Andrea Scott   Introduction. Nicotine use is associated with long-term deleterious cognitive effects; however, many of the molecular mechanisms are unknown, specifically those with consequences during adolescence. Nicotine has a priming effect on addiction by inducing FosB, a striatal protein important in addiction. FosB accumulates in the nucleus accumbens (NAc)…

Selena Patel Introduction.  Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and presence of alpha-synuclein (⍺S) aggregates forming intracellular inclusions1,6. The pathogenesis of the selective loss of dopamine neurons and accumulation of alpha-synuclein remains unclear; however, recent evidence…

Chris O’Sullivan Introduction. Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction (POCD) is serious post-anesthesia complication characterized by varied neurological deficits such as loss of spatial memory and executive functions.1 POCD can affect over 50% of all elderly patients undergoing surgery, with about 10% continuing symptoms over 3 months after surgery.2 The most important risk factor for…

Cole Nipper Introduction. Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a disorder characterized by recurrent focal-onset seizures originating in the hippocampus. It is the most common form of refractory epilepsy, and it is estimated that over 150,000 individuals suffer from uncontrolled TLE in the United States.1 A significant subset of refractory TLE…

Astha Mittal  Introduction. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNPc) which leads to resting tremors, rigidity, akinesia, and postural instability1-3. It is usually seen in people after the age of 60, but there is a earlier onset…

Luke Mascarenhas Introduction Lewy body dementia (LBD) is characterized by the accumulation of Lewy bodies or aggregates of misfolded, overexpressed α-synuclein (α-syn) in neurons or surrounding glial cells, leading to neuronal cell death1,3. Previous studies demonstrated that α-syn and misfolded amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) play a role in the pathogenesis of…

Amy Maldonado  Introduction Cocaine is a Schedule II psychostimulant that causes dopaminergic overstimulation of the mesolimbic reward pathway. Monthly prevalence of cocaine use in United States is estimated at 1.9% of those age 12 years and older1. Although several aspects of the biological mechanisms underlying cocaine use are known, knowledge…

Joanna Ma Introduction. Graves’ disease (GD) is an autoimmune hyperthyroidism disorder that manifests in 25% of patients with inflammation of extraocular tissue, known as Graves’ orbitopathy (GO).1 Aside from the cosmetic distress due to exophthalmos, more severe progressions of GO can lead to permanent vision loss.1,2 The change in tissue volume is…