First Year Students
Ruchi Bansal
Food Disorders in Amnesic Patients
Amnesia is a philosophical memory loss, which is usually caused by a physical injury to
the brain, or by an ingestion of a toxic substance that affects the brain. Past studies have shown
that memory can play a huge role in food consumption. Amygdala damage in animals has been
associated with sodium appetites. This proposes that brain damage in general has an effect on
appetite. Amnesic patients may be valuable when exploring other aspects of appetite. For
example, an amnesic patient can be used to evaluate the role of signs if having eaten, in
controlling intake and the role of memory of what has recently been eaten in guiding food
choices. Patients who have amnesia are perfect to explore wide ranges in psychology.
Paul Bergin
Earthquake Doublets Used to Identify Patterns of Tectonic Movement
Earthquake doublets are two sequential earthquakes with the same area of origin, but that
occur at different times. When observing sets of earthquake doublets, patterns of tectonic
movement, including those regarding the approximate time and place of another shift, or
earthquake, can appear. Currently, there are few sets of data pertaining to doublets; they have
not been used to their full potential as of yet. Data is being continually collected and processed,
which will eventually lead to the use of this data to predict future earthquakes and plate
movement.
Sheree Brown-Carter
Neuronal Tryptophan Hydroxylase 2 is Associated with Major Depression and Suicide
Amino acid tryptophan is in control of serotonergic transmission. TPH is the rate-limiting
biosynthetic enzyme for serotonin. TPH2 is the neuron-specific isoform of TPH. Past studies
have shown that major depression and suicide are affiliated with low levels of serotonin
neurotransmission. In a recent study, the TPH protein and the gene TPH2 showed elevated levels
in the dorsal raphe nuclei of the brain in depressed suicides. For future studies researchers will be
able to look at TPH2 mRNA expression, which can help explain more about its role in
depression and suicide cases. Investigating TPH2 can help scientists find out more so as to help
victims of psychiatric disorders.
Odalys Centeno
Gender Identity and Adjustment
Gender identity is the recognition that one is male or female and the consequent
internalization of this knowledge into one’s self concept. Gender adjustment refers to how well a
male or female adapts to his or her environment. In past studies, researchers found there to be
several variables that correlated with gender identity and adjustment. These included low gender
typicality, or perceived similarity to one’s own gender, low gender contentedness, and felt
pressure from parents, peers, and self. Recently, similarities have been found for gender identity
and adjustment in Hispanic and Black populations, suggesting a potential correlate of race and/or
ethnicity. In future studies, researchers will investigate other variables such as perceived sex,
genetics, and unusual patterns of attachment to parents, in order to determine if any other
correlations with gender identity and attachment exist.
Sean Coffey
String Theory and Its Effects on the Physical World
String theory is a combination of quantum mechanics and general relativity. It describes
the behavior of subatomic particles, which resemble strings, and their effect on the physical
world. Past research has been done to study the effects of temperature on strings in higher
dimensions and the effects of different orbifolds. These strings would operate under the influence
of different variables, such as vibrating in loops. Scientists wish to use behavioral patterns of
strings to determine if strings can be manipulated by humans to vibrate in a particular manner.
Scientists are now using compactification models to study string behavior in detail.
Kelly Collins
Failure to Proliferate B Cells and T Cells
The immune system is what defends the human body from foreign attackers, such as
infections and viruses. T cells and B cells are very important in the immune system. B cells
secrete antibodies based on a foreign attacker. The T cells then kill the attacker. Past studies have
shown that patients with Salmonella are not able to proliferate T cells and that the
transmembrane activator and calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand interactor (TACI) is an
inherited mutation in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). Recently,
scientists have found Salmonella to have a direct effect on T cells, causing them not to
proliferate. Also, it has been found that a mutation of TACI in CVID patients leads to suppressed
B cell proliferation. Future studies will help researchers understand why immune cells have a
difficult time proliferating when certain antigens are present.
Samantha Cruz
The Effects of Sleep on Declarative Memory
Non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) is the stage of sleep that is dreamless, during
which slow wave sleep (SWS) occurs. For years, scientists have shown that NREM and SWS
benefit hippocampus consolidation of independent declarative memory, such as the memory of
dates, names, or colors. Past studies have shown that a one hour nap, after doing a declarative
memory task, helps to significantly improve recollection of the past tasks. Recently, scientists
have also found that a short NREM nap, before studying, helps memory consolidation. Future
studies will further investigate the effect of NREM sleep on other memory, such as working
memory. Studying sleep and its role in memory consolidation will help to improve memory and
learning.
Sekou Georges
El-Nino Southern Oscillation and Its Relationship to the Northern and Southern Annular Modes
Climate change is any important and long-term change in the climate. In order to study
climate change, researchers examine certain aspects of the environment such as weather patterns.
Modes such as the Northern Annular Mode (NAM), the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the
El-Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dictate global weather patterns. Past studies show that
these modes have affected monsoons, storms and regional temperatures throughout their areas.
The significance of this topic is that it will bring an understanding of how climate change is
occurring, so that new measures of environmental protection can be taken. Future studies will
focus on combating central factors that cause climate change such the modes.
Stephanie Holuka
Aβ Accumulation and Tau Pathologies are Associated with Synapses in Intraneuronal
Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s diseases (AD) neuropathology is traditionally characterized by abnormal
deposition of amyloid beta in extracellular plaques and tau proteins in intracellular tangles.
Recent evidence of early intraneuronal accumulations of Aβ42, the most occurring of the Aβ
species, has been found for AD patients, as well as for transgenic AD mice. Prior to plaque
formation, loss of synapses occurs and is considered to be the main correlation to cognitive
decline in AD, rather than plaques or tangles. Further investigation, in regard to synapses, is
geared towards the investigation of Aβ accumulation and will provide a link between synaptic
alterations and cognitive dysfunction in AD.
Melissa Jermann
The Improvement of Social Activity in Autistic Children
Autism is a developmental disability that is the result of a neurological disorder. This
affects the normal functioning of the brain and causes low social activity. Researchers have used
multiple strategies to help improve social activity in autistic children. In past studies, researchers
have taught autistic children to use sign language in order to communicate. Researchers, in an
exclusive school setting, have taught student peers to engage in social interactions with their
autistic classmates with promising results. In the future, researchers will create an intervention
that presents certain stimuli to young autistic children in order to promote spontaneous responses
in their social activity.
Caroline Kaleda
Treatment of Depression in Older Adults with Cognitive Therapy
One of the ways through which depression in older adults can be treated is with cognitive
therapy. Cognitive therapy is a type of therapy based on the concept that the way people think
affects their emotions. In the past it was found that cognitive therapy proves to be one of the
more effective forms of psychosocial treatment. Currently, researchers have been analyzing and
comparing a variety of studies in order to prove the efficacy of cognitive therapy in comparison
to other therapies. Researchers are also in the process of trying to determine ways to improve
cognitive therapy. In the future it would be helpful if there were studies regarding the effect of
cognitive therapy on other types of psychological disorders.
GaYun Lee
Primary Role for Adherent Leukocytes in Sickle Cell Vascular Occlusion
Vascular occlusion is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in sickle cell disease.
Activation of the vascular endothelium also plays an essential role in vasoocclusion in sickle cell
disease. Intravital microscopy was used to study mice that were expressing human sickle
hemoglobin (SS) in red blood cells (RBCs). These SS RBCs were found to bind to adherent
leukocytes in inflamed venules. The collected data also showed that low-density SS RBCs were
more adherent to the endothelium than dense SS RBCs, and that these interactions lead to
vascular occlusion. Future studies will concentrate on a multistep model for sickle cell
vasoocclusion, in which light-density cells first adhere in post capillary venules and secondary
trapping of dense cells produces vascular obstruction and ischemia.
Natalie Madrowski
Amygdala Function on Memory and Emotion
Memory is an organism's mental ability to store, retain, and recall information. The
amygdala, part of the Limbic system, helps in memory as well as emotional function. Past
studies have shown that learning specific reactions to certain stimuli are better memorized when
an emotion accompanies the reaction. Recent studies have determined that rats that were trained
with a foot shock easily learned how to react to the shock because an emotion accompanied the
reaction. These studies were only performed with male rats. Future study will seek to determine
if female rats will react in the same manner as the male rats, with attention to the specific
differences between the sexes with respect to hormones and associated nervous system function.
Tressa Mahmood
Dopamine Activity in Relation to Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a hereditary biological disease that is characterized by disturbances in
many areas of the brain. Previous studies involved the testing of increased striatal dopamine and
observed an increased baseline occupancy of the D2 receptors by dopamine in this disease.
Researchers are now testing the quantity of increased dopamine transmission in the D2 receptors.
Scientists hope to explore and define the relationship between prefrontal pathology and sub
cortical dopamine dysfunction in schizophrenia.
Meredith Mills
Visual Language Discrimination and Native Language in Social Cognition
Social cognition is the mental process of knowing, in areas such as perception, reasoning,
and judgment. Social cognition occurs in all ages from infants to adults. Social cognition in
visual language refers to an infant’s ability to discriminate between different languages. Past
studies have found that infants are able to differentiate between languages, indicating a sort of
natural bilingualism. It was long thought that children can only notice these differences in
language at an age that is much greater than infancy. However, infants that are four and six
months old have been found to have this ability. In the future, researchers may be able to better
understand how children acquire and understand language.
Oluwadamilare Oyefeso
Moral Intensity in Adolescents’ Ethicality Judgments
Adolescents’ moral judgments have been dominated by research with a cognitivedevelopmental perspective. Currently, research shows that the ultimate principle that influences
morality is justice. Moral judgments are primarily functions of intellect and cognition. This
perspective of morality is in sharp contrast to past studies, which emphasized the importance of
rights and autonomy. Future studies will research adolescents in order to ascertain what rubric is
used to assess the ethicality of a decision.
Divya Patel
The Effect of Social Cognition on Children When Making Group Based Inequality Decisions
Perception is noticing the features of objects and responding based on those features. In
contrast, social cognition is the ability to make inferences about the functions or meanings of
objects and to respond appropriately. Through an experiment conducted with a visual cliff, past
studies found that children rely solely on perception. Currently, researchers are conducting
experiments to determine children’s attitudes towards social group-based inequalities, which
specifically examine a child’s dependence on social cognition. Further research should determine
the age range around which infants stop deferring to perception.
Maithe Penaherrera
The Relationship between Pheromone-like Stimuli in Humans and Same Sex Attraction.
Pheromones are chemicals secreted externally from some animals to attract others of the
same species. Research has been conducted to investigate differentiated processing of
pheromone-like stimuli in humans and to further strengthen the notion of a coupling between
neuronal circuits and sexual preferences. Past research has depicted sexual arousal as a state that
correlates with functional changes in various brain regions. A recent study detected activity in
the human male and female preoptic attraction regions when estra-1,3,5,16-tetraen-3-ol and 4,16androstadien-3-one were smelled. Both of these chemicals are candidates for naturally produced
human pheromones. Future research may help elucidate the relationship between humans and
pheromones and establish a consistent biological basis for why some people are attracted to the
same sex.
Katherine Santana
The Overexpression of MicroRNA Cluster 17~92 in Lung Development and in B cell
Lymphoma
MiRNAs are small single-stranded RNA molecules that are part of a large family of noncoding small RNAs. Several studies have shown that miRNAs serve as oncogenes and are
directly involved in cell proliferation and cell death within many cancers and tumor types.
MicroRNAs have also been found to play an important role in neurodevelopment as well as in
the development of many major organs, such as the lungs. A B-cell is a type of lymphocyte that
produces antibodies to fight infections. B-Cell lymphomas occur when B-cells mutate and
become cancerous. Past studies have shown a correlation between the overexpression of
microRNA cluster 17~92 and several forms of lymphomas as well as lung cancer. Other studies
have determined that the microRNA 17~92 cluster is frequently amplified and overexpressed in
diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. Future studies will research those genes regulated by the
microRNA cluster 17~92 that are responsible for allowing the proliferation of B-cell lymphomas
and aiding in the development of the lungs.
Kaitlin Smolen
Kin Recognition in African Elephants
Elephants harbor the ability to recognize kin. African elephants were observed to
determine if they would avoid behavioral inbreeding. Researchers concluded that elephants
avoid mating with relatives, but the methods used by these animals to recognize their relatives
were unknown. Current studies are testing the idea that elephant groups recognize and fuse with
other closely related groups to promote safety and the siring of offspring. Future studies will test
the use of olfactory cues in urine and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in elephants
to determine genetic relatedness. Elephant conservationists can use these findings to promote
behavioral inbreeding avoidance, which will produce offspring that are more capable of survival.
Kelly Terlizzi
Various Factors Are Believed to Cause Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by persistent intrusive thoughts
and repetitive actions. Although the cause of OCD is unknown, scientists have found evidence
proving that various factors may be its cause. Recent studies have associated genes that
important for glutamatergic neurotransmission with OCD. Studies have also revealed that the
lack of the SAPAP3 gene may lead to OCD and anxiety-like behavior. Others have correlated
low striatal dopamine D2 receptor availability with social phobia. Comorbid OCD and social
phobia patients have also been found to have low D2 receptor availability. Future research will
seek to provide a better understanding of the striatal dopamine system and confirm if defects in
the excitatory synaptic transmission in the cortico-striatal circuit affects humans.
Kerena Thomas
Diabetes and Stem Cells
Diabetes is characterized by high glucose levels caused by defects in insulin secretion.
Stem cells, which have the potential to develop into many different cell types in the body, can
divide without limit to replenish other cells. Therefore, these stem cells can differentiate into ßcells in the pancreas and lead to more insulin production in diabetics. Previous studies have
identified growth factors that promote differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (HESC)
into insulin-producing cells. It has been discovered that the transcription factor, Pax4, can
encourage high numbers of embryonic stem cells to become pancreatic ß-cells. Future studies
will attempt to find other transcription factors that contribute to an increased production of
insulin. These findings may lead to successful cell replacement in patients with diabetes.
Kenneth Tong
DNA Damage-Induced Cell Diseases
Formation of tumors and the initiation of apoptosis are due to many causes. One of the
major causes is DNA damage, after which the mutated genes are recognized by the DNA damage
site. Rad54 proteins, when damaged, have the ability to mutate into tumors. P53 mutations have
been implicated as one of the major causes of apoptosis. MDM2, which is known to suppress
p53 activity, has been found to increase due to signals given from PLD. Past studies found that
PLD activity prevented cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cells with over expressed c-Src. Also,
several point mutations in conserved regions of the hRad54 and Rad54B genes have been found
in primary tumors. Future studies will determine if the interaction of p53 and Rad54 leads to
cancer and will also attempt to discover if PLD can prevent p53 from forming cancer.