Behavioral Neurobiology Commons^™

Effects Of Social Isolation On Cecum Opioid Receptor Expression And Affective Behavior, Jordan Riser, John Tkaczynski, Nicole Shellenbarger, Maya Patel, Daniel Chandler, Daniel Manvich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

BACKGROUND

Psychological stress can induce gastrointestinal symptoms and exacerbate existing gastrointestinal disorders, indicating an interaction between the central and enteric nervous systems. Central nervous system activation of opioid receptors stimulates sympathetic outflow to the enteric nervous system, delaying motility and reducing gastrointestinal secretions, producing a similar clinical presentation to IBS.

HYPOTHESIS

We hypothesize that social isolation induces anxiety states, disrupting homeostatic noradrenergic activity in the brain and gut, leading to neurophysiological changes in the cecum characterized by altered expression of opioid receptors.

METHODS

Sprague-Dawley rats were housed in either group (control) or socially isolated conditions. Affective behavior was assessed using …

Modulation Of Opioid Receptor Expression In The Ventral Tegmental Area Following Stress Exposure In Rats, Maya Patel, John Tkaczynski, Jordan Riser, Nicole Shellenbarger, Jin Park, Daniel Manvich, Daniel J. Chandler

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The ventral tegmental area (VTA) contains dopamine-producing neurons projecting to various brain regions. VTA dysfunction is linked to addiction and depression. Delta opioid receptor upregulation relates to chronic pain, inflammation, cancer, and early adversity. Kappa receptors in the VTA influence stress, drug-seeking, mood, and reward. Notably, chronic substance abuse upregulates the κ-receptor/dynorphin system, and the opioid system regulates social interaction needs.

Hypothesis: Stress will upregulate opioid receptors.

Methods: We compared group-housed and individually-housed rats using stress tests, analyzing behavior and quantifying VTA opioid receptor expression.

Results: Social isolation upregulated delta and kappa opioid receptors in …

Effects Of Social Isolation On Locus Coeruleus Opioid Receptor Expression And Affective Behavior, John Tkaczynski, Jordan Riser, Maya Patel, Nicole Shellenbarger, Jin Park, Daniel Manvich, Daniel J Chandler

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Social isolation is a stressor that impairs homeostatic neuroendocrine functions and is associated with the development of several mood disorders characterized by persistent negative affect. Persistent feelings of loneliness have been growing public health concerns for several years and were greatly exacerbated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem has grown so severe the U.S. Surgeon General recently declared loneliness to be an epidemic health concern that is associated with poor mental and somatic health outcomes. Therefore, identifying mechanisms of neuroadaptation that contribute to the development of persistent negative affect is a critical step in the identifying better …

Fos Expression In The Periaqueductal Gray, But Not The Ventromedial Hypothalamus, Is Correlated With Psychosocial Stress-Induced Cocaine-Seeking Behavior In Rats, Nicole M Hinds, Ireneusz D Wojtas, Desta M Pulley, Stephany J Mcdonald, Colton D Spencer, Milena Sudarikov, Nicole E Hubbard, Colin M Kulick-Soper, Samantha De Guzman, Sara Hayden, Jessica J Debski, Bianca Patel, Douglas P Fox, Daniel F Manvich

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Psychosocial stressors are known to promote cocaine craving and relapse in humans but are infrequently employed in preclinical relapse models. Consequently, the underlying neural circuitry by which these stressors drive cocaine seeking has not been thoroughly explored. Using Fos expression analyses, we sought to examine whether the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) or periaqueductal gray (PAG), two critical components of the brain's hypothalamic defense system, are activated during psychosocial stress-induced cocaine seeking. Adult male and female rats self-administered cocaine (0.5 mg/kg/inf IV, fixed-ratio 1 schedule, 2 h/session) over 20 sessions. On sessions 11, 14, 17, and 20, a tactile cue was present …

In Search Of The Locus Coeruleus: Guidelines For Identifying Anatomical Boundaries And Electrophysiological Properties Of The Blue Spot In Mice, Fish, Finches, And Beyond, Amelien Vreven, Gary Aston-Jones, Anthony E Pickering, Gina R Poe, Barry Waterhouse, Nelson K Totah

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Our understanding of human brain function can be greatly aided by studying analogous brain structures in other organisms. One brain structure with neurochemical and anatomical homology throughout vertebrate species is the locus coeruleus (LC), a small collection of norepinephrine (NE)-containing neurons in the brainstem that project throughout the central nervous system. The LC is involved in nearly every aspect of brain function, including arousal and learning, which has been extensively examined in rats and nonhuman primates using single-unit recordings. Recent work has expanded into putative LC single-unit electrophysiological recordings in a nonmodel species, the zebra finch. Given the importance of …

Interactions Between Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And Methylphenidate Administration On Catecholamine Transporter Protein Levels Within The Rodent Prefrontal Cortex, Anna Abrimian, Eleni Papadopoulos, Christopher P. Knapp, J. Loweth, Barry Waterhouse, Rachel Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

It is theorized that low concentrations of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) within in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to increased risky behavior. Our lab has shown that repeated mild TBI (rmTBI) sex-differentially increases risky behavior in a rodent model. Methylphenidate (MPH) is a psychostimulant drug used to treat symptoms of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), also driven by a hypo-catecholaminergic PFC. MPH elevates catecholamine levels by blocking DA and NE transporters, DAT and NET. While the potential of psychostimulants to treat post-TBI symptoms have been explored, the effects of sub-chronic MPH on transporter levels following …

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Noradrenergic Innervation Of The Prefrontal Cortex, Jil P. Modi, Christopher P. Knapp, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a common cause of death and disability in the United States, and it can occur due to varied reasons including motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, and falls. Following TBIs, patients are often left with lifelong disabilities and cognitive problems that can lead to increased risk-taking behaviors. The main goal of my research was to understand the neural mechanisms that drive increased risk-taking behaviors due to TBIs. The specific areas of the brain I was interested in looking at were the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and/or anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the prefrontal …

Dysexecutive Difficulty And Subtle Everyday Functional Disabilities: The Digital Trail Making Test, David J Libon, Rod Swenson, Sean Tobyne, Ali Jannati, Daniel Schulman, Catherine C Price, Melissa Lamar, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Digital neuropsychological tests reliably capture real-time, process-based behavior that traditional paper/pencil tests cannot detect, enabling earlier detection of neurodegenerative illness. We assessed relations between informant-based subtle and mild functional decline and process-based features extracted from the digital Trail Making Test-Part B (dTMT-B).

METHODS: A total of 321 community-dwelling participants (56.0% female) were assessed with the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and the dTMT-B. Three FAQ groups were constructed: FAQ = 0 (unimpaired); FAQ = 1-4 (subtle impairment); FAQ = 5-8 (mild impairment).

Results: Compared to the FAQ-unimpaired group, other groups required longer pauses inside target circles (p < 0.050) and produced more total pen strokes to complete the test (p < 0.016). FAQ-subtle participants required more time to complete the entire test (p …