Tag: Paul Steffan

Behavioral Correlates in Sleeping Laboratory Mice with Widefield Imaging

Presenter(s): Ally Wimberly

Faculty Mentor(s): Paul Steffan & David McCormick

Poster 70

Session: Sciences

Pupillometry has effectively correlated pupil size with cortical states in awake mice. High amounts of brain activity have been associated with large pupil size whereas low amounts of brain activity associate with smaller pupil size in awake mice. The purpose of this project is to acquire widefield imaging on sleeping laboratory mice in order to gain a better understanding of mouse neuronal activity during sleep. I aim to find lower amounts of brain activity and small pupil size during non-REM sleep along with high amounts of brain activity with large pupil size during REM sleep. The widefield and pupil imaging will provide the opportunity to correlate certain neuronal activity with behaviors and other neuronal activity with deeper neural mechanisms happening during sleep. Some of the behavior correlates we will use are: movement of whiskers, paws, and fluctuation of the pupil size. Once the behavioral activity is excluded, the deeper neural mechanisms during sleep will be narrowed down and able to be focused on. Finding the deeper neural mechanisms will enable us to track neural circuits and networks involved during different stages of sleep in order to evolve a better profile of overall neuronal activity during sleep.

The Effect of Varying Reward Treatments on Performance and Learning Acquisition in Mice

Presenter(s): Minh Nguyen

Faculty Mentor(s): Laura Boddington & Paul Steffan

Poster 22

Session: Sciences

An animal’s ability to learn and perform perceptual tasks is highly variable, depending on factors such as reward type. Using a more favorable reward is expected to positively influence motivation and performance. The present study examined the effects of using a highly palatable caloric reward in lieu of standard water reward. It was hypothesized that a high caloric reward solution would facilitate a faster learning rate on an auditory discrimination task. Surgically head- posted mice were habituated and put on water restriction prior to behavior sessions. They were trained in a “tone-in-noise” detection task with 10% sucrose solution reward for correct licks and time out (resetting trial) for incorrect licks. We recorded the animal’s performance while simultaneously monitored the pupil dilations. The results showed that 10% sucrose solution has the capacity to act as a reward stimulus due to its positive reinforcement properties, however, larger sample sizes are required to fully quantify the efficacy of sucrose solution compared to traditional fluid rewards. By examining the effects of alternative reward treatments on performance in an auditory discrimination task, we can determine optimal treatment conditions in which mice learn most efficiently. These results could further elucidate the relationship between caloric intake, nutrition, and arousal.

The Effect of Varying Reward Treatments on Performance and Learning Acquisition in Mice

Presenter(s): John Francis

Faculty Mentor(s): Paul Steffan & David McCormick

Poster 37

Session: Sciences

An animal’s ability to interpret and respond to environmental stimuli is highly variable, depending on factors such as the reward the animal receives for correctly responding to said stimuli. Using a more favorable reward is expected to positively influence motivation and performance of these animals in a specific behavioral task. The present study examined the effects of using a highly palatable caloric reward in lieu of standard water reward. It was hypothesized that a highly caloric reward solution would facilitate a faster rate of learning on animals completing a behavioral task involving detecting and responding to a correct auditory stimulus embedded within a series of distractor auditory stimuli. Mice were water-restricted and subjected to one of two reward treatment conditions upon correct licking behaviors during a target auditory tone. While the present study determined that a 10% sucrose solution has the capacity to act as a stimulus that promotes correct behavior due to its positive reinforcement properties, (d’ = 2.02), further experiments and larger sample sizes are required to fully quantify the efficacy of sucrose solution compared to traditional water rewards. By examining the effects of alternative reward treatments on performance in an auditory tone discrimination task, we can determine optimal treatment conditions in which mice learn most efficiently. These results could further elucidate the relationship between caloric intake, nutrition, and learning at large.