Centre for Neuroscience Studies Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Defining the Neurochemical Phenotype of Myenteric Neurons that Display Nerve Growth Factor Promotor Activity in Adult Transgenic Mice - Implications for Colonic Inflammation
Nerve growth factor (NGF) has demonstrated a wealth of functions in the body in addition to the neurotrophin’s main growth effects on sensory and sympathetic axons. Although this neurotrophin is well-studied, the specific ... -
Inhibitory Control Changes in Healthy Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: An FMRI Study of the Stroop Task
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in cognition coupled with a predictive pattern of neural atrophy beyond changes associated with healthy aging. Divergence from normative ... -
Investigating Pathogenic Mechanisms and Biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among the elderly and a major public health issue worldwide. Despite decades of research efforts, AD still lacks an effective treatment. Although the first two ... -
Factors Affecting Focal Cerebral Ischemic Infarction: Inferences from Experimental Modelling in Macaques and Murines
Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in North America. There has been an evolution in treatment and assessment of ischemic stroke over the last 30 years, related to formation of hospital acute stroke teams ... -
Correlations Between Stroke Impairments Associated with the Arm and Hand
Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide that can result in a variety of motor, sensory, and/or cognitive impairments. The assessment of these impairments is crucial for prescribing proper treatment. However, ... -
Modulation of Spinal Afferent Neuronal Structure and Function in Diseases Associated with Abdominal Pain
Background: Abdominal pain is a primary symptom of many gastrointestinal diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Many mediators have been implicated in the pathophysiology ... -
Long-Term Neuronal Effects Following Developmental Exposure to Low Levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants
Introduction: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) methylmercury (MeHg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorines (OCs) are a significant problem in Arctic regions of Canada. The long-term impact of low-level ... -
Microbial Modulation of Vagal Afferent Neurons in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Obesity
Background: The gut-microbiota-brain axis has received increasing attention recently due to evidence that colonic microbes can affect brain function and behavior. Vagal afferent neurons are an important conduit between the ... -
Action and Context Influence Memory for Objects
Goal attribution, the process by which infants form expectations or make predictions about the nature and target of another’s ongoing action (usually an object-directed action), is one of the earliest developing examples ... -
The Effects of a Medically Supervised Ketogenic Diet on Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Study
Major depressive disorder is a potentially severe mental illness characterized by two core symptoms, the presence of a despondent mood and anhedonia. The first mainline treatment option, selective serotonin reuptake ... -
The Role of GM2 Activator Protein in Breast Cancer Metastasis and the EGFR Signaling Pathway
Breast cancer afflicts many individuals worldwide, however, survival rates diminish greatly when this disease becomes metastatic. Despite medical advances of therapies for breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer has high ... -
Examining the Effects of Patient Expectations, Therapeutic Alliance, and Pain Sensitivity on Treatment Response Following Lidocaine Infusion in an Interdisciplinary Chronic Pain Clinic
Introduction: Pain perception is a product of both incoming nociceptive input and top-down predictions (“expectations”). Expectations can be shaped by maladaptive patterns of thought which lead adults with chronic pain to ... -
The human brain in action: Coordination among neural systems for planning and adapting movements
Our ability to navigate and interact with the world around us depends on our brain's capacity to coordinate activity among its distributed and interconnected neural systems. This thesis explores key interactions that unfold ... -
Saliency and Priority Representation in the Superior Colliculus
Animals must combine sensory information about the external world with internal goals and expectations to produce appropriate actions. Saliency maps, indicating areas that stand out from their surroundings, and priority ... -
Using Electronically Delivered Therapy and Brain Imaging to Understand OCD Pathology
Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental health disorder with current psychotherapeutic treatments, while somewhat effective, yielding low accessibility and scalability. A lack of knowledge ... -
The Utility of Objective Assessment Technologies in Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide and is characterized by the heterogeneous representation of bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability. Patients with ... -
Combining Ketamine and Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Over a third of patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) do not respond to current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions due to a host of neurobiological and social factors. Ketamine is one potential ... -
Electrophysiology of Memory Consolidation and Epileptogenesis in the Primate Mesial Temporal Lobe. Effects of Focal Seizures with Impaired Awareness
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by unprovoked, recurrent seizures and affects approximately 350,000 Canadians. A third of this population have seizures that are refractory. This leaves over 100,000 people with ... -
Cognitive and Affective Control of Pain in the Human Brain and Brainstem Revealed by Means of Functional MRI and Analyses of Network Connectivity
Pain is a complex individual experience that involves sensory/discriminative, motor, autonomic, and cognitive/affective components. Acute pain permeates the human experience, and chronic pain is highly prevalent and costly ... -
Olfactory Bulb Proteome Changes in Response to Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathologies in Mouse and Rat Models
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, and it is one of the leading causes of death globally. Identification and validation of biomarkers that herald the onset and progression of AD is of paramount ...
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