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- Creators: School of Life Sciences
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
In this paper, it is determined that learning retention decreases with age and there is a linear rate of decrease. In this study, four male Long-Evans Rats were used. The rats were each trained in 4 different tasks throughout their lifetime, using a food reward as motivation to work. Rats were said to have learned a task at the age when they received the highest accuracy during a task. A regression of learning retention was created for the set of studied rats: Learning Retention = 112.9 \u2014 0.085919 x (Age at End of Task), indicating that learning retention decreases at a linear rate, although rats have different rates of decrease of learning retention. The presence of behavioral training was determined not to have a positive impact on this rate. In behavioral studies, there were statistically significant differences between timid/outgoing and large ball ability between W12 and Z12. Rat W12 had overall better learning retention and also was more compliant, did not resist being picked up and traveled more frequently at high speeds (in the large ball) than Z12. Further potential studies include implanting an electrode into the frontal cortex in order to compare neuro feedback with learning retention, and using human subjects to find the rate of decrease in learning retention. The implication of this study, if also true for human subjects, is that older persons may need enhanced training or additional refresher training in order to retain information that is learned at a later age.
ContributorsSpinrad, Amelia (Author) / Si, Jennie (Thesis director) / Thompson, Patrick (Committee member) / Ma, Weichao (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
‘why we bend' a Bachelor of Fine Arts honors thesis exhibition by Ximenna Hofsetz and Tiernan Warner brings together installation, digital, sculptural, and printed artwork. The main focus concerns memory; and its vague, formless, and hazy nature. The work also examines what would happen if cognitive space could be physically mapped? What would it look like in sculptural form? Memory erodes and distorts with time. We influence our memories as much as they affect us. Thus, just as relationships are ever-changing, and our memories of those we interact with constantly shifting, our relationships with our own memories are malleable and evolve through time. This transient nature of memory is depicted in the various stylistic means of this exhibition by referencing time and space as well as personal memories and ephemera in both concrete and abstract ways. ‘why we bend’ implements a variety of multimedia techniques to examine recollection and its hold on us.
ContributorsHofsetz, Ximenna Cedella (Author) / Gutierrez, Rogelio (Thesis director) / Hood, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The aim of this study was to determine whether IUD administration, with and without the presence of Levo, and with and without the presence of the ovaries, impacts cognition in a rat model. Rats received either Sham or Ovariectomy (Ovx) surgery (removal of the ovaries), plus either no IUD, a Blank IUD (without Levo), or a Levo-releasing IUD (Levo IUD), enabling us to evaluate the effects of Ovx and the effects of IUD administration on cognition. Two weeks after surgery, all treatment groups were tested on the water radial arm maze, Morris water maze, and visible platform task to evaluate cognition. At sacrifice, upon investigation of the uteri, it was determined that some of the IUDs were no longer present in animals from these groups: Sham\u2014Blank IUD, Ovx\u2014Blank IUD, and Sham\u2014Levo IUD. Results from the remaining three groups showed that compared to Sham animals with no IUDs, Ovx animals with no IUDs had marginally impaired working memory performance, and that Ovx animals with Levo IUDs as compared to Ovx animals with no IUDs had marginally enhanced memory performance, not specific to a particular memory type. Results also showed that Ovx animals with Levo IUDs had qualitatively more cells in their vaginal smears and increased uterine horn weight compared to Ovx animals with no IUDs, suggesting local stimulation of the Levo IUDs to the uterine horns. Overall, these results provide alternative evidence to the hypothesis that the Levo IUD administers Levo in solely a localized manner, and suggests that the possibility for the Levo IUD to affect reproductive cyclicity in ovary-intact animals is not rejected. The potential for the Levo IUD to exert effects on cognition suggests that either the hormone does in fact systemically circulate, or that the Levo IUD administration affects cognition by altering an as yet undetermined hormonal or other feedback between the uterus and the brain.
ContributorsStrouse, Isabel Martha (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Sirianni, Rachael (Committee member) / Conrad, Cheryl (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is integral in regulating cell growth as it maintains a homeostatic balance of proteins by modulating their synthesis and degradation. In the brain, mTOR regulates protein-driven neuroplastic changes that modulate learning and memory. Nevertheless, upregulation of mTOR can cause detrimental effect in spatial memory and synaptic plasticity. The proline-rich Akt-substrate 40 kDa (PRAS40) is a key negative regulator of mTOR, as it binds mTOR and directly reduces its activity. To investigate the role of PRAS40 on learning and memory, we generated a transgenic mouse model in which we used the tetracycline-off system to regulate the expression of PRAS40 specifically in neurons of the hippocampus. After induction, we found that mice overexpressing PRAS40 performed better than control mice in the Morris Water Maze behavioral test. We further show that the improvement in memory was associated with a decrease in mTOR signaling, an increase in dendritic spines in hippocampal pyramidal neurons, and an increase in the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin necessary for learning and memory. This is the first evidence that shows that increasing PRAS40 in the mouse brain enhances learning and memory deficits.
ContributorsSarette, Patrick William (Author) / Oddo, Salvatore (Thesis director) / Caccamo, Antonella (Committee member) / Kelleher, Raymond (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Illness is one of the most unfortunate experiences that can occur during one's life. It often emerges without warning and when it is least expected. Illness is not only detrimental to the physical and emotional health of the person who is directly diagnosed, however. When one person is diagnosed with any kind of illness, many people are affected. Literature and art have always been used as vehicles to express their creators' thoughts and feelings. Those affected by illness sometimes adopt this method, using the art of storytelling to cope with and express their many emotions. Because there are so many affected people when even only one person is diagnosed, there are several different perspectives that are expressed and must be analyzed. This anthology, titled "Creativity, Medicine, and the Arts: An Anthology Edited and Annotated by Gabrielle Georgini," illustrates the correlation between various kinds of illnessesand literature. According to Merriam-Webster, illness is defined as "obsolete, an unhealthy condition of body or mind" (371). To make a patient healthy again, he must receive some kind oftreatment. Unfortunately, in some cases, a patient may not become healthy again even if they do receive treatment. Literature is an art, and art is a form of therapy. Therefore, patients can use literature and art as forms of treatment. Art and literature provide therapies for the mind. They can allow patients to relax and can work as a distraction from their illnesses. Art and literature can also be a form of expression. Those who are affected by illness can describe or depict their thoughts on paper, enabling them to clear their head or inform others about how they are feeling.
ContributorsGeorgini, Gabrielle Marie (Author) / Meloy, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Vega, Sylvia (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Estradiol (E2) and Levonorgestrel (Levo) are two hormones commonly used in hormone therapy (HT) to decrease symptoms associated with menopause. Both of these hormones have been shown to have beneficial effects on cognition when given alone in a rodent model of menopause. However, it is unknown whether these hormones, when taken in combination, are beneficial or harmful to cognition. This is a critically important question given that these hormones are most often given in combination versus separately. This thesis is composed of two studies examining the cognitive effects of E2 and Levo using a rat model of surgical menopause. Study 1 assessed how the dose of E2 treatment in rats impacted cognitive performance, and found that low dose E2 enhanced working memory performance. Next, based on the results from Study 1, Study 2 used low dose E2 in combination with different doses of Levo to examine the cognitive effects of several E2 to Levo ratio combinations. The results from Study 2 demonstrated that the combination of low dose E2 with a high dose of Levo at a 1:2 ratio impaired cognition, and that the ratio currently used in HT, 3:1, may also negatively impact cognition. Indeed, there was a dose response effect indicating that working and reference memory performance was incrementally impaired as Levo dose increased. The findings in this thesis suggest that the E2 plus Levo combination is likely not neutral for cognitive function, and prompts further evaluation in menopausal women, as well as drug discovery research to optimize HT using highly controlled preclinical models.
ContributorsBerns-Leone, Claire Elizabeth (Co-author) / Prakapenka, Alesia (Co-author) / Pena, Veronica (Co-author) / Northup-Smith, Steven (Co-author) / Melikian, Ryan (Co-author) / Ladwig, Ducileia (Co-author) / Patel, Shruti (Co-author) / Croft, Corissa (Co-author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Conrad, Cheryl (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The aim of this study was to explore cross-sectional and longitudinal aging differences in immediate and delayed visual and verbal memory abilities in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared with neurotypicals (NTs). We measured hippocampal size, fornix fractional anisotropy (FA), and hippocampal and fornix freewater to understand how aging impacts memory structures. Longitudinal findings highlight vulnerabilities in immediate verbal memory and hippocampal volume, while cross-sectional findings indicate fornix freewater may increase at a faster rate in adults with ASD. Future research will examine cognitive and structural sex differences and will study how cognitive measures correlate with structural measures.
ContributorsSullivan, Georgia Rose (Author) / Braden, B. Blair (Thesis director) / Ofori, Edward (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
A patient's adherence to their treatment plan is crucial for management of chronic disease. The literature supports the fact that adherence is low, often at or below 50%. In order to adhere to one’s treatment plan, a patient must have accurate recall of this plan. A large body of research has established that patient recall is poor, and there is a growing body of research examining ways to improve recall, and thus, treatment outcomes. The present study examines differing delivery methods of the After Visit Summary in order to improve adherence, treatment outcomes, and patient satisfaction. It also evaluates the impact of visit modality (virtual vs. face-to-face visits) on patient recall for treatment information.
ContributorsSutherland, Isabella (Author) / Hartwell, Leland (Thesis director) / Hollmann, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to extend Whitehead 2016 to determine what neural substrates supported conflict-mediated learning. Unfortunately, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic we were unable to address this. To repurpose the collected data, an analysis of which features of the Flanker task subjects were learning was conducted. Specifically, we wanted to know if subjects were learning by using the flanking stimuli to predict the central target or vice versa. Over 14 blocks comprised of 120 trials, we found that subjects made more stroop errors than flanker and target errors, indicating subjects were responding to stimuli in context of the flanker rather than the stroop effect.
ContributorsSobelman, Reanna Hayley (Author) / Blais, Chris (Thesis director) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12