Effects of the Selective PDE4B Inhibitor TDP-003 on Ethanol Consumption

poster abstractAlcoholism is a disease that affects about 18 million Americans. Inhibition of drinking behavior can help develop better therapeutic and medical treatments to these people. Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) is an enzyme that helps breakdown cAMP, which in turn decrease alcohol consumption. cHAP mice are known to have a unique strong preference to ethanol. However, it is not yet known whether or not this relatively new strain of mice are affected by known agonists and antagonist neurotransmitters that reduce ethanol consumption in cousin strains. cHAP mice were used in this particular study due to their unique genetic make-up of having an above average preference to ethanol. The mice were trained for ethanol preference for two weeks. Once the cHAPs obtained stable ethanol consumption, the drug TDP-003, which contains the PDE4B subtype inhibitor, was administered in the morning with interval ethanol and water consumption readings every two hours from the time of injection. TDP-003 was given in three separate doses; 0.03ml, 0.1ml, and a 0.3ml mg/k along with a vehicle dose, which served as a control. Once data was collected and analyzed, it was found that there was not a significant effect in the amount of ethanol the cHAPs were consuming with the drug. In order to ensure that this result was not due to an experimental methods design error, the cHAPs were ran for another week on stable ethanol consumption and then injected with rolipram to see if a positive effect occurred. Rolipram is also a PDE4 inhibitor; predominantly affecting the PDE4B subtype. cHAPS were given three separate doses of rolipram, a 0.1ml, 0.25ml, and a 0.5ml mg/k dose, along with a vehicle dose. Once again, there were no significant differences in the amount of ethanol consumption that was consumed; thus implying that TDP-003 did not work

Fit’n Bits: Evaluation of the FitBit’s User Friendliness and Motivation

poster abstractWearable computing devices create new opportunities for people to collect data about themselves and interact unobtrusively with a wide variety of information sources. However, these devices also compete for a wearer’s limited attention and have the potential for worsening the problem of information overload. Our study focuses on people’s day-to-day experiences using wearable activity tracking devices, both solo and in motivational groups of 3–4 persons. We are currently collecting a variety of data to understand how differences in the information displayed on the device (and the associated, web-based “dashboard”) affect users’ behavior and attainment/motivation of physical activity goals, influence users’ perception of the usefulness and intrusiveness of the device, and encourage/discourage device use. In addition, we hope to further explore whether or not participation in a group provided additional motivation or simply introduced another type of information overload. A total of 36 participants will be recruited from the IUPUI campus and nearby areas of downtown Indianapolis and will be divided into one of two conditions, working solo or in a squad (group of three of more people). ANOVAs will be conducted to analyze and interpret the data. In particular, we will look for any significant differences in the number of steps taken and in the subjective preference ratings across all conditions. All qualitative responses will be collaboratively coded by a team of investigators. This research effort is currently ongoing, and we are aiming to present initial data analyses based on a large subset of our total participant population at this year’s IUPUI Research Day

"Schöne Welt, du gingst in Fransen!" : Auf der Suche nach dem authentischen deutschen Tango

Voluntary motor deficits are a common feature in Huntington's disease (HD), characterised by movement slowing and performance inaccuracies. This deficit may be exacerbated when visual cues are restricted.To characterize the upper limb motor profile in HD with various levels of difficulty, with and without visual targets.Nine premanifest HD (pre-HD), nine early symptomatic HD (symp-HD) and nine matched controls completed a motor task incorporating Fitts' law, a model of human movement enabling the quantification of movement timing, via the manipulation of task difficulty (i.e., target size, and distance between targets). The task required participants to make reciprocal movements under cued and blind conditions. Dwell times (time stationary between movements), speed, accuracy and variability of movements were compared between groups.Symp-HD showed significantly prolonged and less consistent movement times, compared with controls and pre-HD. Furthermore, movement planning and online control were significantly impaired in symp-HD, compared with controls and pre-HD, evidenced by prolonged dwell times and deceleration times. Speed and accuracy were comparable across groups, suggesting that group differences observed in movement time, variability, dwell time and deceleration time were evident over and above simple performance measures. The presence of cues resulted in greater movement time variability in symp-HD, compared with pre-HD and controls, suggesting that the deficit in movement consistency manifested only in response to targeted movements.Collectively, these findings provide evidence of a deficiency in both motor planning, particularly in relation to movement timing and online control, which became exacerbated as a function of task difficulty during symp-HD stages. These variables may provide a more sensitive measure of motor dysfunction than speed and/or accuracy alone in symp-HD

Demographic and neurocognitive data across groups.

<p>Note: IQ (NART, National Adult Reading Test); CAG, cytosine-adenine-guanine (number of repeats >40 is full penetrance); UHDRS-TMS, Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale-Total Motor Score (pre-HD, UHDRS-TMS≤5; symp-HD, UHDRS-TMS>5); DBS, Disease Burden Score (CAG-35.5) x age; YTO, Years to onset—estimation expressed as a countdown from current age to 0 = disease onset. YSO, Years since onset of symptoms.</p><p>Means and standard deviations (SD) provided.</p

Dwell times between groups as a function of index of difficulty.

<p>Standard error bars included. Note: LN = large near, SN = small near, LF = large far, SF = small far. ** = p < .01, *** = p < .001.</p

Demographic and neurocognitive data across groups.

<p>Note: IQ (NART, National Adult Reading Test); CAG, cytosine-adenine-guanine (number of repeats >40 is full penetrance); UHDRS-TMS, Unified Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale-Total Motor Score (pre-HD, UHDRS-TMS≤5; symp-HD, UHDRS-TMS>5); DBS, Disease Burden Score (CAG-35.5) x age; YTO, Years to onset—estimation expressed as a countdown from current age to 0 = disease onset. YSO, Years since onset of symptoms.</p><p>Means and standard deviations (SD) provided.</p

Movement time variability between groups as a function of cue condition.

<p>Standard error bars included. *** = p < .001, between symp-HD and controls; ⁺⁺⁺ = p < .001, between symp-HD and pre-HD.</p

Time after peak velocity between groups as a function of index of difficulty.

<p>Standard error bars included. Note: LN = large near, SN = small near, LF = large far, SF = small far. ** = p < .01.</p

An illustration of the four configurations representing the four conditions and retrospective indices of difficulty.

<p>An illustration of the four configurations representing the four conditions and retrospective indices of difficulty.</p

Movement time between groups as a function of index of difficulty.

<p>Standard error bars included. Note: LN = large near, SN = small near, LF = large far, SF = small far. ** = p < .01.</p