Neuroscience

Session II

Rena Amankwa-Asare, "Neural Progenitor Cell Fate and Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Dividing Cells of the Xenopus Laevis Tadpole Brain"

Brain development relies on precise regulation of neural progenitor cell (NPC) division and differentiation. Disruptions to NPC fate decisions can result in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, but the cellular mechanisms involved in these decisions are unclear. Mitochondria, essential for energy production and cellular signaling, undergo morphological changes that affect developmental state, but their precise roles in controlling cell fate are unclear. 

This project will explore how changes in mitochondrial dynamics, by processes such as fission and fusion, correlate with NPC fate during neurogenesis. This research study quantifies mitochondrial movements and dynamic changes in morphology through various subcellular compartments of NPCs in Xenopus at different stages of brain development. 3D confocal microscopy will be used to capture images of NPCs and their mitochondria. By comparing early NPCs with later, more differentiated ones, this study considers how specific mitochondrial states correlate with distinct or different fate decisions. Learning this relationship between mitochondria and progenitor cells can provide new knowledge into how mitochondrial function contributes to neurogenesis and how its disruption may involve neurological disease.

Student Major: Neuroscience Major

Advisor: Dr. Jennifer Bestman

Megan McCarley, "Allocation of Attention in Implicit and Explicit Learning: An SSVEP Study"

Learning can be categorized into two forms, explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious). Attention, a limited and selective cognitive resource, is involved in these forms of learning. Between explicit and implicit learning, this selective attention has the potential to vary at a neural level.

The present study aims to identify neural markers of implicit and explicit categorical learning. Prior research indicates that implicit learning function differs from explicit in clinical cases like traumatic brain injuries, making markers of each potentially clinically useful. To investigate this, electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings will be made while participants complete a category learning task which induces implicit and explicit learning.

Based on prior study findings, we expect to see differences in the amplitudes of attention-related signals in the EEG data, across two different explicit learning conditions, as well as the implicit learning condition. This could indicate early neural differences in selective attention between these types of learning.

Student Major(s): Neuroscience and Psychological Sciences Major

Advisor: Dr. Paul Kieffaber

Yasmeen Mogharbel, "Your Brain on Bilingualism: The Relationship Between Second Language Acquisition & First Language Fluency"

This project examines the impact of second language acquisition on first language morphological awareness and literacy skills, looking specifically at native German speakers in comparison to bilingual German and Arabic speakers (n=56). Bilingualism is shown to improve overall executive functioning but delay processing speed, and further research is needed to determine its effects on other aspects of language usage. Each language is mapped differently within the brain; this project investigates the influence of speaking Arabic as an additional language on participants’ competency in German. 42.9% of the participants spoke both Arabic and German. Morphological inflection differs significantly between the two groups–modifying a word from one grammatical category to another–and this study explores whether other variables (i.e. gender) are associated with increased performance on inflection tasks. It will also explore whether increased performance on inflection is associated with increased performance in morphological awareness and literacy tasks. Both are expected to contribute to increased performance. Overall, this project contributes to the growing literature on bilingualism and to the understudied field of Arabic in neurolinguistic studies.  

Student Major(s): Neuroscience and History Major

Advisor(s): Dr. Danielle Dallaire and Dr. Christy Porter