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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology

Histological Verification Of Electrode Placement In Single Unit Recorded Rats, Dana Lew May 2016

Histological Verification Of Electrode Placement In Single Unit Recorded Rats, Dana Lew

Honors Scholar Theses

The hippocampus is a region of the brain which plays a major role in encoding spatial and episodic memory. The hippocampus is divided in to two main subregions, dorsal and ventral. These subregions are connected, but their functional organization remains widely unknown. Place cells are cells of the hippocampus which fire in a specific spatial area and help create a mental map of our surroundings. Place cells have been seen to remain constant during slight fluctuations in surroundings, but completely remap in response to large fluctuations in the environment. There is little known about the relatively few place cells in …


An In Vivo Study Of The Effects Of Perinatal Caffeine Exposure On Synaptic Efficacy In The Hippocampus Of Freely Moving Adult Rats, Jee Eun Park Apr 2016

An In Vivo Study Of The Effects Of Perinatal Caffeine Exposure On Synaptic Efficacy In The Hippocampus Of Freely Moving Adult Rats, Jee Eun Park

Senior Theses and Projects

The synapse from the perforant path to the dentate gyrus has been widely used successfully to demonstrate long-term potentiation, a cellular model underlying learning and memory. Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed psychoactive stimulants in the world. Caffeine consumption increases in alertness, improvements in motor skills, and neurological functions, and these effects have promoted its use throughout history. Although the many short term cognitive benefits of caffeine intake are well understood, the long term effects of caffeine exposure have been widely disputed. Despite this, it is estimated that over 80% of women continue to consume caffeine throughout pregnancy. …


Insular Cortex Lesions And Morphine-Induced Suppression Of Conditioned Stimulus Intake In The Rat, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Insular Cortex Lesions And Morphine-Induced Suppression Of Conditioned Stimulus Intake In The Rat, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

The present experiment examined the influence of insular cortex (IC) lesions on the intake of a taste stimulus in a consummatory procedure that used morphine as the unconditioned stimulus. In normal rats, morphine caused a rapid reduction in saccharin intake when the taste was novel but not when it was familiar. Irrespective of stimulus novelty, morphine had little influence on the saccharin consumption of IC-lesioned rats. The results are discussed in terms of a lesion-induced disruption of (i) a reward comparison mechanism and (ii) the perception of taste novelty.


Taste, Olfactory And Trigeminal Neophobia In Rats With Forebrain Lesions, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Justin St. Andre, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Taste, Olfactory And Trigeminal Neophobia In Rats With Forebrain Lesions, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Justin St. Andre, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

The present study was designed to examine whether lesions of the insular cortex (IC; Experiment 1), the basolateral amygdala (BLA) or medial amygdala (MeA; Experiment 2) influence the neophobic reactions to orally consumed liquid stimuli. Three different types of stimuli were used: taste (0.5% saccharin), olfactory (0.1% amyl acetate), and trigeminal (0.01 mM capsaicin). Rats with IC, BLA and MeA lesions showed normal responses to the olfactory and trigeminal stimuli. Each type of lesion, however, disrupted the initial occurrence of neophobia to the taste stimulus. The significance of these findings to conditioned taste aversion is discussed.


Taste-Potentiated Odor Aversion Learning In Rats With Lesions Of The Insular Cortex, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Taste-Potentiated Odor Aversion Learning In Rats With Lesions Of The Insular Cortex, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

The current study assessed the influence of excitotoxic lesions of the insular cortex (IC) on tastepotentiated odor aversion (TPOA) learning. Water-deprived rats initially received a single odortoxicosis or odor/taste-toxicosis pairing and were subsequently tested, in separate trials, with the odor and the taste stimulus. Indicating TPOA, neurologically intact rats conditioned with the odor/taste compound stimulus acquired significantly stronger odor aversions than normal rats conditioned with the odor stimulus. IC lesions disrupted TPOA, conditioned taste aversion and taste neophobia. The finding that taste did not potentiate odor aversion learning in the IC lesioned rats provides support for the “within-compound association” analysis …


Taste Neophobia And C-Fos Expression In The Rat Brain, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Joe Arthurs, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Taste Neophobia And C-Fos Expression In The Rat Brain, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Joe Arthurs, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

Taste neophobia refers to a reduction in consumption of a novel taste relative to when it is familiar. To gain more understanding of the neural basis of this phenomenon, the current study examined whether a novel taste (0.5% saccharin) supports a different pattern of c-Fos expression than the same taste when it is familiar. Results revealed that the taste of the novel saccharin solution evoked more Fos immunoreactivity than the familiar taste of saccharin in the basolateral region of the amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala, gustatory portion of the thalamus, and the gustatory insular cortex. No such differential expression …


Effects Of Insular Cortex Lesions On Conditioned Taste Aversion And Latent Inhibition In The Rat, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Effects Of Insular Cortex Lesions On Conditioned Taste Aversion And Latent Inhibition In The Rat, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

The present study tested the hypothesis that lesions of the insular cortex of the rat retard the acquisition of conditioned taste aversions (CTAs) because of an impairment in the detection of the novelty of taste stimuli. Demonstrating the expected latent inhibition effect, nonlesioned control subjects acquired CTAs more rapidly when the conditioned stimulus (0.15% sodium saccharin) was novel rather than familiar (achieved by pre-exposure to the to-be-conditioned taste cue). However, rats with insular cortex lesions acquired taste aversions at the same slow rate regardless of whether the saccharin was novel or familiar. The pattern of behavioural deficits obtained cannot be …


Morphine-Induced Suppression Of Conditioned Stimulus Intake: Effects Of Stimulus Type And Insular Cortex Lesions, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Morphine-Induced Suppression Of Conditioned Stimulus Intake: Effects Of Stimulus Type And Insular Cortex Lesions, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

Intake of an unconditionally preferred taste stimulus (e.g., saccharin) is reduced by contingent administration of a drug of abuse (e.g., morphine). We examined the influence of insular cortex (IC) lesions on morphine-induced suppression of an olfactory cue and two taste stimuli with different levels of perceived innate reward value. Two major findings emerged from this study. First, morphine suppressed intake of an aqueous odor as well as each taste stimulus in neurologically intact rats. Second, IC lesions disrupted morphine-induced suppression of the taste stimuli but not the aqueous odor cue. These results indicate that the perceived innate reward value of …


Basolateral Amygdala And Morphine-Induced Taste Avoidance In The Rat, Jamie Lovaglio, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Basolateral Amygdala And Morphine-Induced Taste Avoidance In The Rat, Jamie Lovaglio, Jian-You Lin, Christopher T. Roman, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

The present experiment examined the influence of excitotoxic lesions of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) on morphine-induced saccharin avoidance. Neurologically intact subjects rapidly learned to avoid drinking the taste conditioned stimulus (CS), an effect that was sustained throughout the experiment. Although the BLA-lesioned (BLAX) rats showed CS avoidance over the first few trials, the effect was not sustained. That is, by the end of the experiment, the BLAX rats were drinking the same amount of saccharin after seven saccharin-morphine trials as they did on the first trial (i.e., prior to the morphine injections). Potential interpretations of the results are discussed including …


Conditioned Taste Aversion And Latent Inhibition Following Extensive Taste Preexposure In Rats With Insular Cortex Lesions, Christopher T. Roman, Jian-You Lin, Steve Reilly Mar 2016

Conditioned Taste Aversion And Latent Inhibition Following Extensive Taste Preexposure In Rats With Insular Cortex Lesions, Christopher T. Roman, Jian-You Lin, Steve Reilly

Christopher Roman

Lesions of the insular cortex (IC) attenuate acquisition of conditioned taste aversions (CTAs). We have suggested that this impairment is the expected consequence of a failure of IC-lesioned (ICX) rats to recognize unfamiliar taste stimuli as novel. That is, ICX rats treat novel taste stimuli as if they are familiar and as a result show a latent inhibition-like retardation of learning. This account anticipates that ICX rats should acquire CTAs at the same slow rate as normal rats that are familiar with the taste stimulus. The present experiment confirmed this hypothesis in a design that compared CTA acquisition in normal …


Role Of The Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, In Inhibition Of Sensory Neurite Regeneration, Madison Klump, Umang Khandpur, Chris Calulot, Adrian Centers, Diane M. Snow Jan 2016

Role Of The Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, Neurocan, In Inhibition Of Sensory Neurite Regeneration, Madison Klump, Umang Khandpur, Chris Calulot, Adrian Centers, Diane M. Snow

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

In the adult mammalian brain and spinal cord, neuronal injury results in failed neurite regeneration, in part due to the up-regulation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs). CSPGs are molecules consisting of a protein core with covalently bound glycosaminoglycans (GAGS), specifically, chondroitin sulfate side-chains. The majority of CSPGs produced after injury originate from reactive astrocytes found in the glial scar surrounding the injury site. Although this milieu is very complex and involves more than just CSPGs, axonal regrowth may be improved if the expression of specific, highly inhibitory CSPGs produced after injury were attenuated selectively. Neurocan is one type of CSPG …


The Use Of Doublecortin To Quantify The Effects Of Pharmacological Treatment On Neurogenesis And Functional Recovery After Stroke, Amber Lee Hensley Jan 2016

The Use Of Doublecortin To Quantify The Effects Of Pharmacological Treatment On Neurogenesis And Functional Recovery After Stroke, Amber Lee Hensley

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Ischemic strokes account for 87% of all strokes and can have debilitating effects on language, sensory, and motor skills. Currently, tPA is the only medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of ischemic stroke, but the window of time to administer the drug is very small. In this thesis, we investigate the use of a simvastatin and fluoxetine drug combination (FS) as a possible treatment for ischemic stroke victims. To analyze the effects of FS on neurogenesis and functional recovery, we utilize the Montoya Staircase and quantify the amount of neurogenesis using doublecortin. Although the results of this study …


Chronic Stress Potentiates The Response To Intra-Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis (Bnst) Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide (Pacap) Infusion., Steven Bradley King Jan 2016

Chronic Stress Potentiates The Response To Intra-Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis (Bnst) Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide (Pacap) Infusion., Steven Bradley King

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Chronic or repeated exposure to stressful stimuli can result in several maladaptive consequences, including increased anxiety-like behaviors and altered peptide expression in brain structures involved in emotion. Among these structures, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has been implicated in emotional behaviors as well as regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity. In rodents, chronic variate stress (CVS) has been shown to increase BNST pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and its cognate PAC1 receptor transcript, and BNST PACAP signaling may mediate the maladaptive changes associated with chronic stress. In order to determine whether chronic stress would potentiate the …