Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Modeling Synaptic Dysfunction As Neural Contagion: A Graph-Based Sedr Framework For Simulating Signal Spread, Michelle Marfo, Dr. Padmanabhan Seshaiyer, Alonso Ogueda-Oliva

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Paintings Analysis Using Copilot Ai: The Case Of Winston Churchill And Art In His Life, Yuri Zagvazdin

Learning and Educational Center Virtual Teaching and Learning Conference

The objective of this presentation is to demonstrate a method for analyzing artistic style and its potential evolution using the Copilot AI platform. As a case study, I explore the paintings of Winston Churchill (1874–1965), the British Prime Minister, who was also a passionate and prolific painter. Although Churchill began painting in his forties, he produced over 500 works, with his final piece completed in 1962.

Churchill frequently painted scenes from Southern France and Morocco—locations he returned to repeatedly throughout his artistic life. Remarkably, he continued painting even after suffering multiple cerebrovascular accidents. Stroke-induced brain damage is typically detrimental to …

Fostering Entrepreneurial Thinking And Practice Through Teaching And Learning Integration, Mohammad G. Sabbir

Learning and Educational Center Virtual Teaching and Learning Conference

This session explores an innovative, evidence-based approach to integrating entrepreneurial thinking into undergraduate neuroscience education through hands-on gene editing experiences. Using the commercially available Bio-Rad CRISPR/Cas9-based “Out of the Blue” kit for bacterial LacZ gene editing, students are guided not only through the scientific principles underlying modern gene editing technologies but also through the entrepreneurial challenge of replicating and manufacturing the kit using existing lab resources. This model empowers students to extend their learning beyond the classroom by engaging in cost-effective, scalable biotechnology practices—particularly valuable for institutions with limited funding. Classroom-based research demonstrates increased student engagement, deeper conceptual understanding, and …

The Head-Direction Signal Is Generated From Two Types Of Head Direction Cells In Brainstem Nuclei, Ryan M. Yoder

Psychology

Head direction (HD) cells discharge based on an animal's directional heading. Computational models propose that a ring-attractor network across the connections between the lateral mammillary (LMN) and dorsal tegmental nuclei (DTN) underlies the signal's generation. These models contain neurons that encode either HD or angular head velocity (AHV), but also require cells that are sensitive to both parameters conjunctively (HD + AHV). Here we identify both types of HD cells in the LMN and DTN of female rats, with one population sensitive to AHV (both symmetric and asymmetric), and the other population insensitive to AHV. Notably, many HD + AHV …

Odor Concentration Matters: How Odor Concentration Guides Consummatory Behavior And Formation Of Odor-Taste Associations In Rats, Dinna N. Ferreira

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Taste concentration is a key determinant of palatability. For example, higher concentrations of sucrose, a sweet taste, are typically preferred to lower ones, whereas the opposite is true for citric acid, a sour taste. Yet taste is not the only determinant of food preference. Flavor arises from the integration of taste and olfactory cues, and repeated exposure to odor-taste combinations can lead odors to acquire the hedonic value of their associated taste. However, the contribution of odor concentration, independent of taste, in guiding consummatory behavior is not well understood.

To address this, we conducted two experiments using a two-bottle brief-access …

Small For Gestational Age Subgroups Have Differential Morbidity, Growth, And Neurodevelopment At Age 2: The Interbio-21st Newborn Study, Aris T. Papageorghiou, María C. Restrepo-Ménde, Rose Mcgready, Fernando C. Barros, Francois Nosten, Shama Munim, Roseline Ochieng, Rachel Craik, Hellen C. Barsosio, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Background: Small for gestational age is a complex perinatal syndrome associated with increased neonatal morbidity, mortality, and impaired childhood growth and neurodevelopment. Current classifications rely primarily on birthweight, which does not capture the heterogeneity of the condition nor predict long-term health outcomes. Here we aim to identify and characterize distinct small for gestational age subgroups and assess their neonatal and early childhood health trajectories.
Objective: To refine the classification of small for gestational age by identifying subgroups based on maternal, fetal, and environmental factors and evaluating their associations with neonatal morbidity, growth, and neurodevelopment at age 2.
Study design: Prospective …

Probiotic Intervention In Managing Chronic Stress, Bianca Opdenbosch

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Chronic stress can induce gut dysbiosis which contributes to the dysregulation of the gut-brain axis and leads to anxiety and depressive-like symptoms. The gut-brain axis relies on nervous, immune, and endocrine interactions. Gut dysbiosis, an imbalance within the gut microbiome, disrupts gut-brain communication, impairing gut barrier integrity, inflammation regulation, and hormonal and neurotransmitter production. These gut changes contribute to mood disorders resulting from stress, and thus it is important to implement dietary interventions, like probiotics, to help mitigate these effects. Research highlights the potential of probiotics to act as an intervention to combat stress-induced gut dysbiosis and replenish beneficial bacteria …

The Term Consciousness And Impressive Evidence For Cephalopod Awareness, Donald M. Broom

Animal Sentience

Mather presents comprehensive evidence of cephalopod cognitive ability and of a high level of awareness. The importance of taking account of the biological functioning and adaptations to the living environment is emphasised. An argument is presented that it is better to limit the use of the word conscious to ‘not unconscious’ and to use awareness in relation to the various levels of cognitive functioning.

The Consciousness Inherent In Chasing Your Tail, Sergio M. Pellis Dr.

Animal Sentience

Who is conscious and how do we know? Complexity in behavior and cognition is certainly a clue that cannot be ignored in identifying this trait, and as Mather’s target article shows, it is hard not to imagine consciousness arising in cephalopods. But how complex is complex? An alternative may be gleaned from the fact that all living things rely on negative feedback to navigate their worlds, and this requires all sentient beings knowing what is to be stabilized in reflection to themselves. If so, consciousness is a universal trait.

Pilot Study: Integrating The Epic Stroke Narrator Into Inpatient Code Stroke Protocols To Improve Symptom Onset Identification And Reduce Intervention Times, Stacy L. Carter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In-hospital strokes are often underrecognized, leading to treatment delays and poorer outcomes compared to community-onset strokes. This scholarly project evaluated whether integrating the Epic Stroke Narrator into inpatient code stroke protocols could improve documentation of last known well time (LKWT) and reduce time to intervention. A 6-week quasi-experimental pilot study guided by the Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice and Rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory was conducted on a neuroscience telemetry step-down unit at a comprehensive stroke center in Richmond, Virginia. Education on the Stroke Narrator was provided to bedside nurses and was followed by implementation and evaluation of narrator use …

Organism-Specific Sequence Motifs Link Ribosomal Rnas To Brain Disorders, Isidore Rigoutsos, Stepan Nersisyan, Eric Londin, Iliza Nazeraj, Bonnie Dong, Anastasios Vourekas, Phillipe Loher

Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers

We report that in humans, mice, fruit flies, and worms, the ribosomal RNAs and the transcribed spacers of 45S are densely packed with organism-specific sequence motifs that are primarily shared with nervous system genes. The human ribosomal RNAs and 45S spacers contain 1,723 such motifs. Specific combinations of these motifs are predominantly found in 3,430 human nervous system genes, of which 1,046 are genes associated with brain disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. The sequences of the 1,723 motifs and their locations in the introns and exons of nervous system genes are unique to primates. Experimental evidence indicates that …

Wearable Single-Channel Electroencephalography, Brain Activity, And Putting Performance In Collegiate Golfers, Pradeep Vanguri, Savannah Calleja, Valerie G. Starratt, Marissa Bonsangue

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

Wearable Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive method for assessing brain activity. Outside of the context of a traditional medical or laboratory setting, this technology may provide insight into the study of brain activity during activity or sport. In golf, for example, similar research revealed associations in skilled golfers between activity in the alpha brain wave and conscious control of motor activity during putting. The purpose of this research was to further investigate the association between brain-wave activity and athlete performance using a wearable single-channel EEG device during putting in collegiate golfers. Male and Female golfers (n = 11) from …

The Science Of Sound: Studying The Cognitive, Emotional, And Physiological Effects Of Frequency, Genre, And Music, Jett Yarborough

Senior Honors Theses

Music influences emotion, physiology, and cognition, yet little is known about how the frequency it is tuned to affects these influences. Prior research has shown that music tuned to 432 Hz can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep. My colleagues and I conducted two studies to investigate this. Our research found that music tuned to 432 Hz promotes a significant increase in memory retention and induces a state of focus and relaxation. These results suggest that shifting from the standard tuning frequency of 440 Hz to 432 Hz could have a profoundly positive impact on our daily lives. …

Anterior Cingulate Cortex Connectivity And The Role In Neuroticism: A Diffusion-Weighted-Imaging-Based Investigation Of Limbic And Prefrontal Circuits., Jake Cox Ii

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Neuroticism is a trait which has been shown to significantly predict psychopathology. Investigating its neurobiological underpinnings may uncover a brain-based relationship that allows clinicians to conceptualize a shared predispositional factor across multiple psychopathologies, implicating treatment protocols. Inter-connectivity network and structural variation has been shown to be implicated in neuroticism, more specifically the frontoparietal network, default mode network, salience networks, and limbic networks. These networks tackle executive, salience, and emotional information, respectively. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is a brain region nested between and functionally related to various networks stated above that are implicated in neuroticism. As such, it was hypothesized …

The Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Bdnf) And Its Importance To Organism Survival And Development, Christopher Monnett Smith

Holster Scholar Projects

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has been the subject of numerous studies regarding the functioning of the brain in relation to topics such as neural plasticity and neural survival. However, BDNF has also been implicated in the induction of changes not only in neural tissue but multiple other tissue types across the human body. The aim of this literature review is to provide a comprehensive, yet brief, overview of BDNF’s influence on the functioning of the nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, and immune systems.

Hungry Minds: Analyzing The Impact Of Food Insecurity And Food Assistance Programs On Neurocognitive Development And Childhood Mental Health, Kayla A. Davenport

Senior Theses

Introduction: Food insecurity affects millions of children in the United States and is increasingly recognized as a significant risk factor for poor nutritional intake and adverse health outcomes. However, less is known about how the experience of food insecurity disrupts healthy development and well-being, particularly among American youth. This thesis had two aims: (1) to examine the relationship between household food insecurity and children’s neurocognitive and mental health outcomes and (2) to evaluate how major food assistance programs address, or fail to address, these developmental risks.

Methods: This thesis uses a mixed-methods approach, integrating a narrative literature review, a cross-sectional …

Elite Beach Volleyball Match Analysis: Rally Structure, Work-To-Rest Patterns, And Gender Considerations, Flavia F. Pereira, Jason M. Curtis, Jose Antonio, Jennifer Austin, Riceler Waske, Victor Romano

Journal for Sports Neuroscience

This study analyzed the physical and temporal demands of elite male and female beach volleyball athletes during professional competitions, specifically focusing on match duration, rally characteristics, and work-to-rest ratios. Utilizing the Balltime AI platform, 7,832 rallies from 92 matches (49 males, 43 females) during the 2023 FIVB Elite 16 Tour and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games were examined. The findings indicate an average total match duration of approximately 46 min (45:55 ± 10:11), with active playing time averaging 13:30 ± 03:06 min and rest periods totaling 32:25 ± 07:29 min. The average rally duration was 9.49 ± 0.57 seconds, yielding …

Investigating Potential Alzheimer's Disease Therapies Through An Agent-Based Model Of Impaired Microglia Metabolismmodeling Impaired Microglia Metabolism, Cheyenne Ty, Abigail Penland, John Gerving, Martin Mendoza-Ceja, Megan Pratt, Kamila Larripa

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia globally and is marked by amyloid-β plaque accumulation, decreased brain pH, disrupted metabolism, and increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier. Microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system, are essential for maintaining brain homeostasis and are critically involved in the progression of AD. While microglia can initiate protective immune responses to injury and disease, dysregulated microglial metabolism may contribute to the exacerbation of Alzheimer's pathology. To investigate potential therapeutic strategies, we developed an agent-based model simulating the effects of exercise and metabolic enhancement on dysfunctional microglia. Our findings suggest that …

Treatment Of Tics In Pediatric Patients With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Faiza Ahmad

Research Colloquium

Background: The prevalence of chronic and transient tic disorders in children with neurodevelopmental delays is substantially higher than in the general pediatric population. Disorders including Tourette’s Syndrome, Chronic Persistent Motor Tic Disorder or Provisional Tic Disorder, can present challenges in treatment when comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down’s Syndrome or other developmental delays may not be able to participate in first-line behavioral interventions like CBIT (Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics) therapy. Therefore, optimization of pharmacologic treatment is often necessary in this population, especially in the case of severe, refractory tics. Additionally, pharmacologic treatment can be …

From Venom To Medicine: Harnessing Animal Toxins For Drug Discovery, Christine Vega, Ying Jia

Research Colloquium

Background: Drug development research has long focused on synthesizing novel therapeutics while overlooking isolation from naturally available sources such as animal venoms. Recently, the discovery of the therapeutic effects of highly bioavailable animal venom caused the field of venom research to soar in popularity. Animal venom serves as a natural, sophisticated tool optimized over millions of years by evolution with the ability to bind to ion channels such as nAChRs, non-specific ligand-gated ion channels distributed throughout the human nervous system. However, purifying individual venom toxins from crude venom is challenging due to its availability. Therefore, synthesizing large quantities of venom …