Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons^™

On Sensorimotor Function And The Relationship Between Proprioception And Motor Learning, Jeremy D. Wong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research continues to explore the mechanisms that mediate successful motor control. Behaviourally-relevant modulation of muscle commands is dependent on sensory signals. Proprioception -- the sense of body position -- is one signal likely to be crucial for motor learning. The present thesis explores the relationship between human proprioception and motor learning.

First we investigated changes to sensory function during the adaptation of arm movements to novel forces. Subjects adapted movements in the presence of directional loads over the course of learning. Psychophysical estimates of perceived hand position showed that motor learning resulted in sensed hand position becoming \emph{biased} in the …

Cosmic Ray Particles Images With Orca-Ii Erg, George Mcnamara

George McNamara

Cosmic ray particles image series acquired using a Hamamatsu ORCA-II ERG scientific grade CCD camera, cooled to -60 C. Each image is a consecutive 600 second (10 minute) exposure time with no light to the camera.

While processing the data, I discoverd that the background changed around planes 25 and 227 (see Excel file and jpeg screenshots), so I also processed only planes 025-227 (203 planes total, 2030 minutes, 33.83 hours). the CCD industry "rule of thumb" for a "typical" CCD sensor (i.e. 1/3" CCD) is that one cosmic ray particle strikes a sensor approximately every 30 seconds (assuming not …

The Characterization Of The Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Substrate 3 And Its Role In Regulating Microtubule Dynamics And Molecular Transport In The Brain, Sarah J. Gamble

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The neuronal cytoskeleton is responsible for governing dynamics such as neurite extension and cortex development. In particular, microtubules (MTs) and their associated proteins, and molecular motors, have been shown to be critical in many neuronal processes such as intracellular molecular transport and neuron differentiation. The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) act as powerful morphogens that have been shown to play a role in regulating cortical development. FGFs activate receptor tyrosine kinases, of which fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 3(FRS3) has been shown to interact with, to mediate downstream signaling cascades (regulating cell proliferation and differentiation). In addition to FRS3’s role in …

Brain In A Jar: Writing About Alzheimer's Disease, Nancy Stearns Bercaw

UVM Libraries Conference Day

Living with, and writing about, Alzheimer's disease.

Adjunctive Perampanel For Refractory Partial-Onset Seizures. Randomized Phase Iii Study 304, Jacqueline A. French, Gregory L. Krauss, Victor Biton, David Squillacote, Haichen Yang, Antonio Laurenza, Dinesh Kumar, Michael A. Rogawski

Michael A. Rogawski

Objective: To assess efficacy and safety of once-daily 8 or 12 mg perampanel, a noncompetitive α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist, when added to concomitant antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the treatment of drug-resistant partial-onset seizures. Methods:This was a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00699972). Patients (≥12 years, with ongoing seizures despite 1–3 AEDs) were randomized (1:1:1) to once-daily perampanel 8 mg, 12 mg, or placebo. Following baseline (6 weeks), patients entered a 19-week double-blind phase: 6-week titration (2 mg/week increments to target dose) followed by a 13-week maintenance period. Percent change in seizure frequency was the primary endpoint; 50% responder …

The Functional Organization Of Synaptic Vesicle Pools In A Retinal Bipolar Neuron, Proleta Datta

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Ribbon synapses are found in sensory systems and are characterized by ‘ribbon-like’ organelles that tether synaptic vesicles. The synaptic ribbons co-localize with sites of calcium entry and vesicle fusion, forming ribbon-style active zones. The ability of ribbon synapses to maintain rapid and sustained neurotransmission is critical for vision, hearing and balance. At retinal ribbon synapses, three vesicle pools have been proposed. A rapid pool of vesicles that are docked at the plasma membrane, and whose fusion is limited only by calcium entry, a releasable pool of ATP-primed vesicles whose size also correlates with the number of ribbon-tethered vesicles, and a …

Sleep Hygiene And Problem Behaviors In Snoring And Non- Snoring School-Age Children, Lisa A. Witcher, David Gozal, Dennis L. Molfese, Scott M. Salathe, Karen Spruyt, Valerie Mclaughlin Crabtree

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Objectives—The effects of sleep-disordered breathing, sleep restriction, dyssomnias, and parasomnias on daytime behavior in children have been previously assessed. However, the potential relationship(s) between sleep hygiene and children’s daytime behavior remain to be explored. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep hygiene and problematic behaviors in non-snoring and habitually snoring children.

Methods—Parents of 100 5- to 8-year-old children who were reported to snore “frequently” to “almost always,” and of 71 age-, gender-, and ethnicity-matched children who were reported to never snore participated in this study. As part of a larger, ongoing study, …

Effects Of Head Position And Head-Supported Mass On Nerve Function Of The Flexor Carpi Radialis Muscle In Healthy Individuals, Bethany Lauren Shivers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Long-term exposure to head-supported mass (HSM) has been linked with spinal degeneration including foraminal stenosis and disc deterioration. Anecdotally, HSM has also been linked to neck and arm pain and muscle atrophy, but nerve function has not been tested specifically. The combined effect of various head positions and HSM may be sufficient to compress the nerve root in aviators and Soldiers during job performance, potentially leading to short- and long-term neuromuscular effects. The Hoffmann (H) reflex, a well-established measure of nerve function, has shown to be sensitive to changes in nerve root space which occurs with different head positions. This …

Identification Of A Molecular Opiate-Addiction Memory Switch In The Basolateral Amygdala, Danika C.A. Lyons

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The molecular mechanisms involved in acquiring opiate-related associative memories are largely unknown. One neural region implicated in the formation of opiate-related memories is the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA). Transmission through dopamine (DA) receptors within the BLA controls the formation of opiate-related reward memories (Lintas et al., 2011; Lintas et al., 2012). Specifically, transmission through DA D1 receptors controls opiate reward memory formation in animals that are previously naïve to opiate exposure. However, once opiate dependence and withdrawal are present, intra-BLA DA-mediated control of opiate reward memory processing switches to a DA D2 receptor substrate. These findings demonstrate a …

Function-On-Scalar Regression With The Refund Package, Philip T. Reiss

Philip T. Reiss

No abstract provided.

Early Stage Drug Treatment That Normalizes Proinflammatory Cytokine Production Attenuates Synaptic Dysfunction In A Mouse Model That Exhibits Age-Dependent Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathology, Adam D. Bachstetter, Christopher M. Norris, Pradoldej Sompol, Donna M. Wilcock, Danielle Goulding, Janna H. Neltner, Daret St. Clair, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS has been implicated as a key contributor to pathophysiology progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and extensive studies with animal models have shown that selective suppression of excessive glial proinflammatory cytokines can improve neurologic outcomes. The prior art, therefore, raises the logical postulation that intervention with drugs targeting dysregulated glial proinflammatory cytokine production might be effective disease-modifying therapeutics if used in the appropriate biological time window. To test the hypothesis that early stage intervention with such drugs might be therapeutically beneficial, we examined the impact of intervention with MW01-2-151SRM (MW-151), an experimental therapeutic that …

Diffusion Barriers Of The Lateral Ventricular System, Anitha Saravanakumar

Master's Theses

Adult neurogenesis in mammalian brain has become a well-accepted phenomenon. The neural stem cells in the sub ventricular zone (SVZ) along the lateral wall of the lateral ventricle, the largest germinal center of adult neurogenesis, are maintained by the neural stem cell niche. One prominent feature of the niche is its close proximity to the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). The role of micromolecules (such as ions, water and gases) present in the CSF and diffusing through the lateral ventricular wall and how the stem cell micro-environment is maintained is poorly understood. The cytoarchitecture of the lateral ventricular wall with a …

Brainstorm: Head Injuries And The Nfl, Part 4: The Physics Of Head Trauma, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

One fine afternoon in the autumn of 2010, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards executed one of the most dangerous acts you can do in football: He speared another player.

Symbolizing Number: Fmri Investigations Of The Semantic, Auditory, And Visual Correlates Of Hindu-Arabic Numerals, Ian Douglas Holloway

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Humans are born with a sensitivity to numerical magnitude. In literate cultures, these numerical intuitions are associated with a symbolic notation (e.g..Hindu-Arabic numerals). While a growing body of neuroscientific research has been conducted to elucidate commonalities between symbolic (e.g. Hinud-Arabic numerals) and non-symbolic (e.g. arrays of objects) representations, relatively little is known about the neural correlates specific to the symbolic processing of numerical magnitude. To address this, I conducted the three fMRI experiments contained within this thesis to characterize the neuroanatomical correlates of the auditory, visual, audiovisual, and semantic processing of numerical symbols.

In Experiment 1, the neural correlates of …

Multivoxel Patterns In Face-Sensitive Temporal Regions Reveal An Encoding Schema Based On Detecting Life In A Face, Christine E. Looser, Jyothi S. Guntupalli, Thalia Wheatley

Dartmouth Scholarship

More than a decade of research has demonstrated that faces evoke prioritized processing in a ‘core face network’ of three brain regions. However, whether these regions prioritize the detection of global facial form (shared by humans and mannequins) or the detection of life in a face has remained unclear. Here, we dissociate form-based and animacy-based encoding of faces by using animate and inanimate faces with human form (humans, mannequins) and dog form (real dogs, toy dogs). We used multivariate pattern analysis of BOLD responses to uncover the representational similarity space for each area in the core face network. Here, we …

Brain Connectivity Studied By Fmri: Homologous Network Organization In The Rat, Monkey, And Human, R. Matthew Hutchison

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The mammalian brain is composed of functional networks operating at different spatial and temporal scales — characterized by patterns of interconnections linking sensory, motor, and cognitive systems. Assessment of brain connectivity has revealed that the structure and dynamics of large-scale network organization are altered in multiple disease states suggesting their use as diagnostic or prognostic indicators. Further investigation into the underlying mechanisms, organization, and alteration of large-scale brain networks requires homologous animal models that would allow neurophysiological recordings and experimental manipulations. My current dissertation presents a comprehensive assessment and comparison of rat, macaque, and human brain networks based on evaluation …

Resolving Disulfide Bond Patterns In Snap25b Cysteine-Rich Region Using Lc Mass Spectrometry, Nozomi Ogawa

Theses and Dissertations

A global analysis of the human proteome demonstrates that there are ~5500 tryptic fragments that contain four cysteines in close proximity. Elucidating whether they form disulfide bonds in vivo under different conditions is particularly important because cysteines are known to be a vital cellular redox sensor as well as a catalytic site for important biochemical reactions. However, currently there are no methods that can resolve disulfide patterns in closely-packed cysteine residues from a complex sample. In order to address this problem, we have developed a novel mass-spectrometry-based method to identify the different disulfide bonding patterns possible, using SNAP25B cysteine-rich region …

Brainstorm: Head Injuries And The Nfl, Part 3: A History Of Terms – Characteristics Of Cte, John J. Medina Ph.D.

Brainstorm

Though repetitive closed­head injuries are often experienced in professional contact sports, many injuries are minor, with collisions involving the head an everyday experience of the sport. Collegiate football players can sustain anywhere from 400 to more than 2,400 head impacts per season, depending upon the player — and possibly his position. The athlete usually walks it off, or is examined and benched for a period of time, lives to play another day. Eventually he joins the NFL, retires, starts endorsing products, and, except for maybe gaining a few pounds, seems to suffer few ill effects.

Autism Spectrum Disorders In Hispanics And Non-Hispanics, Virginia Chaidez, Robin L. Hansen, Irva Hertz-Picciotto

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives: To compare differences in autism between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. We also examined the relationship between multiple language exposure and language function and scores of children. Methods: The Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study is an ongoing population-based case-control study with children sampled (n = 1061) from three strata: those with autism (AU) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD); developmental delay (DD); or the general population (GP). Results: Non-Hispanic cases demonstrated higher cognitive composite scores for the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). There were significant associations between multiple language exposure and MSEL subscales for receptive …

Placental Insufficiency Resulting In Fetal Growth Restriction Alters Synaptic Development And Neuronal Myelination In Guinea Pigs At Term, Karolina Piorkowska

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aberrant neuronal connectivity in utero may underlie the association between fetal growth restriction (FGR) and increased risk for later cognitive disorders and encephalopathy. This study examines changes in synaptic development and myelination focussing on the hippocampus using a guinea pig model of placental insufficiency. Placental insufficiency was induced at mid-gestation by uterine artery ligation or cauterization which produced fetuses with a range of body weight and proportion at term. Synaptic markers, synaptophysin and synaptopodin, were decreased in FGR animals suggesting fewer synapses were formed and furthermore that fewer synapses matured with symmetrical growth restriction when compared to appropriate for gestational …