Adaptive Effects of Ventral Tegmental Area GABA Neurons to Alcohol

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Jeffrey Sparenborg and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Psychology Department I set out to discover the substrates of the brain that are involved with chronic use of alcohol. My mentor Scott Steffensen had previously found that the GABA neurons in the midbrain, more specifically, in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain were susceptible to ethanol […]

ORCA Progress Report

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Lara Schwicht with Dr. Jeffrey Lee Background This study focuses on assessment procedures used to evaluate the treatments offered to severely and persistently mentally ill patients (SPMI). By way of definition, SPMI individuals: (1) number between one and five million (NAMHC, 1995; Arns, & Linney, 1993), (2) use a significant percentage of mental health care […]

The Neurophysiological Effects of Carbon Monoxide on the Basal Ganglia Over Time

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Dalin Pulsipher and Dr. Ramona O. Hopkins, Psychology Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is one of the most common causes of death due to poisoning in the United States [1]. CO poisoning often results in neurological changes and motor and cognitive impairments due to anoxia and other related biomechanical mechanisms [2]. A major set of subcortical […]

Testing the Fisher effect under fractional integration

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Mark J Jensen and Scott G. Murdock, Economics Abstract. In this paper we model inflation and the nominal interest rate as a fractionally integrated, autoregressive, moving average (ARFIMA) process in order to test the theoretical proposition that nominal interest rates move one for one with inflation, thus, leaving the real interest rates unchanged; i.e. the […]

Spatial Manifestations of Christian-Muslim Relations in Damascus and Aleppo, Syria

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Joey Leavitt and Dr. Chad Emmett, Geography Syria’s unique geographic location places it at both the epicenter of ancient Christianity’s advent and the heart of the modern Islamic Middle East. This rich and diverse religious history is evident today in Syria’s population. Although the majority of Syrians are Muslim, a sizable minority of between 10% […]

A Tree Ring Analysis comparing Tree Rings at Two Elevations to Precipitation and Temperature to find the Dominant Limiting Factor, at Snowbird Utah

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Brian Latta and Dr. Matthew F. Bekker, Geography The objective of this case study is to determine which limiting factor is most dominant in controlling tree growth at Snowbird, Utah. Trees typically respond and grow to a variety of factors. Some of these factors are precipitation, temperature, competition, soil moisture, soil depth, and disturbances. The […]

Man’s Quest for Freedom: A Case Study of the Belgian Patriot Count Egmont

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Benjamin A. Johnson and Dr. Donald Harreld, History Background My goal was to investigate the significance of the beheading of Count Lamoral Egmont, a popular Dutch patriot who opposed foreign Spanish rule in Brussels in the late sixteenth century. Egmont, chief magistrate of the southern Netherlands, stood for tolerating Protestants and was executed for opposing […]

Tax Reform in Russia: Success, Failure, and Implications

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Camille Jackson and Dr. Wade Jacoby, Political Science The final days of 1991 brought unprecedented changes for Russia. The fall of Soviet rule and struggle toward Western democracy—or at least away from communism—has been a long, hard, and trying process for Russia and her citizens. This struggle stems from the difficult yet necessary restructuring process, […]

“The Role of GABA Electrical Networks in Brain Stimulation Reward”

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Seth Gunderson and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Psychology The basis for my project is predicated on the rewarding properties of alcohol and other substances of abuse. We set out to further our understanding the neural system that is involved in intracranial self stimulation (ICSS) and how this system is mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. Studies […]