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.
Medley, Vanessa (2008). Examining Behavioral Flexibility in Long-Evans Rats Following Lesions to the Prefrontal Cortex. Mentor: Dr. Aileen Bailey
Abstract
The current study evaluated the effects of lesions to the prefrontal cortex (PFC) on learning set acquisition and formation in a visually-cued water maze (MWM) task and olfactory discrimination reversal (ODR) task. The subjects were also tested in an open field apparatus and in novel object recognition (NOR) to ensure that surgical procedures did not affect their general functioning or working memory, respectively. We hypothesized that learning set formation would be inhibited or blocked by the PFC lesion but general functioning and working memory would remain intact. The results indicated that the control subjects were able to form a learning set in the ODR task and perform significantly above chance. The PFC lesioned rats did not form a learning set in the ODR task and performed below chance. There were no group differences in the MWM task suggesting that visual cues are not sufficient in learning set formation or methods should be altered. All of the animals exhibited no change in activity levels or working memory.
