1,545 research outputs found
Visual Discrimination, Serial Reversal, and Extinction Learning in the
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy and the most common neuromuscular disorder. In addition to neuromuscular consequences, some individuals with DMD experience global intellectual dysfunction and executive dysfunction of unknown mechanistic origin. The cognitive profile of the mdx mouse, the most commonly used mouse model of DMD, has been incompletely characterized and has never been assessed using the touchscreen operant conditioning paradigm. The touchscreen paradigm allows the use of protocols that are virtually identical to those used in human cognitive testing and may, therefore, provide the most translational paradigm for quantifying mouse cognitive function. In the present study, we used the touchscreen paradigm to assess the effects of the mdx mutation on visual discrimination learning, serial reversal learning, and extinction learning. To enable measuring task-dependent learning and memory processes while holding demands on sensory-driven information processing constant, we developed equally salient visual stimuli and used them on all experimental stages. Acquisition of the initial pairwise visual discrimination was facilitated in mdx mice relative to wildtype littermates; this effect was not explained by genotypic differences in impulsivity, motivation, or motor deficits. The mdx mutation had no effect on serial reversal or extinction learning. Together, findings from this study and previous studies suggest that mdx effects on cognitive function are task-specific and may be influenced by discrimination type (spatial, visual), reward type (food, escape from a non-preferred environment), sex, and genetic background
Stimulus Complexity and Mouse Strain Drive Escalation of Operant Sensation Seeking Within and Across Sessions in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice.
Sensation seeking is a heritable trait that is genetically correlated with substance use; the shared genetic mechanisms underlying these traits are largely unknown. The relationship of sensation seeking and substance use has practical importance because discovering genes that drive sensation seeking can reveal genes driving substance use, and quantification of sensation seeking in mice is higher throughput and less technically challenging than quantification of volitional drug use. In order to fully understand the genetic mechanisms driving sensation seeking, it is critical to first understand the nongenetic factors driving sensation seeking. In the present study, we used the operant sensation seeking paradigm to assess the effects of stimulus complexity on sensation seeking in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. These strains are the founders of the BXD recombinant inbred mouse panel which enables the discovery of genes driving phenotypic variation. This study led to four principal conclusions. First, all sensory stimuli used in the study, regardless of complexity or number of stimulus modalities, served as reinforcers for C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. Second, for both C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice, sensation seeking for a high complexity sensory stimulus was significantly greater than sensation seeking for a low complexity sensory stimulus. Third, for both C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice, sensation seeking escalated significantly within-session when a multimodal sensory stimulus of medium or high complexity was used but not when a unimodal sensory stimulus of low complexity was used. Finally, both the magnitude of sensation seeking and the magnitude of within-session escalation of sensation seeking were significantly greater in mice from the DBA/2J strain relative to mice from the C57BL/6J strain. Collectively, these findings indicate that stimulus complexity and genetic background drive escalation of operant sensation seeking within and across sessions, and that the BXD recombinant inbred mouse panel can be used to discover the genetic mechanisms underlying these phenomena
Sub-wavelength imaging at infrared frequencies using an array of metallic nanorods
We demonstrate that an array of metallic nanorods enables sub-wavelength
(near-field) imaging at infrared frequencies. Using an homogenization approach,
it is theoretically proved that under certain conditions the incoming radiation
can be transmitted by the array of nanorods over a significant distance with
fairly low attenuation. The propagation mechanism does not involve a resonance
of material parameters and thus the resolution is not strongly affected by
material losses and has wide bandwidth. The sub-wavelength imaging with
resolution by silver rods at 30 THz is demonstrated numerically
using full-wave electromagnetic simulator.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, submitted to PR
Optical Hall Effect in the Integer Quantum Hall Regime
Optical Hall conductivity is measured from the Faraday
rotation for a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction quantum Hall system in the terahertz
frequency regime. The Faraday rotation angle ( fine structure constant
mrad) is found to significantly deviate from the Drude-like behavior to
exhibit a plateau-like structure around the Landau-level filling . The
result, which fits with the behavior expected from the carrier localization
effect in the ac regime, indicates that the plateau structure, although not
quantized, still exists in the terahertz regime.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Generation and Evolution of Spin Entanglement in NRQED
A complete analysis on the generation of spin entanglement from NRQED is
presented. The results of entanglement are obtained with relativistic
correction to the leading order of (v/c)^2. It is shown that to this order the
degree of entanglement of a singlet state does not change under time evolution
whereas the triplet state can change.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Exciton-LO-phonon dynamics in InAs/GaAs quantum dots: Effects of zone-edge phonon damping
The dynamics of an exciton-LO-phonon system after an ultrafast optical
excitation in an InAs/GaAs quantum dot is studied theoretically. Influence of
anharmonic phonon damping and its interplay with the phonon dispersion is
analyzed. The signatures of the zone-edge decay process in the absorption
spectrum and time evolution are highlighted, providing a possible way of
experimental investigation on phonon anharmonicity effects.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Discovery of a Role for Rab3b in Habituation and Cocaine Induced Locomotor Activation in Mice Using Heterogeneous Functional Genomic Analysis
Substance use disorders are prevalent and present a tremendous societal cost but the mechanisms underlying addiction behavior are poorly understood and few biological treatments exist. One strategy to identify novel molecular mechanisms of addiction is through functional genomic experimentation. However, results from individual experiments are often noisy. To address this problem, the convergent analysis of multiple genomic experiments can discern signal from these studies. In the present study, we examine genetic loci that modulate the locomotor response to cocaine identified in the recombinant inbred (BXD RI) genetic reference population. We then applied the GeneWeaver software system for heterogeneous functional genomic analysis to integrate and aggregate multiple studies of addiction genomics, resulting in the identification o
Frequency-Dependent Squeezing for Advanced LIGO
The first detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in 2015 launched the era of gravitational
wave astronomy. The quest for gravitational wave signals from objects that are
fainter or farther away impels technological advances to realize ever more
sensitive detectors. Since 2019, one advanced technique, the injection of
squeezed states of light is being used to improve the shot noise limit to the
sensitivity of the Advanced LIGO detectors, at frequencies above Hz.
Below this frequency, quantum back action, in the form of radiation pressure
induced motion of the mirrors, degrades the sensitivity. To simultaneously
reduce shot noise at high frequencies and quantum radiation pressure noise at
low frequencies requires a quantum noise filter cavity with low optical losses
to rotate the squeezed quadrature as a function of frequency. We report on the
observation of frequency-dependent squeezed quadrature rotation with rotation
frequency of 30Hz, using a 16m long filter cavity. A novel control scheme is
developed for this frequency-dependent squeezed vacuum source, and the results
presented here demonstrate that a low-loss filter cavity can achieve the
squeezed quadrature rotation necessary for the next planned upgrade to Advanced
LIGO, known as "A+."Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
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