Year: 2024, 2024
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>ABSTRACT
Patients who undergo chemotherapy often complain of a persistent 'brain fog' that can be present up to years after treatment ends. This fog is expressed as marked impairments in areas of learning, memory and mental health. As it stands, researchers have yet to determine the mechanism at fault for these impairments. The present experiment investigates if the… more Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Memories which typically require the hippocampus (HPC) can become represented in structures outside of the HPC, and therefore resistant to HPC damage, but, the properties of these memories are poorly understood. Some research has suggested that the HPC continually contributes to memories that are resistant to hippocampal damage, and without this support, they are weaker and more… more Year: 2022, 2022
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Memories pertaining to fearful events are some of the most salient and long-lasting memories, as they are critical to the survival of an organism. Seizures induce aberrant changes within temporal lobe and limbic brain structures that are critical for supporting fear memories. Seizures can occur at any time; therefore, it is imperative that research address how seizures impact previously… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Temporal lobe epilepsy increases risk for developing major depression, and conversely, depression increases risk for development of epilepsy. The mechanisms responsible for the widely observed bi-directional relationship between epilepsy and depression are currently poorly understood. One reason why our understanding of shared etiology has had little improvement is due to the lack of… more Year: 2020, 2020
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Current literature on concussion management focuses primarily on the return to physical activity, while the return to learn process is less clearly understood. This knowledge gap is particularly problematic for adolescents, whose primary responsibility is academics. The present study sought to develop a more in-depth understanding of the return to learn process through the perspectives… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Evidence suggests that visuomotor system behaviour may be more sensitive to the prolonged effects of mild brain injuries than neuropsychological tests. We evaluated whether participants with a mild closed head injury (CHI) would show lingering visuomotor deficits, but not cognitive deficits, up to three years post-injury compared to participants with an orthopaedic injury and healthy… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Cognitive impairments, such as memory loss, are a frequent and devastating co-morbidity associated with epilepsy. The neurobiological mechanisms through which recurrent seizures induce cognitive impairments are not well understood. New neurons born after seizures develop abnormal morphological and functional characteristics that promote network hyperexcitability and hippocampal… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Seizures induce long-term changes in gene expression in the hippocampus. Experimental evidence has demonstrated a significant effect of epileptic activity on the activity of neurons that participate in complex cognitive and behavioural processes. The present series of experiments involving kindling with subconvulsive doses of PTZ demonstrates a link between seizures and altered immediate… more Year: 2019, 2019
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Distributing contextual fear episodes makes the memory become HPC-independent, meaning increasingly reliant on non-HPC memory structures. It is unclear, however, whether distribution of the conditioning episodes alone is sufficient or whether a combination of distribution and high conditioning saliency is necessary to make the memory become HPC-independent. To resolve this issue, rats… more Year: 2017, 2017
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Athletes' concussion risk is part of a complex system of personal and contextual factors. This study differentiated athletes based on attitudes and intentions towards protective behaviours. A cross-sectional survey design was used to sample varsity athletes. Three intention response subgroups (indifferent, reactive, and proactive) were identified. The indifferent group (28%)… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>It is universally accepted that human motor performance is variable in both its timing and spatial qualities. However, it is unclear to what extent motor variability impedes performance when learning a new skill and to what extent it enables our ability to learn. The first experiment examined whether performance during a test task depended on whether participants practiced to constrain… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The assessment of visuomotor function can provide important information about neurological status. Several visuomotor tasks exist for testing in the laboratory, although attempts to make these tests portable to allow quick and reliable assessment have been limited. We developed an assessment tool using two laboratory visuomotor tests as a tablet application: the double-step task, and an… more Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>After active tool-use visual stimuli near a tool are processed more quickly and accurately than those farther away from a tool. Can these near-tool effects be modulated by training demands? To investigate this we asked the participants to complete a tool training task followed by a cross-modal interference task. During the training task the participants performed quick and accurate… more Year: 2015, 2015
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>We investigated whether hand-proximity effects arise from the recruitment of visual-tactile bimodal cells. In Experiment 1, we executed right-hand open-loop reaching movements to targets, presented either near or far from the resting left-hand, and after applying repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to suppress neuronal activity in the PMd and AIP, in Experiment 2. Results… more Year: 2015, 2015
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Damage to the hippocampus (HPC) typically causes retrograde amnesia for contextual fear conditioning. Reinstating the conditioning over several sessions, however, can mitigate the retrograde amnesic effects. Reinstatements, thus, establish a sufficiently strong memory in non-HPC systems to no longer require the HPC for expression, meaning that it has become HPC independent. This thesis… more
