Brittany McCune Introduction. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a collection of symptoms due to drug-withdrawal and presents in infants exposed to opioids in utero, which may result from the use of prescription, illegal, or maintenance drugs, which is currently increasing in incidence.1-2 Neonates are treated for NAS primarily via morphine,…

Preston Williams Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an immune mediated, demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system. Many times the initial symptoms are relatively minor, but MS can lead to severely debilitating effects later in its progression.8 Little is known about the causative factors of MS. Current therapies all act…

Shalin Shah Introduction. Methamphetamine addiction is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repeated methamphetamine exposure and subsequent behavioral changes caused by underlying neuroadaptations at the molecular, cellular, and tissular level in the brain’s reward pathway. Epigenetic mechanisms have emerged as a key area of research to explain how these long-lasting neuroadaptations…

Vivy Phan Introduction.  Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a world-wide health burden that severely affects a person’s mental health, specifically mood, consisting of persistent sadness or anhedonia leading to a constellation of cognitive and somatic symptoms that impacts a person’s daily life. The neurotropic hypothesis of depression proposes that changes…

Yousuf Kidwai Introduction. Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a trinucleotide repeat disorder which results in a neurodegenerative disease caused by the accumulation of mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT). The disease is the most common trinucleotide repeat disorder in the world, and it is fatal1. Mutant Huntingtin Protein and Autophagy. Cellular models grown…

Dayton Hunn Introduction: Huntington’s Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease in the huntingtin gene characterized by choreiform movement, severe cognitive decline, and behavioral changes, marked by death within 15 years of symptom presentation[1]. Although this disease was first described in the late 19th century, both a cure and…

Dayton Hunn Introduction: Huntington’s Disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease in the huntingtin gene characterized by choreiform movement, severe cognitive decline, and behavioral changes, marked by death within 15 years of symptom presentation[1]. Although this disease was first described in the late 19th century, both a cure and…