Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Peptide Projections To The Central Nervous System Regions, Lauren Lepeak

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP) is a pleiotropic neuropeptide that has vast functions, ranging from behavioral, to endocrine, cardiovascular, and cellular, in which often these effects are biphasic. This paper will focus on the effects of PACAP within the central nervous system (CNS), specifically in response to stress and anxiety. PACAP has been extensively researched in terms of its effect on the stress response and is well-known for its effects in inducing anxiety-like behaviors. PACAP induces such effects through working in regions of the CNS such as the amygdala, hypothalamus, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Research …

Altered Fast Synaptic Transmission In An In Vitro Mouse Model Of Epileptic Encephalopathy, Matthew Mccabe

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Epileptic encephalopathies (EEs) are severe seizure disorders that occur in infants and young children, characterized by developmental delay, and cognitive decline. Recent efforts have identified a wide variety of genetic variants that cause EEs. Among these, variants in the DNM1 gene have emerged as definitive causes of EEs, including Infantile Spasms and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. A mouse model of Dnm1-associated EE, known as “Fitful” (Dnm1Ftfl), recapitulates key features of the disease, including spontaneous seizures, developmental delay, and neuronal degeneration. Previous work showed that Dnm1 is a key regulator of synaptic vesicle (SV) endocytosis and synaptic transmission, and suggested that inhibitory neurotransmission …

Finding Brain Predictors Of Psychostimulant Medication Use In Adhd Using Machine Learning, Zoe Irene Hulce

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Psychostimulant medication is the first line of treatment for Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Despite the prevalence of ADHD, there is a lack of understanding of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of the disorder and its pharmacological treatments. Existing neuroimaging research shows some consistent structural differences in ADHD, but it can be difficult to discern what is relevant. Machine learning algorithms present a novel way of analyzing a large amount of data by making predictions based on pattern detection.

The present study applied an elastic-net logistic machine learning model to structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Luminally Restricted 5-Ht4 Agonist For The Treatment Of Colitis And Constipation, Molly C. Hurd

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 (5-HT4 receptor) is highly expressed in the gastrointestinal system on colonic epithelial cells and has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in altered bowel function and pain. 5-HT4 receptors influence propulsive motility, decrease sensitivity and visceral pain, increase enteric neuron survival, increase mucus secretion and mediate epithelial cell proliferation. Previous work in the Mawe laboratory has demonstrated that intraluminal application of the 5-HT4 receptor agonist, tegaserod, exerts protective actions in animal models of colitis as well as accelerate recovery from active colitis. The first aim of this study was to test a newly developed luminally …

Effects Of Chronic Stress On The Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide (Pacap) In The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis (Bnst), Mahafuza Aktar

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Exposure to chronic stressors can produce maladaptive behavioral and physiological consequences. Previous work has demonstrated that chronic variant stress exposure enhances anxiety-like behavior and increases pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) and PAC1 receptor transcripts in the anterolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) in rats. The studies described here demonstrate that treatment with a chronic variant stress paradigm produced anxiety-like behavior in transgenic PACAP-Cre mice. Additionally, the stressed group did not gain weight during the 14 days of chronic stressor exposure compared to control mice. Furthermore, fewer PACAP-expressing neurons were observed in the posterior BNST and lateral hypothalamus …

Regulation Of Neuroinflammation After Ischemic Stroke By Astroglial Endothelin Receptor Type-B Signaling, John Mcinnis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

A large body of neuroscientific research has focused on reactive gliosis and glial scar formation because these are among the most prominent features of the cellular response to central nervous system (CNS) injury. Despite much progress in our understanding, controversy remains regarding the relative balance between the protective nature of the astroglial scar and its anti-regenerative features. Recent work suggests that astrocytes are heterogeneous in their resting state and in their reactivity. In traumatic injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury, proliferative reactive astrocytes protect CNS tissue. By contrast, under neuroinflammatory and/or neurodegenerative conditions, neurotoxic astrocyte phenotypes may contribute …

Exosomes Isolated From Murine Astroglial Cells And Human Blood Samples Contain The Notch 1 Intracellular Domain, Nicholas Toker

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Notch 1 is an evolutionarily conserved cell signaling receptor with important functions ranging from control of stem cell proliferation and differentiation to regulation of angiogenesis. Accordingly, Notch 1 expression affects a diverse assortment of protein targets. Here, we explore the role that Notch 1 and related signaling molecules play in astrocyte cell biology. Specifically, we investigate exosomes and the transduction of Notch signaling in astrocytes. Exosomes are small (10-150 nm) vesicles secreted by most cell types and have been found to contain cargo ranging from small RNA species to full length transmembrane receptors. We report, for the first time to …