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Glutamate Dysregulation And Hippocampal Dysfunction In Epileptogenesis, Seth R. Batten

Theses and Dissertations--Medical Sciences

Epileptogenesis is the complex process of the brain developing epileptic acitivity. Due to the role of glutamate and the hippocampus in synaptic plasticity a dysregulation in glutamate neurotransmission and hippocampal dysfunction are implicated in the process of epileptogenesis. However, the exact causal factors that promote epileptogenesis are unknown.

We study presynaptic proteins that regulate glutamate neurotransmission and their role in epileptogenesis. The presynaptic protein, tomosyn, is believed to be a negative regulator of glutamate neurotransmission; however, no one has studied the effects of this protein on glutamate transmission in vivo. Furthermore, evidence suggests that mice lacking tomosyn have a …

The Role Of Gadd45b In Hippocampus-Dependent Cognition, Synaptic Plasticity And Activity-Associated Transcriptional Dynamics, Faraz Sultan

All ETDs from UAB

An expanding body of literature argues for a pivotal role of molecular epigenetic mechanisms in memory. Defined as mechanisms that regulate gene expression in the absence of DNA sequence modifications, these regulate various stages of memory-associated transcription. These phenomena are present at diverse anatomical subregions of the central nervous system (CNS) and regulate corresponding behaviors. Epigenetic mechanisms comprise a unique category of behavioral and physiological modulators because of their potential to modify the cellular phenotype in a stable manner. Hence, epigenetics offers a novel potential solution to a central paradox in memory retention: the finding that most putative molecular substrates …

Epigenetic Markers In The Developing Postnatal Brain, Rebecca Kaye Simmons

All ETDs from UAB

Epigenetic mechanisms provide a critical and plausible mechanism by which genes and the environment can interact and have been implicated in a number of diseases and disorders. In order to better understand how epigenetic mechanisms go awry in a diseased brain we must first understand how epigenetic mechanisms unfold during normal development. The present body of work begins to examine the role of DNA methylation in normal development and how it may contribute to a rodent model of emotion dysfunction. Using a variety of techniques, we evaluated the transcript, protein and functional output levels of DNA methyltransferase1, -3a, and -3b …