Hippocampal BDNF regulates a shift from flexible, goal-directed to habit memory system function following cocaine abstinence.

The transition from recreational drug use to addiction involves pathological learning processes that support a persistent shift from flexible, goal-directed to habit behavioral control. Here, we examined the molecular mechanisms supporting altered function in hippocampal (HPC) and dorsolateral striatum (DLS) memory systems following abstinence from repeated cocaine. After 3 weeks of cocaine abstinence (experimenter- or self-administered), we tested new behavioral learning in male rats using a dual-solution maze task, which provides an unbiased approach to assess HPC- versus DLS-dependent learning strategies. Dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) and DLS brain tissues were collected after memory testing to identify transcriptional adaptations associated with cocaine-induced shifts in behavioral learning. Our results demonstrate that following prolonged cocaine abstinence rats show a bias toward the use of an inflexible, habit memory system (DLS) in lieu of a more flexible, easily updated memory system involving the HPC. This memory system bias was associated with upregulation and downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression and transcriptionally permissive histone acetylation (acetylated histone H3, AcH3) in the DLS and dHPC, respectively. Using viral-mediated gene transfer, we overexpressed BDNF in the dHPC during cocaine abstinence and new maze learning. This manipulation restored HPC-dependent behavioral control. These findings provide a system-level understanding of altered plasticity and behavioral learning following cocaine abstinence and inform mechanisms mediating the organization of learning and memory more broadly

Bridges to Change: From the Classroom Community to Weeksville An Integrated and Thematic Curriculum

Bridges to Change is a curriculum designed for use in a third grade inclusive classroom. This curriculum serves a dual purpose: (1) to provide teachers and students with activities that are designed to build and forge a sense of classroom community and (2) to provide teachers with built-in modifications and adaptations-thereby making the curriculum accessible to students at all levels. A wide array of sources was used in the creation of this curriculum. Understanding by Design and Universal Design for Learning were instrumental in laying the foundation for this work. Understanding by Design\u27s backwards design approach was instrumental in the creation and conception of essential questions and understandings, learning activities, and relevant assessments. Universal Design for Learning\u27s theoretical framework was used as a guide in the adaptations and modifications made throughout the curriculum units. In addition to these sources, literature on experiential learning, community-building activities, and the Weeksville community. At the conclusion of this two-unit curriculum, students will have two experiences designed to help them understand the change process that occurs within communities- the first within their own classroom community and the second within the context of a hands-on, experiential study of the Weeksville community. The intended outcome is for students to emerge with the ability to articulate the changes they witnessed and experienced

Under Surveillance: Interrogating Linguistic Policing in Black Girlhood

Abstract The youngest of Black girls are scrutinized for their language choices and surveilled on the basis of their ability to shift out of their vernacular and into Standard English (SE). In this essay, I revisit my own Black girlhood (Brown, 2013) to interrogate how those in schooled contexts compelled me to deny the “skin that (I) speak” (Delpit, 2002, p. xvii). Using intersectionality as my theoretical frame (Collins, 2000), I arrive at new understandings about resisting multiple oppressions and consider possible interventions at the school level. Keywords: Black girlhood, intersectionality, African-American Language (AAL), identity, code-meshing

Increasing the diversity of CDC leadership

As stated in the thesis project, "The Garden Street Initiative was an attempt at partnering with The City of Lawrence, MA Community Development and one or two non-profit agencies (Lawrence Neighborhood Planning and Development Corporation and the Lawrence Minority Business Council) for the redevelopment of a severely neglected section of the 23rd poorest city in the United States. The approach was to first package a viable housing renovation project based on recommendations and opportunities made known to us by the city, and then take it to an established non-profit housing developer for support and incorporation into their immediate development plan. The Initiative was envisioned as a project under the umbrella and as a partner to the non-profit. The Initiative would have brought technical capacity and a package of assets to the non-profit development entity, while at the same time meeting possible program goals of the agency. The project was planned during a period when the Lawrence Neighborhood Planning and Development Corporation was being revitalized through city intervention. Concurrently, the city was carrying out planning for its comprehensive services plan (Consolidated Plan) as mandated by USHUD for entitlement communities. The genders of principals in both these activities in many ways precluded the acceptance of the Initiative." (Library-derived description)Jones, P. M. (2004). Increasing the diversity of CDC leadership. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.eduMaster of Science (M.S.)School of Community Economic Developmen

Land Grant Application- Jones, Samuel (Situate)

Land grant application submitted to the Maine Land Office on behalf of John E. Albee for service in the Revolutionary War, by their widow Pamela Jones.https://digitalmaine.com/revolutionary_war_mass/1203/thumbnail.jp

Evening of baroque music

VideoU School of Music Faculty Concert. Sundays @ 7 Spotlight Concert. "An Evening of Baroque Music." Pamela Palmer Jones, harpsichord. Cheryl Hart, soprano. Lisa Chaufty and Kim Grundvig, recorders. Leslie J. Richards, viola da gamba. Sunday, October 9, 2009. Libby Gardner Concert Hall. 7:00 p.m

Neuropsychological Functioning Among Violent and Nonviolent Sex Offenders

Violent sex offenders, nonviolent sex offenders, violent non-sex offenders, and nonviolent non-sex offenders were compared on neuropsychological testing and on personality testing. A neuropsychological test battery and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2) were administered to 93 and 50 male felons respectively. Subjects were drawn from a data base provided by the state Department of Corrections. Potential indicators of neuropsychological impairment were controlled during the selection process. Analyses of Variance (alpha =.05) found that violent sex offenders scored significantly lower than the other three groups on two measures that are sensitive to left hemisphere impairment and one that assesses right hemisphere impairment suggesting a more diffuse, rather than a lateralized mode of functioning. Non-violent sex offenders scored higher than the other groups on four of the fifteen neuropsychological measures and higher on three additional measures than two of the other three groups. Results also indicated that violent non-sex offenders may better process information with the left hemisphere. On the MMPI-2, violent sex offenders scored higher on Scale F and nonviolent sex offenders scored lower on Scales F and 9 It would appear that information regarding neuropsychological functioning may be useful in identifying more appropriate approaches to intervention for different groups of offenders. Implications for treatment are presented

The dilemma of development policy in the Third World and some ramifications for women

The first part of this thesis deals with the theoretical approaches to development and a discussion of the dilemma facing the policy makers in choosing the best approach to the Third World. I then offer examples from South Africa and India which support the premise of economic prosperity versus ethical concerns; Lastly, the ramifications for women affected by Third World Development are presented with an emphasis upon the disruptive influences of advanced capitalist countries in their attempt to modernize technology and promote industrialization. The complexity of societal implications is explored from economic and political to social and cultural concerns