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.
Piantadosi, Patrick (2010). The Effect of Intrabasalis Orexin A Infusion on Reversal Learning Performance in Rats with 192 IgG-saporin Lesions of the Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis. (Mentor: A. Bailey)
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by hypofunction of the basal forebrain cholinergic system, which results in the memory and attentional deficits observed in individuals suffering from the disease. Progressive neurodegeneration renders the primary source of cortical acetylcholine (ACh), the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nBM), unable to innervate the cortex at normal physiological levels. Recent research has implicated a group of hypothalamic neuropeptides, the orexins (orexin A and B, also known as hypocretin 1 and 2), in aiding in the efflux of endogenous ACh from the nBM to the cortex. Microdialysis administration of orexin A (OxA) to the nBM in rats has been shown to stimulate cortical ACh release and decrease feeding latency in response to an appetitive stimulus. No previous research has evaluated the impact of OxA administration on performance of a cortical dependent task in animals with selective cholinergic lesions of the nBM. The current study attempted to examine the effect of intrabasalis administration of OxA on olfactory discrimination reversal learning (ODRL) performance in rats with 192 IgG-saporin lesions of the nBM. It was hypothesized that OxA administration prior to reversal would ameliorate the reversal learning deficit characteristic of animals with nBM lesions. Results indicated that animals with cholinergic lesions trended towards impairment during reversal, although no effect of OxA was observed on performance during any stage of the ODRL task. Implications and possible confounds relating to cannula placement and lesion efficacy are discussed.
