Psychology & Neuroscience
Luis Vega, luis_vega1@baylor.edu
Baylor University, with Dr. Elisabeth Vichaya
Neuroscience
Exploring the relationship between mtDNA and fatigue in a LLC Murine Model
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is characterized by feelings of cognitive, physical, and emotional tiredness in response to cancer and/or cancer treatment. The prevalence of fatigue is high, with some patient populations reporting as high as 99% fatigue occurrence. Inflammation has often been associated with CRF, but recent research has pointed at metabolic dysfunction as a mediator between inflammation and CFR. We propose that changes in mtDNA-cn and cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) due to cellular metabolic dysfunction may be a biomarker of CRF. We propose to test this using the murine LLC-tumor model and cisplatin chemotherapy. Mice with or without tumors were submitted to wheel running and received cisplatin or vehicle injections once weekly for 4 weeks. Tumor and cisplatin-bearing mice showed decreased nightly wheel running with Tumor-cisplatin mice showing the most severe fatigue-like behavior. mtDNA analyses are underway.
Carolina Pinales, cpinales1@mail.stmarytx.edu
St. Mary's University, with Dr. Heather Hill
Psychology
Recognizing Bonds and Attachment Relations in One Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) Mother-Calf Pair
John Bowlby’s theory of attachment is found to be a way of explaining why bonds are important in being formed for both physiological and psychological needs to be met in human offspring. However, attachments also exist within and between species. This study examined 11.71 hours of video recordings of a beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) mother-calf pair housed at SeaWorld Texas over two years of the calf’s life. It was expected that as the calf matured, mother-calf swims would decrease while solo swimming increased. The duration of a myriad of behaviors were recorded and included mother-calf swims, solo swims, affiliative behaviors and agonistic behaviors. Although mother-calf swims stayed consistent across the first two years, solo swimming initiated increased. Evidence of secure base and safe haven use was observed between the calf and his mother as was maternal intervention and other caregiving behaviors by his mother. These different interactions suggest that the bond between the mother and calf could be described as an attachment. Additional study of beluga mother-calf relationships could determine if belugas form specific types of secure or insecure attachments.
Jordan Callies, Jordan_Callies1@baylor.edu
Baylor University, with Dr. Elisabeth Vichaya
Neuroscience
Using Analyze 2D/3D Skeleton to evaluate astrocyte morphology in response to a murine model of hyperglycemia
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders associated with hyperglycemia. Over 11% of US adult population are diabetic and another third of the adult population is prediabetic. Diabetic and pre-diabetic states increase risk for developing dementia, including vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. The mechanisms underlying this link are still not fully understood, but likely involve many factors including lifestyle (e.g., diet), genetic risk factors, stress of disease management, and hyperglycemia itself. Our lab has been utilizing the streptozotocin (STZ) murine model of chronic hyperglycemia to understand the effect of hyperglycemia on the brain and behavior. Within the current project I sought to specifically examine the impact of hyperglycemia on astrocytes, a non-neural cell involved in brain metabolism and homeostasis implicated in the development of dementia. Prior data from our lab evaluated astrocyte reactivity four weeks post hyperglycemia using immunohistochemistry (IHC) for GFAP. The data revealed a non-significant trend toward reduced astrocyte activation in STZ mice. Our failure to detect differences may be related to the blunt measure of fluorescent intensity employed. I hypothesized that utilization of more sophisticated analysis of cellular complexity using the Analyze 2D/3D Skeleton ImageJ plug-in will be sensitive enough to detect changes in cellular complexity induced by STZ. I also propose to evaluate astrocyte reactivity after a longer exposure to hyperglycemia (23 weeks vs 4 weeks) to understand progression over time. I will present data comparing these two image analyses methodologies.
Session Location
- Foster 126
Session Date/Time
- Thursday, 11:15am - 12:15pm
Session Type
- Oral Student Presentations
- Student Presentations