This summer’s featured researcher is Professor Richard Van Emmerik, who is chair of the Department of Kinesiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Richard’s lab works on human motor control. They apply dynamical systems theory to understand the control and coordination of human movement and posture. This summer, they published results of their research in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders in a paper titled, “Non-ambulatory measures of lower extremity sensorimotor function are associated with walking function in Multiple Sclerosis”

Here’s what else is new for ‘ ”University of Massachusetts” AND Amherst AND neuroscience’ in PubMed. These publications appeared on line in June, July, and August. They are just a fraction of the neuroscience research that occurs on campus. You can click on the PubMed ID to find the publication.

1: Macedo-Lima M, Boyd HM, Remage-Healey L. Dopamine D1 receptor activation drives plasticity in the songbird auditory pallium. J Neurosci. 2021 Jun 1:JN-RM-2823-20. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2823-20.2021. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34083251.

2: Palmer BM, Swank DM, Miller MS, Tanner BCW, Meyer M, LeWinter MM. Enhancing diastolic function by strain-dependent detachment of cardiac myosin crossbridges. J Gen Physiol. 2020 Apr 6;152(4):e201912484. doi: 10.1085/jgp.201912484. PMID: 32197271; PMCID: PMC7141588.

3: Sato S, Buonaccorsi J, Miehm JD, Lim J, Rajala C, Khalighinejad F, Ionete C, Kent JA, van Emmerik REA. Non-ambulatory measures of lower extremity sensorimotor function are associated with walking function in Multiple Sclerosis. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2021 May 29;53:103051. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103051. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34139463.

4: Hässler T, Ullrich J, Sebben S, Shnabel N, Bernardino M, Valdenegro D, Van Laar C, González R, Visintin EP, Tropp LR, Ditlmann RK, Abrams D, Aydin AL, Pereira A, Selvanathan HP, von Zimmermann J, Lantos NA, Sainz M, Glenz A, Kende A, Oberpfalzerová H, Bilewicz M, Brankovi? M, Noor M, Pasek MH, Wright SC, Žeželj I, Kuzawinska O, Maloku E, Otten S, Gul P, Bareket O, Corkalo Biruski D, Mugnol-Ugarte L, Osin E, Baiocco R, Cook JE, Dawood M, Droogendyk L, Loyo AH, Jeli? M, Kelmendi K, Pistella J. Need satisfaction in intergroup contact: A multinational study of pathways toward social change. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2021 Jun 17. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000365. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34138605.

5: Mäder T, Oliver KI, Daffre C, Kim S, Orr SP, Lasko NB, Seo J, Kleim B, Pace-Schott EF. Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure. Psychol Med. 2021 Jun 15:1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0033291721002075. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34127168.

6: Lester E, Ooi FK, Bakkar N, Ayers J, Woerman AL, Wheeler J, Bowser R, Carlson GA, Prusiner SB, Parker R. Tau aggregates are RNA-protein assemblies that mislocalize multiple nuclear speckle components. Neuron. 2021 May 19;109(10):1675-1691.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.026. Epub 2021 Apr 12. PMID: 33848474; PMCID: PMC8141031.

7: Chiou KL, Bergey CM, Burrell AS, Disotell TR, Rogers J, Jolly CJ, Phillips-Conroy JE. Genome-wide ancestry and introgression in a Zambian baboon hybrid zone. Mol Ecol. 2021 Apr;30(8):1907-1920. doi: 10.1111/mec.15858. Epub 2021 Mar 16. PMID: 33624366; PMCID: PMC8043982.

8: Hernandez JS, Moorman DE. Orbitofrontal Cortex Encodes Preference for Alcohol. eNeuro. 2020 Jul 16;7(4):ENEURO.0402-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0402-19.2020. PMID: 32661066; PMCID: PMC7365858.

9: Pereira M, Morrell JI. Infralimbic Cortex Biases Preference Decision Making for Offspring over Competing Cocaine-Associated Stimuli in New Mother Rats. eNeuro. 2020 Jul 13;7(4):ENEURO.0460-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0460-19.2020. PMID: 32631896; PMCID: PMC7358336.

10: Velez-Perez A, Holder MK, Fountain S, Blaustein JD. Estradiol Increases Microglial Response to Lipopolysaccharide in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus during the Peripubertal Sensitive Period in Female Mice. eNeuro. 2020 Jul 2;7(4):ENEURO.0505-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0505-19.2020. PMID: 32554430; PMCID: PMC7333979.

11: Billing A, Henrique Correia M, Kelly DA, Li GL, Bergan JF. Synaptic Connections of Aromatase Circuits in the Medial Amygdala Are Sex Specific. eNeuro. 2020 Jun 26;7(3):ENEURO.0489-19.2020. doi: 10.1523/ENEURO.0489-19.2020. PMID: 32471845; PMCID: PMC7322293.

12: Lessard CB, Rodriguez E, Ladd TB, Minter LM, Osborne BA, Miele L, Golde TE, Ran Y. ?-Secretase modulators exhibit selectivity for modulation of APP cleavage but inverse ?-secretase modulators do not. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2020 May 19;12(1):61. doi: 10.1186/s13195-020-00622-5. PMID: 32430033; PMCID: PMC7236921.

13: Jones T, Hadley H, Cataldo AM, Arnold E, Curran T, Tanaka JW, Scott LS. Neural and behavioral effects of subordinate-level training of novel objects across manipulations of color and spatial frequency. Eur J Neurosci. 2020 Dec;52(11):4468-4479. doi: 10.1111/ejn.13889. Epub 2018 Mar 26. PMID: 29499088.

14: Lee NS, Beery AK. The role of dopamine signaling in prairie vole peer relationships. Horm Behav. 2021 Jan;127:104876. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104876. Epub 2020 Nov 5. PMID: 33152338; PMCID: PMC7855828.

15: Krentzel AA, Ikeda MZ, Oliver TJ, Koroveshi E, Remage-Healey L. Acute neuroestrogen blockade attenuates song-induced immediate early gene expression in auditory regions of male and female zebra finches. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2020 Jan;206(1):15-31. doi: 10.1007/s00359-019-01382-w. Epub 2019 Nov 28. PMID: 31781892; PMCID: PMC7002284.

16: Freire-Cobo C, Edler MK, Varghese M, Munger E, Laffey J, Raia S, In SS, Wicinski B, Medalla M, Perez SE, Mufson EJ, Erwin JM, Guevara EE, Sherwood CC, Luebke JI, Lacreuse A, Raghanti MA, Hof PR. Comparative neuropathology in aging primates: A perspective. Am J Primatol. 2021 Jul 13:e23299. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23299. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34255875.

19: Silva-Gotay A, Davis J, Tavares ER, Richardson HN. Alcohol drinking during early adolescence activates microglial cells and increases frontolimbic Interleukin-1 beta and Toll-like receptor 4 gene expression, with heightened sensitivity in male rats compared to females. Neuropharmacology. 2021 Jul 9:108698. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108698. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34252404.

20: Savitz J, Ford BN, Yeh HW, Akeman E, Cosgrove K, Clausen AN, Martell C, Kirlic N, Santiago J, Teague TK, Irwin MR, Paulus MP, Aupperle RL. Behavioral activation therapy for depression is associated with a reduction in the concentration of circulating quinolinic acid – Erratum. Psychol Med. 2021 Jul 12:1. doi: 10.1017/S0033291721002683. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34247661.

21: Satterfield BC, Savenkova MI, Karatsoreos IN, Jackson ML, Belenky G, Van Dongen HPA. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) response to a simulated night-shift schedule is modulated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) genotype. Chronobiol Int. 2020 Sep-Oct;37(9-10):1452-1456. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2020.1803901. Epub 2020 Aug 20. PMID: 32819178.

22: Dwyer J, Ramirez MD, Katz PS, Karlstrom RO, Bergan J. Accelerated clearing and molecular labeling of biological tissues using magnetohydrodynamic force. Sci Rep. 2021 Aug 12;11(1):16462. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-95692-2. PMID: 34385489; PMCID: PMC8360944.

23: Inbar T, Davis R, Bergan JF. A sex-specific feedback projection from aromatase-expressing neurons in the medial amygdala to the accessory olfactory bulb. J Comp Neurol. 2021 Aug 20. doi: 10.1002/cne.25236. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34415057.

24: Lokhandwala S, Holmes JF, Mason GM, St Laurent CW, Delvey C, Hanron O, Andre C, Rodheim K, Kaur S, Spencer RMC. Sleep and Coping in Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Pediatr. 2021 Jul 30;9:716608. doi: 10.3389/fped.2021.716608. PMID: 34395348; PMCID: PMC8360857.

25: Lansford JE, Zietz S, Bornstein MH, Deater-Deckard K, Di Giunta L, Dodge KA, Gurdal S, Liu Q, Long Q, Malone PS, Oburu P, Pastorelli C, Skinner AT, Sorbring E, Steinberg L, Tapanya S, Uribe Tirado LM, Yotanyamaneewong S, Alampay LP, Al-Hassan SM, Bacchini D, Chang L. Opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency during adolescence in nine countries. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2020 Jul;2020(172):73-88. doi: 10.1002/cad.20361. Epub 2020 Sep 23. PMID: 32964604; PMCID: PMC7541721.

26: Rendos NK, Zajac-Cox L, Thomas R, Sato S, Eicholtz S, Kesar TM. Verbal feedback enhances motor learning during post-stroke gait retraining. Top Stroke Rehabil. 2021 Jul;28(5):362-377. doi: 10.1080/10749357.2020.1818480. Epub 2020 Sep 18. PMID: 32942960; PMCID: PMC7969478.