Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Alzheimer’S Disease: Prostaglandin D2 Signaling And Its Human Polymorphisms As Well As A Polypharmacological Approach,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Alzheimer’S Disease: Prostaglandin D2 Signaling And Its Human Polymorphisms As Well As A Polypharmacological Approach, Charles H. Wallace
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age related neurodegenerative disease with pathology that includes amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and non-resolving neuroinflammation. Non-resolving neuroinflammation lasts the entire course of the disease and has deleterious effects and is often thought to accelerate AD pathology. Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have commonly been used as therapeutics to treat pain, inflammation and vascular. NSAIDs work by altering the cyclooxygenase (COX) mediated biosynthesis of prostaglandins which are lipid mediators that have many physiological functions, for example nociception, inflammation and vasodilation. Epidemiological studies support the notion that NSAIDs could be used to treat AD. Yet, clinical trials using …
Dietary Fatty Acids And The Brain: Mechanisms Behind Neurodegeneration And Neuroprotection,
2022
Loma Linda University
Dietary Fatty Acids And The Brain: Mechanisms Behind Neurodegeneration And Neuroprotection, Bianca Kdeiss
Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects
The impact of dietary fat intake on cognitive function has generated growing interest as the incidence of neurodegenerative disorders continues to increase. No known cures for neurodegenerative disorders exist at this time and available pharmacological treatments are limited in their efficacy. As such, prevention and early detection have been emphasized, particularly in the context of modifiable lifestyle factors, such as diet. Despite a recognized association between dietary fat intake and cognition, limited research exists delineating the impact of different types of fat on cognitive function. In this review, research examining the association between cognition and specific dietary fatty acids—such as …
Unexpected Arousal Suppresses Memory And Metamemory Predictions During Associative Face-Name Recognition Task,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Unexpected Arousal Suppresses Memory And Metamemory Predictions During Associative Face-Name Recognition Task, Sameer Sabharwal-Siddiqi
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Successful recognition often depends on probabilistic estimation of memory-signal. Arousal has been shown to offset the influence of heuristic evidence on memory prediction. We conducted three experiments that tested whether arousal also suppresses predictions relevant to memory confidence. Experiments employed associative face-name memory tasks that included retrospective (Experiments 1 and 2) or concurrent (Experiment 3) judgements of confidence. During test, subjects were presented with a masked-affective face on a subset of trials. By timing the masked-affective face to precede a recognition judgement (Experiment 1), we replicated the finding that unexpected arousal offsets the influence of heuristic evidence on expectations of …
Competitive And Facilitative Interactions Between Pavlovian Cues In Human Associative Learning: A Behavioral And Neural Analysis,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Competitive And Facilitative Interactions Between Pavlovian Cues In Human Associative Learning: A Behavioral And Neural Analysis, Fahd Alhazmi
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Learning to anticipate significant events accurately is a crucial element of survival for all species. The process by which animals acquire this knowledge has been a central question of psychological research. A fundamental assumption of many learning theories is that the predictive value assigned to cues is not simply determined by their probability of reinforcement but rather by their ability to compete with other cues present during learning. The assumption of cue competition has significantly contributed to the development of behavioral and neuroscience research for decades, as it has opened the door to new empirical and theoretical advances on the …
Clustered Protocadherins Ubiquitination And Phosphorylation Regulates Surface Expression,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Clustered Protocadherins Ubiquitination And Phosphorylation Regulates Surface Expression, Albert Ptashnik
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Clustered protocadherins (Pcdhs) are a family of 60 adhesion-like molecules forming a neural barcode. In vertebrate neurons, 60 Pcdhs are coded by a large gene cluster. Numerous axons in the cluster are coding for the different extracellular, transmembrane, variable portion of the cytoplasmic and constant cytoplasmic domains where their expression is controlled epigenetically. These proteins mediate interactions between axons, dendrites, and glial cells during neural development. Yet, Pcdhs are not strictly adhesion molecules. In the amacrine cells of the retina, Pcdhs promote avoidance of the same cell dendrites, where in the cortex Pcdhs promote interactions between dendrites and astrocytes. In …
Development And Characterization Of A Novel, Genetically- Encoded Sensor To Image Sonic Hedgehog Signaling In Functional Circuits,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Development And Characterization Of A Novel, Genetically- Encoded Sensor To Image Sonic Hedgehog Signaling In Functional Circuits, Sonia Bernal
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Dynamic neurotransmitter and neuromodulator signaling in functional circuits is the neural substrate of animal behavior and cognition. The study of said circuits requires tools with sufficient spatiotemporal dynamics that can probe complex signaling patterns and decode their functional relevance by coupling the signal to behavioral output, ideally in awake, behaving animals. Much is known about the role of classical neurotransmitters such as dopamine in behavior, but a wide variety of peptides and small molecules also regulate neuronal transmission. One of these is Shh, whose presence has been observed in a variety of brain regions known to modulate movement, perception, and …
Aberrant Age-Related Alterations In Spontaneous Cortical Activity In Participants With Cerebral Palsy,
2022
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Aberrant Age-Related Alterations In Spontaneous Cortical Activity In Participants With Cerebral Palsy, Hannah Bergwell
Theses & Dissertations
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common neurodevelopmental motor disability, resulting in life-long sensory, perception and motor impairments. These impairments appear to drastically worsen with advancing age within the CP population, although the underlying neuro-physiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. Herein, we began to address this knowledge gap by utilizing magnetoencephalographic (MEG) to study how aging impacts the amplitude of spontaneous brain activity (i.e., resting state) in a cohort of 38 individuals with spastic diplegic CP (Age = 22.08 ± 10.46 years) and 67 neurotypical controls (NT) (Age = 19.56 ± 10.25 years). Participants completed an eyes-closed resting-state paradigm while undergoing …
The Distinction Of Logical Decision According To The Model Of The Analysis Of Brain Signals (Eeg),
2022
College of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of Kerbala - Iraq
The Distinction Of Logical Decision According To The Model Of The Analysis Of Brain Signals (Eeg), Akeel Abdulkareem Al-Sakaa, Zaid H. Nasralla, Mohsin Hasan Hussein, Saif A. Abd, Hazim Alsaqaa, Kesra Nermend, Anna Borawska
Karbala International Journal of Modern Science
Recently, brain signal patterns have been recruited by researchers in different life activities. Researchers have studied each life activity and how brain signal patterns appear. These patterns could then be generalised and used in different disciplines. In this paper, we study the brain state during decision making in a lottery experiment. An EEG device is used to capture brain signals during an experiment to extract the optimal state for logical decision making. After collecting data, extracting useful information and then processing it, the proposed method is able to identify rational decisions from irrational ones with a success rate of 67%.
The Effects Of Physical Function And Genetics On Cognition And Blood Biomarkers In Individuals At-Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias,
2022
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
The Effects Of Physical Function And Genetics On Cognition And Blood Biomarkers In Individuals At-Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease And Related Dementias, Joshua Louis Gills
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) rates are expected to triple by the year 2050. Early detection and specific mitigation efforts are warranted to blunt the alarming rate. Physical function (PF) declines with age, but higher physical function is associated with better cognitive functioning in middle-to- older age individuals. Moreover, greater physical activity (PA) is associated with better global cognition; however, Apoliporotein e4 carriers may not gain the same benefits with exercise. Additionally, plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) has been identified as a novel diagnostic ADRD biomarker which needs further research to examine associations with risk factors. Therefore, the aims …
Analysis Of The Distributed Representation Of Operant Memory In Aplysia,
2022
The Texas Medical Center Library
Analysis Of The Distributed Representation Of Operant Memory In Aplysia, Renan Murillo Costa
Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)
Operant conditioning, a ubiquitous form of learning in which animals learn from the consequences of behavior, engages a high-dimensional neuronal population space spanning multiple brain regions. A complete characterization of an operant memory remains elusive. Some sites of plasticity participating in the engram underlying an example of operant memory in Aplysia have been previously uncovered. Three studies are described here that sought to draw closer to a thorough characterization of this memory. The first study used a computational model to examine the ways in which sites of plasticity (individually and in combination) contribute to memory expression. Each site of plasticity …
Potential Psychoactive Effects Of Microalgal Bioactive Compounds For The Case Of Sleep And Mood Regulation: Opportunities And Challenges,
2022
Technological University Dublin
Potential Psychoactive Effects Of Microalgal Bioactive Compounds For The Case Of Sleep And Mood Regulation: Opportunities And Challenges, Bozena Mccarthy, Graham O’Neill Dr, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam Prof.
Articles
Sleep deficiency is now considered an emerging global epidemic associated with many serious health problems, and a major cause of financial and social burdens. Sleep and mental health are closely connected, further exacerbating the negative impact of sleep deficiency on overall health and well-being. A major drawback of conventional treatments is the wide range of undesirable side-effects typically associated with benzodiazepines and antidepressants, which can be more debilitating than the initial disorder. It is therefore valuable to explore the efficiency of other remedies for complementarity and synergism with existing conventional treatments, leading to possible reduction in undesirable side-effects. This review …
The Biological Influence Of Stories & The Importance Of Reading Fiction,
2022
Kennesaw State University
The Biological Influence Of Stories & The Importance Of Reading Fiction, Elise N. Good, Katharine Schaab
The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research
Fictional narratives and stories have persisted throughout human history. However, perhaps due to a bias that stories offered nothing more than entertainment for the reader or perhaps that they are not useful outside of the realm of academia, the research within science academia has been lacking in literature on why these narratives have endured. Unfortunately, due to the lack of conversation across disciplines, particularly those of science and literature, this subject has not been thoroughly investigated through an interdisciplinary lens. Within this paper, the goal is to analyze the benefits of fictional narratives through biological, evolutionary, and neuropsychological perspectives. Research …
Genetic Heterogeneity In Schizophrenia And Contribution Of Context To Vowel Recognition,
2022
Dartmouth College
Genetic Heterogeneity In Schizophrenia And Contribution Of Context To Vowel Recognition, Eva Childers
Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations
This dissertation is composed of three chapters that address two distinct topics. Chapter 2 addresses the use of consonantal context in vowel perception. Previous studies have demonstrated that context is important for vowel identification, however, this effect may be an artifact of stimuli production. To address this potential confound, we used stimuli extracted from an audiobook and asked subjects to identify vowels encased in consonants and isolated by themselves. We show that subjects had improved vowel identification when the vowel is presented with a consonantal framing, suggesting there is information contained in the surrounding context that is important for phoneme …
The Effects Of Floral Attributes And Conspecifics On Bumble Bee Forager Memory,
2022
University of Missouri, St. Louis
The Effects Of Floral Attributes And Conspecifics On Bumble Bee Forager Memory, Lucas Lauter, Tiffany Dinh
Undergraduate Research Symposium
What do bees remember about flowers? These memories are important for both bees and flowers. The bees have better foraging success and gain more nectar and pollen from flowers when they remember the most rewarding flower types. More memorable flowers will be visited more frequently, resulting in more successful pollination for the plant. At the same time, bees can also learn about flowers from other bees and may remember this information differently. We are training and testing three floral cues and a single social cue to see how the different types of cues affect their learning and memory of rewarding …
The Impact Of Focused Attention And Opening Monitoring Meditation Styles On Attention,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
The Impact Of Focused Attention And Opening Monitoring Meditation Styles On Attention, Jennifer Wheary
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Mindfulness meditation – often broken down into two distinct types, focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) – has been associated with a range of affective and attentional benefits. Using an attentional blink (AB) paradigm that demonstrated improved attention for novice FA meditators, we explored whether novices who engaged in a single, brief bout of meditation exhibited any differences in alpha or theta power during meditation, and whether these differences were apparent by meditation type. In the AB paradigm, participants are asked to identify two targets, T1 and T2, which are separated by 200-500 ms. Our results showed no significant …
Expression And Purification Of The Bacterial Protein Curli Csga And Its Cross-Interactions With Amyloid-B,
2022
The University of Southern Mississippi
Expression And Purification Of The Bacterial Protein Curli Csga And Its Cross-Interactions With Amyloid-B, Leah Grace Cantrell
Honors Theses
One of the main causes of neurodegenerative diseases is aggregation of amyloid proteins that are toxic to the neurons. Proteins like amyloid-β (Aβ) and α-syneuclein (α-syn) form hallmark aggregate lesions that contribute to pathological processes in the brain in Alzheimer and Parkinson’s patients, respectively. Recent ground-breaking studies have suggested a link between the microbiota of the gut and neurodegenerative diseases, called the “gut-brain axis.” It has been long known that the protein, CsgA found in many enteric bacteria, forms amyloid fibers of its own called Curli. Curli fibrils are a structural component of bacterial colonies and maintain the integrity of …
Utility Of The Motivation To Change Lifestyle And Health Behaviors For Dementia Risk Reduction Scale (Mclhb-Drr) Based On A North American Sample,
2022
National Louis University
Utility Of The Motivation To Change Lifestyle And Health Behaviors For Dementia Risk Reduction Scale (Mclhb-Drr) Based On A North American Sample, Angelina E. Witbeck
Dissertations
As the population ages, the prevalence rates of dementia continue to increase. Without a cure or promising treatment for dementia, the best course of lowering the prevalence rates of dementia is through preventative measures. Through an electronic survey, the study utilized the MCLHB-DRR scale to determine whether (1) gender, age, educational background, and socioeconomic status will impact the motivational factors to change lifestyle and health behaviors to reduce the risk of developing dementia and (2) direct experiences with individuals that have a dementia diagnosis are likely to impact one's motivational factors to change lifestyle and health behaviors to reduce the …
Investigating Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials As A Novel Biosignature For Anxiety-Related Attention Bias,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Investigating Steady State Visually Evoked Potentials As A Novel Biosignature For Anxiety-Related Attention Bias, Elizabeth R. Davis
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Anxiety-related attention bias (AB), a type of cognitive bias underlying the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders, is typically defined as exaggerated attention towards threat; however, some individuals also demonstrate AB away from threat and in some instances, no detectable AB at all. Debate about the reliability and validity of AB behavioral measures has prompted examination of additional assessment methods. Neurophysiological methods, such electroencephalography (EEG), have yielded encouraging early findings. The steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP), a measure of selective visual attention derived from EEG, holds promise as a biosignature for AB. Research documents heightened SSVEP power to emotionally salient …
Testing An Overtraining Protocol For Fear Learning In Humans,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Testing An Overtraining Protocol For Fear Learning In Humans, Gordon M. Haskell
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Successful regulation of fear memories is a fundamental tenet to the exposure-based therapies often employed by mental health professionals for individuals with PTSD, phobias, and other anxiety disorders. Consequently, the efficacy of these treatment methodologies is largely dependent on the strength of the fear memory, as stronger memories are often characterized by an increased resistance to extinction and heightened fear recovery. However, there is little consensus within the scientific community regarding how to effectively maximize fear memory strength in human studies, and the literature exploring the impact of variability in acquisition parameters on memory strength is sparse. Here, we tested …
Genetic Circadian Mosaics And The Clock Network’S Contributions To Sleep,
2022
CUNY Graduate Center
Genetic Circadian Mosaics And The Clock Network’S Contributions To Sleep, Lukasz Widziszewski
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Circadian rhythms are physiological and behavioral changes which follow a 24-hour cycle. Drosophila Melanogaster’s circadian clock neuronal network (CCNN) has been identified and several subpopulations have been characterized based on previous studies; the classifications of subpopulations of neurons within the CCNN are based on a return of anticipatory locomotor activity preceding the two daily light transitions (Lights on = dawn/Lights off = dusk). The neurons responsible for the return of anticipatory morning locomotor activity have been referred to as the M-cells, the group of neurons known to rescue evening anticipatory locomotor activity have been termed the E-cells. In this …
