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.
VanBlargan, Laura (2010). Effect of gentamicin on auditory hair cells of goldfish (Carassius auratus) over time. Mentor: Dr. John Ramcharitar
Abstract
Aminoglycoside antibiotics have similar ototoxic effects on the hair cells of humans as they do on other vertebrates, including fish, and can result in hearing loss. Fish have the ability to regenerate damaged hair cells, whereas human hair cell death results in permanent hair loss. In order to investigate the regeneration of auditory hair cells after gentamicin injection, I injected goldfish (Carassius auratus) with gentamicin and determined hair cell densities in the saccule over a three week period. The gentamicin had no significant effect on the hair cell densities at any time. Investigating different dosages and injection methods could establish better methods for using goldfish as a model for ototoxicity studies.
