Behavioral Neurobiology Commons^™

The Effects Of Astrocytic Derived Insulin-Like Growth Factor (Igf-1) On Cognition And Astrocytes, Destiny Wilson

Honors Theses

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a neuroendocrine signaling hormone that plays a vital role in growth and development, as well as learning and memory. Inhibition of this hormone results in cognitive impairments like those seen with age-related decline. While a majority of research has focused on the role of IGF-1 on neurons, the role of astrocytes still needs to be explored. Our research investigates how astrocytes and cognition are affected as a result of direct regulation of localized IGF-1 production in early development and after puberty. Preliminary studies in our laboratory established a connection between IGF-1 and glial fibrillary …

Examining Levels Of Catecholamine Neurotransmitter Regulatory Proteins Within The Prefrontal Cortex Of Rodents Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Eleni Papadopoulos, Christopher P. Knapp, Claire M. Corbett, Jessica Loweth, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from impact to the head can cause long lasting impairments of cognitive processes that lead to increased risk-taking behavior in clinical populations. Our laboratory has recently shown that female, but not age-matched male, rats increase preference for risky choices after multiple experimentally-induced mild TBI’s. Our overarching goal is to understand the neural mechanisms underlying TBI-induced increases in risk-taking behavior.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a prominent role in risk-based decision making. Sub[1]regions of the PFC include the medial PFC (mPFC), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and these sub[1]regions play specific …

Early Detection Of Atypical Motor And Neurobehavior Of Infants At Risk Secondary To Opioid Exposure: A Prospective Study, Kara Boynewicz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prenatal opioid exposure has been studied in relation to infants' medical outcomes. However, large gaps exist in the literature supporting early identification of atypical neurobehavior and motor development of infants with prenatal opioid exposure. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether prenatal opioid exposure has a negative influence on a newborn infant’s neurobehavior and motor development to aid in the early identification of potential delays. Using a prospective quasi experimental design, infants motor development using the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and neurobehavior using the NICU Neonatal Network Scale (NNNS) was assessed on 58 infants in a …

Regaining Effort-Based Food Motivation: The Drug Methylphenidate Reverses The Depressive Effects Of Tetrabenazine In Female Rats, Deanna Pietrorazio

Honors Scholar Theses

Tetrabenazine (TBZ), a vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT-2) inhibitor, depletes dopamine and induces motivational deficits and other depressive symptoms in humans. Methylphenidate (MPH) is a dopamine transport blocker that is used to enhance motivational function. Previous studies have shown that in male rats, TBZ induces a shift in effort-related choice such that a low-effort bias is induced. In male rats this occurs at a dose range of 0.75-1.0 mg/kg TBZ, and this effect is reversible with co-administration of MPH. Recent studies have shown that females need a higher dose of TBZ (2.0 mg/kg) to show the low-effort bias. The …

Alzheimer's And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Review Of The Literature, Madeline Hekeler

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

The term “silent epidemic” is fitting for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as its negative impact is widely felt but rarely discussed. Burnout among AD caregivers has become an epidemic of its own as caregivers experience an increase in health risks, stress, and financial burden. This literature review focuses on caregiver burnout and how imperative it is that caregivers are better supported in their role. Researchers have developed instruments to assess and intervene in caregiver burnout that have shown effectiveness among caregivers and their families.Nevertheless, further longitudinal research is warranted regarding more effective interventions, including stress management and social support mechanisms.

Whole-Body Vibration Alleviates Symptoms Of Morphine Withdrawal, Gavin C. Jones, Dallin Z. Otteson, Christina A. Small, Taylor Purcell, Nathaniel Hill, Tyler Alger, Arren Hill, David W. Sant, Scott C. Steffensen, Kyle B. Bills

Annual Research Symposium

Whole-body vibration at 80 Hz has previously been shown to blunt neuropathological markers and behavioral symptoms of alcohol dependence. Here, we evaluate its ability to ameliorate symptoms of morphine use and withdrawal. Behavioral and neurophysiological symptoms of withdrawal were reduced significantly by whole-body vibration treatment.

Trkb Activity Alters Voluntary Alcohol Consumption In Nondependent Mice, Alfred Amendolara

Annual Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Self-Conscious Emotions And The Right Fronto-Temporal And Right Temporal Parietal Junction, Adriana Lavarco, Nathira Ahmad, Qiana Archer, Matthew Pardillo, Ray Nunez Castaneda, Anthony Minervini, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

For more than two decades, research focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations has suggested a key role for specific regions in the regulation of self-conscious emotions. It is speculated that both the expression and the interpretation of self-conscious emotions are critical in humans for action planning and response, communication, learning, parenting, and most social encounters. Empathy, Guilt, Jealousy, Shame, and Pride are all categorized as self-conscious emotions, all of which are crucial components to one’s sense of self. There has been an abundance of evidence pointing to the right Fronto-Temporal involvement in the integration of cognitive processes underlying the …

Chronic Adolescent Stress As A Predictive Factor For The Risk Of Developing Ptsd-Like Symptoms In Adulthood, Grace K. Young

Theses and Dissertations

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a stress and trauma based psychological disorder that is defined by the DSM-IV as an anxiety disorder that affects approximately 7.8% of people in the United States. PTSD is when those who suffer a traumatic event have intense and distressing feelings, emotions, and memories for a prolonged period of time after the event. A prominent feature of PTSD is the impaired ability to properly extinguish a fear response after a dangerous trigger or stressor is no longer present, also known as safety learning. Stressors are threats perceived within the environment that activate a response within the …

Extended Functional Connectivity Of Convergent Structural Alterations Among Individuals With Ptsd: A Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis, Brianna S. Pankey, Michael C. Riedel, Isis Cowan, Jessica E. Bartley, Rosario Pintos Lobo, Lauren D. Hill-Bowen, Taylor Sato, Erica D. Musser, Matthew T. Sutherland, Angela R. Laird

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder defined by the onset of intrusive, avoidant, negative cognitive or affective, and/or hyperarousal symptoms after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided insight into structural brain alterations associated with PTSD with notable heterogeneity across these studies. Furthermore, how structural alterations may be associated with brain function, as measured by task-free and task-based functional connectivity, remains to be elucidated.

Methods: Using emergent meta-analytic techniques, we sought to first identify a consensus of structural alterations in PTSD using the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Next, we generated functional …

A Study Of Limited Bedding And Nesting On Maternal Behavior For Postpartum Depression, Emma Brezoczky

CMC Senior Theses

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 20% of mothers in the US and can detrimentally affect both the mother and psychosocial development of the child (Pearlstein et al, 2009). So far, research on PPD is limited and the underlying neuropathology remains unclear. Low socioeconomic status is one risk factor that increases the risk of PPD tenfold (Goyal et al, 2010). The low resource limited bedding and nesting (LBN) paradigm used for rodents has the potential to model this risk factor. LBN has not previously been studied with PPD, but observations of disrupted maternal behaviors and depressive phenotypes makes it a …

Depression And Behavioral Changes Associated With Social Media Dependency During Covid-19 Pandemic Among University Students In Bangladesh: A Cross- Sectional Study, Sushmita Karmokar, Md. Ashraful Islam, Mohammad Hamid Al Muktadir, Rakibul Hasan, Abu Montakim Tareq, Mohammad Nurul Amin, Talha Bin Emran

Makara Journal of Health Research

Background: With its rapid spread, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a detrimental effect on students’ psychological well-being, depression, and behavioral changes due to indefinite educational leaves, lockdowns, restricted outdoor activities, and excess use of social media. This study aims to assess the relationship of social media exposure with the psychological well-being, depression, and behavioral changes of Bangladeshi university students.

Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out on 530 students from June 17 to July 10, 2020, to evaluate psychological well-being, depression, behavioral changes, and social media exposure via self-reported measures.

Results: The prevalence of …

Cerebellum-Seeded Functional Connectivity Changes In Trait-Anxious Individuals Undergoing Attention Bias Modification Training, Katherine Elwell

All NMU Master's Theses

Anxiety and anxiety related disorders are increasing at a drastic rate in the past decade, with the NIMH reporting that 31.1% of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Anxiety is commonly characterized by increased attention bias to threat. Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is a new treatment used to reduce individual’s attention bias towards threat. The extent to which ABM leads to underlying neural changes is still unknown. The cerebellum is a neglected brain structure, with new research provides evidence that cerebellum’s functional connectivity and shared networks with threat processing regions has a direct …

The Effect Of Anticipatory Anxiety On Fear Extinction Learning, Daniela C. Echeverria

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Adaptive regulation of fear is dependent on successful fear extinction learning; therefore, investigating factors that both enhance and diminish fear extinction learning is a critical line of research. In the present study, we induce mild anticipatory anxiety during fear extinction learning in an attempt to modulate how participants extinguish fear memory. In the experiment, we apply a classic three-day fear learning protocol to both control participants (N = 20) and an experimental group (N = 20) with fear acquisition, fear extinction, and fear recovery phases; each phase is separated by a period of 24 hours and we use a skin …

Long-Term Impacts Of Acute Stressor Exposure On Locus Coeruleus Function And Anxiety-Like Behavior In Rats, Olga Borodovitsyna

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Stress is a physiological state characterized by behavioral arousal that occurs during exposure to harmful or threatening stimuli, and usually facilitates an adaptive behavioral response. The persistence of stress sometimes causes it to become maladaptive, potentially contributing to disease development, including physiological complications with altered neuroendocrine signaling and impaired function of organ systems, and psychological conditions including depression and anxiety. Anxiety disorders in particular are associated with a history of stress and are the most common class of mental disorders, with a lifetime prevalence of 33.7% in the general population. The locus coeruleus (LC) is a major node in the …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Opioid Use Disorder: The Timeline For Medication Assisted Therapy, Alexander Cristofori

Capstone Showcase

Opioid Use Disorder is patterns of opioid use leading to withdrawal, giving up important life events in order to use opioids, and excessive time spent using opioids, to name a few diagnostic criteria. The clinical progression of the disorder involves periods of acute exacerbation and remission that are cyclic in nature. Treatment is most effective when it includes both pharmacological and psychosocial modalities, referred to as medication assisted therapy (MAT). Three drugs used commonly in MAT-based treatment for OUD from oldest to newest include Methadone, Buprenorphine-naloxone, and Naltrexone. Treatment program models that prioritize total abstinence from the addictive substance attached …

Investigating Cannabinoid Type-1 Receptor (Cb1r) Positive Allosteric Modulators (Pams) In Mouse Models Of Overt Cannabimimetic Activity, Subjective Drug Effects, And Neuropathic Pain, Jayden Elmer

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain affects between 20 and 30 percent of the adult population in western countries and represents a wide array of specific etiologies (Berge, 2011). Neuropathic pain secondary to traumatic nerve injury, chemotherapeutic toxicity, or diseases (e.g., diabetes mellitus) is often refractory to conventional analgesics, with patients receiving less than 50% pain relief compared to placebo (Finnerup et al. 2010). The endocannabinoid system has shown potential as a therapeutic target for neuropathic pain wherein CB1 agonism via administration of exogenous agonists or pharmacological blockade of endocannabinoid catabolic enzymes exhibits efficacy in reversing allodynia in the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model …

Psychosocial Factors And Physical Health In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients, Olulana Bamiro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem identified was poor physical health in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The problem is important because poor physical health yields unsuccessful aging. The current research aimed to identify psychosocial factors that improve self-evaluated physical health in the study population as a proxy to overall health; the research questions helped identify these factors. The first research question assessed the association between health locus of control and self-evaluated physical health. The second research question evaluated the association between family support and self-evaluated physical health. A final research question assessed the association between health locus of control, …

Manipulating The Perineuronal Net In The Deep Cerebellar Nucleus, Deidre E. O'Dell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Perineuronal nets (PNN) are a type of specialized extracellular matrix in the central nervous system. The PNN forms during postnatal development but the ontogeny of the PNN has yet to be elucidated. Studying the PNN in the rat brain may allow us to further understand the PNN’s role in development, learning, and memory. The PNN is fully developed in the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) of rats by post-natal day 18. By using enzymatic digestion of the PNN with chondroitinase ABC (ChABC), we studied how digestion of the PNN affects cerebellar-dependent eyeblink conditioning (EBC) and performed electrophysiological recordings from DCN neurons. …

Targeting The Cerebrovasculature In Sepsis: A Focus On The Brain Microvascular Endothelium, Divine C. Nwafor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a critical interface between the systemic circulation and the brain. It is a specialized multicellular unit composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), pericytes, a basement membrane, and astrocytic end foot processes. BMECs are a principal component of the BBB that provide the structural framework needed for the stringent transport of molecules into the brain. BMEC dysfunction permits the trafficking of neurotoxins from systemic circulation into the brain, which ultimately exacerbates BBB dysfunction and neuroinflammation. Studies have shown that BBB dysfunction is a key determinant of cognitive decline in sepsis. However, there are critical knowledge …

Spirituality As A Moderator Between Ptss And Cardiovascular Reactivity, Kriti Sharda

Honors Scholar Theses

Posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) can be distressing and produce robust cardiovascular symptoms, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, which have been implicated in higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Identifying factors that may reduce symptoms may suggest therapeutic strategies. One such potential factor is spirituality, given that spirituality is associated with both reducing PTSS and with preventing or improving CVD. We sampled 63 young college women who indicated being exposed to unwanted sexual contact. We asked them to write about their experience while we took heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) …

Historical Trauma Response Scores As A Function Of Unresolved Grief And Substance Use Disorder In American Indian Populations, Andrew R. Saunders

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Abstract

Researchers are interested in the outcomes of interventions, specifically, measuring historical trauma (HT) among American Indian/Alaska Native communities and the long-term distress and substance abuse as a result of historical trauma response (HTR). Previous literature has implicated limitations in the clinical conceptualization of the relationship between intergenerational transfer of HTR and substance abuse. The aim of the current study is to examine treatment efficacy of 50 homosexual, American Indian males randomized to a culturally-adapted juxtaposition of (1) Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), (2) Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and (3) Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief Intervention (HTUG), or (4) waitlisted on …

Sexually Dimorphic Oxytocin Receptor-Expressing Neurons In The Anteroventral Periventricular Nucleus Regulates Maternal Behavior, Kaustubh Sharma

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin is involved in the regulation of social behaviors, including social recognition, pair bonding, and sex-specific parental behaviors in a variety of species. Oxytocin triggers these social behaviors by binding to oxytocin receptors (OXTR) in various parts of the brain. Oxytocin-induced sex-typical behavior, therefore, suggests a sexual dimorphic distribution of OXTR in the brain. In recent years, the oxytocin system in the brain received tremendous attention as a potential pharmacological target for treatment of many psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, autism spectrum disorders, and even sex-specific psychiatric disorder like postpartum depression (PPD). An important problem and a …

Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Of Adverse Trauma Outcomes In Emerging Adulthood, Olena Kleshchova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Exposure to traumatic stress and adversity during the formative years of development can have adverse effects on mental health, neuroendocrine stress system function, and the brain, that persist into adulthood. One candidate mechanism that might confer vulnerability to enduring adverse outcomes of early life trauma is disruption of normal brain maturation. As the brain matures, functional interactions among brain regions change until the functional brain architecture (i.e., the functional connectome) reaches a mature state in adulthood. Given that different neural circuits have distinct developmental trajectories and sensitive periods, traumatic stress at a given point in development might have …

Rehabilitative Movement Approaches And Dance Interventions In Parkinson’S Disease, Cecilia Fontanesi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The scope of this work is to address the functional deficits and symptoms experienced by those living with Parkinson’s Disease through movement interventions.

Chapter 1 offers a brief overview of current pharmacotherapy and rehabilitation approaches in Parkinson’s, focusing on dance in particular as a movement intervention that may be particularly suited to this population.

Chapter 2 focuses on brain plasticity and motor learning in PD, reporting the effects of rTMS applied after the acquisition of a motor skill. In this study, adaptation tested in patients with PD was comparable in the sham and TMS sessions, while retention indices tested on …

Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of Psilocybin From January 1, 1989 To December 31, 2019, Dax Oliver

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psilocybin is a chemical compound that has received a lot of attention from medical researchers in recent years. However, this research is not merely a medical issue but a social and political one as well. In the 1960s, psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds were widely ingested outside of clinical settings. This alarmed some of the American public, resulting in severe legal restrictions on psilocybin use and research.

Today, many psilocybin advocates hope that it will avoid the negative public sentiment of the 1960s. To help gauge public sentiment about other psychoactive compounds, some studies have examined newspaper coverage, but there …

Wild Mice With Different Social Network Sizes Vary In Brain Gene Expression, Patricia C. Lopes, Barbara König

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Appropriate social interactions influence animal fitness by impacting several processes, such as mating, territory defense, and offspring care. Many studies shedding light on the neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior have focused on nonapeptides (vasopressin, oxytocin, and homologues) and on sexual or parent-offspring interactions. Furthermore, animals have been studied under artificial laboratory conditions, where the consequences of behavioral responses may not be as critical as when expressed under natural environments, therefore obscuring certain physiological responses. We used automated recording of social interactions of wild house mice outside of the breeding season to detect individuals at both tails of a distribution …

Mental Associations And Music Therapy: Including The History Of Associationism And The Neurology Of Associations, Dianna Rose

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Associations are formed in our minds based upon three elements: sensory experience, emotions, and memories. These associations, unique to each individual, dictate thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and actions. Some are necessary and supportive, while others can be maladaptive. Established associations can be changed, and new associations can be formed, to align with a client’s goals. The literature presents a strong history of associationism, as well as a body of research that demonstrates the neurological processes of how mental associations are formed. There are also studies showing how music activates the brain. However, there is a lack of research which draws direct …

Translating Touches: New Approaches For Modeling And Rescuing Executive Function Deficits After Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Johnny A. Kenton

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Background: With a recent meta-analysis indicating that 9.8% of women worldwide consume alcohol during pregnancy, understanding the effects of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is critical for both identifying and treating those afflicted. Traditional preclinical research investigating the behavioral effects of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as FASD, has utilized tasks designed for specific animal models. For this reason, preclinical research into FASD requires a shift into clinically relevant behavioral testing. One such method involves touch-sensitive screens integrated into an operant box to emulate clinical computer-based tasks, such as the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery.

Methods: Here, we utilized a mouse model …