Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Biomedical Science

Department

Neuroscience

College

College of Graduate Studies

First Advisor

Jacqueline F. McGinty

Second Advisor

John J. Woodward

Third Advisor

Antonieta Lavin

Fourth Advisor

William C. Griffin, III

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder (SUD) affect a combined 30 million Americans as of 2014 (Hedden et. al., 2015). An individual who is diagnosed with one has a greatly increased risk of being diagnosed with the other later in life. This suggests some type of biological link between the two. Unfortunately, it is difficult to study the molecular underpinnings of either disease in humans because of ethical concerns. Therefore it would be prudent to develop an animal model that allows for a standardized examination of both disorders. This investigation was designed as an attempt to create an animal model that encompasses both the mammalian stress response as well as substance abuse. Specifically, in the first Aim we investigated the effects of the predator odor 2,5-dihydro-2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline (TMT) on the mRNA levels of several genes in the rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In the second Aim we investigated TMT exposure’s ability to affect rodent cocaine self-administration (SA). In the former Aim, we exposed rats to TMT for 15 minutes a day for 5 consecutive days and then euthanized them for analysis of the mPFC by real-time PCR. In the latter Aim we exposed rats to TMT in a similar manner and then trained them on a cocaine SA paradigm. Following the SA the animals underwent extinction training and then a series of reinstatement tests in order to measure drug-seeking. Although the stressful nature of TMT exposure was validated in both Aims, the stress exposure had no effect on the transcription levels of genes of interest or on drug-seeking behavior.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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