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)

2012

• Bouslog, Chris (2012). Social play behavior in rats effected by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tactile simulation. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Burke, Jesse (2012). The impact of adolescent exposure to olanzapine on adult cognitive performance. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Dippel, W. Chris (2012). Cognitive and behavioral impairments evaluated in the neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion model of schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Ehrig, William (2012). The effect of prenatal fluoxetine exposure and neonatal tactile stimulation on motor and cognitive behavior in adult rats. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Flynn, Elise (2012). The effect of cocaine or natural reward in the NVHL animal model of schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Goluskin, Sasha (2012). Investigating the role of the 5-HT1B receptor in the CA1 of rats. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Jones, Shelby (2012). Cognitive and behavioral impairments evaluated in the neonatal ventral hippocampus lesion model of schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Miller, Emily (2012). Effects of cocaine on behavior in the NVHL model of schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Placek, Katerina (2012). Early postnatal sensory stimulation as a means to overcome emotional deficits from gestational exposure to fluoxetine. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Rees, Steven (2012). Ethanol influence modeling: Investigation and experimentation. (Mentor: J. Ramcharitar)

• Romano, Alison (2012). Modeling disorders with the DIVA model:  A look at ataxic dysarthria. (Mentor: A. Jamieson)

• Singley, Rachel (2012). Ototoxicity and otoprotection in the Carassius auratus lateral line system. (Mentor: J. Ramcharitar)

2011

• Bernstein, Julie (2011).  Perinatal exposure to Bisphenol-A : alterations in adult behavior and dopaminergic functioning. (Mentor: A.M. Brady)

• Brack, Cody (2011).  Short- and long-term effects of gentamicin on auditory thresholds in the goldfish (Carassius auratus).  (Mentor: J. Ramcharitar) 

• Cammarata, Erin (2011).  Temporoammonic excitation of CA1 cells in an animal model of depression. (Mentor: A. Bailey) 

• Flerlage, W. Jesse (2011).  Role of delta FosB in enhanced incubation of cocaine craving in the neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion model of schizophrenia. (Mentor: A.M. Brady) Winner of a Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research

• Holmes, Ashley (2011).  Effects of orexin A in the nucleus basalis magnocellaris (nBM) on olfactory discrimination acquisition and reversal.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Kallevang, Jonathan (2011).  Performance on hippocampal dependent tasks in the cycad model of Parkinson’s disease in rats  (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Mikael, Makeda (2011).  Maternal separation as an animal model of depression.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)  

• Mirenzi, Aaron (2011).  Analyzing the gender aftereffect in biological motion : the effects of adaptation to static and dynamic stimuli.  (Mentor: E. Hiris) 

• Parr, Christina (2010).  Odor and spatial working memory in an environmentally-induced animal model of Parkinsonism. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Severino, Amie (2011).  Effects of ethanol on mechanoreceptor activity in the medicinal leech (Hirudo verbana).  (Mentor: M. Baltzley)

• Swanson, Thomas (2011).  Effect of adolescent olanzapine administration on dendritic branching in the hippocampal circuit. (Mentor: A. Bailey)

• Tracy, Megan (2011).  Investigating the efficacy of antipsychotic drug treatment on an animal model of schizophrenia.  (Mentor: A. Bailey)

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