Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

Modeling The Mechanisms Of Reward Learning That Bias Visual Attention, Jason Hays, Fabian Soto Phd

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Heuristics From Statistics—Modeling The Behavior And Perception Of Non-Rigid Materials, Vivian C. Paulun, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Modelling Grip Point Selection In Human Precision Grip, Guido Maiello, Lina Klein, Vivian C. Paulun, Roland W. Fleming

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Mollifying Neuroscience And Christian Faith: An Emergent Monistic Claim For Free Will And The Soul, Paul Figel

Dialogue & Nexus

Modern neuroscience makes it difficult for one to support a case for substance dualism regarding the existence of a soul and free will. The neuroscientific evidence stems from several experiments in which test subjects were instructed to perform a simple voluntary movement. Scientists consistently observed neurological antecedents preceding the subject’s conscious decision to perform the action. An examination of these experiments and the conclusions drawn will show several key inconsistencies that weaken the extreme anti-conscious will claim. However, it is important to not reject the neurological evidence against substance dualism, but instead discover a new perspective (e.g. emergent monism) that …

Comparing Diverse V1 Models On The Same Platform: Virtual V1sion, Cheryl Olman

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Volume 3 Editorial, Daniel Brannan

Dialogue & Nexus

No abstract provided.

Unifying Binocular, Spatial, And Spatio-Temporal Frequency Integration In Models Of Mt Neurons, Pamela M. Baker, Wyeth Bair

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Evaluating And Interpreting A Convolutional Neural Net As A Model Of V4, Dean A. Pospisil, Anitha Pasupathy, Wyeth Bair

MODVIS Workshop

Convolutional neural nets (CNNs) are currently the highest performing image recognition computer algorithms. Of interest is whether these CNNs, following extensive supervised training, perform computations similar to those in the ventral visual stream. We investigated whether CNN units’ tuning for shape boundaries was similar to V4’s as described in the angular position and curvature (APC) model of Pasupathy and Connor 2001. From units in all layers of AlexNet (see Figure A), an object recognition CNN, we recorded responses to the original study’s set of shape stimuli (51 simple closed shapes at up to 8 rotations) presented at 51 spatial translations …

Gabor Limits And Hyper-Selectivity In The Tuning Of V1 Neurons, David J. Field, Kedarnath P. Vilankar

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Nicotine In The Neonatal Quinpirole Rodent Model Of Psychosis: Neural Plasticity Mechanisms And Nicotinic Receptor Changes, Daniel J. Peterson, W. Drew Gill, John M. Dose, Donald B. Hoover, James R. Pauly, Elizabeth D. Cummins, Katherine C. Burgess, Russell W. Brown

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Neonatal quinpirole (NQ) treatment to rats increases dopamine D2 receptor sensitivity persistent throughout the animal’s lifetime. In Experiment 1, we analyzed the role of α7 and α4β2 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in nicotine behavioral sensitization and on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) response to nicotine in NQ- and neonatally saline (NS)-treated rats. In Experiment 2, we analyzed changes in α7 and α4β2 nAChR density in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and dorsal striatum in NQ and NS animals sensitized to nicotine. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were neonatally treated with quinpirole (1 mg/kg) or saline from postnatal days (P)1–21. Animals were given …

Developing An In Vitro Assay For Detection And Characterization Of Functional Connectivity Within Transplantation Candidate Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived V2a Interneuron Networks, Jeffrey Robert Gamble

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Facilitating plasticity after spinal cord injury tends to be the focus of most modern interventions for this condition. In particular, stem cell therapies attempt to both modulate and mimic some of the native plasticity after injury through multiple mechanisms. One such mechanism, the creation of new exogenous relay circuits bridging the injury, has been explored extensively, revealing serious impediments to its optimization and adoption for clinical settings. Our collaborator, the Sakiyama-Elbert group, has spent years addressing the first limitation, the variability of cellular graft composition, by perfecting protocols to generate embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived populations of neurons with pre-determined genetic …

Model And World: Generalizing The Ontic Conception Of Scientific Explanation, Mark Povich

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Model and World defends a theory of scientific explanation that I call the “Generalized Ontic Conception” (GOC), according to which a model explains when and only when it provides (approximately) veridical information about the ontic structures on which the explanandum phenomenon depends. Causal and mechanistic explanations are species of GOC in which the ontic structures on which the explanandum phenomenon depends are causes and mechanisms, respectively, and the kinds of dependence involved are causal and constitutive/mechanistic, respectively. The kind of dependence relation about which information is provided determines the species of the explanation. This provides an intuitive typology of explanations …

Therapy Dogs And The Impact On Employees In The Pediatric Medical Setting, Laine Foith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

More than 40% of nurses reported experiencing significant burnout. Burnout is characterized by disengagement, cynicism, negative views of personal accomplishment and ability, and emotional exhaustion. The healthcare providers that experience burnout can possibly expect a decrease in ability to recognize/report errors, increase of negative feelings toward the patient, and decrease levels of patient satisfaction (Ernest, 2014). One of the ways Schub (2015) suggested to regulate burnout for employees was to provide psychosocial support to colleagues to reduce stress. This study is one of the first attempts to bridge the gap between the unknown correlation between qualitative and quantitative benefits of …

Response Time Scores On A Reflexive Attention Task Predict A Child's Inattention Score From A Parent Report, Erica Suh, Katherine Christensen, Sarah Kamhout, Kahala Thompson, Yoojin Kim, Cooper Hodges

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

● Children with attention deficits have problems with sustained and reflexive attention tasks

● Few studies measure reflexive attention as a component of day-to-day attention in children

● Parents also have valuable insight into children’s behavior

● We want to identify associations between computer-based reflexive attention task performance and parent-rated attention-related problems.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation And Sports Performance, Dylan J. Edwards, Mar Cortes, Susan Wortman-Jutt, David Putrino, Marom Bikson, Gary Thickbroom, Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Neuroscience Underlying Temporal Cue Discrimination In The Auditory Cortex, Samantha D. Rosicke

Honors Scholar Theses

Animals, including rats and humans, use the auditory cortex to discriminate auditory cues for communication and survival. It has been shown that individual neurons in the A1, ventral auditory field (VAF), and suprarhinal auditory field (SRAF) of the rat auditory cortex respond to different noise burst lengths to help the rat comprehend an auditory stimulus. In this experiment, we demonstrate the behavioral ability of male Long Evans rats to discriminate between noise bursts of different temporal lengths: 12 ms and 66 ms, in a Two-Alternative Forced Choice task. The study of temporal cue discrimination in the auditory cortex can be …

Rat Hind Limb Nociceptive Withdrawal Response To Heat And Mechanical Stimuli Depends On Initial Position Of The Paw But Not Stimulus Location, Giavanna Verdi

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Mammals rapidly withdraw their hind limb in response to noxious stimulation, which is a protective movement known as the nociceptive withdrawal response (NWR). The NWR has been previously studied in spinalized, decerebrated and anesthetized non-human and human mammals; however, there is minimal information on the NWR in intact, unanesthetized non-human mammals.

The first specific aim was to identify the factors that determine the direction and magnitude of the NWR in intact, unanesthetized rats. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that the location of stimulation and the initial position of the paw preceding the NWR will influence the direction and magnitude …

Complementary Multimodal Compartments In The Developing Inferior Colliculus, Roxana Behrooz

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The auditory system is responsible for detecting, encoding, and deciphering hearing. The inferior colliculus (IC) is a major relay hub situated in the midbrain, that is subdivided into a central nucleus, and surrounding dorsal and lateral cortices. The central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (CNIC) is organized tonotopically based on a frequency gradient and strictly processes auditory information. In contrast, recent studies show that the lateral cortex of the inferior colliculus (LCIC) is actually multimodal, receiving inputs from not just auditory sources, but also somatosensory and visual structures. The precise organization of patterned inputs to the LCIC and their development …

The Effects Of Ocular Dominance On Visual Processing In College Students, William A. Holland

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

V. Abstract

The role of ocular dominance in processing visual memory and analytic tasks is unknown. Previous research variably showed both significant effects and no effect of ocular dominance on visual perception, motor control and sports performance. Consequently, the goal of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between ocular dominance and visual processing under a variety of computer gaming tasks. This was accomplished by first determining subjects’ ocular dominance through the use of the Miles test, and then proceeding to examine the subjects’ visual performance on four different Lumosity games under three conditions: left eye, right …

Basal And Experience Dependent Ampar And Synapse Dynamics: Alterations In A Mouse Model Of Fragile X Syndrome, Anand Suresh

Theses & Dissertations

Dendritic spines are the principal sites of excitatory synapses in the neurons of mammalian central nervous system. Spine are plastic, undergoing structural and functional changes under basal and experience dependent conditions. Spine properties are altered in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders including the Fragile X syndrome (FXS) which is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability. The structural reorganization of dendritic spines is thought to be associated with synaptic plasticity mechanisms that are deficient in FXS. A number of synaptic plasticity mechanisms involve modulation of synaptic strength via insertion or removal of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPAR). However, the link …