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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Attentional Dysfunction In Schizophrenia: The Effects Of Dual Orexin Receptor Blockade On An Nmda Receptor Hypofunction Model, Paige Little May 2021

Attentional Dysfunction In Schizophrenia: The Effects Of Dual Orexin Receptor Blockade On An Nmda Receptor Hypofunction Model, Paige Little

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hypofunctionality at the N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) is a commonly used model of the neurodevelopmental disorder schizophrenia due to the complex circuitry changes that follow NMDAR blockade. While these animal models are very popular for modeling the cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia, actual treatments for this disorder remain sparse. Orexins (hypocretins) are neuropeptides that are capable of modulating activity along pathways relevant to attention, but are rarely tested for their efficacy in attenuating attentional dysfunction. This study was conducted to determine if systemic administration of the dual orexin receptor antagonist filorexant (MK-6096) was able to attenuate sustained attentional dysfunction induced …


The Role Of Dopamine In Decision Making Processes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Michelle C. Bowers May 2020

The Role Of Dopamine In Decision Making Processes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Michelle C. Bowers

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Understanding the neural processes that mediate decision making is a relatively new field of investigation in the scientific community. With the ultimate goal of understanding how humans decide between one path and another, simpler models such as Drosophila Melanogaster, the common fruit fly, are often utilized as a way of determining the neural circuits involved in these decision-making processes. One of the most important decisions flies make is the decision of where to lay their eggs (oviposit). Choosing the proper substrate upon which to lay eggs is a crucial decision that can ultimately impact their fecundity. This paper investigates the …


The Effects Of Antipsychotic Treatment Upon Nicotine Associative Reward In A Neonatal Quinpirole Model Of Schizophrenia, Adam Ray Denton May 2016

The Effects Of Antipsychotic Treatment Upon Nicotine Associative Reward In A Neonatal Quinpirole Model Of Schizophrenia, Adam Ray Denton

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research has revealed that schizophrenics are significantly more likely to smoke cigarettes than the general population, and consume nicotine products at a much more prevalent rate. Further exacerbating this issue, it has been previously demonstrated in clinical populations that the type of antipsychotic treatment administered (typical versus atypical) may result in either an increase or a decrease of already heightened smoking behavior within the schizophrenic population. With these clinical issues in mind, the present study sought to examine the effects of antipsychotic treatment upon the associative reward of nicotine within the neonatal quinpirole model of schizophrenia. We found that treatment …


Inverse Changes In Ghrelin And A2a Receptor Gene Expression Levels In The Hippocampus Of Heart Failure Canines Following Spinal Cord Stimulation, Benjamin E. Jewett May 2015

Inverse Changes In Ghrelin And A2a Receptor Gene Expression Levels In The Hippocampus Of Heart Failure Canines Following Spinal Cord Stimulation, Benjamin E. Jewett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Myocardial infarction (MI), often referred to as a heart attack, is a serious health issue in the United States. There is a well-documented link between MI and major depressive disorder (MDD), with a high incidence of MDD occurring after an MI. Overlapping pathologies have been observed within the hippocampus of the brain in animal models of MI and depression. These observations suggest that pathobiological cross-talk between the heart and brain could have a role in the etiology of MDD that occurs after an MI. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has previously been shown to have both cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects post-MI, …


The Synergistic Effects Of Methylphenidate On The Behavioral Effects Of Nicotine, Kristen K. Leedy May 2015

The Synergistic Effects Of Methylphenidate On The Behavioral Effects Of Nicotine, Kristen K. Leedy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the most common childhood disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) places individuals at a higher risk for nicotine (NIC) dependence. Approximately 37.2% of individuals with ADHD currently smoke compared to the 18.3% of individuals with no record of mental illness. Methylphenidate (MPH; Trade name Ritalin) is the most commonly prescribed treatment for ADHD. Research regarding the synergistic effects of MPH and NIC, however, is divided. Some research indicates that MPH may enhance susceptibility to NIC effects, whereas other studies report that MPH may inhibit sensitization to NIC. The present study examines the effects of pre-exposure to MPH (1.0 mg/kg) …


Neuromodulation Therapy Mitigates Heart Failure Induced Hippocampal Damage, Timothy P. Diperi May 2014

Neuromodulation Therapy Mitigates Heart Failure Induced Hippocampal Damage, Timothy P. Diperi

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly half of the people diagnosed with heart failure (HF) die within 5 years of diagnosis. Brain abnormalities secondary to CVD have been observed in many discrete regions, including the hippocampus. Nearly 25% of patients with CVD also have major depressive disorder (MDD), and hippocampal dysfunction is a characteristic of both diseases. In this study, the hippocampus and an area of the hippocampal formation, the dentate gyrus (DG), were studied in a canine model of HF. Using this canine HF model previously, we have determined that myocardial …


The Interaction Between Spatial Working And Reference Memory In Rats On A Radial Maze, Nicole Ann Guitar Apr 2014

The Interaction Between Spatial Working And Reference Memory In Rats On A Radial Maze, Nicole Ann Guitar

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study investigated the interaction between working and reference spatial memory in an effort to develop an animal model of this interaction. Twelve male Long-Evans rats were tested on an eight-arm radial maze in a two-phase procedure. In the study phase, a rat was allowed to enter four randomly selected arms for a food reward placed at the end of each arm. The test phase allowed the rat access to all eight arms, but only the previously unentered arms contained food. Two of the correct test arms were defined as reference memory arms because they were always correct. The …


Independent Component Analysis Of Self-Referential Processing In Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Elizabeth Thornley Apr 2014

Independent Component Analysis Of Self-Referential Processing In Women With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Elizabeth Thornley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition than can develop after exposure, or repeated exposure, to a traumatic event. Recent changes to the diagnostic criteria for PTSD reflect a new emphasis on the dysregulation of emotions related to self-appraisal and self-referential processing (SRP). SRP concerns stimuli that are experienced as strongly related to one’s own person and can be measured using valenced stimuli that relate to the participant’s concept of self. These paradigms are referred to as self- referential processing tasks. The current study used data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the activation of brain areas related …


Diel Periodicity In Activity And Location In The Web Of The Common House Spider (Achaearanea Tepidariorum)., Elise Wolf May 2011

Diel Periodicity In Activity And Location In The Web Of The Common House Spider (Achaearanea Tepidariorum)., Elise Wolf

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Circadian rhythm is a type of endogenous clock that controls daily behavioral patterns in most organisms. Spiders have been shown to exhibit both circadian and non-circadian rhythms in their behaviors. This rhythmicity may allow spiders to cope with diel changes in environmental conditions. Both diurnal and nocturnal behavior have different sets of costs and benefits to a species’ survival. Achaearanea tepidariorum is one species in which potential circadian rhythmicity has never been studied. Due to its foraging behavior, it was predicted that its daily activity would be arrhythmic. We recorded the positions within the web of forty individuals throughout the …