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Parkinson's Disease: An Experimental Approach To Model The Visuo-Spatial Learning And Memory Deficits And An Analysis Of Evidence Implicating Α-Synuclein In Lewy Body Formation, Caitlyn Dawn Ahlberg

Honors College

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Given its prevalence, researching PD is important to world health. The well known motor symptoms of PD are often accompanied by non-motor symptoms (NMS) including visuo-spatial learning and memory deficits. However, the mechanism whereby these NMS occur is unknown. PD is also characterized by the presence of protein aggregates termed Lewy Bodies (LBs). The mechanism whereby LBs form is unclear, although the fibrillization and aggregation of α-synuclein seem to be critical contributing factors.

This thesis reports development of an animal model of PD to study NMS using 6-Hydroxydopamine …