Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2014
Capstone Advisor
Donna Korol, Associate Professor of Biology
Honors Reader
Cathryn Newton, Dean Emerita and Professor of Earth Sciences
Capstone Major
Biology
Capstone College
Arts and Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Biology | Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Abstract
The formation and storage of memories within the brain remains a subject that is not well understood. The hippocampus has been identified by many studies as a likely center for memory formation (Lynch, 2004), and further research into this subject has begun to suggest that synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus could be partly responsible for the physical changes in the brain, which underlie memory formation. Long Term Potentiation is a form of synaptic plasticity, and is considered to be a physical increase in the strength of connection between neurons or groups of neurons. Much like memories, the duration of a given LTP can last anywhere from minutes to years, depending upon the conditions under which the LTP was induced. Stress, in particular, has been found to either enhance or impair LTP formation, under different conditions. The brain’s response to stress, or any kind of emotional arousal, is in part mediated by the release of the hormone epinephrine. This type of “stress memory”, or epinephrine-mediated memory formation, is important because it could explain the pathological memory formation that is commonly seen in phenomena such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Korol and Gold, 2008). Epinephrine release in the periphery has been seen to influence LTP in the hippocampus, however epinephrine itself cannot enter the brain. These experiments served to explore the mechanisms by which epinephrine can act to bidirectionally influence hippocampal LTP through activation of β-adrenergic receptors.
Recommended Citation
Buscaglia, Georgia Christine, "Bidirectional Influence of Epinephrine on Hippocampal LTP via β-Adrenergic Receptors" (2014). Honors Capstone Projects - All. 750.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/750
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