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Full-Text Articles in Developmental Neuroscience
Characterizing The Medial Forebrain Bundle In Adolescents With Anhedonic Depression, Tina Nguyen
Characterizing The Medial Forebrain Bundle In Adolescents With Anhedonic Depression, Tina Nguyen
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Adolescent depression has quickly grown in prevalence, yet the underlying neuropathology remains poorly understood. Anhedonia–the diminished ability to experience pleasure–is a core symptom of melancholic depression. Early identification of biomarkers associated with anhedonic depression could help mitigate the severity of the disorder by enhancing treatment efficacy. Blunted functionality of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), the reward center of the brain, and abnormal dopaminergic activity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have both been linked to depression. Furthermore, glutamatergic input from the hypothalamus modulates the VTA which in turn, downregulates dopamine release in the NAcc. However, there is limited evidence supporting that …
Towards Understanding The Function Of An Ets-Like Gene In Nematostella Vectensis: Generation Of A Knockout Mutant Line And A Transgenic Reporter Line, Emily Bullock
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Due to their unique phylogenic position as sister to Bilateria, Cnidaria are often credited with the utility of allowing for reconstruction of ancestral biology based on characteristics shared with bilaterians and other animals. This factor makes investigation into the nervous systems of cnidarians critical in understanding early neural evolution. Wamides, a class of neuropeptides, have been shown to play a regulatory role in life cycle transitions across many different species. The cnidarian specific Wamide neuropeptide, GLWamide, has previously been identified to play an accelerator role in the metamorphic timing of a specific species of sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. However, …
Early Life Stress Predicts Future Conduct Disorder In Adolescents, Savannah Ellis
Early Life Stress Predicts Future Conduct Disorder In Adolescents, Savannah Ellis
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Early Life Stress (ELS) and adversity increase people’s risk for developing mental, social, or emotional dysregulation and disorders later in life. The objective of this study was to test whether ELS in adolescents could prospectively predict future conduct disorder. The study additionally tested potential neural mediators of the effect of ELS on future conduct disorder, and specifically targeted the structural connections from the anterior insula and medial prefrontal cortex to the Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc). Data for the project came from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD study), which is a longitudinal multi-site consortium funded by the National Institutes of …