Neurosciences
Program

Examples of St. Mary's Projects in Neuroscience:

St. Mary's Projects (click the names to open the project abstract in a new window)

2010

• Chaudhary, Sheena (2010).  Long-term Effects of Adolescent Antipsychotic Drug Treatment on Reward-related Behavior and Cognition Functioning in Adult Rats. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Cole, Trey (2010).  The Effects of Adolescent Stress on Adult Working Memory and Susceptibility to Drug Addiction in a Neurodevelopmental Animal Model of Schizophrenia.  (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Fomum-Mugri, Larissa (2010).  An Investigation of Preclinical Cognitive Impairments in the Rat Cycad Progressive Model of Parkinson’s Disease. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Gibbons, Kaitlin (2010).  Connectivity between Mechanosensory P Cells in the Leeches Hirudo verbana and Macrobdella decora. (Mentor: M. Baltzley) 

• Hernandez, Alex (2010).  The Impact Of A Four-Week Escalating Dose Regimen Of Methamphetamine On Cognition And Serotonin Levels Within The Hippocampus In Adult And Adolescent Rats.  (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Kircher, Dan (2010).  Perinatal Exposure to Bisphenol-A: Does it Produce Similar Behavioral Deficits to Those Observed in Animal Models of Schizophrenia?  (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Konka, Kimmie  (2010).  Investigating the Effects of Postnatal Exposure to Prozac on Adult Rat Motor and Emotional Behavior.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)  Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research

• Lewis, Christopher (2010).  The Influence of Voice Gender on the Perceived Sex of Biological Motion.  (Mentor: E. Hiris) 

• Nguyen, Minh Bao (2010).  The Effect of White Noise on Primary Stress Response in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). (Mentor: J. Ramcharitar)

• Nichols, Caitlin (2010).  The Relation between Positive Computed Tomography Findings and Symptom Manifestations in Concussed Children.  (Mentor: M. Baltzley)

• 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)

• Piantadosi, Sean (2010).  Examining the Effect of Voluntary Exercise on Spatial Memory, Fear Conditioning and BDNF Levels in the Hippocampus of Male and Female Rats.  (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Rowlands, Abby (2010).  Effects of Isolation Rearing on the Motivational Properties of Cocaine in the Conditioned Place Preference Test.  (Mentor:  A.M. Brady)

• Selckmann, Gordon Michael (2010).  An Investigation of the Teleost Sensory Saccular Epithelia: Cranial Nerve Arborization and Innervation of the Saccule Sensory Epithelia.  (Mentor:  J. Ramcharitar)

• Smith, Elizabeth S. (2010).  Combining Two Models of Schizophrenia: Behavioral and Neuronal Implications.  (Mentor:  A.M. Brady)

• VanBlargan, Laura (2010).  The Effect over Time of Gentamicin on Goldfish Auditory Hair Cell Densities.  (Mentor:  J. Ramcharitar)

2009

• Graydon, Megan (2009).  Examining Anxiety and Depression in a Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Johnson, Kaitlyn (2009).  Hippocampal and Cognitive Changes in an Animal Model of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Oben, Marie (2009).  Continuing Exercise after Brief Cessation: The Effects on BDNF Regulation, Depression, and Anxiety. (Mentor: A. Bailey)  Winner of a Myron G. Marlay Award

• Scurci, Stephanie (2009).  Electrophysiological Study of the Role of Nitric Oxide in Long-Term Depression at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction.  (Mentor: J. Ramcharitar)

• Slomski, Jennifer  (2009).  Use of a Touchscreen to Assess Categorization Learning in Rats.  (Mentor: A.M. Brady)  Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research

• Songrady, Judy (2009).  Environmental Enrichment vs. Cognitive Enrichment in Aged Rats: Effects on Cognition and Hippocampal Neurogenesis.  (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Whitlow, Victoria (2009).  Effects of Neonatal Exposure to Antipsychotic Medication on Neuronal Expression of Glucocorticoid Receptor in the Rat Hippocampus and Medial and Orbital Prefrontal Cortices. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Whitt, Josh (2009).  The Effects of Prenatal Antipsychotic Exposure on Neuronal Expression of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)

2008

• Blackwell, Robert (2008).  Cognitive Deficits in Beta-Catenin Knockout Mice: An Endophenotype Approach to Modeling Bipolar Disorder. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research, a Geneva Boone Award, and a Myron G. Marlay Award

• Coster, Jenalee (2008).  The Effects of Voluntary Exercise on Acquisition of an Olfactory Learning Set in Long-Evans Rats with Lesions to the Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis.  (Mentor: A. Bailey) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research

• Edwards, Margaret (2008). The Effect of Ongoing Adenosine Antagonism at the A1 and A2a Receptor on Long-Term Memory. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Enos, Jennifer (2008). An Attempt to Block the Expression of CS-Potentiated Feeding: Antagonizing NPY Y1 Receptors with BIBP3226. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Logan, Trevor (2008).  Learning Set Acquisition in a Rodent Model of Alzheimer's Disease: The Effects of Continuous Intracerebroventricluar B-Amyloid Infusions on Learning Set Acquisition in Rodents.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)  Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research

• Medley, Vanessa (2008). Examining Behavioral Flexibility in Long-Evans Rats Following Lesions to the Prefrontal Cortex.  (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Saul, Ron (2008). Chronic Activation of the Substantia Nigra Nociceptin/ Orphanin Receptor (NOP) Induces Motor Deficits Similar to Parkinson’s Disease: A Behavioral and Motor Assessment Following Chronic UFP-112 Administration into the SNr. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

2007

• Ivy, David (2007). Oxidant Stress and Nicotine’s Role in Diffuse Vascular Injury. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• McGill, Jacquelyn (2007). The Effects of Diazepam on Anxiety with Repeated Testing in Rats. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research and a Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant

• 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. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research 

• Ruiz, Casimira (2007). Cognitive Deficits and Individual Differences Resulting from Behavioral Sensitization to an Escalating Dose of Methamphetamine. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research  

• Ward, Caitlin (2007). Conditioned Place Preference and the Effect of Dopamine Antagonism on Cocaine Reward in Adolescent and Adult Rats. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Wiest, Matthew (2007). The Effects of Acute Exercise on a Dominant-Submissive Relationship in Rats. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

2006

• Asmann, Suzanne (2006). A Behavioral Investigation of an Isolation-Rearing Model of Schizophrenia in Rats. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Calhoon, Gwendolyn (2006). The Effects Of Cognitive Intervention In Adolescence On Behavioral Abnormalities In A Rat Model Of Schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 
  Winner of a Myron G. Marlay Award
  

• Callahan, Lauren (2006).  The Effects Of Isolation Rearing In Adolescence On Behavioral Sensitization To Methamphetamine In Adulthood. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• Lubben, Jade (2006).  Exercise As A Protective Mechanism Against Chronic Stress Induced Memory Impairments And Hippocampal Damage In Rats. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 

• MacFarland, Megan. (2006).  Sex Differences In The Effects Of Valium On Neuronal Activation And Elevated Plus-Maze Behavior In The Rat. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) 
  Winner of a Myron G. Marlay Award
  

2005

• Kallarackal, Angy. (2005). The Effect of Apamin, a Small Conductance Calcium-activated Potassium (SK) Channel Blocker, in a Mouse Model of Neurofibromatosis1. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Shutty, Meagan. (2005).  The Effect of Mucismol, a GABA Agonist, on the Acquisition of Learning Set in Male Long Evans Rats. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 
  Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research
  

2004

• Chiappelli, Joshua. (2004). Behavioral Functions of 5-HT1A Receptors in Rat Orbitofrontal Cortex. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 
  Winner of the Geneva Boone Award for Best SMP in Psychology for 2003-2004 and a Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant

2003

• Martin, Kelly. (2003). The Effects of Flumazenil on Learning Set Formation in nBM Lesioned Long Evans Rats: GABAergic Influences. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 
  Co-winner of the Geneva Boone Award for Best SMP in Psychology for 2002-2003 and a Sigma Xi Grant