Seminars & Events
Monday, February 11, 2013: Dr. Daphne Soares (University of Maryland College Park) will speak on "The Sensory World of Cavefishes" at 4:45 pm in Goodpaster Hall 195.
Monday, March 4, 2013: Dr. Joe Cheer (University of Maryland Baltimore) will speak on "Endogenous Cannabinoids and the Pursuit of Reward" at 4:45 pm in Goodpaster Hall 195.
Friday, April 12, 2013: Dr. Jill McGaughy (University of New Hampshire) will speak on "The Role of Cortical Norepinephrine in the Ontogeny of Executive Function" at 3:00 pm in Schaefer Hall 106.
Alumni Highlight
Dr. Erin Johnson '02 recently received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and was inducted as an alumni member of Nu Rho Psi.
SMP Spotlight
Ron Saul, "Chronic activation of the substantia nigra nociceptin/orphanin receptor induces motor deficits similar to Parkinson's disease," 2008. Saul, the 2008 winner of the Neuroscience Award, infused a drug into the substantia nigra of rats and measured the resulting motor behaviors, mood disturbances, and cognitive abilities.
Ivy, David (2007). Oxidant Stress and Nicotine’s Role in Diffuse Vascular Injury.
Dr. Anne Marie Brady
Abstract
The present study investigated nicotine’s role in oxidative stress and the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in the cerebrovasculature of rats. Specifically, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and nitrotyrosine levels were examined in endothelial cells (ECs) of the basilar artery to investigate the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in oxidative stress while proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was examined in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to investigate nicotine-induced promotion of atherosclerosis. This report found that nitrotyrosine levels were elevated in rats treated with nicotine and given a withdrawal period of 7 days while PCNA levels were elevated in rats treated with nicotine for 28 days. Discussed are the implications of these findings and the compensatory mechanisms of the vascular system involved in the cessation of smoking/nicotinic intake.
