Neurosciences Commons^™

Dense And Persistent Odor Representations In The Olfactory Bulb Of Awake Mice, Delaram Pirhayati, Cameron L Smith, Ryan Kroeger, Saket Navlakha, Paul Pfaffinger, Jacob Reimer, Benjamin R Arenkiel, Ankit Patel, Elizabeth H Moss

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Recording and analysis of neural activity are often biased toward detecting sparse subsets of highly active neurons, masking important signals carried in low-magnitude and variable responses. To investigate the contribution of seemingly noisy activity to odor encoding, we used mesoscale calcium imaging from mice of both sexes to record odor responses from the dorsal surface of bilateral olfactory bulbs (OBs). The outer layer of the mouse OB is comprised of dendrites organized into discrete "glomeruli," which are defined by odor receptor-specific sensory neuron input. We extracted activity from a large population of glomeruli and used logistic regression to classify odors …

Cortisol And Alpha-Synuclein Stability In Saliva Under Varying Storage And Handling Conditions, Mo Zheng, Sujata Srikanth, Jeremiah Carpenter, Delphine Dean

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairments and non-motor symptoms, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Currently, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the primary biofluid used for PD biomarker studies, notably α-synuclein, despite the invasive nature of lumbar puncture procedures. Recent work has shown that some of these PD biomarkers have been measured in saliva. As an alternative to CSF, saliva can be non-invasively self-collected by patients repeatedly over time to monitor biomarker levels. However, the stability of these biomarkers in saliva needs to be evaluated before saliva can be considered for patient self-collection studies. Therefore, …

Slow Ramping Emerges From Spontaneous Fluctuations In Spiking Neural Networks, Jake Gavenas, Ueli Rutishauer, Aaron Schurger, Uri Maoz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The capacity to initiate actions endogenously is critical for goal-directed behavior. Spontaneous voluntary actions are typically preceded by slow-ramping activity in medial frontal cortex that begins around two seconds before movement, which may reflect spontaneous fluctuations that influence action timing. However, the mechanisms by which these slow ramping signals emerge from single-neuron and network dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we developed a spiking neural-network model that produces spontaneous slow ramping activity in single neurons and population activity with onsets ~2 s before threshold crossings. A key prediction of our model is that neurons that ramp together have correlated firing patterns …

Multiple Guidance Mechanisms Control Axon Growth To Generate Precise T-Shaped Bifurcation During Dorsal Funiculus Development In The Spinal Cord, Bridget M. Curran, Kelsey R. Nickerson, Andrea R. Yung, Lisa V. Goodrich, Alexander Jaworski, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Le Ma

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

The dorsal funiculus in the spinal cord relays somatosensory information to the brain. It is made of T-shaped bifurcation of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory axons. Our previous study has shown that Slit signaling is required for proper guidance during bifurcation, but loss of Slit does not affect all DRG axons. Here, we examined the role of the extracellular molecule Netrin-1 (Ntn1). Using wholemount staining with tissue clearing, we showed that mice lacking Ntn1 had axons escaping from the dorsal funiculus at the time of bifurcation. Genetic labeling confirmed that these misprojecting axons come from DRG neurons. Single axon analysis …

Pediatric Glioma Immune Profiling Identifies Tim3 As A Therapeutic Target In Braf Fusion Pilocytic Astrocytoma, Shashwat Tripathi, Hinda Najem, Corey Dussold, Sebastian Pacheco, Ruochen Du, Moloud Sooreshjani, Lisa Hurley, James P Chandler, Roger Stupp, Adam M Sonabend, Craig M Horbinski, Rimas V Lukas, Joanne Xiu, Giselle Lopez, Theodore P Nicolaides, Valerie Brown, Nitin R Wadhwani, Sandi K Lam, Charles David James, Ganesh Rao, Maria G Castro, Amy B Heimberger, Michael Decuypere

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite being the leading cause of cancer-related childhood mortality, pediatric gliomas have been relatively understudied, and the repurposing of immunotherapies has not been successful. Whole-transcriptome sequencing, single-cell sequencing, and sequential multiplex immunofluorescence were used to identify an immunotherapeutic strategy that could be applied to multiple preclinical glioma models. MAPK-driven pediatric gliomas have a higher IFN signature relative to other molecular subgroups. Single-cell sequencing identified an activated and cytotoxic microglia (MG) population designated MG-Act in BRAF-fused, MAPK-activated pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), but not in high-grade gliomas or normal brain. T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM3) was expressed on MG-Act and …

Pediatric Glioma Immune Profiling Identifies Tim3 As A Therapeutic Target In Braf Fusion Pilocytic Astrocytoma, Shashwat Tripathi, Hinda Najem, Corey Dussold, Sebastian Pacheco, Ruochen Du, Moloud Sooreshjani, Lisa Hurley, James P Chandler, Roger Stupp, Adam M Sonabend, Craig M Horbinski, Rimas V Lukas, Joanne Xiu, Giselle Lopez, Theodore P Nicolaides, Valerie Brown, Nitin R Wadhwani, Sandi K Lam, Charles David James, Ganesh Rao, Maria G Castro, Amy B Heimberger, Michael Decuypere

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Despite being the leading cause of cancer-related childhood mortality, pediatric gliomas have been relatively understudied, and the repurposing of immunotherapies has not been successful. Whole-transcriptome sequencing, single-cell sequencing, and sequential multiplex immunofluorescence were used to identify an immunotherapeutic strategy that could be applied to multiple preclinical glioma models. MAPK-driven pediatric gliomas have a higher IFN signature relative to other molecular subgroups. Single-cell sequencing identified an activated and cytotoxic microglia (MG) population designated MG-Act in BRAF-fused, MAPK-activated pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), but not in high-grade gliomas or normal brain. T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM3) was expressed on MG-Act and …

Clathrin Light Chains Negatively Regulate Plant Immunity By Hijacking The Autophagy Pathway, Hu-Jiao Lan, Jie Ran, Wen-Xu Wang, Lei Zhang, Ni-Ni Wu, Ya-Ting Zhao, Min-Jun Huang, Min Ni, Fen Liu, Ninghui Cheng, Paul A Nakata, Jianwei Pan, Steven A Whitham, Barbara J Baker, Jian-Zhong Liu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The crosstalk between clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) and the autophagy pathway has been reported in mammals; however, the interconnection of CME with autophagy has not been established in plants. Here, we report that the Arabidopsis CLATHRIN LIGHT CHAIN (CLC) subunit 2 and 3 double mutant, clc2-1 clc3-1, phenocopies Arabidopsis AUTOPHAGY-RELATED GENE (ATG) mutants in both autoimmunity and nutrient sensitivity. Accordingly, the autophagy pathway is significantly compromised in the clc2-1 clc3-1 mutant. Interestingly, multiple assays demonstrate that CLC2 directly interacts with ATG8h/ATG8i in a domain-specific manner. As expected, both GFP-ATG8h/GFP-ATG8i and CLC2-GFP are subjected to autophagic degradation, and degradation of GFP-ATG8h is …

The Oncolytic Adenovirus Delta-24-Rgd In Combination With Onc201 Induces A Potent Antitumor Response In Pediatric High-Grade And Diffuse Midline Glioma Models, Daniel De La Nava, Iker Ausejo-Mauleon, Virginia Laspidea, Marisol Gonzalez-Huarriz, Andrea Lacalle, Noelia Casares, Marta Zalacain, Lucía Marrodan, Marc García-Moure, Maria C Ochoa, Antonio Carlos Tallon-Cobos, Reyes Hernandez-Osuna, Javier Marco-Sanz, Laasya Dhandapani, Irati Hervás-Corpión, Oren J Becher, Javad Nazarian, Sabine Mueller, Timothy N Phoenix, Jasper Van Der Lugt, Mikel Hernaez, Elizabeth Guruceaga, Carl Koschmann, Sriram Venneti, Joshua E Allen, Matthew D Dun, Juan Fueyo, Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, Jaime Gallego Perez-Larraya, Ana Patiño-García, Sara Labiano, Marta M Alonso

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGGs), including diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs), are aggressive pediatric tumors with one of the poorest prognoses. Delta-24-RGD and ONC201 have shown promising efficacy as single agents for these tumors. However, the combination of both agents has not been evaluated.

METHODS: The production of functional viruses was assessed by immunoblotting and replication assays. The antitumor effect was evaluated in a panel of human and murine pHGG and DMG cell lines. RNAseq, the seahorse stress test, mitochondrial DNA content, and γH2A.X immunofluorescence were used to perform mechanistic studies. Mouse models of both diseases were used to assess the …

Epidural Stimulation For Urogenital Dysfunction In The Spinal Cord Injured Rat., Natasha Lorraine Wilkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating, life changing event that greatly impacts quality of life. SCI can have body-wide, multi-system consequences including dysfunction within the urogenital system. Challenges with the urinary system include urinary incontinence, urine retention, and detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia all of which require maintenance through the regular use of catheters. Sexual dysfunction in men, who comprise nearly 80% of the SCI population, includes erectile dysfunction, anejaculation, retrograde ejaculation, poor expulsive force during ejaculation, and poor sperm quality. The treatment for sexual function in SCI men is focused more on fertility through the collection of sperm for insemination procedures …

The Effects Of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation On Excitability Of The Primary Motor Cortices And Complex Motor Task Learning, Erik Woodruff Wilkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) are promising non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, particularly for clinical applications involving altered or impaired motor function, such as in stroke and Parkinson’s disease. Although tDCS and tACS are different modalities, both forms of stimulation operate on the same principle - weak electrical currents are delivered through electrodes placed on the scalp in specific configurations known as “montages”. The most commonly used montage for targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) is the M1-SO configuration. This montage leverages the established observation that cortical regions directly beneath the anode generally increase in …

Simulation-Based Caregiving Skills Training For Family Members Of High-Grade Glioma Patients, Meagan Whisenant, Shiao-Pei Weathers, Yisheng Li, Ellen Aldrich, Kristin Ownby, Jessica Thomas, An Ngo-Huang, Eduardo Bruera, Kathrin Milbury

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Because family caregivers of patients with a high-grade glioma experience high levels of distress and feel unprepared to perform the complex caregiving tasks associated with the disease and its treatment, we pilot-tested a caregiving skills intervention that integrates hands-on caregiving with coping skill training.

METHODS: In this single-arm trial, caregivers participated in a 4-session research nurse-led intervention involving simulation-based caregiving skills training at the hospital and psychoeducation delivered via videoconference. We collected measures of patients' and caregivers' psychological symptoms; caregivers' caregiving self-efficacy and role adjustment; and patients' cancer-related symptoms (MDASI) at baseline and again postintervention. We tracked feasibility data. …

A Light-Responsive Neural Circuit Suppresses Feeding, Hailan Liu, Na Qu, Natalia Valdez Gonzalez, Marco A Palma, Huamin Chen, Jiani Xiong, Abhinav Choubey, Yongxiang Li, Xin Li, Meng Yu, Hesong Liu, Longlong Tu, Nan Zhang, Na Yin, Kristine Marie Conde, Mengjie Wang, Jonathan Carter Bean, Junying Han, Nikolas Anthony Scarcelli, Yongjie Yang, Kenji Saito, Huxing Cui, Qingchun Tong, Zheng Sun, Chunmei Wang, Xing Cai, Li Lu, Yang He, Yong Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Light plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice. Interestingly, this phenomenon extends its reach to diurnal male Nile grass rats and healthy humans. We further show that lateral habenula (LHb) neurons in mice respond to light exposure, which in turn activates 5-HT neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN). Activation of the LHb→5-HTDRN circuit in mice blunts darkness-induced hyperphagia, while inhibition …

Gene Expression Analysis Reveals Dysregulation In Traumatic Brain Injury Leading To Tauopathy, Kristina M. Tosi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) causes a cascade of detrimental events within neurons, contributing to a host of neurological diseases relating to dementia. In this study we have performed a meta-analysis comparing differentially expressed genes (DEG) in specific cell types such as neurons and microglia revealing inflammation as a common driver of neurological deficiencies post TBI. Inflammation and hypoxia are well characterized features of TBI; however, the molecular mechanisms causing tau hyperphosphorylation by tauopathy associated genes (TAG) post-TBI are currently poorly understood. Furthermore, there are limited in-vitro neuroinflammatory models that mimic primary and secondary TBI. We hypothesize that inducing hypoxia and …

27-Hydroxycholesterol Acts On Estrogen Receptor Α Expressed By Pomc Neurons In The Arcuate Nucleus To Modulate Feeding Behavior, Hui Ye, Xiaohua Yang, Bing Feng, Pei Luo, Valeria C Torres Irizarry, Leslie Carrillo-Sáenz, Meng Yu, Yongjie Yang, Benjamin P Eappen, Marcos David Munoz, Nirali Patel, Sarah Schaul, Lucas Ibrahimi, Penghua Lai, Xinyue Qi, Yuliang Zhou, Maya Kota, Devin Dixit, Madeline Mun, Chong Wee Liew, Yuwei Jiang, Chunmei Wang, Yanlin He, Pingwen Xu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Oxysterols are metabolites of cholesterol that regulate cholesterol homeostasis. Among these, the most abundant oxysterol is 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), which can cross the blood-brain barrier. Because 27HC functions as an endogenous selective estrogen receptor modulator, we hypothesize that 27HC binds to the estrogen receptor α (ERα) in the brain to regulate energy balance. Supporting this view, we found that delivering 27HC to the brain reduced food intake and activated proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (POMCARH) in an ERα-dependent manner. In addition, we observed that inhibiting brain ERα, deleting ERα in POMC neurons, or chemogenetic inhibition of …

Persistent Interruption In Parvalbuminpositive Inhibitory Interneurons: Biophysical And Mathematical Mechanisms, Carol M. Upchurch, Christopher J. Knowlton, Simon Chamberland, Carmen C. Canavier

School of Graduate Studies Faculty Publications

Persistent activity in excitatory pyramidal cells (PYRs) is a putative mechanism for maintaining memory traces during working memory. We have recently demonstrated persistent interruption of firing in fastspiking parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PV-INs), a phenomenon that could serve as a substrate for persistent activity in PYRs through disinhibition lasting hundreds of milliseconds. Here, we find that hippocampal CA1 PV-INs exhibit type 2 excitability, like striatal and neocortical PV-INs. Modeling and mathematical analysis showed that the slowly inactivating potassium current KV1 contributes to type 2 excitability, enables the multiple firing regimes observed experimentally in PV-INs, and provides a mechanism for robust persistent interruption …

In Search Of The Locus Coeruleus: Guidelines For Identifying Anatomical Boundaries And Electrophysiological Properties Of The Blue Spot In Mice, Fish, Finches, And Beyond, Amelien Vreven, Gary Aston-Jones, Anthony E Pickering, Gina R Poe, Barry Waterhouse, Nelson K Totah

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Our understanding of human brain function can be greatly aided by studying analogous brain structures in other organisms. One brain structure with neurochemical and anatomical homology throughout vertebrate species is the locus coeruleus (LC), a small collection of norepinephrine (NE)-containing neurons in the brainstem that project throughout the central nervous system. The LC is involved in nearly every aspect of brain function, including arousal and learning, which has been extensively examined in rats and nonhuman primates using single-unit recordings. Recent work has expanded into putative LC single-unit electrophysiological recordings in a nonmodel species, the zebra finch. Given the importance of …

Cholesterol-Dependent Lxr Transcription Factor Activity Represses Pronociceptive Effects Of Estrogen In Sensory Neurons And Pain Induced By Myelin Basic Protein Fragments, Swathi K Hullugundi, Jennifer Dolkas, Andrei V Chernov, Tony L Yaksh, Kelly A Eddinger, Mila Angert, Glaucilene Ferreira Catroli, Alex Y Strongin, Patrick M Dougherty, Yan Li, Oswal Quehenberger, Aaron Armando, Veronica I Shubayev

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: A bioactive myelin basic protein (MBP) fragment, comprising MBP

METHODS: In male and female normal and post-CCI rat sciatic nerves, we assessed: (i) cholesterol precursor and metabolite levels by lipidomics; (ii) MBP

RESULTS: CCI regulated LXRα ligand and receptor levels in nerves of both sexes, with cholesterol precursors, desmosterol and 7-DHC, and oxysterol elevated in females relative to males. MBP

CONCLUSION: The injury-released bioactive MBP fragments induce pronociceptive changes by selective inactivation of nuclear transcription factors, including LXRα. By Ncoa1 sequestration, bioactive MBP fragments render LXRα function to counteract pronociceptive activity of estrogen/ESR1 in sensory neurons. This effect of …

Roles Of Mitochondrial Chchd2 And Gpcr-Associated Β-Arrestin2 In The Pathogenesis Of Lewy Body Disorders, Teresa R. Kee

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain containing 2 (CHCHD2) is a mitochondrial protein that plays important roles in cristae structure, oxidative phosphorylation, and apoptosis. Multiple mutations in CHCHD2 have been associated with Lewy body disorders (LBDs), such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), with the CHCHD2T61I mutation being the most widely studied. We generated the first transgenic mouse models expressing human CHCHD2WT and the PD-linked CHCHD2T61I mutation driven by the mPrP promoter. CHCHD2T61I Tg, but not CHCHD2WT Tg mice exhibit perinuclear mitochondrial aggregates, neuroinflammation, and have impaired long-term synaptic plasticity associated with synaptic dysfunction. Dopaminergic neurodegeneration, a hallmark of PD, …

Comprehensive Single-Cell Atlas Of The Mouse Retina, Jin Li, Jongsu Choi, Xuesen Cheng, Justin Ma, Shahil Pema, Joshua R Sanes, Graeme Mardon, Benjamin J Frankfort, Nicholas M Tran, Yumei Li, Rui Chen

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has advanced our understanding of cellular heterogeneity by characterizing cell types across tissues and species. While several mouse retinal scRNA-seq datasets exist, each dataset is either limited in cell numbers or focused on specific cell classes, thereby hindering comprehensive gene expression analysis across all retina types. To fill the gap, we generated the largest retinal scRNA-seq dataset to date, comprising approximately 190,000 single cells from C57BL/6J mouse retinas, enriched for rare population cells via antibody-based magnetic cell sorting. Integrating this dataset with public datasets, we constructed the Mouse Retina Cell Atlas (MRCA) for wild-type mice, encompassing …

Antidepressant Effect Of Enzymatic Porcine Placenta Hydrolysate In Repeated Immobilization Stress-Induced Ovariectomized Female Mice, Minsook Ye, Sharon Nguyen, Min Ju Kim, Jee Sun Hwang, Gun Won Bae, Keun-Hang Susan Yang, Insop Shim

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

When postmenopausal women are under stress conditions, this exacerbates mood disorders and issues with neuroimmune systems. The porcine placenta is known to relieve menopausal depression in clinical trials, but its underlying mechanisms for depression and anti-inflammatory functions remain poorly defined. The present study was designed to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of enzymatic porcine placenta hydrolysate (EPPH) on LPS-induced levels of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), corticosterone (CORT), and pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. In addition, the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells was evaluated to examine the effects of EPPH on neurite growth. To mimic …

Flanker Task Performance In Young And Older Adults: A Behavioral And Erp Study, Fatima Medrano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research suggests that as we get older, executive function abilities decline (Hasher & Zacks, 1988; Salthouse, 1996). One affected ability is that of inhibitory control, which aids in monitoring our responses to non-target stimuli or information. Current research on inhibition reveals inconsistencies across studies. Monitoring brain responses during the Flanker (used to measure inhibitory control) task may add valuable insight into the processes underlying group differences behaviorally, by studying the N200 and P300 event-related potentials which have been associated with inhibitory control processes. This study investigated whether there are differences between older and younger adults in inhibitory control and whether …

Brain Cell-Type Shifts In Alzheimer’S Disease, Autism, And Schizophrenia Interrogated Using Methylomics And Genetics, Chloe X Yap, Daniel D Vo, Matthew G Heffel, Arjun Bhattacharya, Cindy Wen, Yuanhao Yang, Kathryn E Kemper, Jian Zeng, Zhili Zheng, Zhihong Zhu, Eilis Hannon, Dorothea Seiler Vellame, Alice Franklin, Christa Caggiano, Brie Wamsley, Daniel H Geschwind, Noah Zaitlen, Alexander Gusev, Bogdan Pasaniuc, Jonathan Mill, Chongyuan Luo, Michael J Gandal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Few neuropsychiatric disorders have replicable biomarkers, prompting high-resolution and large-scale molecular studies. However, we still lack consensus on a more foundational question: whether quantitative shifts in cell types-the functional unit of life-contribute to neuropsychiatric disorders. Leveraging advances in human brain single-cell methylomics, we deconvolve seven major cell types using bulk DNA methylation profiling across 1270 postmortem brains, including from individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism. We observe and replicate cell-type compositional shifts for Alzheimer's disease (endothelial cell loss), autism (increased microglia), and schizophrenia (decreased oligodendrocytes), and find age- and sex-related changes. Multiple layers of evidence indicate that endothelial …

Generalizing Parkinson’S Disease Detection Using Keystroke Dynamics: A Self-Supervised Approach, Shikha Tripathi, Alejandro Acien, Ashley A Holmes, Teresa Arroyo-Gallego, Luca Giancardo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Passive monitoring of touchscreen interactions generates keystroke dynamic signals that can be used to detect and track neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and psychomotor impairment with minimal burden on the user. However, this typically requires datasets with clinically confirmed labels collected in standardized environments, which is challenging, especially for a large subject pool. This study validates the efficacy of a self-supervised learning method in reducing the reliance on labels and evaluates its generalizability.

Materials and methods: We propose a new type of self-supervised loss combining Barlow Twins loss, which attempts to create similar feature representations with reduced …

Feasibility Of Fit24, A Digital Diabetes Prevention Program For Hispanic Adolescents: Qualitative Evaluation Study, Erica G Soltero, Salma M Musaad, Teresia M O'Connor, Debbe Thompson, Keith Norris, Bettina M Beech

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Digital health interventions are promising for reaching and engaging high-risk youth in disease prevention opportunities; however, few digital prevention interventions have been developed for Hispanic youth, limiting our knowledge of these strategies among this population.

OBJECTIVE: This study qualitatively assessed the feasibility and acceptability of Fit24, a 12-week goal-setting intervention that uses a Fitbit watch (Fitbit Inc) and theoretically grounded SMS text messages to promote physical activity and sleep among Hispanic adolescents (aged between 14 and 16 years) with obesity.

METHODS: After completing the intervention, a subsample of youth (N=15) participated in an in-depth interview. We categorized the themes …

Role Of Dunc-13 Isoforms In Alcohol Sensitivity In Drosophila, Makenzie Havard

Honors Theses

Functional alcohol tolerance is an adaptation made by the nervous system to high doses of alcohol, and is seen by a significant reduction in sensitivity to this drug. This tolerance is a significant contributing factor in the progression to Alcohol Use Disorders. A major goal of alcohol research is to understand how alcohol induces this tolerance. Dunc13 is a presynaptic active zone protein essential in synaptic vesicle docking and priming. Alcohol binds to the C1 domain of Dunc13 at physiological concentrations, which inhibits Dunc13 from binding Diacylglycerol. This inhibition is predicted to reduce Dunc13 activity and presynaptic activity. Yet, genetically …

The Effect Of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation On Brain And Cognitive Variables In Patients With Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, Connor J. Phipps

Theses & Dissertations

Healthy and pathological aging processes can impact human memory. Current interventions for clinical memory impairment offer little opportunity for restoration of memory ability. Fortunately, a novel therapy in the form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has exhibited promise in this regard. In healthy adults, rTMS of the angular gyrus (AG) has been reported to improve memory. The current study sought to determine the generalizability of these findings to individuals with clinical memory impairment by administering a clinical trial replicating an rTMS protocol reported to improve hippocampal-dependent memory in healthy individuals to individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Individuals …

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Noradrenergic Innervation Of The Prefrontal Cortex, Jil P. Modi, Christopher P. Knapp, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a common cause of death and disability in the United States, and it can occur due to varied reasons including motor vehicle accidents, gunshot wounds, and falls. Following TBIs, patients are often left with lifelong disabilities and cognitive problems that can lead to increased risk-taking behaviors. The main goal of my research was to understand the neural mechanisms that drive increased risk-taking behaviors due to TBIs. The specific areas of the brain I was interested in looking at were the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and/or anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of the prefrontal …

Pediatric Neurotropic Infection Alters Synaptic Development In The Developing Brain, Anuoluwapo Grace Fadare, Yashika S. Kamte, Manish N. Chandwani, Lauren A. O'Donnell

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Many neurotropic viruses cause more significant pathology in younger hosts as their brains are still developing. This experiment asked how central nervous system (CNS) viral-infections affect the development of synapses in the pediatric brain during infection and post-infection. Synaptogenesis is at its peak in pediatric mice (10 days old) and we hypothesized that a neurotropic infection could disrupt synaptic proteins. We used a transgenic mouse model where measles virus (MV) infects only mature neurons, leading us to question whether synapses were impacted. We examined synaptic markers in the cerebellum and hippocampus in MV-infected and uninfected mice 9 days and 90 …

The Influence Of Bihemispheric Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On Muscle Fatigue, Ananya Singh Chauhan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) using two electrodes placed over the primary motor cortex (M1) and the contralateral supraorbital (SO) region (M1-SO montage) has been shown to decrease the progression of muscle fatigue. The primary purpose was to determine the impact of bihemispheric tDCS (bi-tDCS) applied over the left and right M1s (bi-tDCS) on the time to task failure (TTF) of a precision-grip task. The study implemented a double-blind, randomized, SHAM-controlled, within-subjects design. A total of 20 participants performed two experimental sessions (bi-tDCS and SHAM conditions) separated by a one-week washout. During each experimental session, a fatiguing isometric contraction …

The Influence Of Bilateral Dual Source Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation On The Progression Of Muscle Fatigue, Eliza Clinton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied unilaterally to the primary motor cortex (M1) can significantly prolong the time to task failure (TTF) of a fatiguing contraction. The primary purpose of the study was to examine the influence of bilateral dual source tDCS (dstDCS) applied over the left and right M1s (ds-tDCS) on the TTF of a precision grip task. This was accomplished through the utilization of a double-blind, randomized, SHAM-controlled, within-subjects design. Fourteen participants completed two experiments (ds-tDCS and SHAM stimulation conditions) with a seven-day washout period between sessions. Each experiment involved the performance of a sustained isometric fatiguing contraction …