Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

From Meaning To Memory: Assessing The Capacity And Representational Structure Of Visual Working Memory With Meaningful Stimuli, Yong Hoon Chung

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Visual working memory is thought to be strictly limited. Yet we remember meaningful, real-world objects better than abstract stimuli. Here I show that this advantage arises from the semantic structure of meaningful objects, not their perceptual features alone, and that it extends even to memory for associated features such as color. In the brain, meaningful objects elicit greater and more distributed delay activity, consistent with the recruitment of higher-level neural processes during maintenance. I propose that semantic knowledge adds representational dimensions that make items more distinctive, and that these dimensions are organized hierarchically with lower-level visual features. These findings recast …

Bringing The Outdoors In Through Biophilic Design, Gabriela Miotto Leal

Architectural Studies Honors Papers

This thesis investigates the relationship between architecture, human perception, and well-being through the lens of human-centered and biophilic design. Drawing from philosophical traditions, phenomenology, and contemporary neuroscience, this thesis argues that the built environment is an active agent in shaping cognition, emotion, and lived experience. Architecture is understood as multisensory, embodied, and temporally experienced, influencing individuals in both conscious and nonconscious ways. Through a comparative analysis of three case studies, Paimio Sanatorium, AEA House, and the Amazon Spheres, this research examines how biophilic design principles are incorporated into different contexts such as healthcare, residential, and workplace. Each project demonstrates a …

The Effects Of Stress-Related Hormones On Excitatory Synapse Formation, Autumn C. Garvey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stress profoundly influences brain function through neuromodulatory hormones that regulate synaptic plasticity, yet how temporal patterns of hormone exposure shape excitatory synapse formation remains poorly understood. This study investigates how exposure to stress hormones, norepinephrine and cortisol, affects excitatory synapse development. While existing research primarily compares concentration models, real-world stress occurs in variable patterns that may produce distinct neural outcomes. To address this gap, differentiated Neuro2A neuronal cells are exposed to norepinephrine or cortisol under a continuous treatment paradigm designed to model chronic stress conditions. Following treatment, immunofluorescence imaging is utilized to quantify excitatory synapse formation through analysis of presynaptic …

Microglial Apoe Across Alzheimer’S Disease-Relevant Pathologies, Georgia Nolt

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

APOE exists as three common alleles (APOE2, APOE3, APOE4) that encode their corresponding protein isoforms (apoE2, apoE3, apoE4). Despite differing by only one or two single-amino acid substitutions, each APOE allele confers a distinct AD risk profile with APOE4 increasing risk by 28% and APOE2 decreasing risk by 14% compared to the most commonly expressed APOE3 allele. While traditionally considered “neutral,” APOE3 still accounts for ~36% of AD cases while APOE4 contributes ~57%, indicating that the majority of AD cases would not occur in the absence of the APOE3 and APOE4 alleles. Microglia, the resident phagocytic immune cells …

Nonlinear Differences In Postural Sway Across Attentional Focus Conditions In Individuals With And Without Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Natalie L. Ferguson, Brian L. Cone, Christopher K. Rhea, Anne Beethe, Breanna Studenka

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The structure of variability in postural sway reflects the adaptability and health of the postural control system. Entropy quantifies this structure by measuring the regularity of repeated fluctuations over time. Although entropy has been used to examine sway in neurological populations, little is known about how sway complexity changes following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Attentional focus may also influence postural control, with external focus typically promoting more efficient and automatic regulation than internal focus.

AIM: To examine how attentional focus (internal vs. external) influences the structure of postural sway in individuals with and without ACLR.

METHODS: Forty-three participants …

Synaptic Connectivity Of Rod Bipolar Cells In The Mouse Retina: A Connectomic Analysis Using Webknossos, Harold F. Eshun

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Rod bipolar cells (RBCs) are key interneurons in the mouse retina that transmit signals from rod photoreceptors to downstream amacrine and ganglion cells under scotopic (low-light) conditions. Although their general morphology and function are well established, the fine-scale organization of their synaptic inputs and outputs remains incompletely characterized. This project aims to map the pre- and postsynaptic partners of a fully reconstructed rod bipolar cell using the Yu volume, a serial block-face electron microscopy dataset from the ventral retina of an adult wild-type mouse. Using the webKnossos platform, I identify synaptic ribbons in the axon terminals of the rod bipolar …

Manuka Honey Modulates Oxidative Stress In Neuro2-A Cells Through Mitochondrial Regulation, Rachel Abramovici

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Manuka honey is known for its vital usage in wound healing, being an agonist towards fighting infections, and is an acting antioxidant [32]. Its main constituents are flavonoids and phenolic compounds, with methyl syringate (MSYR) being a major active ingredient. The specific compounds responsible for these antioxidant effects, particularly in the CNS, remain unclear. It is hypothesized that pre-treatment of mouse neuroblastoma cells with MSYR followed by hydrogen peroxide exposure will activate the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1a pathway, due to MSYR’s phenolic structure, and thus reduce oxidative stress and improve mitochondrial biogenesis. Hydrogen peroxide is a standard reactive oxygen species (ROS) treatment to …

Disrupted Circadian Rhythms Affect Hallmark Pathologies In Alzheimer’S Disease-Related Mouse Models, Valeria Buzinova

Theses and Dissertations--Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with two hallmark pathologies: extracellular amyloid-b (Ab) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Ab is proteolytically processed from amyloid precursor protein (APP) by b-secretase and g-secretase as a monomeric peptide prone to aggregation. Eventually, the aggregate-prone monomers will form dense plaques that are difficult to break down and remove. These plaques begin to deposit into the cortex decades prior to the formation of NFTs and the onset of cognitive decline. NFTs are comprised of hyper-phosphorylated tau. Tau is a protein that serves to promote and stabilize the formation of microtubules. The formation of …

Exploring Anticholinergic Neurotoxicity: Diphenhydramine's Impact On Neuro-2a Cell Morphology, Expression, And Viability, Jordan B. Mcintyre

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Anticholinergic medications, such as diphenhydramine (commonly known as Benadryl), are increasingly recognized for their association with cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative disease. These medications, which inhibit the action of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for the formation and utilization of the central and peripheral nervous system, have been implicated in conditions such as dementia and may impact fundamental cellular processes like neurogenesis and cell proliferation. This study investigates the effects of diphenhydramine on neurogenesis when introduced to Neuro-2a cells during differentiation. For all studies cells were plated on coverslips or in 6-well plates with differentiation media containing 0 ng/mL, 50 ng/mL, …

Illusions Of The Brain, Vaso Manakou

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Scientific Kenyon: Neuroscience Edition (Full Issue)

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Founder And Professor

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Get The Fruc(Tose) Out Of My Food, Johanna Huelsman

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

My Brain Didn't Get The Memo That It Was Virtual, Samantha Ofori

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Epigenetic Hangovers: Your Brain On Alcohol, Cindy Chen

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Ctrl + Alt + Neuron, Stuart Hilton

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Losing Yourself To Find Yourself: The Neuroscience Ego Dissolution, Mike D'Eletto

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

What The Body Feels, The Mind Reveals: How Inflammation Shapes Emotions, Jamie Murphy

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

Smile! Your Brain Is On Camera, Natalie Stone

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.

When Empathy Goes Quiet, Miko Warshaw

Scientific Kenyon: The Neuroscience Edition

No abstract provided.