Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons^™

Utilizing Ai Integrated Neuroimaging Technology To Expand Upon Machine Learning In Positron Emission Tomography Technology With The Aim Of Detecting Amyloid Beta Biomarkers Early In The Onset Of Alzheimer's., Ethan S. Terman

Undergraduate Research Posters

Early intervention in Alzheimer's is vital for treatment. The earlier a professional can detect symptoms and make a diagnosis the earlier a prognosis can be implemented. With the prevalence of data in our day-to-day world combined with Artificial intelligence (AI), utilizing both for machine learning can pave the way for more accurate and efficient detection of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. AI combined with Machine learning (ML) increases diagnostic efficiency and reduces human errors, making it a valuable resource for physicians and clinicians alike. With the increasing amount of data processing and image interpretation required, the ability to use AI …

Role Of Chronic Stress-Induced Neuroinflammation In Rodent Locus Coeruleus Physiology And Anxiety-Like Behaviors, Arthur Anthony Alfonso Reyes

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

The locus coeruleus (LC), the primary site of brain norepinephrine (NE), is a key anatomical brain region implicated in the stress response. Stress is a neuroendocrine physiologic response to a stressor that promotes organism survival through adaptive change and restoration of homeostasis. The central stress response, which drives behavioral and physiological change, is primarily mediated by activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. While advantageous in the short term, chronic stress exposure can lead to HPA axis and LC dysregulation, which are thought to contribute to the etiology of anxiety disorders. Previous studies demonstrate the effects of acute stress in increasing LC …

Validating A New In Vivo Model To Study Als, Izabela J. Cimachowska

Student Theses and Dissertations

Buildup of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are well known characteristics of both sporadic and hereditary amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). While both forms of the disease seem to arise from common cellular dysfunction, the genetic disease is studied to a much greater extent. Engineering novel animal models of the sporadic form of the disease is crucial for development of druggable targets to treat ALS and understand the underlying mechanisms. Interestingly, accumulation of oxidative stress by exacerbated emission of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from presynaptic mitochondria is a hallmark of both hereditary and sporadic ALS. Previous work by our laboratory showed …

Effects Of Picrotoxin Application On The Cardiac Ganglion Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, John T. Woolley

Honors Projects

Picrotoxin (PTX) has been employed extensively as a tool within the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) for its efficacy in blocking K⁺ and Cl⁺ currents gated by both GABA and glutamate. Through blocking some currents in the STNS, PTX allows for examination of other components without their presence. However, effects of PTX are relatively unknown within the lobster’s cardiac ganglion (CG). As an incredibly small nervous system of only nine neurons, the lobster CG presents an excellent model system for studying neural circuits. Given that the chemical synapses in the CG are mediated by glutamate, the present study …

Cortisol Receptor Sensitivity As A Risk Factor For Depression, Michela Michielli

Honors Theses

In 2020, the World Health Organization reported over 264 million people across the world were suffering from depression. Studies have demonstrated that one source of depression is a hormonal imbalance involved in the stress response. Cortisol is a stress hormone regulated by the Hypothalamic-Anterior-Pituitary (HPA) Axis. Its effects on the stress response and other metabolic activities in the body are exerted through the glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors (GR and MR respectively).

Our research has examined mutations known as single-nucleotide-polymorphisms (SNPs) relating to cortisol-receptor sensitivity and the behavior of cortisol in the body to investigate the link between cortisol activity and …

The Neurobiological Underpinnings Of Depression-Related Maternal Behavior Deficits, Sarah B. Winokur

Doctoral Dissertations

Maternal caregiving is a dynamic process that requires extensive cognitive, motivational, and affective processing. World-wide, approximately 17% of mothers are diagnosed with postpartum depression yearly (Wang et al., 2021). Untreated, mothers with postpartum depression experience deficits in cognition, motivation, affect, and parenting (Arteche et al., 2011; Dix and Meunier, 2009; Lovejoy et al., 2000). Although postpartum depression is related to compromised parenting, to date, few studies have examined the neurobiological mechanisms by which maternal behavior is compromised in postpartum depression (Field, 2010; Murray et al., 1996)_. This dissertation aims to examine how depression neurobiologically disrupts parenting abilities. These studies …

Strong Inferences About Pain In Invertebrates Require Stronger Evidence, Edgar T. Walters

Animal Sentience

Evidence for sentience in animals distantly related to humans is often sought in observations of behavioral and neural responses to noxious stimuli that would be painful in humans. Most proposed criteria for painful sentience in “lower” animals such as decapod crustaceans have no necessary links to the affective (“suffering”) component of pain. The best evidence for painful affect in animals is learned aversion to stimuli associated with noxious experience, and conditioned preference for contexts associated with relief from aversive consequences of noxious experience, as expressed in voluntary behavior. Such evidence is currently lacking for any invertebrate except octopus.

Investigation Of The Hsp90 Co-Chaperone, Sti1, In Cellular Resilience And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rachel E. Lackie

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In neurodegenerative diseases, certain proteins misfold and form toxic aggregates that cause brain matter atrophy, leading to decline in motor and/or cognitive functions. To maintain cellular proteostasis and survival, molecular chaperones regulate protein maturation and help to prevent aberrant protein aggregation. The molecular chaperone Hsp90 regulates hundreds of proteins and interestingly, several of those are misfolded in neurodegenerative diseases. Stress inducible-phosphoprotein-1 (STI1, STIP1), an Hsp90 co-chaperone, orchestrates client protein transfer between chaperones Hsp70 and Hsp90 through physical interactions with both chaperones. Notably, previous work in yeast, worms, and mouse neurons all showed that STI1 protects organisms against stressors and amyloid-like …

Exercise Training Rescues Increased Brain Isf Aβ Caused By Chronic Isolation Stress In App/Ps1 Transgenic Mice, Lydia M. Holtmann

MSU Graduate Theses

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive brain disorder that destroys memory and cognition thought to be initiated through the build-up of the amyloid-beta (A) peptide. The A peptide aggregates, slowly forming into insoluble plaque substances that destroy the brain and worsen patient’s symptoms over time. Studies have shown that chronic isolation stress (CIS) increases the A peptide soluble and insoluble levels in the brain and that exercise training decreases these levels in transgenic mouse models of AD. We sought to determine if an exercise training regimen would rescue the increase in Aβ levels caused by CIS in the APP/PS1 transgenic …

The Neurological Asymmetry Of Self-Face Recognition, Aleksandra Janowska, Brianna Balugas, Matthew Pardillo, Victoria Mistretta, Katherine Chavarria, Janet Brenya, Taylor Shelansky, Vanessa Martinez, Kitty Pagano, Nathira Ahmad, Samantha Zorns, Abigail Straus, Sarah Sierra, Julian Keenan

Department of Biology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990s brought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis of self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) examinations, revealed a right-hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the dorsal frontal lobe, the temporal parietal junction, and the medial temporal cortex. In this systematic review, we provide confirmation of these data (which are …

Identifying The Cell Composition And Clonal Diversity Of Supratentorial Ependymoma Using Single Cell Rna-Sequencing, James He

University Scholar Projects

Ependymoma is a primary solid tumor of the central nervous system. Supratentorial ependymoma (ST-EPN), a subtype of ependymomas, is driven by an oncogenic fusion between the ZFTA and RELA genes in 70% of cases. We introduced this fusion into neural progenitor cells of mice embryos via in utero electroporation of a non-viral binary piggyBac transposon system containing ZFTA-RELA. From preliminary data in the LoTurco lab, inducing the expression of ZFTA-RELA into different neural progenitor cells produces tumors of varying lethality and cellular composition. To define the cellular composition and subclonal diversity of ST-EPN tumors, we used single cell RNA-sequencing to …

Identifying The Cell Composition And Clonal Diversity Of Supratentorial Ependymoma Using Single Cell Rna-Sequencing, James He

Honors Scholar Theses

Ependymoma is a primary solid tumor of the central nervous system. Supratentorial ependymoma (ST-EPN), a subtype of ependymomas, is driven by an oncogenic fusion between the ZFTA and RELA genes in 70% of cases. We introduced this fusion into neural progenitor cells of mice embryos via in utero electroporation of a non-viral binary piggyBac transposon system containing ZFTA-RELA. From preliminary data in the LoTurco lab, inducing the expression of ZFTA-RELA into different neural progenitor cells produces tumors of varying lethality and cellular composition. To define the cellular composition and subclonal diversity of ST-EPN tumors, we used single cell RNA-sequencing …

Investigating Mechanisms In Nociceptors Driving Ongoing Activity And Ongoing Pain, Elia Lopez

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Ongoing (apparently spontaneous) pain at rest is a major complaint of patients suffering from many forms of acute and chronic pain, including acute and persistent postsurgical pain. Accumulating evidence suggests ongoing activity in nociceptors is a major driver of ongoing pain. Ongoing activity can be generated in sensory neurons in the absence of sensory generator potentials if one or more of three neurophysiological alterations occur – prolonged depolarization of resting membrane potential (RMP), hyperpolarization of action potential (AP) threshold, and/or increased amplitude of depolarizing spontaneous fluctuations of membrane potential (DSFs) to bridge the gap between RMP and AP threshold. Cellular …

Open Neuroscience Initiative, Austin Lim

College of Science and Health Full Text Publications

The Open Neuroscience Initiative is a free-to-use textbook

This project began as a means to overcoming the financial burden that face undergraduate neuroscience students when buying textbooks. By compiling and writing a completely free-to-access textbook that covers the foundations of a typical college introduction to neuroscience course, students would have one less obstacle to overcome in their educational career, allowing them to focus their valuable time and attention on learning rather than finances. To make this project a reality, I began with a humble tweet in May 2019 that managed to gain a tiny bit of traction among the neuroscience …

Myelin, Cpla2, And Azithromycin: Modulation Of Macrophage Activation In Spinal Cord Injury Inflammation, Timothy J. Kopper

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Spinal cord injury (SCI) produces a chronic inflammatory state primarily mediated by macrophages consisting of resident microglia and infiltrating monocytes. These chronically activated SCI macrophages adopt a pro-inflammatory, pathological state that continues to cause additional damage after the initial injury and inhibits recovery. While the roles of macrophages in SCI pathophysiology are well documented, the factors contributing to this maladaptive response are poorly understood. Here, we identify the detrimental effects of myelin debris on macrophage physiology and demonstrate a novel, activation state-dependent role for cytosolic phospholipase-A2 (cPLA₂) in myelin- mediated potentiation of pro-inflammatory macrophage activation. Macrophage- mediated inflammatory …

Muscarinic Excitation Of Dopamine Neurons In The Ventral Tegmental Area Via Activation Of A Trpc-Like Cation Conductance, Yu Tzu Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play a crucial role in reward and motivational behaviors, including the development of drug addictions. VTA DA neurons receive excitatory cholinergic inputs from the mesopontine tegmentum. Blockage of the M5 muscarinic receptor in DA neurons has been shown to attenuate drug-induced DA release and abuse-related behaviors, but the molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, experiments were designed to identify the electrophysiological effects of muscarinic agonism in the modulation of action potential kinetics and firing patterns in VTA DA neurons of mice. Pharmacology of the muscarinic receptor-evoked current was also characterized. …

Estrogen Disruption Of Hypothalamic Neural Activity, Princess Dickson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The brain is highly dependent on the endocrine system for proper neurodevelopment, as it plays a key role in many biological processes. Bisphenol A is a chemical found in plastics that has the potential to mimic the effects of Estrogen in the body, at least weakly. People interact with plastic that contains BPA regularly, and people are at risk for exposure even before being born. The abundance of BPA, along with other exogenous estrogens, makes examining the relationship between early exposure and changes in brain activity imperative. The current study aims to establish a relationship between disrupted estrogen function and …

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 …

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 …

How Do Adult Songbirds Learn New Sounds? Using Neuromodulators To Probe The Function Of The Auditory Association Cortex, Matheus Macedo-Lima

Doctoral Dissertations

The ability to associate sounds and outcomes is vital in the life history of many species. Animals constantly assess the soundscape for cues associated with threats, competitors, allies, mates or prey, and experience is crucial for those associations. For vocal learning species such as humans and songbirds, learning sounds (i.e. perception and association learning) is also the first step in the process of vocal learning. Auditory learning is thought to depend on high-order cortical brain structures, where sounds and meaning are bound. In songbirds, the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) is part of the auditory association cortex and is known to be …

Divergence In Neuronal Calcium Dysregulation In Brain Aging And Animal Models Of Ad, Adam Ghoweri

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Neuronal calcium dysregulation first garnered attention during the mid-1980’s as a key factor in brain aging, which led to the formulation of the Ca²⁺ hypothesis of brain aging and dementia. Indeed, many Ca²⁺-dependent cellular processes that change with age, including an increase in the afterhyperpolarization, a decrease in long-term potentiation, an increased susceptibility to long-term depression, and a reduction in short-term synaptic plasticity, have been identified. It was later determined that increased intracellular Ca²⁺ with age was due to increased Ca²⁺ channel density, elevated release from intracellular Ca²⁺ stores, and decreased Ca²⁺ buffering …

Focal Augmentation Of Somatostatin Interneuron Function And Subsequent Circuit Effects In Developmentally Malformed, Epileptogenic Cortex, Nicole Ekanem

Theses and Dissertations

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a common clinical sequela of developmental cortical malformations such as polymicrogyria. Unfortunately, much remains unknown about the aberrant GABA-mediated circuit alterations that underlie DRE's onset and persistence in this context. To address this knowledge gap, we utilized the transcranial freeze lesion model in optogenetic mice lines (Somatostatin (SST)-Cre or Parvalbumin (PV)-Cre x floxed channelrhodopsin-2) to dissect features of the SST, PV, and pyramidal neuron microcircuit that are potentially associated with DRE. Investigations took place within developmental microgyria’s known pathological substrate, the adjoined and epileptogenic paramicrogyral region (PMR). As well, microcircuit relationships within the previously unexplored range …

Non-Invasive Method For Leptin Supplementation In Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Regan Mcnamara

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

I tested the hypothesis that recombinant leptin protein can be introduced to zebrafish in vivo through non-invasive soaking in a solution containing the protein. One way to study various molecules’ effects in vivo is through intraperitoneal or intracerebroventricular injections during the embryonic or larval stage, which is invasive, difficult to administer, and can have a high mortality rate. 48 hours post fertilization (hpf) zebrafish were soaked in a His-tagged recombinant leptin protein solution at 10 nM and 100 nM concentrations (produced by Genscript). After soaking, zebrafish larvae were washed extensively to remove all recombinant protein on their exterior before homogenization. …

Neuroanatomy Of The Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus Striatus, Pooja Dayal

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Here I characterized the central neuroanatomy of the Blackspotted Rockskipper, Entomacrodus striatus, native to French Polynesia. The neuroanatomy of E. striatus has not been studied prior to this paper. I used several histology and antibody staining techniques to accomplish this, including Crystal Violet, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and Bielschowsky’s Silver Nitrate staining. This paper describes the most successful techniques used, identifies major structures in the species’ neuroanatomy, and also explains why studying E. striatus is important in the future of vertebrate research.

Assessing The Morphology Of Vesicles In Inhibitory Symmetric Synapses In Safety And Fear Conditions In The Rat Lateral Amygdala, Valerie Kress

Honors Scholar Theses

There is a significant lack of research on vesicle morphology in inhibitory synapses in the rat lateral amygdala. Published research focuses heavily on excitatory synapses in different parts of the rat brain and even this research rarely focuses on the different vesicle types in axons. It is reported that in these axons, synaptic vesicles traditionally contain neurotransmitters while small dense core vesicles contain active zone proteins and large dense core vesicles contain neuropeptides. This study aims to find correlations between vesicle morphology, location, contents, and potential function of each of the different types of vesicle in inhibitory axons.

After reviewing …

Evolutionary Expansions And Neofunctionalization Of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors In Cnidaria, Ellen G. Dow

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reef ecosystems are composed of a variety of organisms, transient species of fish and invertebrates, microscopic bacteria and viruses, and structural organisms that build the living foundation, coral. Sessile cnidarians, corals and anemones, interpret dynamic environments of organisms and abiotic factors through a molecular interface. Recognition of foreign molecules occurs through innate immunity via receptors identifying conserved molecular patterns. Similarly, chemosensory receptors monitor the environment through specific ligands. Chemosensory receptors include ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs), transmembrane ion channels involved in chemical sensing and neural signal transduction. Recently, an iGluR homolog was implicated in cnidarian immunological resistance to recurrent infections of …

The Effects Of A Ketone Body On Synaptic Transmission, Alexandra Elizabeth Stanback

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

The ketogenic diet is commonly used to control epilepsy, especially in cases when medications cannot. The diet typically consists of high fat, low carb, and adequate protein and produces a metabolite called acetoacetate. Seizure activity is characterized by glutamate excitotoxicity and therefore glutamate regulation is a point of research for control of these disorders. Acetoacetate is heavily implicated as the primary molecule responsible for decreasing glutamate in the synapse; it is believed that acetoacetate interferes with the transport of glutamate into the synaptic vesicles. The effects on synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses was studied in relation to the ketogenic diet …

Data Collection Curated With An Application Ontology Describes The Methods And Results Upon Performing An Ex-Vivo Voltage-Clamp Assay On Outer Hair Cells Of The Mammalian Cochlea, Brenda Farrell, Jason Bengtson

Research Data

This data collection describes the electrical properties of outer hair cells isolated from the mammalian cochlea of the domestic guinea pig. This data was obtained by performing whole-cell patch clamp voltage clamp assay on cells and monitoring the electrical admittance during a DC voltage ramp. The membrane capacitance was then calculated at each membrane potential from this admittance, and the voltage-independent and voltage-dependent membrane capacitance was determined upon further analysis. In some case the DC conductance was also measured by interrogation of the cell with voltage-step function which was calculated from the change in the mean steady-state current with respect …

Molecular Targets Of Psychedelics And Their Role In Behavioral Models Of Hallucinogenic Action, Hiba Z. Vohra

Theses and Dissertations

Psychedelics are a subset of hallucinogenic drugs that exert their characteristic effects through agonist activity at the serotonin receptor 2A (5-HT_2A). In this study, I aimed to characterize the modulatory role of the metabotropic glutamate subtype 2 receptor (mGluR2) in the 5-HT_2A-specific rodent model of hallucinogenic action, head-twitch response (HTR). Secondly, I aimed to explore if 5-HT_2A agonist-induced deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response, an additional model of hallucinogenic action, could be produced in mice. Though 5-HT_2A agonist-induced PPI deficits, which represent interruptions in normal sensorimotor gating, have been described in …

The Role Of Developmental Timing Regulators In Progenitor Proliferation And Cell Fate Specification During Mammalian Neurogenesis, Jennifer S. Romer-Seibert

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Theses and Dissertations

Developmental timing is a key aspect of tissue and organ formation in which distinct cell types are generated through a series of steps from common progenitors. These progenitors undergo specific changes in gene expression that signifies both a distinct progenitor type and developmental time point that thereby specifies a particular cell fate at that stage of development. The nervous system is an important setting for understanding developmental timing because different cell types are produced in a certain order and the switch from stem cells to progenitors requires precise timing and regulation. Notable examples of such regulatory molecules include the RNA-binding …