Neuroscience Program Research Articles

The impact of a comprehensive neuroscience program on prospective teachers' neuroeducational literacy: An exploration of practice

The aim of this study is to investigate how comprehensive neurobiology training influences the neuroeducational literacy of prospective Kazakhstani teachers. This study used mixed methods. The study had 216 participants. The findings indicated that the study participants found it difficult to identify the factors influencing the development of their neuroeducational literacy which indicated a lack of understanding by prospective teachers of the meaning of neuroeducation as well as the essence and features of neuroeducation. The neuroeducational literacy of the participants developed linearly and was integrated into the educational practice of the pedagogical university during the experiment. The use of the author's comprehensive instructions on neurobiology significantly increased neuroeducational literacy and also contributed to the professional development and successful educational practices of prospective teachers. These results make a practical contribution to research on the development of neuroeducational literacy among prospective teachers and can be implemented in pedagogical universities representing a new direction in preparing future specialists for neuroeducational activities.

Incorporating core concepts into an undergraduate neuroscience program in a resource-restricted environment

Recently, community-derived core concepts for neuroscience higher education were developed and published. These core concepts can serve as a valuable resource to ensure that a neuroscience-based educational program is not only concept-focused but also addresses the call for reform of higher education, as noted in the vision and change report. The number of undergraduate neuroscience programs is expanding throughout the nation, but unfortunately, the existing blueprints to design and launch such programs do not incorporate these core concepts. Furthermore, unpacking these core concepts in a resource-limited setting is logistically challenging. We reflected on the coverage of these core concepts within our existing neuroscience minor at a medium-sized, primarily residential, high undergraduate, public 4-year institution. In addition to assessing the number of community-derived core concepts addressed in our courses, our reflection discusses strategies for addressing challenges associated with (1) a departmental home for the program, (2) a meaningful student experience with limited resources, and (3) growing and developing the program into a minor, or from a minor into a major. These strategies may provide a roadmap for other institutions to launch or grow their own neuroscience program.

Abstract 16919: Analysis of Astrocyte Activation and Reduction of Motor Deficits Following hSOX2 Gene Therapy Delivered Using PAMAM Dendrimer Nanomolecules in Ischemic Stroke

PAMAM dendrimers are 3-dimensional nanomolecules which have the capability to deliverbiomolecules and gene therapy to the cells in vitro and in vivo . We have previously used the generation-4 surface-modified PAMAM dendrimers having 90% hydroxyl groups and 10% amine groups (G4-90/10) which are safe, cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver the biomolecules into the cells. In thecurrent study, we utilized G4-90/10 PAMAM dendrimers to deliver a gene therapy to the infarct in aischemic stroke brain in rats. Following an ischemic stroke, glial cells (such as astrocytes) are recruitedat the infarct region to perform maintenance functions, creating severe neuroinflammation. The goalof this study was to reprogram some of the astrocytes into neuronal lineage and repopulate the infarctregion. In addition, we also analyzed the temporal profile of astrocyte activation following ischemicstroke in the striatal and cortical regions to determine the time-point at which the maximum gliosisoccurs. This gives us a crucial timeline for treatment intervention to achieve astrocytereprogramming. We have used a transcription factor (hSOX2 gene), which was then delivered to thestroke brain in rats using the G4-90/10 dendrimers. Our results showed that the maximum glial cellactivation occurs in striatal and cortical regions on day 4 following ischemic stroke. Following genetherapy intervention, our initial analyses indicated that there was recovery from behavioral deficits inthe stroked rats compared to the vehicle-treated stroked rats and sham controls. Overall, these resultsshow that PAMAM dendrimers have significant potential delivering therapeutic molecules for treatingstroke and other neurological conditions. Support for this study was provided by the American Heart Association (18AIREA 33990094),Neuroscience program, the College of Medicine, department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the JohnG. Kulhavi Professorship and the E. Malcolm Field and Gary Leo Dunbar Endowed Chair of Neuroscience at Central Michigan University.

Linkage of whole genome sequencing and administrative health data in autism: A proof of concept study.

Whether genetic testing in autism can help understand longitudinal health outcomes and health service needs is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether carrying an autism-associated rare genetic variant is associated with differences in health system utilization by autistic children and youth. This retrospective cohort study examined 415 autistic children/youth who underwent genome sequencing and data collection through a translational neuroscience program (Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders Network). Participant data were linked to provincial health administrative databases to identify historical health service utilization, health care costs, and complex chronic medical conditions during a 3-year period. Health administrative data were compared between participants with and without a rare genetic variant in at least 1 of 74 genes associated with autism. Participants with a rare variant impacting an autism-associated gene (n = 83, 20%) were less likely to have received psychiatric care (at least one psychiatrist visit: 19.3% vs. 34.3%, p = 0.01; outpatient mental health visit: 66% vs. 77%, p = 0.04). Health care costs were similar between groups (median: $5589 vs. $4938, p = 0.4) and genetic status was not associated with odds of being a high-cost participant (top 20%) in this cohort. There were no differences in the proportion with complex chronic medical conditions between those with and without an autism-associated genetic variant. Our study highlights the feasibility and potential value of genomic and health system data linkage to understand health service needs, disparities, and health trajectories in individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions.

Understanding the Brain Manifestations of Hypothyroidism in Adult Patients.

ThyroidAhead of Print Understanding the Brain Manifestations of Hypothyroidism in Adult PatientsJoanne F. RovetJoanne F. RovetAddress correspondence to: Joanne F. Rovet, PhD, Neuroscience and Mental Health Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5G0A4, Canada E-mail Address: joanne.rovet@sickkids.caNeuroscience and Mental Health Program, The Hospital for Sick Children; Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:22 Jun 2023https://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2023.0170AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View article"Understanding the Brain Manifestations of Hypothyroidism in Adult Patients." Thyroid, , pp. FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 0Issue 0 InformationCopyright 2023, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishersTo cite this article:Joanne F. Rovet.Understanding the Brain Manifestations of Hypothyroidism in Adult Patients.Thyroid®.ahead of printhttp://doi.org/10.1089/thy.2023.0170Online Ahead of Print:June 22, 2023PDF download

Outcomes and Lessons Learned from an Intensive Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Neuroscience

Outcomes and Lessons Learned from an Intensive Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Neuroscience

Honorary Lifetime Membership Award: Ellen D. Ketterson.

Honorary Lifetime Membership Award: Ellen D. Ketterson.

February Literature Synopses.

HomeStrokeVol. 54, No. 2February Literature Synopses No AccessReview ArticleRequest AccessFull TextAboutView Full TextView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toNo AccessReview ArticleRequest AccessFull TextFebruary Literature Synopses Shameena Bake and Farida Sohrabji Shameena BakeShameena Bake Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Bryan. Search for more papers by this author and Farida SohrabjiFarida Sohrabji Correspondence to: Farida Sohrabji, PhD, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807-3260, Mail Stop 1359. Email E-mail Address: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6960-3411 Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program, Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Bryan. Search for more papers by this author Originally published23 Jan 2023https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041849Stroke. 2023;54:e42–e43"February Literature Synopses." Stroke, 54(2), pp. e42–e43FootnotesFor Sources of Funding and Disclosures, see page e43.Correspondence to: Farida Sohrabji, PhD, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program, 8447 Riverside Pkwy, Bryan, TX 77807-3260, Mail Stop 1359. Email [email protected]edu Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails February 2023Vol 54, Issue 2 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2023 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041849PMID: 36689594 Originally publishedJanuary 23, 2023 PDF download Advertisement

Breaking boundaries through Doctors Reaching Minority Men Exploring Neuroscience: a mentorship model to foster a pipeline for underrepresented minorities.

In 2015, the Association of American Medical Colleges report titled "Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine" showed a decline in the number of Black men matriculating into medical school. To alter this trend, the authors' hypothesis was that formally exposing Black men to the clinical neurosciences during high school would enhance their chances of entering the physician workforce. For this reason, in 2007, the Doctors Reaching Minority Men Exploring Neuroscience (DR. MMEN) program was established at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The program aimed to provide early exposure, mentorship, and inspiration to high school-age Black and Latinx men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the DR. MMEN program in the context of the recent race and ethnicity trends among medical school matriculants (MSMs). Association of American Medical Colleges data on MSMs stratified by race and ethnicity were reviewed for the period between 2015 and 2020. Data pertinent to the academic achievements of DR. MMEN participants, such as matriculation to college and/or medical school, were prospectively tracked and incorporated with mixed-methods exit assessment data. Qualitative responses were coded and analyzed using a thematic concept analysis method. Over the study period, the increase of MSMs in the US was 1.0% and 1.7% for Black and Latinx individuals, respectively. Changes for the male MSM cohort were negligible: 0.3% for Black and 0.7% for Latinx. With respect to DR. MMEN, 42% of participants from 2017 to 2019 earned college scholarships, and 25% of students from the 2017-2018 cohort matriculated to a combined college-medical program. Survey data showed that 100% of DR. MMEN participants found the program useful. Analysis of qualitative data revealed that participants considered pursuing a career in neurosurgery or in another medical field. Diligence and a passion for medicine were identified as the top two most important lessons in the program, and witnessing patient satisfaction and observing a neurosurgery operation were described as the most important experiences. Participants considered availability to give advice and feedback and a passion for teaching as the principal attributes of their mentors. Over the past 6 years, the slight increase in Black and Latinx MSMs has not been significant enough to remedy ethnoracial disparities among MSMs. In particular, Black male matriculation to medical school has remained stagnant. The DR. MMEN program is a promising model to inspire young scholars and improve diversity within neuroscience and medicine at large.

Stroke Literature Synopsis (Preclinical).

Stroke Literature Synopsis (Preclinical).

The Development of Core Concepts for Neuroscience Higher Education: From Beginning to Summer Virtual Meeting Satellite Session.

Neuroscience curricula vary widely across higher education institutions due to the lack of an accrediting body or a set of unified educational concepts or outcomes. Each institution has developed a unique set of fundamental knowledge, topical subdisciplines, and core competencies to be delivered in a neuroscience program. Core concepts would provide neuroscience departments and programs with a generally agreed upon set of overarching principles that organize knowledge and can be applied to all sub-disciplines of the field, providing a useful framework from which to approach neuroscience education. We set out to develop a consensus set of neuroscience core concepts to aid in higher education curricular development and assessment. Suggestions for neuroscience core concepts were solicited from neuroscience faculty in a nationwide survey and analyzed using an inductive, independent coding model to identify eight core concepts based upon survey responses. Accompanying explanatory paragraphs for each core concept were developed through an iterative process. We presented the resulting core concepts to 134 neuroscience educators at a satellite session of the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience 2020 Summer Virtual Meeting (SVM). Individuals and groups of faculty provided feedback regarding the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and clarity of each concept and explanatory paragraph, as well as the structure of the document as a whole. We continue to refine the core concepts based upon this feedback and will distribute the final document in a subsequent publication. Following publication of the finalized list of core concepts, we will develop tools to help educators incorporate the core concepts into their curricula.

Political Ideologies through the Lens of Modern Neuroscience

The article presents the standpoint that naturalistic tendencies in modern science, which are especially expressed in neuroscience, push up social knowledge toward the need to revise its attitudes and norms, which consist in consistent sociocentrism and biophobia, and, hence, a simplified understanding of the phenomenon of “genetic reductionism”. We show that the application of the methods of natural science to social disciplines often marked visible progress and even conceptual breakthroughs in their development. Achievements of modern neuroscience affect a traditional area of social and humanitarian knowledge as political science, which leads to the formation of an independent area of research – political neuroscience. Through the optics of this research, cognitive styles characteristic of individuals and social groups with different value orientations imply the dominance of certain ideological sympathies and antipathies, which attributed to the opposite poles of the ideological scale – liberalism and conservatism. Considerable empirical material allows us to conclude that these ideological positions are exist due to differences in their ontogenetic “foundations”, which allows us to develop I. Kant's ideas about a priorism and transcendentalism in the context of the Kantian research program in contemporary neuroscience. The result of the implementation of this program to the political sphere was the discovery of the genesis of political views, and the demonstration of the peculiarities of their dynamics. They are based on the difference in the activity of certain neural sets, which in their turn are influenced by culture and society, forming an integral system “brain – culture – society”, where each component of which affects other components. Features and changes in the socio-cultural context of the development of an individual or a group of people may have an effect upon the architectonics of the brain and shift, due to its plasticity, of the political views along the scale of ideologies “liberalism – conservatism”. At the same time, carriers of different cognitive styles and, therefore, with a sufficient degree of probability of ideological views, percept the world in which they live in differently, and evaluate its past and possible future in diverse ways.

Effective Development of a Remote Full-Day Summer Neuroscience Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Online education programs are becoming increasingly prevalent, with the COVID-19 pandemic greatly accelerating their prominence. Even as colleges and universities have returned to in-person learning, the need for effective remote learning options remains relevant. Importantly, online programs can increase access for non-traditional students, international students, and under-represented minorities. While information has been published about methods to successfully transition traditional lecture and laboratory courses online, one area that has received less attention has been that of summer programs. Because these programs are typically full-day programs, they present a unique challenge for online engagement. In this study, I describe the development of an online full-day summer neuroscience program that was taught over a three-week period. The main goal of the program was to promote students' future interest in the field of neuroscience. Three additional goals were to introduce them to neuroscience content, give them exposure to reading scientific journal articles, and give them practice with oral presentations. In order to promote these goals, four complementary components were incorporated into each day's programming: 1. Synchronous full-group lectures, 2. Synchronous small-group Journal Clubs, 3. Synchronous small-group Neuroethics Clubs, and 4. Asynchronous lab activities. Student evaluation feedback showed that the program was successful in stimulating the students' future interest in neuroscience. These levels of interest were similar to past in-person versions of the program. Students also gained increased experience with neuroscience content, journal articles, and presentations. Therefore, this program can serve as a template for the design of an effective online neuroscience summer program.

Being the Curriculum

This article is a work of creative non-fiction. Part of the work is my reflections on one systemically awkward experience of introducing my neurodivergence, autism, to my classmates in my graduate program in neuroscience. Part of the work engages with theory and neuroscientific/cognitive findings that I either shared during the presentation or encountered since but would have been relevant to the experience. The two parts are intertwined, because life isn't neatly separable.

Число и кантианская исследовательская программа в современной нейронауке

The article presents the attempt to consider the Kantian research program in modern neuroscience in its part, which relates to the representation of the “number” and the mechanisms for processing numerical information by neu­ral structures. We claim that Kantian ideas about the a priori nature of certain mathematical categories related to the status of space and time [geometry and arithmetic], which were subjected to doubt as a result of the discovery of non-Euclidean geometries, proved to be highly demanded and reassessed as a result of the intensive progress of modern cognitive and cultural neuroscience. The dis­covery of the subitizing phenomena, “sense of number” and “sense of place” (analogous to the navigation system of the brain) push us to recall the old Kan­tian judgments concerning certain a priori constructions of mathematics. The on­togenetic foundations of such phenomena, their conditionality by the features of the functioning of the brain, reveal not the metaphorical, but the strategic nature of the Kantian research program in modern neuroscience. In the context of these studies, it also turned out that in the case of living systems, one can speak about their proto-arithmetic traits, and in the case of humans, mathematical abilities that are largely independent of the language, and their systematic development from an early age significantly increases the likelihood of successful mathemati­cal activity in future. Attention drawn to the interdependence of the activity of the developing brain, social and cultural contexts, which intersects and expressed in the process of acculturation of the brain and vice versa – neural determination of culture. This kind of interaction support the idea of the possibility of expand­ing original Kantian idea and introducing the idea related to the transcendental­ism of the activity type

Training Program in Population Neuroscience of Alzheimer’s Disease and Age-Related Dementias

The recent successes of medical science in extending lifespan, with marginal improvements in healthspan, have increased the number of adults reaching very old ages, but also their burden of age-related comorbidities. For these “new” populations of older adults, cumulative exposure to chronic conditions, biological and chronological aging as well as life-long environmental factors, interact with each other in ways that are both very complex and not yet well understood. Understanding these complex pathways and their contribution to brain aging is fundamentally important to conduct rigorous etiological research into the causes of ADRD. We are also seeing great technological advances in measuring health factors in general and brain characteristics in particular, the application of which is providing ever more precise phenotypes but also very large and complex datasets. Such “big” data require careful sampling designs and analytical approaches infused with an understanding of the condition being studied to effectively produce new knowledge to move research to treatment and prevention. We propose that the successful clinical neuroepidemiological investigators of the future must be able to link comorbidities, environmental exposures, lifestyles, genomics, e.g. host susceptibility, with knowledge of modern technology of neurosciences and measurement of brain disease and data science. We will describe our experience at the University of Pittsburgh in leading a new training program in Population Neuroscience of ADRD. Our curriculum responds to the changing landscape of career pathways, technological innovations, and demographic shifts in the aging population.

Joe L. Martinez Jr. (1944–2020)

Neuroscientist and advocate of inclusion

Oded Rechavi.

Interview with Oded Rechavi, who studies transgenerational small RNA inheritance in Caenorhabditis elegans at Tel Aviv University.

Optimized Protocol for Robust Differentiation of SH‐SY5Y Cells into Neuronal‐like Cells: An in vitro Model of Human Neuronal Cultures

The SH‐SY5Y cell line, derived from a human glioblastoma, grow and divide indefinitely under normal conditions, but have the potential to differentiate into neuronal‐like cells when treated with retinoic acid (RA). However, the extent of differentiation has been contested, leading to a variety of protocols to induce differentiation. We took a systematic approach to test the various conditions and treatments used in previously published studies to develop an optimized protocol that yields robust differentiation in an efficient manner. In morphological assays, robust and extensive processes from cell bodies and network development between cells in culture were established when brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), B‐27, and potassium (K+) were supplemented to RA, that survived up to 10 days in culture. One‐day treatment of RA and BDNF during differentiation was as effective as prolonged post‐differentiation treatment of BDNF, thus reducing the amount of BDNF required. Conversely, supplements of vitamin B12, AraC, and dB‐cAMP did not provide any significant difference in differentiation. In RT‐qPCR analyses, our optimized protocol led to significant increased expression of microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) and microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2), both of which are markers of neuronal cells. We are validating the sub‐cellular localization of these proteins via immunohistochemistry. This optimized protocol thus differentiates SH‐SY5Y cells into robust and reliable neuronal‐like cells, which can be used as a model of human neuronal cells and neurodevelopment in a reproducible in vitro system, without the ethical concerns or practical limitations of using fetal cells for human neuronal cultures.Support or Funding InformationOhio Wesleyan University: Department of Botany and Microbiology, Neuroscience Program, Summer Science Research Program, and Theory‐to‐Practice Grant.

Opioid-Induced Molecular and Cellular Plasticity of Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons.

Opioid drugs are highly valued as potent analgesics; however, there are significant risks associated with long-term use because of their abuse liability. Opioids cause changes in ventral tegmental area (VTA) gene expression and cell activity that have been linked to addiction-related behaviors in rodent models. Here, we focus on VTA dopamine (DA) neurons and review the cellular, structural, and synaptic plasticity changes induced by acute and chronic opioid exposure. We also discuss many avenues for future research including determination of whether opioid neuroadaptations are specific for subpopulations of VTA DA neurons. A better understanding of the molecular adaptations within the cells and circuits that drive opioid abuse is crucial for the development of better treatments for substance use disorders and to create novel, safer pain-relieving therapeutics.