Mentor/s
Professors Rachel Bowman and Maya Frankfurt
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Bisphenol-A (BPA), a known hormone disrupter, exposure in adolescent rats, increases anxiety, impairs memory, and decreases dendritic spine density when measured in adolescence and effects extend into adulthood. These studies were conducted in gonadally intact male and female adolescent rats; this leads to the question of the extent to which observed effects are due to BPA exposure versus natural fluctuations in gonadal hormones. Additionally, estrogen (E) is neuroprotective, enhances memory, and increases dendritic spine density in adult and aging rats; however, E replacement studies in adolescence are limited. Thus, we have conducted a series of experiments in Ovariectomized (OVX) females that examine: (1) effects of adolescent BPA and E exposure on neuronal architecture in the adolescent brain (2) effects of adolescent BPA and E exposure on behavioral measures of anxiety, cognitive performance, and spine density in adolescence
(3) whether possible effects observed in #2 are maintained when measured in adulthood
College and Major available
Biology, Psychology
Location
University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-20-2018 1:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-20-2018 3:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Meaningful
Lasting Effects of Estrogen and Bisphenol-A Exposure During Adolescent Development on Dendritic Spines and Behaviors in Adulthood
University Commons
Bisphenol-A (BPA), a known hormone disrupter, exposure in adolescent rats, increases anxiety, impairs memory, and decreases dendritic spine density when measured in adolescence and effects extend into adulthood. These studies were conducted in gonadally intact male and female adolescent rats; this leads to the question of the extent to which observed effects are due to BPA exposure versus natural fluctuations in gonadal hormones. Additionally, estrogen (E) is neuroprotective, enhances memory, and increases dendritic spine density in adult and aging rats; however, E replacement studies in adolescence are limited. Thus, we have conducted a series of experiments in Ovariectomized (OVX) females that examine: (1) effects of adolescent BPA and E exposure on neuronal architecture in the adolescent brain (2) effects of adolescent BPA and E exposure on behavioral measures of anxiety, cognitive performance, and spine density in adolescence
(3) whether possible effects observed in #2 are maintained when measured in adulthood
Students' Information
Jennifer Hagedorn: Neuroscience
Christina Kitakis: Psychology
Emma Madden: Biology