Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Neural Dynamics, Adaptive Computations, And Sensory Invariance In An Olfactory System, Srinath Nizampatnam

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Sensory stimuli evoke spiking activities that are patterned across neurons and time in the early processing stages of olfactory systems. What features of these spatiotemporal neural response patterns encode stimulus-specific information (i.e. ‘neural code’), and how they are translated to generate behavioral output are fundamental questions in systems neuroscience. The objective of this dissertation is to examine this issue in the locust olfactory system. In the locust antennal lobe (analogous to the vertebrate olfactory bulb), a neural circuit directly downstream to the olfactory sensory neurons, even simple stimuli evoke neural responses that are complex and dynamic. We found each odorant …

Alzgps: A Genome-Wide Positioning Systems Platform To Catalyze Multi-Omics For Alzheimer’S Drug Discovery, Yadi Zhou, Jiansong Fang, Lynn M. Bekris, Yeon Heon Kim, Andrew A. Pieper, James B. Leverenz, Jeffrey Cummings, Feixiong Cheng

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background: Recent DNA/RNA sequencing and other multi-omics technologies have advanced the understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of AD, yet there is still a lack of disease-modifying treatments for AD. A new approach to integration of the genome, transcriptome, proteome, and human interactome in the drug discovery and development process is essential for this endeavor. Methods: In this study, we developed AlzGPS (Genome-wide Positioning Systems platform for Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery, https://alzgps.lerner.ccf.org), a comprehensive systems biology tool to enable searching, visualizing, and analyzing multi-omics, various types of heterogeneous biological networks, and clinical databases for target identification and development of effective prevention …

Resting Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism Exhibits Archetypal Network Features, Nicholas A. Hubbard, Monroe P. Turner, Kevin R. Sitek, Kathryn L. West, Jakub R. Kaczmarzyk, Lyndahl Himes, Binu P. Thomas, Hanzhang Lu, Bart Rypma

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Standard magnetic resonance imaging approaches offer high-resolution but indirect measures of neural activity, limiting understanding of the physiological processes associated with imaging findings. Here, we used calibrated functional magnetic resonance imaging during the resting state to recover low-frequency fluctuations of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2). We tested whether functional connections derived from these fluctuations exhibited organization properties similar to those established by previous standard functional and anatomical connectivity studies. Seventeen participants underwent 20 min of resting imaging during dual-echo, pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling, and blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal acquisition. Participants also underwent a 10 min normocapnic and hypercapnic …

Recallable But Not Recognizable: The Influence Of Semantic Priming In Recall Paradigms, Jason D. Ozubko, Lindsey Ann Sirianni, Fahad N. Ahmad, Colin M. Macleod, Richard Addante

Psychology Faculty Publications

When people can successfully recall a studied word, they should be able to recognize it as having been studied. In cued-recall paradigms, however, participants sometimes correctly recall words in the presence of strong semantic cues but then fail to recognize those words as actually having been studied. Although the conditions necessary to produce this unusual effect are known, the underlying neural correlates have not been investigated. Across five experiments, involving both behavioral and electrophysiological methods (EEG), we investigated the cognitive and neural processes that underlie recognition failures. Experiments 1 and 2 showed behaviorally that assuming that recalled items can be …

Neural Correlates Of The Dunning-Kruger Effect, Alana Muller, Lindsey A. Sirianni, Richard Addante

Psychology Faculty Publications

The Dunning-Kruger effect (DKE) is a metacognitive phenomenon of illusory superiority in which individuals who perform poorly on a task believe they performed better than others, yet individuals who performed very well believe they under-performed compared to others. This phenomenon has yet to be directly explored in episodic memory, nor explored for physiological correlates or reaction times. We designed a novel method to elicit the DKE via a test of item recognition while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Throughout the task, participants were asked to estimate the percentile in which they performed compared to others. Results revealed participants in the bottom …

From Crib To Bench: Understanding Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (Nows) Using A Novel Rodent Model, Sarah Stevens

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As the opioid epidemic continues to grow, opioid use among pregnant women is increasing significantly. This has led to a steady rise in the number of infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Although short-term withdrawal symptoms associated with NOWS are well characterized, there are many gaps in our understanding of the short and long-term effects of prenatal opioid exposure. In CHAPTER 1, we describe the clinical presentation, associated neurodevelopmental challenges, and current treatments of NOWS. Our current understanding of the neuropathology of NOWS is limited, and therefore further research is needed. However, current animal models are limited by …

Extracellular Vesicles From Uvb Irradiated Keratinocytes Contain Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers, Meghana Reddy Ginugu

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces the formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) in genomic DNA, which are normally removed by nucleotide excision repair. However, the fate of these adducts remain largely unexplored. Detection of these photoproducts in body fluids could act as a predictor of UV exposure and enable a better understanding of the pathogenesis of photosensitive skin diseases, such as lupus. Using cultured human keratinocytes exposed to UVB radiation in vitro, ultracentrifugation of cell culture supernatants, and immunodot blot analysis of isolated DNA, we have found that a small fraction of CPDs is released from cells in a dose- and …

Neuroglobin And Its Role In The Recovery Of Neuronal Cells In Hypoxic Conditions Using Hypoxia Inducible Factor– 1, Riya Shah

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stroke is the world's leading cause of adult disability, caused by lack of oxygen and nutrients to the brain due to a blood clot in a major artery. This leads to ischemic damage of neuronal cells that leads to paralysis, motor, and speech deficits. While most stroke therapies aim at removing or reducing the blood clots in the brain, few treatments target cell damage. Neuroglobin (NGB) is a protein in the brain that is able to aid in neuroprotection following oxidative stress. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcription factor that serves as a marker for cell recovery after hypoxia or …

Diversifying Participation: The Rarity Of Reporting Racial Demographics In Neuroimaging Research, Madeline Goldfarb

Pitzer Senior Theses

Background: Functional neuroimaging techniques have been instrumental to progress in the cognitive and behavioral sciences; however, their increasing prevalence has evoked conversations concerning limitations associated with reproducibility and bias (Gilmore et al., 2017). While the literature has explored several mechanisms driving issues of replicability, few discussions have considered the effects of confounding social and environmental variables such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, and race (Sauce & Matzel, 2013). The prevailing racial, cultural, and socioeconomic bias in scientific research and the methodological limitations of EEG perpetuate racial and ethnic homogeneity in participation, eliciting qualms regarding the generalizability of findings (Henrich et …

The Effects Of Rolipram, A Selective Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor, On Immortalized Schwann Cell Proliferation, Akap95 And Cyclin D3 Expression, Kyle P. Kenney, Mary Pistack, Angela Asirvatham

Student Research Poster Presentations 2021

Schwann cells are a vital component of the Peripheral Nervous System and aid in the repair of axons following injury. The regulation of Schwann cell growth in vitro is facilitated by heregulin, a neuron-secreted growth factor, and an unknown mitogen that activates the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) pathway. The abundance of intracellular cAMP is regulated by a family of enzymes called phosphodiesterases (PDEs). PDE inhibitors such as rolipram have therapeutic potential in various disorders and function by increasing the levels of intracellular cAMP. A-Kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs), a family of scaffolding proteins that belong to the cAMP/Protein Kinase A (PKA) …

Rna Splicing In Neuron Physiology And Neurodegenerative Diseases, Md Faruk Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

Gene expression is regulated at multiple levels, including transcription, RNA editing, pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA export, translation, and posttranslational modifications. Alternative splicing is a process by which exons can be included or excluded, giving rise to multiple mRNA isoforms from the same transcript. Alternative splicing is an important mechanism in developmental, tissue- and cell-specific control of gene expression, and it is key for expanding proteomic diversity and complexity from a limited number of genes. Moreover, more than 95% of multiexon genes undergo alternative splicing in humans, and about half of all disease-causing point mutations in humans affect pre-mRNA splicing, including neurological …

Alpha-Synuclein Multimerization Is Dependent On Structural Characteristics Of Repeated Ktkegv Regions, Benjamin Ira Rosen

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the most common movement disorder and is characterized by neuronal loss and the presence of Lewy bodies in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta. PD is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder associated with the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons. Initially described in an Ayurvedic medical treatise and Galen’s writings, and later by James Parkinson in 1817, the most common symptoms of PD are resting tremors, abnormal posture and gait, and muscle rigidity. Approximately 1 million people are living with PD in the United States and worldwide estimates are between 7 and 10 …

Microrna Regulation And Cellular Proteostasis In Parkinson's Disease, Alberim Kurtishi

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder predominately affecting the aging population. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affecting over 1 million individuals in the US alone. Recent studies have tried to understand the exact nature in which healthy neurons transition to a degenerative state in PD. There are a multitude of combinatory factors that can lead to the development of PD including environmental factors, genetic factors, and aging. The majority of PD cases are sporadic in nature, however familial cases account for 5-10% of total PD cases world-wide. The hallmark …

Somatosensory Dysfunction Is Masked By Variable Cognitive Deficits Across Patients On The Alzheimer’S Disease Spectrum, Alex I. Wiesman, Victoria M. Mundorf, Chloe C. Casagrande, Sara L. Wolfson, Craig M. Johnson, Pamela E. May, Daniel L. Murman, Tony W. Wilson

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is generally thought to spare primary sensory function; however, such interpretations have drawn from a literature that has rarely taken into account the variable cognitive declines seen in patients with AD. As these cognitive domains are now known to modulate cortical somato-sensory processing, it remains possible that abnormalities in somatosensory function in patients with AD have been suppressed by neuropsychological variability in previous research. Methods: In this study, we combine magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging during a paired-pulse somatosensory gating task with an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests to investigate the influence of cognitive variability on estimated …

The Role Of Vps54 In Drosophila Melanogaster Neuronal Development And Age Progressive Neurodegeneration, Emily Wilkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vps54 is a subunit of the Golgi-associated retrograde protein (GARP) complex, which is involved in tethering endosome-derived vesicles to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). The “wobbler” mouse is the phenotypic result of a destabilizing point mutation in Vps54. This mutation causes neurodegeneration and is subsequently used as a model for human motor neuron disease. Presently, it is unclear how disruption of GARP complex function leads to motor neuron degeneration. To better understand the role of Vps54 in motor neuron development, function, and age-related neurodegeneration, we disrupted expression of the Vps54 ortholog in Drosophila and examined the impact on larval neuromuscular junction …

Understanding Stability In Cognitive Neuroscience Through Hacking's Lens, Jacqueline A. Sullivan

Philosophy Publications

Ian Hacking instigated a revolution in 20th century philosophy of science by putting experiments (“interventions”) at the top of a philosophical agenda that historically had focused nearly exclusively on representations (“theories”). In this paper, I focus on a set of conceptual tools Hacking (1992) put forward to understand how laboratory sciences become stable and to explain what such stability meant for the prospects of unity of science and kind discovery in experimental science. I first use Hacking’s tools to understand sources of instability and disunity in rodent behavioral neuroscience. I then use them to understand recent grass-roots collaborative initiatives aimed …

Open Neuroscience Initiative, Austin Lim

College of Science and Health Full Text Publications

The Open Neuroscience Initiative is a free-to-use textbook

This project began as a means to overcoming the financial burden that face undergraduate neuroscience students when buying textbooks. By compiling and writing a completely free-to-access textbook that covers the foundations of a typical college introduction to neuroscience course, students would have one less obstacle to overcome in their educational career, allowing them to focus their valuable time and attention on learning rather than finances. To make this project a reality, I began with a humble tweet in May 2019 that managed to gain a tiny bit of traction among the neuroscience …

Genus Applications For Alzheimer's Disease Pathology, Whitney L Carter

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Estimates vary, but it is thought that 5.5 million Americans age 60 and up may be living with Alzheimer’s diseases (AD). AD is the most common type of dementia and is characterized by a decline in episodic memories, long-term memory, language, attention, and personality changes. The first symptoms can vary, but for most people memory is the first capacity to become impaired. However, symptoms can also be a decline in non-memory aspects of cognition like work-finding, vision/spatial issues, and impaired reasoning or judgement. AD is identified mainly by two histopathological features: extracellular plague of amyloid-beta protein and intracellular neuronal tangles …

Curation Techniques Of Small-Sized Natural History Specimens: A Collection Of Microfossils., Zachary V Biven-Leslie, Guillermo W. Rougier

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

Small-sized fossil specimens are challenging regarding safety, storage and traceability of information. A recent collection of several hundred minute early mammalian teeth and jaws (most about 1mm) made impossible the standard practices of specimen numbering. A reliable association of the specimen and the collection number is the minimum required, however, a number of other data easily recoverable from the specimen/curating material is desirable. Geological provenance, locality, systematic and anatomical ID, collector, year, etc. is often included if possible. Use of the specimen is expected to be on the order of hundreds of years, manipulated by investigators, transported, and stored in …

Editorial., Jeffrey C Wang, Karsten Wiechert, Jens R Chapman

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

No abstract provided.