The sense of taste provides animals with a means of discriminating nutritive from noxious compounds in potential food sources. Neural circuits are thought to represent …
Neurogenesis in the mammalian hippocampus persists throughout adulthood, but the function of newly-born hippocampal cells remains largely unknown. This dissertation investigates the effects of neurogenesis …
Learning to perceptually discriminate chemical signals in our environment (olfactory perceptual learning) is critical for survival. Multiple mechanisms have been implicated in olfactory perceptual learning, …
Transgenic neuromodulation tools (i.e., optogenetics and chemogenetics) enable the manipulation of brain activity using targeted genetic delivery strategies for transducing specific cells to produce transgenic …
Low-frequency “brain rhythms” and stimulus-evoked response potentials (ERPs) are prominent electroencephalography (EEG) signatures of human cortical processing. Decades of work have shown that they are …
The etiology of schizophrenia (SCZ) remains elusive, though dopaminergic and genetic influences have been established as contributing factors to the disease’s pathophysiology. Current treatments for …
The need to arrest ongoing or planned actions is a hallmark of adaptive control that is crucial for goal-directed behaviors and survival. When the brain …
The mammalian retina converts light into a series of neural signals sent to the brain. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the output neurons of the retina, …
One of the major consequences of aging is the loss of voluntary motor capacity, which reduces the self-sufficiency and overall health of individuals. Among the …
Sensory input gives our brains the information they need to understand and interpret the world. Information from our eyes, ears, skin and other sensory organs …
Non-visual opsin receptors have gained a broad interest for their potential to modulate non-visual behaviors in the retina and brain. Recently, there has been progress …
Abstract of “Contributions to the Relationship Between Circadian Rhythm Protein Dysfunction and Epilepsy—CLOCK and the PAR bZIP Transcription Factors” by Luis Antonio Goicouria, Ph.D., Brown …
Saccadic eye movements are an essential component of visual behavior in human and non-human primates, as they move the sensitive portion of the eye’s retina …
Motor neurons are a class of post-mitotic cells expected to survive for the duration of the human lifetime. While other cells routinely undergo programmed cell …
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the upper and lower motor neurons resulting in weakness, paralysis and death within two to five …
Hearing in mammals depends on the reliable transmission of sound information transduced from the sensory hair cells of the cochlea to the cochlear nucleus of …
Resource insecurity (e.g., poverty) can be a significant source of stress. Decreased resources in childhood have been associated with increased risk for developing stress-related disorders, …
Midbrain dopamine neurons are functionally heterogeneous as demonstrated by the wide variety of behaviors they support and brain circuits they participate in, including reward signaling, …
The Neocortex is a complex brain structure that represents the outside world, optimizes behavior, and provides associations based on prior learning. The Neocortex achieves these …
