Developing Baseline Performance in an Animal Model of Learning and Memory

Color poster with text and graphs.This study looked at the chemical and neural mechanisms that underlie learning and memory. A repeated acquisition task was used to develop an animal model of learning and memory.University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Effects of Pentobarbital in Rats Trained to Discriminate Between 2 and 22 hr Food Deprivation

Color poster with text and graphs.Assessing the effects of acute food deprivation may assist the development of medication for eating-related conditions and aid in the understanding of processes that affect food consumption. This study seeks to determine if the barbiturate pentobarbital increases food intake through a mechanism related to the perceived palatability of food.University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Program

Effects of Chlorpromazine in Rats Trained to Discriminate Between 2 and 22 Hr Food Deprivation

Color poster with text, graphs, and tables.Chlorpromazine, a typical antipsychotic, has been shown to have varying effects on food intake. Chlorpromazine is a dopamine antagonist that blocks several dopamine receptors (including D1 and D2). Previous research indicated chlorpromazine (5.0mg/kg) may affect food intake in two time phases. This study looked at the effects of chlorpromazine in a food-deprivation discrimination paradigm that may serve as an animal model of 'hunger'.University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

\u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D. erecta, D. mojavensis, and D. grimshawi F elements and euchromatic domains from the Muller D element. We find that F elements have greater transposon density (25–50%) than euchromatic reference regions (3–11%). Among the F elements, D. grimshawi has the lowest transposon density (particularly DINE-1: 2% vs. 11–27%). F element genes have larger coding spans, more coding exons, larger introns, and lower codon bias. Comparison of the Effective Number of Codons with the Codon Adaptation Index shows that, in contrast to the other species, codon bias in D. grimshawi F element genes can be attributed primarily to selection instead of mutational biases, suggesting that density and types of transposons affect the degree of local heterochromatin formation. F element genes have lower estimated DNA melting temperatures than D element genes, potentially facilitating transcription through heterochromatin. Most F element genes (~90%) have remained on that element, but the F element has smaller syntenic blocks than genome averages (3.4–3.6 vs. 8.4–8.8 genes per block), indicating greater rates of inversion despite lower rates of recombination. Overall, the F element has maintained characteristics that are distinct from other autosomes in the Drosophila lineage, illuminating the constraints imposed by a heterochromatic milieu