or VCID.

TBI remains a fundamentally difficult neurological injury to pin down mechanistically, due to the variability in severity, timing, and age of patient, among other factors. One significant factor in the pathology has consistently been …

Structural And Functional Consequences Of Pde6 Prenylation In Rod And Cone Photoreceptors, Faezeh Moakedi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) serves as a pivotal component in the phototransduction pathways of both cone and rod photoreceptors. In cones, PDE6 consists of tetrameric subunits: inhibitory (γ') and catalytic (α'). The catalytic subunit, PDE6α', contains a C-terminal prenylation motif. Deletion of this motif is associated with achromatopsia (ACHM), a form of color blindness. The mechanisms underlying the disease and the roles of PDE6 lipidation in vision remain elusive. Meanwhile, rod PDE6 is composed of α and β catalytic subunits and γ inhibitory subunits, with alterations in the C-terminal "prenylation motif" of PDE6β linked to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) pathology. In this comprehensive …

Neurocinematics And Empathy: How Cognitive Neuroscience Enhances Our Understanding Of Emotional Responses Of Film, Kira Trinity

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Cinema is a medium that is beloved around the globe since its inception over a century ago. There have been speculations on how it is that cinema works, from editing to emotional processing of the story, but only recently have we begun to explore the inner workings of cinematic impact on the brain. In this paper we will review research on cinematic impact and define cinematic editing, discuss the birth of “neurocinematics”, highlight what we have observed with regards to neuroimaging and empathy when viewing films, and speculate on how our responses to cinema may be driven by the Mirror …

Exercise As A Natural Kappa Opioid Receptor Antagonist To Treat Binge Drinking Withdrawal, Eleanor Wind

Honors Theses

Binge drinking is a major concern, especially among college students. Positive results have been demonstrated in clinical trials that utilized exercise to treat alcohol use disorder, but questions remain regarding the type of exercise and how it should be administered across ages and sexes. Studies using animal models have investigated the neurobiological mechanisms of this treatment to improve understanding of how to implement it. One of the mechanisms under investigation is the endogenous opioid system, specifically the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) subtype. Previous research has demonstrated that exercise treatment concurrent with ethanol exposure attenuated an ethanol-induced increase in KOR receptor …

Characterizing Resting Cerebral Blood Flow In Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder With Arterial Spin Labeling, Hannah R. Wild

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition characterized by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and ritualistic behaviors (compulsions) profoundly impacting daily functioning and quality of life. Neuroimaging studies using various techniques have revealed inconsistent resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns in OCD patients, particularly within the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit and sensorimotor network. Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) MRI offers a promising, noninvasive method for directly measuring rCBF. This study, using data from the Yale HCP Trio study, analyzed unmedicated OCD patients and healthy controls, who underwent two consecutive resting pulsed-ASL scans. OCD patients with lower obsessional severity exhibited higher perfusion in the pre- and …

When Brain Meets Artificial Intelligence, Lu Zhang

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations

When we review the history of development of artificial intelligence (AI), we will find that brain science plays a pivotal role in fostering breakthroughs in AI, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs). Today, AI has made remarkable strides, particularly with the emergence of large language models (LLMs), surpassing expectations and achieving human-level performance in certain tasks. Nonetheless, an insurmountable gap remains between AI and human intelligence. It is urgent to establish a bridge between brain science and AI, promoting their mutual enhancement and collaborations. This involve establishing connections from brain science to AI (brain-inspired AI), and reversely, from AI to …

Developmental Stress Signaling And Substance Use: Cortisol Reactivity Moderates The Effect Of Early Life Adversity On Alcohol Misuse Behaviors Among College Students, Keeley Lariviere

CMC Senior Theses

Stress-motivated drinking is common among college students facing increased independence and novel stressors. Early life adversity (ELA) as well as individual variation in neuroendocrine stress signaling significantly increase risk for alcohol misuse. Research on the relationships between ELA and the physiological stress response system, suggest that a dampened stress response may mediate the relations between ELA and alcohol misuse. However, other research has suggested that rather than acting as mediator, stress reactivity may interact (moderate) the relations between ELA and alcohol misuse. This study examined the associations between ELA, cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor, and self-reported alcohol misuse in …