Neurosciences Commons^™

Chronic Neuropsychological Sequelae In A Patient With Nontumorous Anti-Nmda-Receptor Encephalitis, Dong Y. Han, Lisa M. Mason, Aarti Patel, Zhengqiu Zhou, Sarah Phillips, Siddharth Kapoor

Neurology Faculty Publications

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is a neurological, autoimmune disorder tightly conceptualized only as recently as the mid-2000s. It presents itself in a combination of psychiatric, neurological, and autonomic features. We observe a unique case with probable earlier episode (prior to the mid-2000s conceptualization of the disease) and a later relapse, accompanying a comprehensive neuropsychological profile tracked after the relapse and subsequent improvement. Neurocognitive findings revealed residual frontal deficits with mood changes even in the state after plasmapheresis. This case is the first to describe posttreatment cognition in anti-NMDAR encephalitis after probable serial autoimmune episodes.

The Use Of Rhyme, Rhythm, And Melody As A Form Of Repetition Priming To Aid In Encoding, Storage, And Retrieval Of Semantic Memories In Alzheimer’S Patients, Faiz Plastikwala

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

Treating Alzheimer’s disease, especially through non-pharmaceutical means, has become increasingly important over the past few decades. I examined the use of melody, rhyme, and rhythm as encoding mechanisms to aid in the retrieval of long term semantic information by juxtaposing previous experiments in the field. Melody, rhyme, and rhythm provide an organizational structure to facilitate the encoding of information. Specifically, chunking, the grouping of smaller units into larger ‘chunks’, helps facilitate long term encoding in patients, and is the byproduct of the organizational structure of a text. A major drawback of using these devices is the loss in the depth …

Receptor-Associated Protein (Rap) Models In Vivo Reelin Haploinsufficiency: Implications In Schizophrenia, Jamileh Ahmed

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The “two-hit” schizophrenia hypothesis suggests genetic and environmental abnormalities interrupt early CNS function. This increases vulnerability of a “second hit” and schizophrenia onset. Chronic stress and decreased Reelin signaling are reportedly associated with schizophrenia. Heterozygous Reeler Mice (HRM) show a 50% reduction in Reelin and display major schizophrenia phenotypes. Receptor-Associated Protein (RAP) blocks ligand-association to Reelin receptor Apolipoprotein E receptor 2 (ApoER2). In this study, we sought to replicate major heterozygous reeler mouse (HRM) phenotypes using in vivo RAP studies to establish an experimental in vitro model. Using an in vitro model, we investigated the effects of chronic stress and …

Effect Of Social Support And Marital Status On Perceived Surgical Effectiveness And 30-Day Hospital Readmission, Owoicho Adogwa, Aladine A. Elsamadicy, Victoria D. Vuong, Ankit I. Mehta, Raul A. Vasquez, Joseph Cheng, Carlos A. Bagley, Isaac O. Karikari

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Study Design: Retrospective cohort review.

Objective: To determine whether higher levels of social support are associated with improved surgical outcomes after elective spine surgery.

Methods: The medical records of 430 patients (married, n = 313; divorced/separated/widowed, n = 71; single, n = 46) undergoing elective spine surgery at a major academic medical center were reviewed. Patients were categorized by their marital status at the time of surgery. Patient demographics, comorbidities, and postoperative complication rates were collected. All patients had prospectively collected outcomes measures and a minimum of 1-year follow-up. Patient reported outcomes instruments (Oswestry Disability Index, Short Form-36, and visual …

Acetaminophen Associated Neurotoxicity And Its Relevance To Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Seol-Hee Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. The etiology of autism still remains unclear due to the heterogeneous and complex nature of the disorder, however synergistic actions between genetic components and environmental factors have been suggested. Acetaminophen (APAP) is one of the most popular over-the-counter drugs that possess antipyretic and analgesic effects. It is considered a relatively safe and effective within therapeutic doses. Recently, early exposure to APAP has been suggested to be one of the underlying cause of autism. Children are often prescribed APAP to lessen fever or irritability after vaccination during the first year, and APAP may adversely affect …

Neuropeptide Modulation Of The Large Conductance Potassium (Bk) Channel In The Auditory System: Therapeutic Implications For Age-Related Hearing Loss, Ellliott James Brecht

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The auditory temporal processing deficits associated with age-dependent hearing decline have been increasingly attributed to issues beyond peripheral hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), also known as presbycusis, is linked with changes in the expression of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the central auditory system. There are also age-related changes in the expression and function of the ion channels which mediate action potential firing. The slow, Ca²⁺ activated, K⁺ channels of the BK-type are essential in controlling both neurotransmitter release and neural communication via alteration of action potential durations, firing frequency, and neural adaptation. There are many …

Sleep-Based Memory Processing Facilitates Grammatical Generalization: Evidence From Targeted Memory Reactivation., Laura J Batterink, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Generalization-the ability to abstract regularities from specific examples and apply them to novel instances-is an essential component of language acquisition. Generalization not only depends on exposure to input during wake, but may also improve offline during sleep. Here we examined whether targeted memory reactivation during sleep can influence grammatical generalization. Participants gradually acquired the grammatical rules of an artificial language through an interactive learning procedure. Then, phrases from the language (experimental group) or stimuli from an unrelated task (control group) were covertly presented during an afternoon nap. Compared to control participants, participants re-exposed to the language during sleep showed larger …

Csf Protein Changes Associated With Hippocampal Sclerosis Risk Gene Variants Highlight Impact Of Grn/Pgrn, David W. Fardo, Yuriko Katsumata, John S. K. Kauwe, Yuetiva Deming, Oscar Harari, Carlos Cruchaga, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, Peter T. Nelson

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Objective—Hippocampal sclerosis of aging (HS-Aging) is a common cause of dementia in older adults. We tested the variability in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins associated with previously identified HS-Aging risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Methods—Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort (ADNI; n=237) data, combining both multiplexed proteomics CSF and genotype data, were used to assess the association between CSF analytes and risk SNPs in four genes (SNPs): GRN (rs5848), TMEM106B (rs1990622), ABCC9 (rs704180), and KCNMB2 (rs9637454). For controls, non-HS-Aging SNPs in APOE (rs429358/rs7412) and MAPT (rs8070723) were also analyzed against Aβ1-42 and total tau CSF analytes.

Results—The GRN risk …

Outcomes After Diagnosis Of Mild Cognitive Impairment In A Large Autopsy Series, Erin L. Abner, Richard J. Kryscio, Frederick A. Schmitt, David W. Fardo, Daniela C. Moga, Eseosa T. Ighodaro, Gregory A. Jicha, Lei Yu, Hiroko H. Dodge, Chengjie Xiong, Randall L. Woltjer, Julie A. Schneider, Nigel J. Cairns, David A. Bennett, Peter T. Nelson

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: To determine clinical and neuropathological outcomes following a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS: Data were drawn from a large autopsy series (N = 1,337) of individuals followed longitudinally from normal or MCI status to death, derived from 4 Alzheimer Disease (AD) Centers in the United States.

RESULTS: Mean follow‐up was 7.9 years. Of the 874 individuals ever diagnosed with MCI, final clinical diagnoses were varied: 39.2% died with an MCI diagnosis, 46.8% with a dementia diagnosis, and 13.9% with a diagnosis of intact cognition. The latter group had pathological features resembling those with a final clinical …

Regulation Of System Xc-By The Neuropeptide Pacap: Implications For Glutamate Transmission In Drug Addiction, Linghai Kong

Dissertations (1934 -)

Drug addiction is a chronic brain disorder characterized by heightened relapse susceptibility. Drug-induced aberrant glutamate signaling in corticostriatal circuitry contributes to behaviors in virtually every preclinical model of drug seeking and correlates with drug craving in human. Here, we propose that glutamate signaling is a product of integrated activity between neurons and astrocytes, such that disruptions within astrocytes can stem from abnormal neuronal signaling (e.g., altered corticostriatal firing) and be the source of additional disruptions in other neuronal circuits. The astrocytic mechanism studied in these experiments is system xc- (Sxc) since drug-induced changes to this non-vesicular glutamate release mechanism contribute …

The Application Of Crispr Technology To High Content Screening In Primary Neurons, Ben L. Callif, Brian Maunze, Nick L. Krueger, Matthew T. Simpson, Murray G. Blackmore

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Axon growth is coordinated by multiple interacting proteins that remain incompletely characterized. High content screening (HCS), in which manipulation of candidate genes is combined with rapid image analysis of phenotypic effects, has emerged as a powerful technique to identify key regulators of axon outgrowth. Here we explore the utility of a genome editing approach referred to as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspersed Palindromic Repeats) for knockout screening in primary neurons. In the CRISPR approach a DNA-cleaving Cas enzyme is guided to genomic target sequences by user-created guide RNA (sgRNA), where it initiates a double-stranded break that ultimately results in frameshift mutation …

Informational Dichotomy Of The Mind; The Role Of Sexual Neuromodulators, Ion G. Motofei, David L. Rowland

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Many basic physiological mechanisms of sexuality were initially studied on animal subjects and conclusions regarding human subjects extrapolated afterward. These ancestral reflexes are assumed to have ascended during human evolution to the cerebral level, where cognition would intermediate (being an environmental operator) both sexual and mental processes. Accordingly, the study of human sexuality suggests an additional/ particular documentation regarding mental existence and its implication, phenomena that are not characteristic of animals.

In a previously published paper we presented ideas regarding the structural dichotomy of the mind and its subsequent implications to sexuality. In this paper we present a general perspective …

The Potential Role Of Antiretroviral Efavirenz In Hiv Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, Lecia Ashanna Moya Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of milder forms of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) is rising despite combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Efavirenz (EFV) is among the most commonly used antiretroviral drugs globally, but causes neurological symptoms that may interfere with adherence and reduce tolerability, and may have central nervous system (CNS) effects that contribute in part to HAND in patients on cART. Thus we evaluated a commonly used EFV containing regimen: EFV/zidovudine (AZT)/lamivudine (3TC) in murine N2a cells transfected with the human “Swedish” mutant form of amyloid precursor protein (SweAPP N2a cells) to assess for promotion of amyloid-beta (Aβ) production (Chapter 3). Treatment with …

Tau-Directed Immunotherapy For Alzheimer’S Disease, Sulana Kay Schroeder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, accounting for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases, and the prevalence of the disease is projected to increase significantly with time. AD is characterized by severe cognitive decline with age, ultimately requiring continued caregiving and eventually death. The pathology of AD is characterized by the presence of extracellular amyloid plaques, intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, neuron loss, and evidence of inflammation indicated by the presence of reactive microglia and astrocytes. Frontotemporal Lobe Dementia (FTLD) is a rare form of dementia that is related to AD, most …

Whose Expertise Is It? Evidence For Autistic Adults As Critical Autism Experts, Kristen Gillespie-Lynch, Steven K. Kapp, Patricia J. Brooks, Jonathan Pickens, Ben Schwartzman

Publications and Research

Autistic and non-autistic adults’ agreement with scientific knowledge about autism, how they define autism, and their endorsement of stigmatizing conceptions of autism has not previously been examined. Using an online survey, we assessed autism knowledge and stigma among 636 adults with varied relationships to autism, including autistic people and nuclear family members. Autistic participants exhibited more scientifically based knowledge than others. They were more likely to describe autism experientially or as a neutral difference, and more often opposed the medical model. Autistic participants and family members reported lower stigma. Greater endorsement of the importance of normalizing autistic people was associated …

Mass-Spectrometry Based Proteomics Of Age-Related Changes In Murine Microglia, Antwoine Flowers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The last century has seen a steady increase in the extension of the average lifespan. This has concomitantly produced higher incidences of age-related chronic degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Age is the single greatest risk factor for the development of not just these degenerative conditions but cancer as well. The aged niche undergoes a number of maladaptive changes that allow underlying conditions to present and progress. Exactly which changes, contribute to the progression of which disease is currently an area of intense study. However, these answers often present therapeutic targets for disease prevention. Age is characterized by a …

Emerging Technologies And The Measurement Of Consciousness, Kristin Corona

Community of Scholars Day—Posters

With significant advancements in science and technology, along with increased focus on neuroplasticity, new ways to measure consciousness and changes in consciousness are emerging. Advanced neuroimaging technologies are being succeeded by more holistic methods of gathering data with the use of electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring. The implications are better tools for the scientific community to assess medical conditions and cognitive states as well as higher awareness and integration of consciousness into our everyday lives.

P03. Role Of Prefrontal Cortical Dopamine Transmission In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Opiate Addiction Vulnerability, Jingjing Li

Western Research Forum

Background

PTSD and opiate addiction share strong co-morbidity and the inability to suppress obtrusive memory recall related to either stressful or rewarding experiences may be an underlying neuropsychological feature triggering PTSD and/or addiction. Our previous research has shown that dopamine (DA) transmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) strongly modulates emotional memory formation: activation of the DA D4 receptor (D4R) strongly potentiates the emotional salience of normally non-salient fear memories whereas DA D1 receptor (D1R) activation blocks the behavioural recall of fear memory. Thus, while intra-PFC D4 transmission strongly controls the acquisition of emotional memory, D1 transmission is selectively involved in …

A Mature Macrophage Is A Principal Hiv-1 Cellular Reservoir In Humanized Mice After Treatment With Long Acting Antiretroviral Therapy., Mariluz Araínga, Benson J. Edagwa, R. Lee Mosley, Larisa Y. Poluektova, Santhi Gorantla, Howard Gendelman

Journal Articles: Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience

BACKGROUND: Despite improved clinical outcomes seen following antiretroviral therapy (ART), resting CD4+ T cells continue to harbor latent human immunodeficiency virus type one (HIV-1). However, such cells are not likely the solitary viral reservoir and as such defining where and how others harbor virus is imperative for eradication measures. To such ends, we used HIV-1ADA-infected NOD.Cg-Prkdc (scid) Il2rg (tm1Wjl) /SzJ mice reconstituted with a human immune system to explore two long-acting ART regimens investigating their abilities to affect viral cell infection and latency. At 6 weeks of infection animals were divided into four groups. One received long-acting (LA) cabotegravir (CAB) …

What Is The Contribution Of Ia-Afference For Regulating Motor Output Variability During Standing?, Niklas König Ignasiak

Physical Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

Motor variability is an inherent feature of all human movements, and describes the system‘s stability and rigidity during the performance of functional motor tasks such as balancing. In order to ensure successful task execution, the nervous system is thought to be able to flexibly select the appropriate level of variability. However, it remains unknown which neurophysiological pathways are utilized for the control of motor output variability. In responding to natural variability (in this example sway), it is plausible that the neuro-physiological response to muscular elongation contributes to restoring a balanced upright posture. In this study, the postural sway of 18 …