Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Biomedical Sciences
Date of Award
8-2021
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Michelle Chandley
Committee Members
Jonathan Peterson, Diego Rodriguez-Gil
Abstract
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is part of the cognitive and emotional brain circuitry that mediates social interaction. Imbalances between inhibitory, GABAergic neurons, and excitatory, glutamatergic neurons, in this region are essential to brain circuity during social responses and are thought to be involved with behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Enriched cell populations of glutamatergic neurons, obtained through laser capture microdissection, were used for gene expression studies of GABAergic receptors (GABRA1, GABRA4, and GABBR1). Additionally, proteins that impact GABAergic synapses (Spinophilin, CPLX1, mTOR, IGF1R, PSD95, PARP1) were investigated using Western Blotting with punchdissected homogenate brain tissue from ACC and frontal cortical brain regions. No significant differences in gene expression nor protein were identified between ASD and control brain donors. Evidence of GABAergic synaptic pathology was not found; however, future studies of alternative GABAergic markers and increased study numbers are needed to confirm these findings in ASD human tissue.
Document Type
Thesis - embargo
Recommended Citation
Andrew, Gethien, "GABAergic-Related Pathology in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex of Postmortem Human Brain Tissue in Autism Spectrum Disorder" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3967. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3967
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.