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Virginia Commonwealth University

Theses/Dissertations

Nervous System

Extracellular matrix

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Novel Roles For Reelin In Retinogeniculate Targeting, Cheryl Haner Aug 2010

Novel Roles For Reelin In Retinogeniculate Targeting, Cheryl Haner

Theses and Dissertations

In the developing visual system, the axon of a pre-synaptic cell must be guided to a post-synaptic partner. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the eye are an excellent model to study this process. Multiple classes exist that respond to specific types of light input, and these project to different destinations in the brain that process distinct types of information. The RGC axons that navigate to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) do so in a class-specific manner. Axons from RGCs that mediate non-image forming functions innervate the ventral LGN (vLGN) and the intergeniculate leaflet (IGL). Axons from RGCs that process image-forming …


The Expression And Function Of Phosphacan/Rptpβ In Adaptive Synaptogenesis After Traumatic Brain Injury, Janna Harris Nov 2008

The Expression And Function Of Phosphacan/Rptpβ In Adaptive Synaptogenesis After Traumatic Brain Injury, Janna Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 1.5 million Americans annually and is a major health concern. Increasing evidence suggests that the brain extracellular environment regulates plasticity and synaptic recovery following TBI. Here we have focused on phosphacan/RPTPβ, an alternatively spliced group of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans which are prominent within the mature brain extracellular matrix (ECM). Previous studies show that phosphacan/RPTPβ influences neuronal migration, adhesion, neurite outgrowth, and morphogenesis. However, our understanding of how these important ECM components are involved in recovery from brain trauma remains unclear. In the present study, we used unilateral entorhinal cortex lesion (UEC), a model which induces …