Neurosciences Commons^™

Alzheimer’S And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Comprehensive Review Of The Literature, Madeline J. Hekeler

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The term ‘silent epidemic’ has become fitting for Alzheimer’s disease, as it is now the sixth leading cause of death in the US. Caring for AD patients at home in the US costs billions of dollars each year. The current comprehensive literature review discusses the background/history of AD, pathology and modes of transmission of AD, behavioral and natural risk factors, prevention and treatment options, and how the aforementioned factors contribute to caregiver burnout and subsequently affect the AD patient. The extensive examination of the literature determined several gaps to be addressed. More specifically, burnout among AD caregivers has become an …

Neural Oscillatory Activity Serving Sensorimotor Control Is Regulated By The Mitochondrial Redox Environment In Health And Disease, Rachel Spooner

Theses & Dissertations

Despite effective regimens of combination antiretroviral therapy, individuals with HIV are still at higher risk for developing forms of cognitive impairment, with one of the most common behavioral abnormalities to manifest being motor dysfunction. This is an important consideration, as deficits in motor control likely contribute to higher-order cognitive impairments, which together, lead to functional dependencies in the ever-growing aging population of HIV-infected adults. While the neuroanatomical bases of motor dysfunction have recently been illuminated in people living with HIV (PLWH), there remains an open question regarding the molecular processes supporting the circuit-level neuronal dynamics that potentially serve these behavioral …

Multimodal Neuroimaging Of Hiv And Aging, Brandon Lew

Theses & Dissertations

HIV infection remains a significant contributor to disease burden, and with the success of antiretroviral therapies, the population of people with HIV is aging. A growing literature suggests a relationship between HIV-infection and a profile of age advancement, most notably in molecular studies of epigenetics. However, despite the widely-known high prevalence of HIV-related brain atrophy, functional deficits, and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), epigenetic age advancement has not been linked to HIV-related changes in neuroimaging metrics.

We applied three neuroimaging methods, structural MRI, resting state functional MRI, and resting state MEG, to study the brain structure and function of 121 virally-suppressed …

The Dopamine D3 Receptor Antagonist Vk4-40 Attenuates Morphine-Induced Hyperactivity But Not Cocaine-Induced Hyperactivity In Mice, Desta M. Pulley, Jessica J. Debski, Daniel Manvich

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In light of the increasing rates of opioid abuse in the US, the search for viable medications to treat opioid abuse disorder (OUD) has become ever more urgent. Opioids exert their abuse-related effects in part by indirectly increasing dopamine (DA) neurotransmission in the mesolimbic system, a dopaminergic projection arising in the ventral tegmental area and terminating in the nucleus accumbens. The DA D3 receptor (D3R), which belongs to the D2 family of dopamine receptors (D2, D3 , D4 receptor subtypes), is highly expressed in these brain regions and has shown strong potential as a pharmacotherapeutic target for the treatment of …

Affiliative Social Interactions Activate Vasopressin-Responsive Neurons In The Mouse Dorsal Raphe, Tirth Patel, Hanna O. Caiola, Olivia Mallari, Benjamin D. Rood

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Social behavior is inextricably linked to human health, shaping both our susceptibility and resilience to disease and stress. Positive interactions as simple as maternal contact or friendships among children and adults can protect against emotional distress and improve treatment outcomes, whereas negative interactions such as abuse, social isolation, or bullying can increase aggression and precipitate mood disorders. Discovering the structure and function of neural circuits underlying social behavior is critical to understanding the link between social interaction and health. The neuropeptide vasopressin has been implicated in the regulation of multiple social interactions including social memory, aggression, mating, pair-bonding, and parental …

Physiological Response And Tissue Damage Following Different Depths Of Impact In A Rodent Model Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Haven K. Predale, Christopher P. Knapp, Barry D. Waterhouse, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a serious public health concern that can result in significant neurological and behavioral deficit. mTBI results from impact to the head and can be repetitive in nature, especially in sports and domestic violence cases. Our laboratory studies the effects of repetitive mTBI on risky choice behavior in rodents using a closed-head controlled cortical impact (CH-CCI) model of injury and a well-established probabilistic discounting task that assesses risk-based decision-making behavior. We have recently found that females, but not males, display transient increases in risky choice behavior following three CH-CI’s delivered at 5.5m/s velocity and 2.5 …

Water Exchange Rate Across The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Associated With Csf Amyloid-Β 42 In Healthy Older Adults, Brian T. Gold, Xingfeng Shao, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Gregory A. Jicha, Donna M. Wilcock, Elayna R. Seago, Danny J. J. Wang

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: We tested if water exchange across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), estimated with a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, is associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychological function.

METHODS: Forty cognitively normal older adults (67–86 years old) were scanned with diffusion‐prepared, arterial spin labeling (DP‐ASL), which estimates water exchange rate across the BBB (k_w). Participants also underwent CSF draw and neuropsychological testing. Multiple linear regression models were run with kw as a predictor of CSF concentrations and neuropsychological scores.

RESULTS: In multiple brain regions, BBB kw was positively associated with CSF amyloid …

Mitochondrial Distribution Of Glycine Receptors In Motor Neuron Cell Lines, Katsiaryna Milashevich

Student Theses and Dissertations

Although non-essential, glycine plays an important role in major metabolic reactions and is most known for its anti-inflammatory effects. An accumulation of contemporary research has shown that glycine is able to stabilize membrane potential using glycine receptors at the cellular level and to protect mitochondrial function directly, whether it is from inflammation, heavy metal poisoning, or ischemia-induced neuroinflammation. In this research, the existence of a hypothetical mitochondrial glycine receptor is examined. Immunofluorescence imaging was used to examine the presence of the glycine receptor subunits alpha 1 and alpha 2 in both non- differentiated and differentiated neuroblastoma cell lines. The preliminary …

The Role Of Environmental Stressors Experienced During Childhood In The Development Of Dissociative Identity Disorder, Jazmin Conway

PCOM Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research was to determine how environmental stressors that occur during the early childhood years can lead to the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and diagnosis in the adult years. Over the years, childhood trauma has become increasingly prevalent worldwide and despite this increase, continues to remain a significantly unaddressed public health issue (Beilharz et al., 2020). The trauma experienced can include physical, sexual, emotional, and either physical or emotional neglect from a caregiver (Beilharz et al., 2020). Over the years, DID has been the center of controversy in the field of psychology. There have been …

Glial Endothelial Brain Cell Co-Cultures For Testing Signaling Response And Delivery Of Novel Materials Across Blood Brain Barrier, Neela Prajapati

Master's Theses

The brain accounts for 20% of overall energy metabolism in the body though it just comprises 2% of the total body mass but has a limited capacity of storing energy unlike other critical organs in the body such as the heart and liver. This energy along with oxygen and nutrients is supplied by cerebral blood flow (CBF), any interruption of which can cease the brain function within seconds with a potential irreversible neuronal injury, within minutes. Vascular cells along with astrocytes and neurons are a part of a recently developed concept known as the Neurovascular Unit responsible for Neurovascular coupling …

Muting, Not Fragmentation, Of Functional Brain Networks Under General Anesthesia, Corson N. Areshenkoff, Joseph Y. Nashed, R. Matthew Hutchison, Melina Hutchison, Ron Levy, Douglas J. Cook, Ravi S. Menon, Stefan Everling, Jason P. Gallivan

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2021 Changes in resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) under general anesthesia have been widely studied with the goal of identifying neural signatures of consciousness. This work has commonly revealed an apparent fragmentation of whole-brain network structure during unconsciousness, which has been interpreted as reflecting a break-down in connectivity and a disruption of the brain's ability to integrate information. Here we show, by studying rs-FC under varying depths of isoflurane-induced anesthesia in nonhuman primates, that this apparent fragmentation, rather than reflecting an actual change in network structure, can be simply explained as the result of a global reduction in FC. Specifically, …

Shared Neural Circuits For Visuospatial Working Memory And Arithmetic In Children And Adults, Anna A. Matejko, Daniel Ansari

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) plays an important role in arithmetic problem solving, and the relationship between these two skills is thought to change over development. Even though neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that VSWM and arithmetic both recruit frontoparietal networks, inferences about common neural substrates have largely been made by comparisons across studies. Little work has examined how brain activation for VSWM and arithmetic converge within the same participants and whether there are age-related changes in the overlap of these neural networks. In this study, we examined how brain activity for VSWM and arithmetic overlap in 38 children and 26 adults. …

Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi): The Progressive Neurodegeneration And Mental Health Decline In United States Veterans, Andrew R. Wiener

PCOM Capstone Projects

Since the year 2000, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reported 414,000 documented cases of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among individuals serving in the United States Armed Forces (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 2020). Traumatic events to the head as a result from car accidents, falls, explosions, and gunshot wounds can lead to a disruption of normal cognitive functioning. Roughly 80% of diagnosed TBIs are mild in nature, commonly referred to as concussions, and can range from mild, moderate, severe, and penetrating (O’Neil et al., 2013). However due to the difficulty of diagnosing a TBI most cases go …

Sars-Cov-2 Infection’S Link To Behavior: A Review Of Coronaviruses And The Potential For Sars-Cov-2 To Damage The Brain’S Structure And Function, Grace Anne Wilgucki

PCOM Capstone Projects

Human Coronaviruses were discovered in the 1960s and were found to be a cause of the common cold, inducing mild symptoms on those infected (Santacroce et al., 2020). However, due to adaptation and co-evolution, more dangerous variations of Coronaviruses emerged in the early 2000s, causing severe infection of the respiratory tract (Ye et al., 2020). Notably, the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) were devastating, as these HCoVs could inflict respiratory disease that can be fatal (Wong et al., 2016). Most recently, the emergence of a new strain of Human Coronavirus has taken …

Vitamin Deficiency And Depression, Maddison Jeffries

PCOM Capstone Projects

Depression, or major depressive disorder, has affected how people think, feel, and behave. As well as psychological problems, depression has also been a comorbid factor in other emotional and physiological disorders. The actual cause of depression is unknown. Researchers have worked to understand the connections and conditions a person may experience for depression to develop. One commonly researched path to depression is vitamin deficiency. A variety of vitamins like B6, B12, folate, and vitamin D have been linked extensively to depression as a possible cause. A continuation of research expands into how a deficiency of these vitamins causes depression. Low …

Neurological And Psychological Effects Of Covid-19 On Cognitive Impairment, Saba Mufti

PCOM Capstone Projects

Increasing evidence suggests that individuals affected with COVID-19 may be at high risk for developing long-term neurological consequences (Heneka et al., 2020). Psychological stress may also increase risk in cognitive impairment, which can lead to mental fatigue. However, research studies suggest that there is a relationship between physiological and psychological factors affecting cognitive function (Scott et al., 2015). The mechanistic understanding of neurological symptoms in patients affected with COVID-19 regarding whether they emerge from mental illness or directly from the invasion of SARS-CoV-2 into the central nervous system is limited (Mahammedi et al., 2020). Factors affecting the brain can lead …

The Neuroplasticity Of Depression: How Antidepressants And Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Cbt) Can Reverse Depression, Vahid Harbi

PCOM Capstone Projects

Depression is a complex disorder influenced by biological, psychological, and environmental factors (Santarelli et al., 2016). Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness worldwide (WHO, 2021), yet the pathogenesis of depression and the mechanism of how antidepressants reverse depression remain unclear (Liu et al., 2017). The symptoms of depression are evident to most individuals, but the symptoms’ persistent nature remains a mystery to most. The four primary regions of the brain involved in depression are the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC), hippocampus, amygdala, and Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) (Hayley et al., 2013). This review presents the prevailing literature …

Medicinal Cannabis (Thc Vs. Cbd): Effects On Anxiety, Ptsd, And Epilepsy, Olivia Grace Griswold

PCOM Capstone Projects

As of November 4th, 2020, thirty-six states and four territories (District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands) have approved a measure that regulates cannabis for medicinal use (Markle & Nativio, 2019). In particular, Pennsylvania law allows residents with twenty-three different medical conditions to apply for an ID card that will enable them to purchase medical marijuana from dispensaries. Some of the medical conditions included are anxiety disorders, autism, epilepsy, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As more states approve marijuana for medicinal use, researchers continue to investigate the interaction between medicinal cannabis and the endocannabinoid system.

The cannabis …

Headache And Its Association With Adhd/Add And Stimulant Medication, Claire Nitzsche

Honors Scholar Theses

Years of research has shown that headache (in terms of frequency, duration, and severity) is perpetuated by dysregulation of lifestyle behaviors such as sleep habits, eating habits, level of stress, physical activity etc. Our project aims to explore the potential combined and independent impacts that having ADHD/ADD and taking stimulant drugs have on disrupting one’s lifestyle and examine whether dysregulated lifestyle behaviors contribute to one’s headache experience. No research has investigated how both ADHD/ADD and stimulant drug use effect headache experience. In this cross-sectional study, 177 UConn undergraduate students completed a 10-minute survey regarding lifestyle behaviors and headache experience. Participants …

Exploring Downstream Effects Of Racial Trauma Leading To Ptsd: A Review Of Systemic Physiological And Neurobehavioral Alterations, Alexis Verwoert

PCOM Capstone Projects

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric disease that often follows acute or chronic exposure to extreme stress. Hallmarks of this disorder include stressors, intrusion symptoms, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity (Bovin, 2015). Since it was first defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III (DSM-III), the diagnostic criteria for PTSD have evolved to encompass stressors as they may occur repeatedly across the lifespan (Bovin, 2015). Physiological and behavioral consequences of this extreme stress manifest themselves as systemic alterations in form and function. As is true of many diagnosable …

Development Of A Novel Cognitive-Motor Dual Task Assessment Battery In Neurodegenerative Disease, Jason Longhurst

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Automaticity --- the ability to perform a task with directing attentional resources to its completion --- is commonly reduced among individuals with neurodegenerative diseases. These automaticity deficits result in impaired functional and daily activities and are sensitive to subtle, subclinical impairments. However, current measurement of automaticity by dual task paradigms is methodologically limited. In order to gain insight into the current state of the literature regarding cognitive-motor interference in symptomatic and prodromal neurodegenerative disease, the author of this dissertation conducted a scoping review (Chapter 1). To address the methodological limitations of current measurement of automaticity, a new measurement tool was …

The Impact Of Synchrony On Neuronal Coding And Behavior, Natasha Kharas

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Cortical columns represent the elementary functional and computational module of the neocortex. Although much is known about its laminar structure and synaptic connectivity, how patterns of spiking activity propagate within columnar circuits when the state of the brain changes remains poorly understood. We used multi-electrode laminar arrays to reveal that brain state modulates the propagation of neural activity across the layers of early and mid-level visual cortex (areas V1 and V4). We found a high prevalence of neuronal synchrony (vigorous (On) and weak (Off) spiking) in rest but low prevalence of synchrony during wakefulness. We next tested whether propagation of …

Investigating Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates Of Cognitive Impairment In Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus And Alzheimer's Disease, Omar Hasan, Omar Hasan

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Modest expansion of the human brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled ventricles is normal with aging, and because of this, it can be difficult for physicians to accurately diagnose and treat enlarged ventricles (ventriculomegaly), called hydrocephalus¹ (fluid or water in the brain) Ventriculomegaly occurs due to an obstruction (such as a blood clot or tumor), or a change in CSF absorption². Primary hydrocephalus, also called idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), is non-obstructive and may be comorbid with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Clinically, it can be difficult to tell whether the pathophysiological …

Leptin Activation Of Metabolically-Related Hypothalamic Neurons, Kailee Hixon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Obesity is often associated with multiple other clinical conditions, including hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Currently, more than one-third of the world’s population is classified as obese. Leptin is a neuropeptide that is released from adipose cells and is responsible for reducing appetite and increasing metabolism. Leptin also has a role in the activation of cardiovascular and metabolic pre-sympathetic neurons and has been reported to increase blood pressure and heart rate. Thus, understanding the activation of the autonomic nervous system by leptin has implications in the development and safety of drugs to avoid activation of cardiovascular pre-sympathetic neurons. This is important …

Molecular And Genetic Studies Of Robo2 Transcriptional Regulation In The Central Nervous System Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Muna Abdal Rahim Abdal Rhida

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drosophila Robo2 axon guidance receptor is a member of the evolutionarily conserved Roundabout (Robo) protein family that is involved in directing axons that cross the midline to the other side of the animal body. Robo2 roles mainly depend on two factors: The functional domains of the Robo2 protein, which is extensively studied, and the dynamic transcription of robo2 in various subsets of cells throughout embryogenesis which is not fully understood. Thus, knowing robo2 enhancers that transcriptionally regulate robo2 during embryogenesis is significant. To investigate robo2 potential enhancers, we screened 17 transgenic lines of Drosophila that were generated by Janelia Research …

Effects Of Appetitive, Pre-Exposed, And Novel Distracters On Interval Timing Behavior: Role Of Nomifensine Within The Prelimbic Cortex, Alexander R. Matthews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Poor attentional focus harms the estimation of time within the seconds-to-minutes range, i.e. interval timing. Interval timing behavior is related to several cognitive functions including perception of the passage of time, decision making, and to memory processes. Harmful delays in timing are caused by distractions of attention, within the timing task in the form of novel, or familiar distracters, which may or may not have been previously conditioned. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore how attention to novel or familiar distractions within the timing task can be altered using catecholamine reuptake blocker nomifensine. The experiment in Chapter 3, …

Two-Year Responses Of Heart Rate And Heart Rate Variability To First Occupational Lead Exposure, Yuling Yu, Lutgarde Thijs, Cai-Guo Yu, Wenyi Yang, Jesus D. Melgarejo, Dongmei Wei, Fangfei Wei, Tim S. Nawrot, Peter Verhamme, Harry Roels

School of Medicine Publications

Because of the falling lead exposure, the literature relating autonomous nervous function to blood lead (BL) has limited relevance. In the longitudinal Study for Promotion of Health in Recycling Lead (URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02243904), we recorded the 2-year responses of heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV; Cardiax, International Medical Equipment Developing, Budapest, Hungary), and median nerve conduction velocity (Brevio, NeuMed, West Trenton, NJ), a routine test in occupational medicine, to first lead exposure in 195 newly hired workers (91.3% men; mean age, 27.8 years). High- and low-frequency HRV power and orthostatic HRV responses were derived from 5-minute ECGs …

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 …

Cross-Sectional Exploration Of Plasma Biomarkers Of Alzheimer's Disease In Down Syndrome: Early Data From The Longitudinal Investigation For Enhancing Down Syndrome Research (Life-Dsr) Study, James A. Hendrix, David C. Airey, Angela Britton, Anna D. Burke, George T. Capone, Ronelyn Chavez, Jacqueline Chen, Brian Chicoine, Alberto C. S. Costa, Jeffrey L. Dage, Eric Doran, Anna Esbensen, Casey L. Evans, Kelley M. Faber, Tatiana M. Foroud, Sarah Hart, Kelsey Haugen, Elizabeth Head, Suzanne Hendrix, Hampus Hillerstrom, Frederick A. Schmitt

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

With improved healthcare, the Down syndrome (DS) population is both growing and aging rapidly. However, with longevity comes a very high risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The LIFE-DSR study (NCT04149197) is a longitudinal natural history study recruiting 270 adults with DS over the age of 25. The study is designed to characterize trajectories of change in DS-associated AD (DS-AD). The current study reports its cross-sectional analysis of the first 90 subjects enrolled. Plasma biomarkers phosphorylated tau protein (p-tau), neurofilament light chain (NfL), amyloid β peptides (Aβ_1-40, Aβ_1-42), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were undertaken with …

The Mechanism Underlying Transient Weakness In Myotonia Congenita, Jessica H. Myers, Kirsten Denman, Chris Dupont, Ahmed A. Hawash, Kevin R. Novak, Andrew Koesters, Manfred Grabner, Anamika Dayal, Andrew A. Voss, Mark M. Rich

Neuroscience, Cell Biology & Physiology Faculty Publications

In addition to the hallmark muscle stiffness, patients with recessive myotonia congenita (Becker disease) experience debilitating bouts of transient weakness that remain poorly understood despite years of study. We performed intracellular recordings from muscle of both genetic and pharmacologic mouse models of Becker disease to identify the mechanism underlying transient weakness. Our recordings reveal transient depolarizations (plateau potentials) of the membrane potential to -25 to -35 mV in the genetic and pharmacologic models of Becker disease. Both Na + and Ca 2+ currents contribute to plateau potentials. Na + persistent inward current (NaPIC) through Na V 1.4 channels is the …