Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

The Role Of Semaphorins In Response To Injury In C. Elegans Neurons, Maria Belen Harreguy Alfonso

Dissertations

When neural tissue is injured by trauma, delicate neuronal processes such as axons and dendrites are prone to lesion damage and often disconnect. The molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms that underlie the regrowth and reconnection of these processes and the recovery of behavior are major challenges in the fields of neuroscience, regeneration, and resilience. At the molecular and cellular levels, signaling pathways that mediate neuronal growth cone guidance during development can play a role in neuronal regeneration and recovery from injury. One family of signaling proteins involved in this process comprises the highly conserved semaphorins and their receptors, the plexins. …

Assessing Neurobehavioral Deficits And Neuroinflammation Following Rllb In A Transgenic Mouse Model, Aakaash Gosain

Theses

As global conflicts are escalating, military personnel have long faced the constant threat of explosions, heightening the risk of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI). The recent increase in war conflicts and combat zones worldwide not only puts the military, service members, and police forces at risk but also innocent civilians who are caught in the crossfire. While moderate to severe bTBIs have been extensively studied, the pathology of repeated low-level blasts (rLLB) remains less understood. This research addresses the gap in knowledge regarding the long-term consequences of rLLB injuries in the neural anatomy. A transgenic mouse model was subjected to …

A New Addition To The Trademark Litigator's Tool Kit: A Neuroscientific Index Of Mark Similarity, Mark Bartholomew, Zhihao Zhang, Ming Hsu, Andrew S. Kayser, Femke Van Horen

Journal Articles

With trademark law always striving to keep abreast of new developments in science and technology, the authors of this article propose an innovative, neuroscience-based approach to answering the time-honored question of whether likelihood of consumer confusion exists in a particular dispute.

The Potential Of Stem Cell Therapy In Multiple Sclerosis Treatment: A Review, Sorina Amarculesei, Ava O'Meara Cushen, Cathy Brougham

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. There are currently 2.8 million people living with Multiple Sclerosis worldwide, including 9000 people in Ireland, with a prevalence of 193 per 100,000 people. Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis include sensory loss, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, spasticity, depression, optic neuritis, gait ataxia, diplopia, and loss of bladder control. Currently, there is no standardised treatment or cure for Multiple Sclerosis with many strategies focusing on symptoms. Stem cells have emerged as promising approaches for Multiple Sclerosis therapeutics. Clinical trials primarily focus on mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies for Multiple Sclerosis. Furthermore, …

Nucleus Accumbens Core Single Cell Ensembles Bidirectionally Respond To Experienced Versus Observed Aversive Events, Oyku Dinckol, Noah Harris Wenger, Jennifer E Zachry, Munir Gunes Kutlu

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Fear learning is a critical feature of survival skills among mammals. In rodents, fear learning manifests itself through direct experience of the aversive event or social transmission of aversive stimuli such as observing and acting on conspecifics' distress. The neuronal network underlying the social transmission of information largely overlaps with the brain regions that mediate behavioral responses to aversive and rewarding stimuli. In this study, we recorded single cell activity patterns of nucleus accumbens (NAc) core neurons using in vivo optical imaging of calcium transients via miniature scopes. This cutting-edge imaging methodology not only allows us to record activity patterns …

Role Of The Anti-Viral Immune Response In Neural Cell Modulation And Neurological Sequelae Of Childhood Viral Infections, Yashika Kamte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) often result in neurological sequelae and are considered a risk factor for the development of neurological disease. Moreover, the outcomes of a viral infection are largely dependent on the age of the host, with younger hosts developing more profound neuropathology. Perhaps the developing brain coupled with an immature immune system contributes to worse outcomes in the very young. Children suffering from brain infections are more prone to develop enduring neurological impairments even after recovery from the infection. Although majority of the brain growth occurs in utero, neurodevelopment continues throughout the juvenile …

Cardiac Vagal Dysfunction And Ventricular Arrhythmogenesis In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus After Myocardial Infarction, Dongze Zhang

Theses & Dissertations

Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. Every eight seconds a person dies from diabetes around the world. Among various types of diabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most common form, representing 90% to 95% of all diabetes populations. The leading cause of mortality and morbidity in T2DM patients is cardiovascular disease, among which acute myocardial infarction (MI)-induced ventricular arrhythmia is the major cause of death in T2DM. Patients with T2DM are two to four times more likely to die from MI than non-diabetic patients. Although well-known therapies including better glycemic control have …

Dna Methylation-Based Epigenetic Biomarkers In Cell-Type Deconvolution And Tumor Tissue Of Origin Identification, Ze Zhang

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that regulates gene expression and is essential to establishing and preserving cellular identity. Genome-wide DNA methylation arrays provide a standardized and cost-effective approach to measuring DNA methylation. When combined with a cell-type reference library, DNA methylation measures allow the assessment of underlying cell-type proportions in heterogeneous mixtures. This approach, known as DNA methylation deconvolution or methylation cytometry, offers a standardized and cost-effective method for evaluating cell-type proportions. While this approach has succeeded in discerning cell types in various human tissues like blood, brain, tumors, skin, breast, and buccal swabs, the existing methods have major …

The Role Of Pre- And Perinatal Oxycodone Exposure On Postnatal Brain Development And Behavior: Assessing The Impact On Later Life Brain Injuries In Juvenile Rats, Austin M. Gowen

Theses & Dissertations

There has been a long history of research investigating the role of the gestational environment on later life health and disease. The progressive widespread illicit and prescribed use of opioids in the 21^st century has seen opioids become one of the most significant gestational insults in the last century. The ability of opioids to pass both the placental barrier and blood-brain barrier makes them a particularly dangerous teratogen capable of altering the peripheral physiology, neurobiology, and behavior of affected children. The works herein investigate the impact of a widely prescribed opioid, oxycodone, on developmental neurobiology in the context of …

Visual Imagery Subcategories And Their Neural Associations, Miguel Ibarguren

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

This literature review compiles research findings related to the brain areas associated with various visual imagery subcategories and explores their contributions to them. Through a search procedure, four research projects were used to identify ten distinct brain areas that demonstrated greater involvement in visual imagery. The visual imagery subcategories discussed in these research projects, and investigated in this review, include scene construction, episodic memory, imagery vividness, and visuospatial imagery. Scene construction was found to utilize the parahippocampal gyrus, hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, and posterior parietal cortex. Episodic memory involves the same areas as scene construction, but also includes the precuneus and …

The Possible Neurobiological Mechanisms Influencing Ptsd According To Previous Research: A Review, Tiria Carr, Collen M. Parks

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by either experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately six out of one hundred people (six percent) in the United States report to have suffered PTSD either currently or. This experiment aimed to: Explore the different behavior and brain measures used to evaluate the extent of neurological change that brains with PTSD suffer; Review different experimental procedures; Aims to express a theoretical experiment from the data collected; Hypothesize an effective experimental procedure for measuring neurological change in subjects suffering from …

Jun Upregulation Drives Aberrant Transposable Element Mobilization, Associated Innate Immune Response, And Impaired Neurogenesis In Alzheimer’S Disease, Chiara Scopa, Samantha Barnada, Maria Cicardi, Mo Singer, Davide Trotti, Marco Trizzino

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Adult neurogenic decline, inflammation, and neurodegeneration are phenotypic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mobilization of transposable elements (TEs) in heterochromatic regions was recently reported in AD, but the underlying mechanisms are still underappreciated. Combining functional genomics with the differentiation of familial and sporadic AD patient derived-iPSCs into hippocampal progenitors, CA3 neurons, and cerebral organoids, we found that the upregulation of the AP-1 subunit, c-Jun, triggers decondensation of genomic regions containing TEs. This leads to the cytoplasmic accumulation of HERVK-derived RNA-DNA hybrids, the activation of the cGAS-STING cascade, and increased levels of cleaved caspase-3, suggesting the initiation of programmed cell death …

Central Activation Of Orl-1 Receptors In Heart Failure Models, Jeffrey Angell

Theses & Dissertations

Heart failure is a prevalent and debilitating disease associated with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide and is the leading cause of death in the United States. While various therapeutic strategies have been developed and approved to manage heart failure, exploration of novel targets and mechanisms are essential for improving patient outcomes. This thesis investigates the therapeutic potential of the central activation of opioid receptor-like 1 (ORL-1) by nociceptin in a rodent heart failure model.

Furthermore, this study aims to elucidate the central mechanisms underlying nociceptin induced cardiovascular and renal effects in heart failure. This involves investigating neuronal pathways and …

Sensory Input To Cortex Encoded On Low-Dimensional Periphery-Correlated Subspaces, Andrea K. Barreiro, Antonio J. Fontenele, Cheng Ly, Prashant Chama Raju, Shree Hari Gautam, Woodrow L. Shew

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

As information about the world is conveyed from the sensory periphery to central neural circuits, it mixes with complex ongoing cortical activity. How do neural populations keep track of sensory signals, separating them from noisy ongoing activity? Here, we show that sensory signals are encoded more reliably in certain low-dimensional subspaces. These coding subspaces are defined by correlations between neural activity in the primary sensory cortex and upstream sensory brain regions; the most correlated dimensions were best for decoding. We analytically show that these correlation-based coding subspaces improve, reaching optimal limits (without an ideal observer), as noise correlations between cortex …

Effects Of Aerobic Exercise On Rage And Lrp1 In Stz And Hfd Models Of Diabetes: Relationship With Cognitive Function And Aβ Clearance, Corey Joseph Frank

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The number of individuals with diabetes worldwide has quadrupled since 1980, making diabetes the 4th most common cause of death from non-communicable disease. Since 1975, the number of individuals classified as obese has tripled to 650 million adults, or 13% of the global population (World Health Organization, 2018). Obesity rates in the United States are three times the global average, with 39.8% of adults having a body-mass index of 30 or greater (Hales, 2017). At the same time, in the United States, AD is the sixth most common cause of death, with 5.8 million currently diagnosed, a number that may …

Using A Toxic Aging Coin To Assess Hexavalent Chromium-Induced Neurotoxicity., Samuel Thomas Vielee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We are facing an aging crisis, with 20% of the U.S. population projected to be geriatric (65+) by 2030 and live another 40+ years. Age-related diseases accompany a growing geriatric population, emphasizing the need to understand their etiology. Environmental pollutants compound this crisis by: 1) geriatrics are more susceptible, exacerbating age-related diseases and comorbidities, and 2) they accelerate biological aging, inducing age-related diseases at younger ages. We address this crisis using a ‘toxic aging coin’ approach; heads examines how age impacts toxicity, tails examines how chemicals accelerate aging. This thesis applies the heads side for Cr(VI)-induced neurotoxicity across ages. We …

Metrics For Comparison Of Complex Networks, Clarissa Reyes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Heuristic network statistics are used as a preliminary approach to identify change across networks. In networks where there is known node correspondence (KNC), conventional network comparison methods include taking a norm of the difference matrix, or calculating dissimilarity measures like DeltaCon and cut distance. Since different KNC measures provide varying insight to the network comparison problem, we propose employing Rank Score Characteristic Functions (RSCFs) and the rank-score process as a method for reaching a consensus when ranking quantified change across multiple pairs of networks â?? which is particularly useful for ranking change across subpopulations or subgraphs. Additionally, we propose a …

Neural Damage Following Francisella Tularensis Infection, Anahis Tena

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the impact of Francisella tularensis infection on the brain, focusing on its anatomical localization, effects on synaptic health, and behavioral and cognitive consequences in mice. Employing a combination of fluorescent tagging, confocal and light sheet microscopy, the study first maps bacterial foci within the brain, anticipating a concentration in the limbic system, particularly the hippocampus. Subsequently, it examines synaptic function post-infection using calcium imaging in various neuronal cultures, expecting a decrease in calcium signaling indicative of synaptic impairment. Finally, behavioral assays like the forced swim test, object recognition test, and Morris Water Maze assess the cognitive and …

Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers Not Associated With Neurologic Compromise Among Mild Cognitively Impaired Reverters With Parkinson's Disease, Cameron Ryczek

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor (e.g. tremors) and non-motor symptoms (e.g. cognitive impairment). PD patients' change in cognitive functioning can be observed using the following classifications: cognitively intact, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or dementia (PDD). MCI has many subtypes, one of which is MCI reversion which is defined as those with MCI at one time point reverting to cognitively intact later. While there is limited research into the utility of MCI reversion and its relationship with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in PD, this study will begin to elucidate this relationship. To this end, data from …

Cortical Representation Of Learning Social Interactions In Freely Moving Non-Human Primates, Melissa Franch

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

The motivation and capacity to be social is necessary for human survival. Successful learning of complex, prosocial behavior stems from the ability to perceive and respond to visual cues, such as the body language and facial expressions, from others in our environment. This dependence on visual information to guide social interaction is especially true for humans and non-human primates. Although recent studies in primate neurophysiology discovered neurons that can encode socially relevant variables, like reward and social actions, the underlying neural mechanisms of learning advanced social concepts, such as cooperation, are not well understood. Further, previous work has identified …

Downregulation Of Mir-10a-5p As A Potential Therapeutic Target To Improve The Detrimental Effects Of Post-Stroke Social Isolation, Patrick Mooz

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Introduction

Social isolation is detrimental to health. Isolation and loneliness are linked to all-cause mortality and accelerated disease progression in patients with cancer, dementia, and vascular disease. The number of individuals that live alone is increasing in our society, especially in the elderly, and loneliness and isolation represent a profound growing public health challenge. Previous studies have found that the detrimental effects of social isolation can be recapitulated in animal models. Mice that are socially isolated (SI) prior to an experimental stroke have larger infarcts and significantly worse outcomes. Importantly, animals that remain pair housed (PH) when an experimental stroke …

Identification And Delineation Of Neuronal Pathways Underlying Hypophagia, Jing Cai

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

In terms of metabolism, eating disorders manifest in two extreme directions: overnutrition, which can lead to obesity, and malnutrition, which can result in underweight or even starvation. Both extremes compromise the quality of life. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) standard, eating disorders affect up to 17.9% of young women and 2.4% of young men. Although eating disorders are primarily defined as mental disorders rather than metabolic disorders, they are intertwined with complex emotions and sensory perceptions. However, in contemporary animal research related to eating disorders and feeding behaviors, the majority of neuroscientists still examine …

The Psychology Of The Stage: Intersections Of Cognitive Science And Theatre, Ariya Selvakumar

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

By engaging audiences in a stranger’s story, theatre often depends on emotional contagion and empathetic responses to strike interest and investment in characters and their circumstances. Mirror neuron systems are those highly tied to the activation of empathy. These neurons are brain cells that activate when we perform an action and witness an action being performed. For example, when someone is crying, a subset of neurons that fire when we cry will also fire in response to seeing this action, thus often leading to emotional contagion. With an understanding of cognitive science, we can closely examine the perspective-taking and emotion-prediction …

No “Jitters” But No Energy From A Commercially Available Energy Drink., Jose Antonio, Jason M. Curtis

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an energy drink (JOCKO GO) on mood, sustained attention/reaction time, and hand steadiness.

Methods: A total of 29 active men (n = 9) and women (n=20) (mean ± SD: age 22 ± 5 yr.; height 168±8 cm; body mass 68.2 ± 12.8 kg; lean body mass 51.9 ± 15.0 kg; fat mass 15.4 ± 6.8 kg; percent body fat 22.6 ± 8.9%; total body water 38.6 ± 8.6 liters) completed this randomized, crossover, counterbalanced trial. Each subject consumed either one can (355 ml) of the energy …

Covid‑19‑Related Risk, Resilience, And Mental Health Among Mexican American Mothers Across The First Year Of The Pandemic, Amy L. Non, Elizabeth S. Clausing, Sandraluz Lara‑Cinisomo, Kimberly L. D’Anna Hernandez

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background Latina mothers have been especially affected by the pandemic and historically exhibit high rates of depression and anxiety. However, few longitudinal studies have assessed the effect of the pandemic on this vulnerable population. We hypothesized that COVID-19-related stressors would associate with psychological distress among Latina mothers across the first year of the pandemic.

Methods We investigated COVID-19-related impact, stigma, and fears across two critical time points and changes in these measures in relation to changes in maternal anxiety and depression among mothers of Mexican descent living in Southern California (n=152). Surveys were administered within 5–16 weeks of …

Affective Liking Influences Reward Processing In Depression: A Computational Eeg Approach, Garima Singh

Psychology ETDs

Reinforcement learning (RL) enables agents to learn through interaction with their environment. This empowers individuals to optimize actions in complex and dynamic settings. The component of event related potential (ERP) termed as the Reward Positivity (RewP) evidently signifies a fundamental reward prediction error (RPE) associated with rewards. This characteristic implies that it represents a fundamental computational process in the assessment of RL. When a reward is particularly pleasurable or liked by an individual, it tends to elicit an amplified RewP signal, reflecting the heightened positive affect. RPE arises from disparities between anticipated and actual rewarding outcomes and is known to …

The Effects Of Brain Control: A 3-D Agent-Based Model For Studying Pain, Kayla Kraeuter, Carley Reith, Benedict Kolber, Rachael Miller Neilan

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Reduced Grey Matter Volume In Adolescents With Conduct Disorder: A Region‑Of‑Interest Analysis Using Multivariate Generalized Linear Modeling, Ru Zhang, Robert James R. Blair, Karina S. Blair, Matthew Dobbertin, Jaimie Elowsky, Johannah Bashford‑Largo, Ahria J. Dominguez, Melissa Hatch, Sahil Bajaj

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background

Conduct disorder (CD) involves a group of behavioral and emotional problems that usually begins during childhood or adolescence. Structural brain alterations have been observed in CD, including the amygdala, insula, ventrolateral and medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and fusiform gyrus. The current study developed a multivariate generalized linear model (GLM) to differentiate adolescents with CD from typically developing (TD) adolescents in terms of grey matter volume (GMV).

Methods

The whole‐brain structural MRI data were collected from 96 adolescents with CD (mean age = 16.188 ± 1.259 years; mean IQ = 104.292 ± 8.107 ; 63 males) and 90 …

Short Chain Fatty Acid Combination Treatment Protects Against 6-Ohda And Wt Α-Synuclein Induced Decreases In Neurite Growth In In Vitro Models Of Parkinson’S Disease., Alex Morris

ORBioM (Open Research BioSciences Meeting)

Background

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopaminergic neuron degeneration. This degeneration is partly driven by over expression of α-synuclein (α-syn) and development of α-syn aggregates known as Lewy bodies throughout the substantia nigra. As well as motor dysfunction, PD presents with several chronic gastrointestinal comorbidities, which cause a decline of gut microbial diversity and microbially derived short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Recent in vivo studies have shown SCFAs to be neuroprotective in various degenerative disease states, suggesting that SCFAs may protect against dopaminergic degeneration.

Methods

Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were used as a model of human …

Assessing The Potentiation Of The (Alpha4)3(Beta2)2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor By Analogs Of The Allosteric Agonist Cmpi, Josue Gaona, Marcos Bermudez, Wilder Felix, Amaya Rolling, Ganesh Thakur, Ayman K. Hamouda

School of Medicine Student Publications and Presentations

The (α4)3(β2)2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is the major heteromeric nAChR isoform expressed in the cortex and is believed to play a role in memory, cognition, and neuronal survival during aging. As such, selective potentiators of the (α4)3(β2)2 nAChR have potential therapeutic benefits in conditions associated with decline in the output of nAChR in the brain. In previous work, we have studied the pharmacology of the allosteric agonist CMPI (3-(2-chlorophenyl)-5-(5-methyl-1-(piperidin-4-yl)- 1H-pyrazol-4-yl) isoxazole) at the (α4)3(β2)2 nAChR and identified its binding site at the α4:α4 subunit extracellular interface. As part of our ongoing efforts to define structural features that confer CMPI …