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.
Reid, Chelsea (2007). Periadolescents on Methamphetamine: The Impact of an Escalating Dose Regimen of Methamphetamine on Non-Spatial Working Memory and Serotonin within the Hippocampus. Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research.
Dr. Anne Marie Brady
Abstract
The use of methamphetamine (METH) worldwide, in adults and adolescents, has led to increased research on the neurotoxicity to brain regions and the cognitive deficits caused by METH. The current experiment focused on the effects of METH on hippocampus dependent non-spatial and spatial working memory and hippocampal serotonin levels with an escalating dose model of METH use in periadolescent rats. Using 18 male Spraque-Dawley rats, the novel object recognition task and the discrete paired-trials delayed alternation task measured working memory and optical density quantified serotonin found in the hippocampus. The effects on working memory and hippocampal serotonin were found to be non-significant. Further research should utilize the escalating dose model to determine the developmental issues caused by periadolescent METH use.
