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Full-Text Articles in Biological Psychology
The Role Of Dopamine In Decision Making Processes In Drosophila Melanogaster, Michelle C. Bowers
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 …
Effort-Related Decision Making In Comt Variant Mice: Pharmacological Studies And Genetic Susceptibility To Motivational Dysfunction, Suzanne Cayer
Effort-Related Decision Making In Comt Variant Mice: Pharmacological Studies And Genetic Susceptibility To Motivational Dysfunction, Suzanne Cayer
Honors Scholar Theses
Effort-related decision making tasks in animals can model motivational symptoms in humans, which are a set of symptoms spanning a multitude of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder and the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The present studies aimed to evaluate the effort-related effects of the Val158Met polymorphism of human catechol-methyltransferase (COMT), by testing mice carrying either the human COMT Val (n=8) or Met allele (n=8) with Wild-Type control mice (n=15) by using concurrent FR2 and FR4/pellet choice tasks in a touchscreen operant conditioning apparatus. The Val158Met polymorphism has been repeatedly associated with neuropsychiatric disorders, and the Val allele has …
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
Possible Breakdown Of Dopamine Receptor Synergism In A Mouse Model Of Huntington's Disease, Samantha F. Kennedy
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
The model of basal ganglia function proposed by Albin, Young and Penney (1989) describes two anatomically independent motor pathways, the direct and indirect. However, under normal conditions striatal dopamine (DA) is required for the expression of motor behavior, and DAergic control of the two pathways (via D1 and D2 receptors, respectively) is dependent on co-activation. We tested for a possible breakdown of D1/D2 synergism using transgenic R6/1 mice bearing the human huntingtin allele (Htt). Motor stereotypy, observed prior to the onset of HD-related symptoms, was rated on a 5-point scale following activation of: A) D1 receptors alone, B) D2 receptors …
Sex Differences In The Dopaminergic Regulation Of Courtship, But Not Pairing Behaviors In Zebra Finches, Erin Marie Lowrey
Sex Differences In The Dopaminergic Regulation Of Courtship, But Not Pairing Behaviors In Zebra Finches, Erin Marie Lowrey
Wayne State University Theses
Dopamine is one of the key ingredients in the glue that cements social bonds in vertebrates. The D2 dopamine receptor has been implicated in the regulation of monogamous pair bonding in the prairie vole. While dopamine affects courtship behaviors in the male zebra finch, the behavioral role of dopamine acting at D2 receptors in both males and females deserves further attention. We hypothesized that the D2 receptor would regulate courtship and pairing behaviors in the male and female zebra finch. Sixteen males and females were tested using a repeated measures design. On day 1, the zebra finches were injected with …
Comparison Of Affective Analgesia And Conditioned Place Preference Following Cholinergic Activation Of, Elena Schifirnet
Comparison Of Affective Analgesia And Conditioned Place Preference Following Cholinergic Activation Of, Elena Schifirnet
Wayne State University Dissertations
Activation of the dopaminergic mesolimbic reward circuitry that originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is postulated to preferentially suppress affective reactions to noxious stimuli (affective analgesia, AA). VTA dopamine neurons are activated via cholinergic inputs, and we have observed that microinjections of the acetylcholine agonist carbachol suppressed vocalizations of rats that occur following administration of brief (1 sec) tail-shocks (vocalization afterdischarges = VAD). VADs are a validated rodent model of pain affect. In addition, the capacity of carbachol to support reinforcement appears to be regionally dependent within VTA. Ikemoto and Wise (2002) reported that carbachol was self-administered in the …