Senior Projects in Neuroscience and Psychobiology


Immunocytochemical localization of calretinin in rat superior colliculus. From senior project by A. Gavett ('00).


2010 - 2011

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Deborah Adina Barany

Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Movement Preparation: Implications for Obstacle Avoidance

Rebecca Behrens

From Rat Grooming to Syntax: What Role Do the Basal Ganglia Play in Sequencing During Language Comprehension?

Kara Cover

Searching for the Biological Function for TBhR in Drosophila melanogaster

Anne M. Edelstein

Beyond the Neuromuscular Junction: Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A as a Novel Treatment for Migraine

Jeff Escalante

Evaluating Human-Computer Interaction with Electroencephalography

Lauren Farver

Examining the Role of Exercise on Motor Function Recovery Following Hypothyroidism Neurogenesis

Jane Hannon

The Cortical Reading Rainbow: Reinstatement of the Visual Word Form Area During Auditory Listening

Kristiana Hubley

Remembrance of Things Emotional: How Pheromones Might Help Constrain the Prediction of Forthcoming Words During Communication

Nimit Patel

The Effect of Alpha-2 Adrenergic Receptor Agonist Administration on "Frustration" in Rats

Kristen Randolph

Increasing a Second-Grader's Academic Performance through the Reduction of Off-Task Behavior: A Case Study

Jeremy Safran

Emotions Speak Louder... Then Words: Non-Verbal Emotional Cues Predict Forthcoming Words during Real-World Communication

Erin West

Determining the Effect of Traumatic Brain Injury on Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3b Expression in Drosophila melanogaster

Caitlyn Williams

Investigating the Behavioral and Neurological Effects of Short-Term Rotenone Exposure in a Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease

Morgan Williams

Which Way is Up?: The Effect of Complexity and Symmetry in Formally Trained Art Students and Novice Viewers



2009-2010

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Sujitha Amalanayagam

The Behavioral Impact of Early Olfactory Learning on Anxiety in Adult Rats

Michael Bigwood

A Model of Head Trauma in Manduca sexta

Caroline Briggs

Serotonin Effects on Anxiety and Sensorimotor Gating in the Adolescent Rat

Mimi Briggs

Early Olfactory Experience Affects Startle Responses and Impulsivity in Adolescent Rats

Jonathan Chaponis

A Study of the T-beta-HR and Its Possible Role in Drosophila melanogaster Neurogenesis

Stephen Chaponis

The Detection and Quantification of Octopamine Using LC-MS/MS

Sam Colalillo

The Long Term Effects of Developmental Exposure to Apomorphine in Rats

Andrea DeSimone

Serotonin, Dopamine and Impulsivity in Rats

Erin Evans

Dehydroepiandrosterone's (DHEA) Physical and Metabolic Effects in the C57BL/Ks-Db/Db Diabetic Mouse

Frances James

The Third Cranial Nerve: Characteristics, Anatomy, Injury and Recovery

Elijah LaChance

MK-801 and the Glutamate Theory of Schizophrenia

Donald Moore

The Lateralization of Visual Processing for Emotionally Salient Words

Shyama Nair

Cellular Correlates Of Early Olfactory Learning

Sven Oman

Vitamin C Transport of Octopaminergic Neurons

Kendra Wulczyn

Frustration Response to Non-Reward: A Study of Serotonergic and GABAergic Mechanisms



2008-2009

Senior Fellowship Thesis in Neuroscience

Leeann Brigham

Free Radical Involvement in Cognitive Function and Parvalbumin Expression in an Mk-801 Model of Schizophrenia


2008-2009

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Kelsey Barcomb

The Steroid Regulation of Manduca sexta Development

Travis Blood

Subcortical Changes in Calcium-Binding Proteins Following Sensory Deprivation

Trevor Clarkson

Golf Putting: A Kinematic Analysis Using the Posture Based Movement Model

Timothy Currier

An Investigation of Peptidomimetic Compounds Related to Alpha-Fetoprotein

Mikel Etchegaray

Cloning and Characterization of MOXD1, a DBH/TBH/PHM Homologue in Danio rerio

Anne Evans

Studies of Simmondsin: In Search of a Treatment for the “Diabesity” Epidemic

Sydney Fasulo

Food Deprivation Produces Information Gating Deficits and Increased Dopamine Receptor Sensitivity in Rats

Genevieve Flanders

The Effects Of Sensory Deprivation On Calcium-Binding Proteins: Evidence for Subcortical Plasticity

Laura Halvorsen

Response Interference by Biological or Nonbiological Movement in a Simon-Effect Paradigm: A Potential Role for Mirror Neuron Systems

Victoria Jenkins

Developmental Regulation of Tyramine-Beta-Hydroxylase: mRna Expression in the Terminal Ganglia of Manduca sexta

Kathleen Marshall

The Effect of Apomorphine on Nonreinforcment-Related Frustration in Rats

Kelly Rowe

Simmondsin and Gender: Are the Anorexic Effects of Simmondsin More Pronounced in Male or Female Mice?

Nicholas Scoglio

Effects of an NMDA Receptor Antagonist on Visual Evoked Potentials

Kristin Webster

The Effect of Octopamine on Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila melanogaster Larvae



2007-2008

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Daniel Chandler

An Animal Model of Early Life Neglect: Implications for Cognitive Dysfunction

Ellen Griffin

Copper Transport in the Central Nervous System of Drosophila melanogaster

Laurel Kagan

The Impact of Early Olfactory Exposure in Rats on Later Behavior and Calretinin Expression in the Hippocampus

Deanne Katz

A Study of Integration in a School Setting for Children with Autism

Diana Mok

Creating a Learning Paradigm to See Whether Octopamine Plays a Role in Learning and Memory in Drosophila Larvae

Kateri Whitebean

Learning and Memory in the Drosophila melanogaster



2006-2007

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Samantha Armstrong

The Effects of Simmondsin on Growth and Weight Loss in Mice

Julia Brandt

Extending the Posture-Based Model of Motor Planning to 3-D Hand Grasping, Positioning, and Dropping

Allison Chou

Phantom Sensation

Kirsis Genao

Sex Differences in Tactile Sensitivity

Mark Hodges

Establishing a Neuronal Culture Containing Identifiable Octopaminergic Neurons

April Kavanagh

Nitric Oxide and Octopamine: A Search for Novel Neurotransmitters

Justin Monroe

Effects of Quality and Novelty of Environmental Stimuli upon Neurogenesis in Adult Mushroom Bodies of Acheta domesticus

Megan E. Payseur

The Effects of Pressure Vest Intervention in Preschoolers with Autism

Lindsay Rubenstein

Examination of the Relationship between Somatosensory Thresholds and Lateralization

Lilian Salinas

Examination of Behavioral Inhibition and Eye Movement Patterns Among Young Adults with ADHD

Simon Zeichner

Serotonin, Insulin-like Peptides, & Longevity in Drosophila melanogaster



2005-2006

Senior Fellowship Thesis in Neuroscience

Carlyn Patterson

The Brain Circuitry of Reward: Neural Activity in the Superior Colliculus

2005-2006

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Jamie Benway

The Co-localization of Octopamine and Nitric Oxide in Drosophila melanogaster

Desdalin Black

Identifying Octopaminegic Neurons In Drosophila melanogaster

Alexis Castrovinci

The Effect of Neonatal Disruption to the Ventral Hippocampus on Working Memory: A Model of Schizophrenia

Erica Colligan

Roughness Perception of Raised Dot Patterns after Adaptation on the Thenar Eminence and Fingertip

Laura Dick

A Lexicon for Somatosensory Experiences

Christina Nemeth

Calcium-Binding Proteins in the Rat Superior Colliculus after Sensory Deprivation

Megan Semerod

Investigating the Role of Glutamate in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia

Shraddha Shah

Neuropathology of Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse

Callen Sterling

Effects of Neonatal Dopaminergic Disruption of the Ventral Hippocampus: A New Animal Model of Schizophrenia

Jessica Wagoner

Effects of Neonatal Hippocampal Dopamine Blockade on Adult Emotionality

2004-2005

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Rebecca Benham

Effects of Diazepam on Neural Activity in Rats

Emily Cooper

Stem Cells and Brain Cancer: From Cause to Cure

Bryan Falkenstern

Effects of Neonatal MK-801 on Adult Spatial Learning

John Fischer

Effects of Diazepam on Neural Processing in the Rat Superior Colliculus

Katherine Hankowski

Molecular Identification of Tyramine beta-Hydroxlase

Ashley Hobart

Task Specificity and Transfer of Tactile Spatial Acuity Learning

Greer Mahoney

Exposure to MK-801 During Neonatal Period Causes Long-term Behavioral Changes in Adult Rats

Matt Pabis

Effects of Sensory Deprivation on the Presence of Calretinin in Rat Superior Collicular Neurons

Heather Shapiro

Environmental, Behavioral, and Physiological Factors Regulating Manduca sexta Oviposition

Matt Silver

Striatal Influences on Neural Activity in the Rat Superior Colliculus

Andreu Viader Valls

Task Specificity and Transfer of Tactile Spatial Acuity Learning

Tim Weaver

Quantification of Tyramine Beta Hydroxylase in Honeybees

2003-2004

Senior Fellowship Thesis in Neuroscience

Melissa Stoos

The Actions of the Nitrosylated Octopamine Compound 4-Hydroxyacetophenone

2003-2004

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Justine Bode

Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders: A Behavioral Analysis of Stereotypic Behavior

Nathaly François

Dopamine and Serotonin in Young Rats: The Individual and Combined Effects

Julie Kaloides

Multidimensional Scaling of the Judgments of Art

Sarah Karalunas

Probability Summation Over Time in Spatial Summation in the Tactile System

Lissa Palermo

The Effects of the Serotonin3 Antagonist, MDL 72222, on Anxiety

Aliscia Thomas

Is the Dorsal Striatum Involved in Reward?

2002-2003

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Ali Albedawi

Signal Detection Theory: Medical Theories and Applications

Jennifer Canale

Measuring Tyramine Beta-Hydroxylase Activity in the Central Nervous System of Manduca Sexta.

Jennifer Dinieri

Effect of Reward on the Activity of Cells in the Rat Superior Colliculus

Jennifer Jolivet

Phylogenetic Analysis of the Molluscan Class Scaphopoda Using COI Mtdna Sequences.

Rhea Lyon

The Role of Tactile Channels in Spatial Discrimination

John Neely

Erythrocyte Fragility in the C57BL/Ks Db/Db Mouse, and the Effects of Glycosylated Hemoglobin

Adam Schayowitz

The Relationship Between Personality and Heart Rate Reactivity

Jessica Sexton

Spatial Summation in the Tactile System: Neural Integration or Probability Summation?

Kateri Spinelli

Octopamine Stimulated Rise of Camp in Manduca Sexta Oviducts

Alex Venizelos

The Role of Tactile Channels in Spatial Discrimination

Michael Walsh

Isolation and Sequencing of the Tyramine Beta-Hydroxylase Gene in Manduca Sexta

2001-2002

Senior Fellowship Thesis in Neuroscience

Leah Byrne

Octopamine and Nitric Oxide: Interactions of Neurotransmitters

2001-2002

Theses by Neuroscience Concentrators

Corinne Bresee

The Involvement of Norepinephrine in Neonatal Stress Experiences that Lead to Alterations in Adult Behavior

Katyarina Efimenko

Contributions of the P-Channel on Tactile Perception of Dot Spacing Stimuli: A Multidimensional Analysis

Elise Gates

In Situ Hybridization of TBH mRNA in the Nervous System of Manduca Sexta

Tyler Greenfield

Beyond Roughness: A Multidimensional Analysis of the Pacinian Corpuscle's Role in Texture Sensation

Chris Hardison

Octopamine and TBH Activity Levels in Brains of Foraging Honeybees, Apis Mellifera

Ali Jackson

Effects of Neonatal D1 and D2 Receptor Agonist Administration on Adult Behavior in Rats

Laura Kenneally

Octopamine Stimulated Rise of cAMP in the Heart of Manduca Sexta

Adrienne Rothburd

Learning and Memory in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic C57BL/Ks Mice

Heather VanGuilder

Isolation and Characterization of Human S100B from E. Coli.

Elizabeth Warner

Behavioral Effects of Calretinin Antibody Administration into the Rat Superior Colliculus

2000-2001

Theses by Neuroscience and Psychobiology Concentrators

Larah Alami

Dopamine and Early Learning in Infant Rat Olfactory System

Andrea Cecchinato

Can You Still Hit a Target? How Well Do the Knowledge Model and the Posture-Based Model Explain Movements When the Elbow Joint Is Braced

Jessica Eakin

Calretinin-Containing Neurons in the Rat Superior Colliculus

Ian Fiebelkorn

Superior Collicular Neurons Code for the Presence and Magnitude of Reward

Julie Gennuso

Perception of Roughness in the Tactile Sensory System

Chris Hand

The Tendency to Feel Chills in Response to Music: Personality and Psychophysiological Correlates

Marshall Leddy

Maternal Deprivation in Rats

Jodi Leverone

Boosting the Immune Response Using Nasal Immunization In An Attempt to Target Therapeutic Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease

Jennifer Pope

Vibrotactile Spatial and Temporal Summation at Skin Locations having Different Receptor Densities

Sara Scott

Sequencing the Tyramine &endash;b-Hydroxylase Gene in Manduca Sexta

Elliott Silverman

Termination of Afterdischarges with Electrical Stimulation during Cortical Mapping

1999-2000

Theses by Neuroscience and Psychobiology Concentrators

Aaron Gavett

Immunocytochemical Localization of Calretinin in the Rat Superior Colliculus

Sara Jackson

Memory Psychophysics: Support for the Reperception Hypothesis for Expansive Exponents

Clara McAuley

Behavioral Therapy in Institutional Settings

Sarah A. Neri

A Characterization of Ruffini Corpuscles in the Glabrous Feline Hindpaw

Sabrina Valenta

The Effects of Noise on Multiple Pulse Thresholds

1998-99

Theses by Neuroscience and Psychobiology Concentrators

Sascha Arbouet

Stochastic Resonance: The Effect of Noise on the Detection of Tactile Stimulation

Joy Dreibelbis

Reduced Acetylcholine Transmission Via Scopolamine: Effects on the Electrophysiological Properties of Hippocampal Neurons

Kathleen R. Hardick

Expansion of the Four Channel Model of Mechanoreception

Tamara Kocivar

The Effects of Gender, Hemispheric Processing, and Music on Spatial Ability

1998-99

Theses by Biology, Biochemistry, and Psychology Concentrators

Shannon Leonard

The effect of Mating and Octopamine on Oviposition Rates in Manduca Sexta.

Emma McLaren

Effects of Dopamine Agonists on Working Memory

Matt McKenna

Octopamine-Stimulated Increase of cAMP in the Common Oviduct of Manduca Sexta.

Chris Vogth-Eriksen

Octopamine-Stimulated Increase of cAMP in the Common Oviduct of Manduca sexta.

Andrew The

Identification of the Tyramine Beta-Hydroxylase Gene in Manduca Sexta.

Tod Thiele

An Investigation of Synaptic Mechanisms Controlling Octopamine Release in the Lateral Eye of Limulus Polyphemus.

1997-1998

Theses by Psychobiology Concentrators

Sally Armstrong

Gender Differences in Visuospatial Processing

Catherine Fraim

The Effects of Nitric Oxide Inhibitors and Donors on Neonatal Olfactory Learning