Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Key Genetic Drivers Of Volitional Physical Activity In The Central Nervous System, Brayden K. Leyva, Timothy M. Moore, Alexander R. Strumwasser, Xia Yang, Aldons J. Lusis, Andrea L. Hevener

International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings

Previous studies suggest that physical activity is driven by the Central Nervous System (CNS). PURPOSE: We determined the central genetic drivers of volitional activity in the CNS and identified several molecular mechanisms promoting improvements in metabolism as a consequence of daily exercise. METHODS: Leveraging genetic diversity, we studied 100 strains of sedentary (SED) and exercise-trained (TRN; in cage running wheels) animals of the UCLA hybrid mouse diversity panel (HMDP). Candidate gene identification analysis and single-cell RNA sequencing in three brain regions (hypothalamus, hippocampus, and striatum) were performed. Differential gene analysis was conducted between a cohort of exercise-trained and …

Identifying The Neurophysiological Effects Of Memory-Enhancing Amygdala Stimulation Using Interpretable Machine Learning, Mohammad S E Sendi, Cory S Inman, Kelly R Bijanki, Lou Blanpain, James K Park, Stephan Hamann, Robert E Gross, Jon T Willie, Babak Mahmoudi

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Direct electrical stimulation of the amygdala can enhance declarative memory for specific events. An unanswered question is what underlying neurophysiological changes are induced by amygdala stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: To leverage interpretable machine learning to identify the neurophysiological processes underlying amygdala-mediated memory, and to develop more efficient neuromodulation technologies.

METHOD: Patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy and depth electrodes placed in the hippocampus and amygdala performed a recognition memory task for neutral images of objects. During the encoding phase, 160 images were shown to patients. Half of the images were followed by brief low-amplitude amygdala stimulation. For local field potentials (LFPs) recorded from …

Diabetes Mellitus Affects Working Memory, Dylone C. Braganza, Emmanuel Flores, Lauren A. Crew, Ryan A. Wirt, Andrew A. Ortiz, Adam M. Mcneela, Jefferson W. Kinney, James M. Hyman

Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) degrades the brain’s ability to remember, think, and carry out tasks. The exact cause is not known, but several risk factors have been identified, including diabetes mellitus (DM). DM causes elevated blood sugar levels due to reduced insulin production in the pancreas. The linkage between elevated glucose levels and the behavioral impairments are not fully understood, which was the focus of this study. Rats were trained to alternate directions in a maze to receive a reward on consecutive trials. After training, five rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ), which induces hyperglycemia by injuring pancreatic beta cells. Three …

Effects Of Cod Liver Oil On Brain Antioxidant Level And Neuronal Count In Wistar Rat Model Of Comorbid Depression, Dimple Shet

Faculty work

No abstract provided.

Chronic Paracetamol Treatment Induces Neuroinflammation And Microglia Activation In Rat Hippocampus, Laddawan Lalert, Preecha Ruangvejvorachai, Supang Maneesri-Le Grand

Chulalongkorn Medical Journal

Background: Several studies have demonstrated multidirectional effects of paracetamol (acetaminophen; APAP) treatment on the central nervous system. Recently, an alteration of learning and memory have been reported following long-term APAP exposure; however, the mechanism underlying these detrimental effects of APAP treatment is not fully clarified. Objectives: To investigate the effect of chronic APAP treatment on the microglia activation and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus. Methods: Male Wistar rats (weighting 250 - 300 g) in the APAP-treated group was once a day gavaged with 200 mg/kg bodyweight APAP for 30 days, while distilled water at the same volume was orally delivered to …

Bacterial Sepsis Increases Hippocampal Fibrillar Amyloid Plaque Load And Neuroinflammation In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Jacob M Basak, Aura Ferreiro, Lucy S Cohen, Patrick W Sheehan, Collin J Nadarajah, Michael F Kanan, Kimberley V Sukhum, Gautam Dantas, Erik S Musiek

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Sepsis, a leading cause for intensive care unit admissions, causes both an acute encephalopathy and chronic brain dysfunction in survivors. A history of sepsis is also a risk factor for future development of dementia symptoms. Similar neuropathologic changes are associated with the cognitive decline of sepsis and Alzheimer's disease (AD), including neuroinflammation, neuronal death, and synaptic loss. Amyloid plaque pathology is the earliest pathological hallmark of AD, appearing 10 to 20 years prior to cognitive decline, and is present in 30% of people over 65. As sepsis is also more common in older adults, we hypothesized that sepsis might …

Hippocampal Connectivity In Parkinson's Disease, Landis Llewelyn

Honors Theses

Background: This thesis was conducted in order to investigate possible connections between functional connectivity of the hippocampus in individuals who have Parkinson’s disease.

Methods: The MRI images, the clinical data, and the demographic data of 93 individuals with PD and 18 individuals without PD were obtained from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative. Resting-state fMRI data from a group of PD patients was compared to a control group of non-PD patients by using previously published methods with FMRIB Software Library (FSL) as well as Analysis of Functional Neuroimages (AFNI).

Results: Compared to the control (non-PD) group, results bilaterally showed lesser connectivity …

Assessing Rat Behavioral Response To Novelty, Neha Mathew

Honors Scholar Theses

The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is involved in memory and navigation. Neurons in the hippocampus, known as place cells, fire in specific locations within this region of the brain as the subject navigates through their environment. As these cells fire, they create a map-like representation of this environment. However if the environment is altered in any way, the place cell firing pattern is adjusted to incorporate this new information. This adjustment will inevitably cause subjects to take more time to complete their task. The goal of our testing was to assess how various manipulations, both spatial …

Placenta-Expanded Stromal Cell Therapy In A Rodent Model Of Simulated Weightlessness, Amber M. Paul, Linda Rubinstein, Charles Houseman, Metadel Abegaz, Steffy Tabares Ruiz

Publications

Long duration spaceflight poses potential health risks to astronauts during flight and re-adaptation after return to Earth. There is an emerging need for NASA to provide successful and reliable therapeutics for long duration missions when capability for medical intervention will be limited. Clinically relevant, human placenta-derived therapeutic stromal cells (PLX-PAD) are a promising therapeutic alternative. We found that treatment of adult female mice with PLX-PAD near the onset of simulated weightlessness by hindlimb unloading (HU, 30 d) was well-tolerated and partially mitigated decrements caused by HU. Specifically, PLX-PAD treatment rescued HU-induced thymic atrophy, and mitigated HU-induced changes in percentages of …

Functional Activation Of Newborn Neurons Following Alcohol-Induced Reactive Neurogenesis, Natalie N. Nawarawong, Chelsea G. Nickell, Deann M. Hopkins, James R. Pauly, Kimberly Nixon

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Abstinence after alcohol dependence leads to structural and functional recovery in many regions of the brain, especially the hippocampus. Significant increases in neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and subsequent “reactive neurogenesis” coincides with structural recovery in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). However, whether these reactively born neurons are integrated appropriately into neural circuits remains unknown. Therefore, adult male rats were exposed to a binge model of alcohol dependence. On day 7 of abstinence, the peak of reactive NSC proliferation, rats were injected with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) to label dividing cells. After six weeks, rats underwent Morris Water Maze (MWM) training then were …

Diurnal Variation In Hippocampal Neurophysiology And Pathophysiology, Allison R. Fusilier

All ETDs from UAB

Circadian rhythms are ~24-hour cycles in biological processes that are endogenously generated, entrained to light, and synchronized by the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus. One process that is influenced by circadian rhythms is cognitive function, which varies over the course of the day and is likely influenced by changes in neuronal physiology over the course of the day. Dysfunction in circadian rhythms has been documented in many diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is a neurodegenerative disease most notably characterized by dementia, amyloid beta plaques, and tau tangles. There is currently no cure for AD, and treatments only slow disease …