Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Sex Differences In Stress Reactivity, Brain Morphology, And Oxytocin In The Hypothalamus Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum (Monodelphis Domestica), Esperanza I. Zacarias, Daniela Rodriguez, Alexandra Chalons, Sasawan Heingraj, Nicole Altamirano, Joseph Rafac, John L. Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Colloquium

Understanding the effects of stress on behavior and cognition is important due to its impact on mental health and wellbeing (Schneiderman et al. 2005). Translational animal research can contribute to the development of new treatments that can improve therapeutic outcomes and our understanding of the neurobiology of stress. In the present study, we complement behavioral stress reactivity with immunohistochemical localization of oxytocin in the hypothalamus, a neuropeptide that regulates stress (Neumann & Slattery, 2016). Oxytocin has potential therapeutic use for mental health disorders (Neumann & Slattery, 2016), and the effects of oxytocin seem to be sexually dimorphic (Love, 2018). Using …

Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid In The Midbrain: Role In Sensation, Perception, And Neurological Disorders, Truc Le, Cristian Botello, John Vandeberg, Mario Gil

Research Symposium

Background: Altered GABA expression in the midbrain is associated with neurological conditions like epilepsy and Parkinson’s Disease. In the genetically epilepsy prone rat, an increase in GABA neurons in the inferior colliculus increases seizure susceptibility. In contrast, Parkinson’s Disease is associated with altered GABA expression in the substantia nigra. The purpose of this study is to identify patterns between the sensory and motor regions of the midbrain and to quantify a baseline of GABA neurons in these areas.

Methods: The Allen Institute’s reference atlas of the mouse and BrainMap.org was used to identify the sensory and motor areas of the …