Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Neurodevelopmental Defects Associated With Gestational Exposure To Low Levels Of Dbp In Mice, Françoise Sidime

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The etiology of autism is thought to involve the complex interplay among genetic and environmental factors. Patterns of inheritance suggest an epigenetic component to the development of autism. A variety of environmental risk factors are known to induce epigenetic changes in DNA, affecting many genes including those autism-associated genes (AAG). The plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP; CAS 84-74-2) is a developmental and reproductive toxin that causes a broad range of birth defects resulting in neurological impairments.

To date, although the effect of DBP as an endocrine and a reproductive disruptor are established, there are only few studies that address the effects …

Messenger Rna Transport And Translation Regulated By The 3' Utrs Of Dendritic Mrnas And Abnormal Alternative Splicing Of Neuroligin1 In The Fmr1 Ko Mouse Hippocampus, Tianhui Zhu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is one of the most commonly inherited mental retardations. It is caused by the loss of functional fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Loss of functional FMRP is the most widespread single-gene cause of autism. The most prominent phenotype of FXS patients is an IQ ranging from 20 to 70. FMRP is an RNA binding protein, widely expressed in almost all tissues and highly expressed in brain. As a RNA binding protein, 85-90 % of FMRP in the brain is associated with polyribosomes. Approximately 4 % of total mRNA is associated with FMRP, which functions in …

Status Signaling And The Characterization Of A Chirp-Like Signal In The Weakly Electric Fish Steatogenys Elegans, Caitlin E. Field

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sensory systems are critical to both exploratory and communicatory processes, the study of which is critical to our understanding of how animals perceive and respond to their environments. In weakly electric fishes the electrosensory system is utilized for both of these purposes. One type of communication, status signaling, is widespread across taxa and frequently hormonally modulated. This hormonal modulation keeps the signal honest, wherein the status of the sender and the production of the status signal itself are both hormone dependent. We investigated exploratory and communicatory strategies of the electromotor system in pulse-type gymnotiforms, with a focus on status communication …

Binomial Regression With A Misclassified Covariate And Outcome, Sheng Luo, Wenyaw Chan, Michelle A Detry, Paul J Massman, R S. Doody

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Misclassification occurring in either outcome variables or categorical covariates or both is a common issue in medical science. It leads to biased results and distorted disease-exposure relationships. Moreover, it is often of clinical interest to obtain the estimates of sensitivity and specificity of some diagnostic methods even when neither gold standard nor prior knowledge about the parameters exists. We present a novel Bayesian approach in binomial regression when both the outcome variable and one binary covariate are subject to misclassification. Extensive simulation results under various scenarios and a real clinical example are given to illustrate the proposed approach. This approach …

Glial Contributions To Neural Function And Disease, Mn Rasband

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The nervous system consists of neurons and glial cells. Neurons generate and propagate electrical and chemical signals, whereas glia function mainly to modulate neuron function and signaling. Just as there are many different kinds of neurons with different roles, there are also many types of glia that perform diverse functions. For example, glia make myelin; modulate synapse formation, function, and elimination; regulate blood flow and metabolism; and maintain ionic and water homeostasis to name only a few. Although proteomic approaches have been used extensively to understand neurons, the same cannot be said for glia. Importantly, like neurons, glial cells have …

Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Children And Its Relationship With Parental Allergies: Texas Children's Hospital Experience, G Hiremath, D Byramji, A Pacheco, G Constantine, C Davis, R Shulman, A Olive

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergen-mediated, clinicopathological condition affecting all ages. The characteristics of children with EoE in the southwestern USA have not been fully described. Furthermore, very little is known about the relationship between parental allergies and risk of EoE in their offspring in this patient population. AIMS: To characterize children with EoE and to examine the relationship between prevalence of parental allergies and occurrence of EoE in their offspring at a single referral pediatric center in the southwestern USA. METHODS: Demographic and clinical information of 126 children (=18 years of age) with EoE was abstracted in a …

Early Rescue Of Interneuron Disease Trajectory In Developmental Epilepsies, Ms Siehr, Jl Noebels

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The discovery of over 150 monogenic epilepsies and advances in early genetic diagnoses have launched a search for molecular strategies and developmental timetables to reverse or even prevent the course of these debilitating brain disorders. Orthologous rodent models of key disease genes are providing important examples of the range of targets, and serve as valuable test systems for perinatal therapeutic approaches. While gene-specific analyses of single rare 'orphan' diseases are each narrow in scope, they illuminate downstream pathways converging onto interneurons, and treatments that strengthen inhibition during cortical maturation may provide broad protection against these seemingly disparate gene errors. Several …

Efficacy Of Psychosocial Interventions In Inducing And Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence In Patients With Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review, A Khan, A Tansel, Dl White, Wt Kayani, Wt Bano, J Lindsay, Hb El-Serag, F Kanwal

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles that were published from January 1983 through November 2014 that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. RESULTS: We identified 13 eligible studies that comprised 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), …

Utilization Of The Clinical Laboratory For The Implementation Of Concussion Biomarkers In Collegiate Football And The Necessity Of Personalized And Predictive Athlete Specific Reference Intervals, Stefanie Podlog (Nee Schulte), Natalie N. Rasmussen, Joseph W. Mcbeth, Patrick Q. Richards, Eric Yochem, David J. Petron, Frederick G. Strathmann

Athletic Training Collection

Background: A continued interest in concussion biomarkers makes the eventual implementation of identified biomarkers into routine concussion assessment an eventual reality. We sought to develop and test an interdisciplinary approach that could be used to integrate blood-based biomarkers into the established concussion management program for a collegiate football team.

Methods: We used a CLIA-certified laboratory for all testing and chose biomarkers where clinically validated testing was available as would be required for results used in clinical decision making. We summarized the existing methods and results for concussion assessment across an entire season to identify and demonstrate the challenges with the …

The Ubiquitin-Proteasome System: Potential Therapeutic Targets For Alzheimer’S Disease And Spinal Cord Injury, Bing Gong, Miroslav Radulovic, Maria E. Figueiredo-Pereira, Christopher Cardozo

Publications and Research

The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is a crucial protein degradation system in eukaryotes. Herein, we will review advances in the understanding of the role of several proteins of the UPS in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). The UPS consists of many factors that include E3 ubiquitin ligases, ubiquitin hydrolases, ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like molecules, and the proteasome itself. An extensive body of work links UPS dysfunction with AD pathogenesis and progression. More recently, the UPS has been shown to have vital roles in recovery of function after SCI. The ubiquitin hydrolase (Uch-L1) has been proposed to …

Depression, Suicide, And Performance Monitoring: Identifying Neuroelectric Markers Of Suicidal Behavior, Kaylie Carbine, Michael Larson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

From 2000-2009, suicide mortality rates increased by 15% (Rockett, et al., 2012) and 98% of individuals who complete suicide have diagnosable psychopathology (Bertolote, Fleischmann, De Leo, & Wasserman, 2003). Individuals at risk for suicide exhibit cognitive impairments in decision-making and problem-solving abilities (Pollock & Williams, 2004; Jollant, et al., 2005). These cognitive deficits may be related to deficits in performance monitoring. Performance monitoring is the ability to continually assess behavior in order to make adjustments and improve performance. Performance monitoring is mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which is related to cognitive control abilities. Furthermore, suicidal thoughts and behaviors …

Pathological Tau Promotes Neuronal Damage By Impairing Ribosomal Function And Decreasing Protein Synthesis, Shelby Meier, Michelle Bell, Danielle N. Lyons, Jennifer Rodriguez-Rivera, Alexandria Ingram, Sarah N. Fontaine, Elizabeth Mechas, Jing Chen, Benjamin Wolozin, Harry Levine Iii, Haining Zhu, Jose F. Abisambra

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

One of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies is memory loss. The exact mechanisms leading to memory loss in tauopathies are not yet known; however, decreased translation due to ribosomal dysfunction has been implicated as a part of this process. Here we use a proteomics approach that incorporates subcellular fractionation and coimmunoprecipitation of tau from human AD and non-demented control brains to identify novel interactions between tau and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We show that ribosomes associate more closely with tau in AD than with tau in control brains, and that this abnormal association leads …

Enhancement Of Synchronization In Inter-Intra-Connected Neuronal Networks, F. M. Moukam Kakmeni, V. M. Nguemaha

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

We study the enhancement of neural synchrony in a network of electrically coupled Hindmarsh Rose (HR) neurons. The behavior of the network under control by an external environment modeled by the Fitzhugh Nagumo (FN) is analyzed. Biologically, such a control system could mimic the modification of normal neuronal dynamics due to drugs or other chemical substances. We show that the environment could have as effect the suppression of chaos, enhancement of synchrony and favor interesting properties such as sub-threshold membrane oscillations, and oscillation death for relatively strong local coupling. Interestingly, we find that the electrical coupling between each two coupled …

The Effects Of Changing Attention And Context In An Awake Offline Processing Period On Visual Long-Term Memory, Timothy M. Ellmore, Anna Feng, Kenneth Ng, Luthfunnahar Dewan, James C. Root

Publications and Research

There is accumulating evidence that sleep as well as awake offline processing is important for the transformation of new experiences into long-term memory (LTM). Yet much remains to be understood about how various cognitive factors influence the efficiency of awake offline processing. In the present study we investigated how changes in attention and context in the immediate period after exposure to new visual information influences LTM consolidation. After presentation of multiple naturalistic scenes within a working memory paradigm, recognition was assessed 30 min and 24 h later in three groups of subjects. One group of subjects engaged in a focused …

Atypical Visual And Somatosensory Adaptation In Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders, Gizely Andrade, John Butler, Gregory Peter, Sophie Molholm, John J. Foxe

Articles

Neurophysiological investigations in patients with schizophrenia consistently show early sensory processing deficits in the visual system. Importantly, comparable sensory deficits have also been established in healthy first-degree biological relatives of patients with schizophrenia and in first-episode drug-naive patients. The clear implication is that these measures are endophenotypic, related to the underlying genetic liability for schizophrenia. However, there is significant overlap between patient response distributions and those of healthy individuals without affected first-degree relatives. Here we sought to develop more sensitive measures of sensory dysfunction in this population, with an eye to establishing endophenotypic markers with better predictive capabilities. We used …

Role Of The Calcium Plateau In The Neuronal Injury And Behavioral Morbidities Following Organophosphate Intoxication, Laxmikant S. Deshpande, Robert E. Blair, Kristin F. Phillips, Robert J. Delorenzo

Neurology Publications

Organophosphate (OP) chemicals include nerve agents and pesticides, and there is a growing concern of OP based chemical attacks against civilians. Current antidotes are essential in limiting immediate mortality associated with OP exposure. However, further research is needed to identify molecular mechanisms underlying long-term neurological deficits following survival of OP toxicity in order to develop effective therapeutics. We have developed rat survival models of OP induced status epilepticus (SE) that mimic chronic mortality and morbidity following OP intoxication. We have observed significant elevations in hippocampal calcium levels after OP SE that persisted for weeks following initial survival. Drugs inhibiting intracellular …

Cannabinoid Receptor Interacting Protein Suppresses Agonist-Driven Cb1 Receptor Internalization And Regulates Receptor Replenishment In An Agonist-Biased Manner, Lawrence C. Blumes, Sandra Leone-Kabler, Deborah J. Luessen, Glenn S. Marrs, Erica Lyons, Caroline E. Bass, Rong Chen, Dana E. Selley, Allyn C. Howlett

Neurology Publications

Cannabinoid receptor interacting protein 1a (CRIP1a) is a CB1 receptor (CB1R) distal C-terminus-associated protein that modulates CB1R signaling via G proteins, and CB1R down-regulation but not desensitization (Blume et al. [2015] Cell Signal., 27, 716-726; Smith et al. [2015] Mol. Pharmacol., 87, 747-765). In this study, we determined the involvement of CRIP1a in CB1R plasma membrane trafficking. To follow the effects of agonists and antagonists on cell surface CB(1)Rs, we utilized the genetically homogeneous cloned neuronal cell line N18TG2, which endogenously expresses both CB1R and CRIP1a, and exhibits a well-characterized endocannabinoid signaling system. We developed stable CRIP1a-over-expressing and CRIP1a-siRNA-silenced knockdown …

Adult Neural Stem Cell Differentiation And Signaling Is Disrupted By Low-Level Silver Nanoparticle Exposure In Vitro, Robert Jefferson Cooper

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Silver nanoparticles (AgNP) are an emerging environmental contaminant with unique chemical and physical properties. They are utilized in products like medical dressings and children’s toys for their antimicrobial action. Though AgNP’s bioaccumulative nature and high-level toxicity are established, low-level effects from chronic exposure to AgNP-containing products and environmental AgNP remain unclear. This study uses adult neural stem cells, a model for neural cell function and neurodevelopment, to assess changes in cell differentiation and behavior following low-level AgNP exposure. In vitro, low-level AgNP produced dose- and timedependent formation of co-localized f-actin inclusions and β-catenin puncta. Neurite extension and arborization were also …

Neuroprotection Comparison Of Different Nutraceutical Compounds Against Mechanistically Distinct Cell Death Inducing Agents, Faten I. Taram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), include the progressive loss of structure and function of neurons leading to neuronal death. All of these diseases are fatal, as there is no cure for them. The causes of these diseases are unknown; however, there are many proposed mechanisms that lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Oxidative stress is the leading cause of cell death in neurodegenerative diseases, in addition to other mechanisms including endoplasmic reticulum stress, proteasome inhibition, nitrosative stress, inflammation and excitotoxicity. More understanding of the death mechanisms at work in neurodegeneration is necessary to …

The Neuroprotective And Therapeutic Effects Of Anthocyanins And Their Metabolites In Vitro And In A Mouse Model Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Aimee Nicole Winter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anthocyanins, a unique class of flavonoid compounds, have recently come to the forefront of investigative research aimed at evaluating the potential applications of natural products to human health. Evidence demonstrating the beneficial effects of anthocyanin consumption has been reported for a myriad of conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and lately, neurodegenerative disease. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are characterized by the death of specific neuronal populations within the brain and spinal cord, leading to cognitive and/or motor impairment. While the etiology of many of these diseases is largely unknown, several factors have …

Behavioral And Neural Indices Of Metacognitive Sensitivity In Preverbal Infants, Louise Goupil, Sid Kouider

Biology Faculty Publications

Humans adapt their behavior not only by observing the consequences of their actions but also by internally monitoring their performance. This capacity, termed metacognitive sensitivity [1 ; 2], has traditionally been denied to young children because they have poor capacities in verbally reporting their own mental states [3; 4 ; 5]. Yet, these observations might reflect children’s limited capacities for explicit self-reports, rather than limitations in metacognition per se. Indeed, metacognitive sensitivity has been shown to reflect simple computational mechanisms [1; 6; 7 ; 8], and can be found in various …

Pharmacological Blockade Of The Calcium Plateau Provides Neuroprotection Following Organophosphate Paraoxon Induced Status Epilepticus In Rats, Laxmikant S. Deshpande, Robert E. Blair, Beverly A. Huang, Kristin F. Phillips, Robert J. Delorenzo

Neurology Publications

Organophosphate (OP) compounds which include nerve agents and pesticides are considered chemical threat agents. Currently approved antidotes are crucial in limiting OP mediated acute mortality. However, survivors of lethal OP exposure exhibit delayed neuronal injury and chronic behavioral morbidities. In this study, we investigated neuroprotective capabilities of dantrolene and carisbamate in a rat survival model of paraoxon (POX) induced status epilepticus (SE). Significant elevations in hippocampal calcium levels were observed 48-h post POX SE survival, and treatment with dantrolene (10 mg/kg, i.m.) and carisbamate (90 mg/kg, i.m.) lowered these protracted calcium elevations. POX SE induced delayed neuronal injury …

Rapid Cortisol And Testosterone Responses To Sex-Linked Stressors: Implications For The Tend-And-Befriend Hypothesis, Jennifer Byrd-Craven, Jessica L. Calvi, Shelia M. Kennison

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Current evolutionary theories regarding the nature of hormonal responses to a variety of salient social stimuli are incomplete in yielding evidentiary support for their assertions. This study offers more nuanced evidence for the Tend-and- Befriend model of sex differences in responses to social stimuli. Participants were randomly assigned to a mortality salience prime or a control condition prior to viewing a video of an out-group threat or a video of infants crying. Cortisol and testosterone responses were assessed. The results showed that in mortality salience conditions, females showed significantly higher cortisol responses to infants crying compared to males. Further, in …

Neural Processing Of Emotional Musical And Nonmusical Stimuli In Depression, Rebecca J. Lepping, Ruth Ann Atchley, Evangelia Chrysikou, Laura E. Martin, Alicia A. Clair, Rick E. Ingram, W. Kyle Simmons, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum are part of the emotional neural circuitry implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). Music is often used for emotion regulation, and pleasurable music listening activates the dopaminergic system in the brain, including the ACC. The present study uses functional MRI (fMRI) and an emotional nonmusical and musical stimuli paradigm to examine how neural processing of emotionally provocative auditory stimuli is altered within the ACC and striatum in depression.

Method Nineteen MDD and 20 never-depressed (ND) control participants listened to standardized positive and negative emotional musical and nonmusical stimuli during fMRI scanning and gave …

Voxel-Based Morphometry Reveals Brain Gray Matter Volume Changes In Successful Dieters, Robyn A. Honea, Amanda N. Szabo-Reed, Rebecca J. Lepping, Rodrigo Perea, Florence Breslin, Laura E. Martin, William M. Brooks, Joseph E. Donnelly, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective: To compare regional brain volume predictors of percent weight loss (WL) in dieters with obesity (DwO) and in the same participants categorized as “successful” (≥7% WL) or “unsuccessful” dieters (

Early Neurodevelopment: Notch Signaling, Axial Differentiation, Brain Patterning, And Neurogenesis, Adrian M. Bebenek '17

Independent Study

The vastly complex, delicate nature of the nervous system calls for a highly effective development system. The development of the nervous system begins early in embryogenesis and is one of the last systems to be completed after birth. Deemed to be one of the most important steps in the evolutionary progression towards sophisticated life, the pathways regulating neurodevelopment are highly specialized and conserved. Embryonic neurodevelopment is an important starting point for the understanding of brain anatomy, function, and its neurobiology. The past few decades have brought about numerous technological advancements allowing for the study of the earliest stages of embryonic …

Application Of Virtual Reality Head Mounted Display For Investigation Of Movement: A Novel Effect Of Orientation Of Attention, Brendan Quinlivan, John Butler, Ines Beiser, Laura Williams, Eavan Mcgovern, Sean O'Riordan, Michael Hutchinson, Richard Reilly

Articles

Objective. To date human kinematics research has relied on video processing, motion capture and magnetic search coil data acquisition techniques. However, the use of head mounted display virtual reality systems, as a novel research tool, could facilitate novel studies into human movement and movement disorders. These systems have the unique ability of presenting immersive 3D stimulus while also allowing participants to make ecologically valid movement-based responses. Approach. We employed one such system (Oculus Rift DK2) in this study to present visual stimulus and acquire head-turn data from a cohort of 40 healthy adults. Participants were asked to complete head movements …

Vitamin D Clinical Relevance In The Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury Among The Military Population, Yuisa M. Colón

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) still remains a difficult disorder to treat. TBI has been associated to chronic neuroinflammation and a high risk for neurodegenerative disorders. Since 2001 between ten to twenty percent of all deployed military members have suffered a combat-related TBI. Nearly twenty to thirty percent of those will experience chronic cognitive, behavioral and somatic symptoms after suffering a TBI.
Methods: The objective of this review is to evaluate current literature examining vitamin D as a neurosteroid with protective properties and its clinical relevance after traumatic brain injury. Vitamin D is known to participate in neurobiological …

Chronic Pancreatitis, Pain, And Anxiety In An Alcohol And High Fat Mouse Model, Tiffanie Clinkinbeard

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

Homeodynamic space (HDS) shrinks as vulnerability increases with aging and repeated damage to the cells. HDS is lost in alcoholic pancreatitis patients due to overconsumption of alcohol, smoking, and high fat diets. Etiologically relevant animal models for study of chronic pancreatitis (CP) are needed. In order to begin filling this gap a central purpose of this dissertation research was to examine relationships between the alcohol and high fat diet (AHF) and pancreatitis with attention to hypersensitivity and anxiety-like behaviors. The AHF diet induced pancreatitis described here etiologically mimics human risk factors of AHF consumption for advancement to alcoholic CP.

In …

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 …