Voltage-gated calcium channels contain a pore-forming alpha1 subunit and auxiliary alpha2delta, beta and gamma subunits. Of the three auxiliary subunits, gamma is least understood. Cardiac myocytes express three gamma ...

Neuronal growth can be controlled in vitro by plating cells at low density and by differential adhesion between the cell and substrate. This principle was used to develop a technology to pattern neurons in reduced networks ...

cGKI and cGKII are paralogous serine/threonine protein kinases. In an effort to determine the mechanism by which the circadian molecular clockworks differentially regulates the activity of these kinases a comparative biology ...

In chapter 4, I investigated subcortical structures (i.e., thalamus and IC) involved in the processing of communication signals, using egr1 (an immediate early gene) as a molecular marker for brain activation. Three ...

To investigate possible neurochemical mechanisms, densities of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors and dopamine transporter (DAT) were measured in the prefrontal cortex of genistein-treated rats by Western blot. D1 and D2 densities ...

This dissertation is focused on understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying thalamocortical network activities. Specifically, I am interested in how inhibitory neurons of the thalamus process information received from ...

The goals of the studies described in this thesis were to elucidate the development of the hypoxic responses of rat caudal hypothalamic neurons and to determine the specific membrane properties responsible for these ...

Finally, I investigated the effect of neonatal hormone manipulations (females + estradiol, females + DHT) upon cell death in the developing rat posterior cortex. DHT implantation in females decreased the proportion of cells ...

During infancy and childhood, almost every person will impacted by infection. Neonates, due to their immature immune system, are especially vulnerable to respiratory infection and are more prone to hospitalization. ...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants to which humans are exposed, primarily via consumption of contaminated fish and seafood. Developmental exposure to these ...