Cognitive Neuroscience Commons^™

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, 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, 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), 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%.

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 …

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 …

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, 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, 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, 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 …

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, 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 …

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 …

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, 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, 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 …

The Effects Of Near-Threshold Color Manipulation On Perceptual Decision-Making And Confidence Report, Trevor Caruso

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Confidence measures are sometimes used to index awareness below a participant’s criterion for what counts as being subjectively aware of a stimulus or stimulus property. If confidence ratings index awareness below subjective thresholds, then one might be tempted to use confidence ratings in place of subjective reports of whether a stimulus/stimulus property was “seen” or “unseen”. As such, a dissociation of confidence from performance may be construed as a dissociation of subjective awareness from objective task performance. This methodology has been used as supporting evidence for blindsight in typical observers (Balsdon and Azzopardi 2015; Peters and Lau 2015; Peters et …

Withdrawal From Voluntary Oral Methamphetamine Reveals Female Specific Susceptibilities To Behavioral Deficits And Neurochemical Perpetuators Of Neurotoxicity And Drug Seeking Behavior, Nicoletta K. Memos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

MA is a potent, highly addictive psychomotor stimulant known to produce neurotoxic effects on the brain leading to neurological impairments^1-6 characterized by neurodegeneration of dopaminergic fibers, cell bodies and pathways, as well as brain regions such as the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and midbrain^1,5.

In MA addiction, women are more vulnerable to the behavioral and cognitive effects of MA compared to men. Adult human literature reveals gender differences in usage patterns and women demonstrate increased vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects and health effects of MA use. Women begin drug use at an earlier age, escalate drug use quicker, …

Adaptive Evolution Of Learning And Memory In A Model Lineage, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Although reductionistic studies of mechanisms of learning in a broad range of model species have advanced our understanding of neural mechanisms, our integrated understanding of mechanisms, behavior, ecology, and evolution of learning remains patchy. A more wholistic research approach in a model lineage of species related to the sea hare, Aplysia californica, has revealed a complete loss of mechanisms of sensitization in one sea-hare genus, Dolabrifera, with concomitant changes in its behavior and ecology. A partial loss of sensitization via different mechanisms in a sister genus, Phyllaplysia, provides further information for our evolving understanding of the evolution of learning …

Cognitive Task Enhancement Through Alpha Neurofeedback, Hannah L. Meyer, Douglas Peterson

Honors Thesis

Neurofeedback training has been a recent field of study in neuroscience, as a potential way to increase focus, and possibly boost cognitive performance. Most studies utilize a course of neurofeedback training sessions to find positive results in decreasing ADHD symptoms, depression symptoms, as well as further cognitive changes. In this study, we aim to determine the efficacy of a single session of neurofeedback training in increasing cognitive performance. To do so, we randomly separated 42 volunteers into either a control or experimental group. The experimental group participated in an n-back task both before and after an alpha neurofeedback training session, …