Other Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Atorvastatin Alters Neuronal Morphology Data Set, Carolyn L. Pytte

Publications and Research

Statins are highly effective and widely prescribed cholesterol lowering drugs. However, statins cross the blood-brain barrier and decrease neural cholesterol in animal models, raising concern that long-term statin use may impact cholesterol-dependent structures and functions in the brain. Cholesterol is a fundamental component of cell membranes and experimentally decreasing membrane cholesterol has been shown to alter cell morphology in vitro. In addition, brain regions that undergo adult neurogenesis rely on local brain cholesterol for the manufacture of new neuronal membranes. Thus neurogenesis may be particularly vulnerable to long-term statin use. Here we asked whether oral statin treatment impacts neurogenesis …

Leveraging Clinical Standards To Improve The Translational Relevance Of Therapies For Experimental Spinal Cord Injury, Aaron L. Silverstein

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

Efforts to improve treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) often use animals to develop effective therapeutics, intending to improve the survival and the quality of life of persons with SCI. Over half of all SCIs in the United States occur at the cervical level and often cause locomotor deficits and life-threatening breathing dysfunction. Thus, my dissertation is focused on this important patient population.

After beginning with a description of translational research and surveying SCI from a clinical standpoint, I turned to describe experimental models of cervical SCI and more detailed neuroimmunological findings relevant to my work. Then, I conducted a …

Cell-Type Specific Apoe4 To Apoe2 ‘Switching’ In Astrocytes And Microglia Alters Alzheimer’S Disease Neuropathology, Lesley R. Golden

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). APOE exists in three common protein isoforms throughout the population: ApoE2 (E2), ApoE3 (E3), and ApoE4 (E4). While APOE allele frequencies and the degree of AD-associated risk vary across different ethnic groups, when compared to the ‘neutral’ and most common E3 allele, the E4 allele confers up to a 33-fold increase in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) risk. Conversely, the neuroprotective E2 allele decreases AD risk by up to 67%. Here, we aimed to determine the therapeutic potential of cell-type specific APOE allele ‘switching’ and explore …

The Role Of The Nasal Migratory Mass In Olfactory Bulb Formation And Fertility, Charisse Martin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The olfactory migratory mass plays an essential role in the development of the olfactory bulb by facilitating the migration of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons from the olfactory placode to the pre-optic hypothalamic area in the brain. In mammals, the migration of GnRH neurons is critical for establishing the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis), which regulates reproductive function through the production and secretion of gonadotropins. Luteinizing hormone (LH) and Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) instruct the gonads to function appropriately, ensuring sexual maturation and fertility. Disruptions in this migratory pathway have been linked with Kallmann syndrome, a condition characterized by low levels of GnRH, …

A Spectroscopy Study Of The Brain: Exploring Sex Differences In Healthy Older Adults, Angela Gushue

CMC Senior Theses

Cognitive decline and aging-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, disproportionately affect patients based on sex, but the mechanisms underlying these skewed effects are unknown. This proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) study seeks to understand if sex disparities in aging exist in neurometabolite concentrations of older adult brains. Sixty-seven participants, ranging from 60 to 85 years of age, underwent the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and H-MRS of the brain. Concentrations of myo-inositol, total creatine, total NAA, and total choline were calculated in the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex, left hippocampal cortex, left medial temporal gyrus, left primary sensorimotor cortex, and right dorsolateral prefrontal …

Exploring The Links Among Brain Iron Accumulation, Cognitive Performance, And Dietary Intake In Older Adults: A Longitudinal Mri Study, Valentinos Zachariou, Colleen A. Pappas, Christopher E. Bauer, Elayna R. Seago, Brian T. Gold

Neurology Faculty Publications

This study evaluated longitudinal brain iron accumulation in older adults, its association with cognition, and the role of specific nutrients in mitigating iron accumulation. MRI-based, quantitative susceptibility mapping estimates of brain iron concentration were acquired from seventy-two healthy older adults (47 women, ages 60–86) at a baseline timepoint (TP1) and a follow-up timepoint (TP2) 2.5–3.0 years later. Dietary intake was evaluated at baseline using a validated questionnaire. Cognitive performance was assessed at TP2 using the uniform data set (Version 3) neuropsychological tests of episodic memory (MEM) and executive function (EF). Voxel-wise, linear mixed-effects models, adjusted for longitudinal gray matter volume …

Co-Transmission Is Co-Opted For The Coordination Of Auditory Sensory Integration, Marryn M. Bennett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Corollary discharge circuits (CDCs) are conserved mechanisms for sensory modulation during species specific behavioral programs. Many behaviors require multiplexed differential sensory modulation for proper execution. Co-transmission of fast and slow neurotransmitters allows for distinct modulation of different downstream targets within one sensorimotor circuit. However, studying co-transmission within the context of modulatory circuits like CDCs requires complete knowledge of behavioral circuits and precise tools for individually determining the implications of each transmitter on its targets. In this dissertation, I used a conserved set of corollary discharge interneurons in Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study the intricacies of sensory modulation through …

Simulated Slot Machine Gambling In Relation To Sign-Tracking, Polina Krom

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward-related cues, or sign-tracking (ST) has been linked to addiction in animal models and some initial human data. The current study explores the role of sign-tracking (ST), as a potential risk factor for problematic slot machine gambling, which abundantly features audiovisual reward-related cues, henceforth sensory features. A sample of healthy participants without gambling problems (n = 30) completed a Pavlovian-to-Instrumental Transfer (PIT) paradigm to assess ST propensity and played on a realistic slot machine simulator consisting of two versions: with sensory features (SF+) and without (SF-). Each game version had fixed bet sizes, …

Technological Development Of In-Cell Nmr: Microfluidic, Metabolomic, And Fluxomic Approaches, Nicholas Sciolino

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In the fields of structural biology, metabolomics, and fluxomics, there is a driving, technique-based concern when it comes to high-resolution spectrometry and its marriage to biological and physiological relevance. Sample preparation often involves cellular perturbation, lysate separation schemes, combinations with non-biological reagents, and timeline slack. Conceptually, the farther we get from the cell, the greater the potential disparity between what exists in vivo and our in vitro manipulations. This is particularly true when seeking to collect data on transfected targets of interest, and on sensitive metabolic equilibria that occur on the order of minutes. The question remains: if we are …

Unilateral Tongue Atrophy In Smad3: A Case Report, Gloria Galloway

Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

Background: Mothers Against Decapentaplegic Homolog 3 (SMAD3) is a disorder of the protein encoded at locus 15q22.33 and involved in the transcription of growth factor-beta (TGF) signalling. In this disorder, SMAD3 encoding is impaired, resulting in a connective tissue disorder with multisystem involvement (Bertoli-Avella et al., 2015; Dulac et al., 2019). This case is the first to describe unilateral tongue atrophy as an initial presentation of SMAD3, thereby providing an important contribution to the literature. Clinical History and Exam: A 43-year-old patient described a 1–2-week history in which he noted that half of his tongue had wasted away, and he …

Defining The Peripheral Plasticity Of Nociceptive Afferents Following Spinal Cord Injury And Physical Therapy Intervention., Morgan Julianna Forston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is to explore the peripheral plasticity of nociceptive afferents following spinal cord injury (SCI) and whether it is exacerbated or induced when physical therapy-based muscle stretching, a therapy we have shown to be detrimental to locomotor recovery in rodents, is implemented post-SCI. Chapter I provides a brief introduction on sensory afferents with particular emphasis on nociceptive afferents and their multifaceted role within the peripheral and central nervous systems. Chapter II describes SCI epidemiology and common sensory related complications that occur in patients as well and pharmaco- and physical therapies that are employed post-SCI. Chapter III …

Low Concentrations Of Hexavalent Chromium In Drinking Water Induce Alzheimer’S Disease Neuropathology: Using A Toxic Aging Coin Approach To Assess Hexavalent Chromium Neurotoxicity, Liam Buchanan, Samuel Vielee, Spencer Roof, Haiyan Lu, Jamie L Young, Idoia Meaza Isusi, Aggie Williams, Joseph Kouokam, Sandra Wise, Luping Guo, Jun Cai, John Wise, John P. Wise Jr.

The Cardinal Edge

Introduction: We are currently facing an aging crisis, as 20% of the U.S. population will be geriatric (65+) by 2030. This growing geriatric population will result in increasing prevalence of age-related diseases, coinciding with increasingly prevalent environmental pollution. Environmental pollution is a ubiquitous health threat that affects people at all ages and contributes to aging pathology. However, geriatric individuals are likely more susceptible to the negative health effects from environmental pollution. The distinct effects of environmental pollutants across age groups are currently understudied. We use a Toxic Aging Coin approach to investigate: 1) how age impacts toxicity (heads), …

Use Of Electrical Bone Growth Stimulators In High-Risk Patients Following Spinal Fusion, Soumya Malhotra, Khavir Sharieff

HCA-NSU MD Research Day

Title: Use of Electrical Bone Growth Stimulators in High-Risk Patients Following Spinal Fusion Authors: Soumya Malhotra, BA., MS1 & Khavir Sharieff, DO, MBA2 1Class of 2027, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2Assistant Professor of Surgery, Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Tampa Bay, FLNova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the advantages of EBGSs following high-risk spinal fusions. Background: Pseudarthrosis is a condition where bones fail to fuse after an injury or surgery. It causes significant …

Slow Ramping Emerges From Spontaneous Fluctuations In Spiking Neural Networks, Jake Gavenas, Ueli Rutishauer, Aaron Schurger, Uri Maoz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

The capacity to initiate actions endogenously is critical for goal-directed behavior. Spontaneous voluntary actions are typically preceded by slow-ramping activity in medial frontal cortex that begins around two seconds before movement, which may reflect spontaneous fluctuations that influence action timing. However, the mechanisms by which these slow ramping signals emerge from single-neuron and network dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we developed a spiking neural-network model that produces spontaneous slow ramping activity in single neurons and population activity with onsets ~2 s before threshold crossings. A key prediction of our model is that neurons that ramp together have correlated firing patterns …

The Effect Of Acute Social Isolation On Neural Molecular Responses In Components Of The Social Decision-Making Network, Patricia C. Lopes, Madeleine Chang, Faith Holloway, Biola Fatusin, Sachin Patel, Chandler Siemonsma, Morgan Kindel

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Prolonged or chronic social isolation has pronounced effects on animals, ranging from altered stress responses, increased anxiety and aggressive behaviour, and even increased mortality. The effects of shorter periods of isolation are much less well researched; however, short periods of isolation are used routinely for testing animal behaviour and physiology. Here, we studied how a 3 h period of isolation from a cagemate affected neural gene expression in three brain regions that contain important components of the social decision-making network, the hypothalamus, the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, using a gregarious bird …

High Fat Diet & Social Isolation: Interactive Effects On Pain, Cognition, & Neuroinflammation, Ian M. Campuzano

Research Psychology Theses

Prior research has established a role for both social isolation and exposure to high fat Western diets in altering a range of behaviors from reduced memory performance to increased depression-like behaviors. The present study scrutinizes the interplay among these variables during the peri-adolescent developmental phase, utilizing Long-Evans rats as the experimental model. Our overarching hypothesis is that rats exposed to either social isolation, a high-fat diet, or both will result in heightened pain sensitivity, diminished cognitive flexibility, and increased neuroinflammatory responses within brain regions implicated in sociability, cognition, memory, and pain processing. Behavioral flexibility will be assessed using a maze-based …

Establishing A Mouse Model Of Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment., Dana K. Oakes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) is a disorder most often caused by perinatal hypoxic injury to the developing brain. CVI is the leading cause of childhood visual impairment in developed nations, encompassing deficits in many aspects of vision including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and object recognition. The pathophysiology of CVI is not well understood because no animal model currently exists to study this disorder. Because there is no animal model, the pathophysiology of CVI is poorly understood. Here, we developed a murine early postnatal hypoxic model of CVI by exposing mice to 9.5% O₂ at postnatal day (P)3 for a …

Using Machine Learning To Determine A Functional Classifier Of Reward Responsiveness And Its Association With Adolescent Psychiatric Symptomatology, Robert James Richard Blair, Johannah Bashford-Largo, Ahria Dominguez, Matthew Dobbertin, Karina S. Blair, Sahil Bajaj

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background. Machine learning (ML) has developed classifiers differentiating patient groups despite concerns regarding diagnostic reliability. An alternative strategy, used here, is to develop a functional classifier (hyperplane) (e.g. distinguishing the neural responses to received reward v. received punishment in typically developing (TD) adolescents) and then determine the functional integrity of the response (reward response distance from the hyperplane) in adolescents with externalizing and internalizing conditions and its associations with symptom clusters.

Methods. Two hundred and ninety nine adolescents (mean age = 15.07 ± 2.30 years, 117 females) were divided into three groups: a training sample of TD adolescents …

Second Language Learning In Older Adults Modulates Stroop Task Performance And Brain Activation, Douglas H. Schultz, Alison Gansemer, Kiley Allgood, Mariah Gentz, Lauren Secilmis, Zoha Deldar, Cary R. Savage, Ladan Ghazi Saidi

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Numerous studies have highlighted cognitive benefits in lifelong bilinguals during aging, manifesting as superior performance on cognitive tasks compared to monolingual counterparts. Yet, the cognitive impacts of acquiring a new language in older adulthood remain unexplored. In this study, we assessed both behavioral and fMRI responses during a Stroop task in older adults, pre- and post language-learning intervention.

Methods: A group of 41 participants (age: 60–80) from a predominantly monolingual environment underwent a four-month online language course, selecting a new language of their preference. This intervention mandated engagement for 90 minutes a day, five days a week. …

Attrition And Assimilation: The Neural Mechanisms Of Mandarin-English Bilingualism, Natalie Paige Robison

University Honors Theses

This line of research investigates attrition of native language (L1) Mandarin proficiency with increasing proficiency in English. English uses pitch to denote intonation (e.g., "it's there?" versus "it's there!"), while Mandarin additionally uses pitch to indicate word meanings; e.g., /he/ means "drink" when spoken with a high, level tone, or "river" when spoken with a rising tone. The present study delineates between two alternative explanations for the prior finding that English proficiency correlates with attrition of Mandarin tones, but not Mandarin vowels. This pattern could be explained by 1) assimilability of the Mandarin vowel contrasts used in the study into …