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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

The Relationship Of Spasticity And Impairments In Force Regulation And Neuromuscular Fatigue Post Stroke, Reivian Berrios Barillas Oct 2015

The Relationship Of Spasticity And Impairments In Force Regulation And Neuromuscular Fatigue Post Stroke, Reivian Berrios Barillas

Dissertations (1934 -)

Hyperreflexia that causes muscle spasticity may contribute to limitations in force regulation and walking ability post stroke. Additionally, neuromuscular fatigue may reduce force regulation, which is important because fatigue can assist to strengthen muscles that control walking. Hyperreflexia may be caused by cortical disinhibition that allows Ia afferents to amplify excitatory synaptic inputs to motoneuron pools. Cortical disinhibition is presumably caused by stroke-related motor cortex damage. Although, other excitatory synaptic sources to motoneurons contribute to motor control, hyperreflexia may be one contributor that affects stroke survivors. However, hyperreflexia is reported infrequently to effect force regulation post stroke. The goal was …


A Neurobiological Pathway That Mediates Stress-Induced Drug Use, Oliver Vranjkovic Oct 2015

A Neurobiological Pathway That Mediates Stress-Induced Drug Use, Oliver Vranjkovic

Dissertations (1934 -)

Cocaine addiction represents a tremendous health and financial burden on our society and the high rate of relapse to cocaine use in abstinent addicts represents a major barrier to effective therapy. Thus, understanding the factors that contribute to relapse and the underlying neurobiological processes is important for guiding the development of treatment for addiction. Stressful life events often trigger drug use in recovering addicts. The contribution of stress to drug use is problematic due to the unpredictable and often uncontrollable nature of stress. A growing literature indicates that norepinephrine and corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the brain play key roles …


Neural Plasticity In Response To Intervention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sheryl Jayne Stevens Jul 2015

Neural Plasticity In Response To Intervention In Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sheryl Jayne Stevens

Dissertations (1934 -)

Current theories of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) suggest that they may develop from the transactional interaction between biological risk factors and environmental processes (Dawson et al., 2009). Due to the brain’s experience-expectant nature, one’s degree of social exposure may have a significant impact on their brain development and behavioral presentation. In addition to the primary critical neurodevelopmental period identified in early childhood, recent research has demonstrated a second period of substantial neurodevelopment during the adolescent period (Sisk & Foster, 2004). This study investigated the neural and behavioral impact of participation in an empirically validated behavioral intervention (The Program for the …


Genetic And Molecular Analysis Of Dec-11 In C. Elegans' Intestinal Pacemaker Activity, Adele Joan Gordon Apr 2015

Genetic And Molecular Analysis Of Dec-11 In C. Elegans' Intestinal Pacemaker Activity, Adele Joan Gordon

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Rhythmic behaviors are ubiquitous phenomena in plant and animal phyla. Ultradian rhythmic behaviors occur with a period of less than 24 hours and include such rhythmic behaviors as the beating of the heart and peristalsis in the gut. The nematode C. elegans exhibits three well-characterized ultradian rhythmic behaviors: ovulation, pharyngeal pumping, and the defecation motor program (DMP). The DMP occurs every ~45 seconds in wild-type worms and comprises three distinct muscle contractions: a posterior body contraction (pBoc), an anterior body contraction (aBoc), and an enteric muscle contraction (Emc), which is coupled to expulsion (Exp). The rhythmicity of the DMP is …