The biological sense organ contains infinite potential. The artificial neural structures have emulated the potential of the central nervous system; however, most of the researchers have been using the linear combination of synaptic operation. In this thesis, this neural structure is referred to as the neural unit with linear synaptic operation (LSO). The objective of the research reported in this thesis is to develop novel neural units with higher-order synaptic operations (HOSO), and to explore their potential applications. The neural units with quadratic synaptic operation (QSO) and cubic synaptic operation (CSO) are developed and reported in this thesis. A comparative analysis is done on the neural units with LSO, QSO, and CSO. It is to be noted that the neural units with lower order synaptic operations are the subsets of the neural units with higher-order synaptic operations. It is found that for much more complex problems the neural units with higher-order synaptic operations are much more efficient than the neural units with lower order synaptic operations. Motivated by the intensity of the biological neural systems, the dynamic nature of the neural structure is proposed and implemented using the neural unit with CSO. The dynamic structure makes the system response relatively insensitive to external disturbances and internal variations in system parameters. With the success of these dynamic structures researchers are inclined to replace the recurrent (feedback) neural networks (NNs) in their present systems with the neural units with CSO. Applications of these novel dynamic neural structures are gaining potential in the areas of image processing for the machine vision and motion controls. One of the machine vision emulations from the biological attribution is edge detection. Edge detection of images is a significant component in the field of computer vision, remote sensing and image analysis. The neural units with HOSO do replicate some of the biological attributes for edge detection. Further more, the developments in robotics are gaining momentum in neural control applications with the introduction of mobile robots, which in turn use the neural units with HOSO; a CCD camera for the vision is implemented, and several photo-sensors are attached on the machine. In summary, it was demonstrated that the neural units with HOSO present the advanced control capability for the mobile robot with neuro-vision and neuro-control systems.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 2002. / "December 2002." Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-148). Also issued on the Internet.

Many species-specific sensorimotor behaviors, such as speech in humans, emerge from the interplay between genetically defined developmental programs and sensory experience. How these processes interact during learning to shape motor circuits is not well understood. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), an oscine bird that learns to imitate the song of its tutor (usually the father), provides a uniquely tractable model for exploring this question. Song learning in zebra finches takes place during a discrete three-month period during which male juveniles progress from producing highly variable rudimentary sounds that are noisy and unstructured, to a highly stereotyped imitation of their tutor's song. Here I characterize learning-related changes in the functional connectivity within a motor cortex-analogue brain area (RA) that control song production.

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Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Vesicle associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP 2) is a synaptic vesicle protein involved with exocytosis in many different cell types, such as pancreatic cells, parotid salivary cells, adrenal cells, skeletal cells, and adipocytes. Also, white blood cells such as eosinophils, neutrophils, and mast cells have been characterized to process VAMP 2. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that VAMP 2 is associated with the vesicle population in rabbits B lymphocytes and may serve as the v-SNARE for vesicular antibody release. Two Rabbit B lymphoblast cell lines were used to detect the presence of VAMP 2, which are the 240 E IgG secreting plasmacytoma-like cell line and 55D1 IgM surface expressing cells. The cell lines were broken down into vesicle and plasma membrane fractions. Immune dot blots demonstrated VAMP 2 was positive in the vesicle fraction of both cell lines. However, VAMP 2 was expressed more by the 240 E IgG secreting cell line. Western blots displayed diverse results with bands that ran at or below 20 KDa, which is consistent with the known molecular weight bands for VAMP 2 of 12.6 kDa and 18 kDa. Our results suggested that VAMP 2 is associated with the vesicle population in rabbit B lymphocytes and could serve as the v- SNARE for vesicular antibody release. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

VAMP-7 has been found to interact with SNAP-23, a t-SNARE that functions in relocating granule membranes in response to stimulation, and plays a large role in the regulation of granule release from mast cells in response to an allergic reaction. While evidence suggests that VAMP-7 is active in antibody release in the innate immune system, little investigation has been completed on VAMP-7 interaction in specific antibody release of B lymphocytes of the humoral immune system. Little research has previously focused on vesicular transport within B lymphocytes, leaving molecular mechanisms within B lymphocytes a mystery. Immunodot blots, western blots, and immunoflourescent microscopy were all utilized with the goal of identifying the presence of VAMP- 7. Immunobot blots for both 55D1 and 240E cells were all negative for the presence of VAMP-7. However, VAMP-7 was detected using immunoflourescent microscopy in both 55D1 and 240E cell lines. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

Cannabis has been used medicinally for millennia, but the cannabinoid (CB) field exploded with the identification of its endogenous receptors and endocannabinoids (eCBs). In vitro experimentation established that eCBs alter synaptic plasticity at presynaptic nerve terminals; however, the characterization of the eCB system (ECS) in vivo remains incomplete. This study aimed to determine the mechanism of in vivo eCB-mediated hippocampal synaptic plasticity and to analyze the effects this plasticity had on spatial working memory (SWM). With in vivo recordings of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in anesthetized mice and rats as well as pharmacological manipulation of the ECS and glutamate receptor antagonism, it was found that eCBs, both anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachnidonyl glycerol (2-AG), caused LTD at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses. Induction of eCB-LTD occurs via a sequential activation of cannabinoid type-1 receptor (CB1R) and NR2B-containing NMDA receptor (NR2BR) and is expressed through the endocytosis of AMPA receptors (AMPARs). Increased eCB tone also caused an impairment of SWM for over 24 hours in the Delayed Non-Match-To-Sample (DNMTS) T-maze. This study provides the first evidence that an acute administration of eCB degradative enzyme inhibitors not only produces an in vivo LTD at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses that requires CB1R, NR2BR, and AMPAR, but also impairs SWM, a phenomenon also caused by an acute injection of exogenous CBs.

Sigma-1 receptors (σ-1Rs) are chaperone-like proteins that are broadly distributed throughout the central nervous system and in other tissues. They have been implicated in several physiological and pathological processes, primarily by their ability to modulate certain voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels. Growing evidence suggests that σ-1Rs regulate the functions of ion channels, such as voltage-gated K+ 1.2 (Kv 1.2) and the human Ether-à-go-go-Related Gene (hERG) ion channels, by modulating their expression, trafficking, and targeting. While it is well documented that σ-1Rs enhance the function of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), the mechanisms of this enhancement remain poorly understood. Using biochemical methods, we show that 90 minutes after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of σ-1R agonists such as (+)-SKF 10,047 (SKF) or (+)-Pentazocine (PTZ) (2 mg/kg), there is an increase in the expression of GluN2 subunits of NMDARs and postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95) in the rat hippocampus. Following activation of σ-1Rs, co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) experiments reveal an increased interaction between σ-1Rs and NMDAR subunits; sucrose gradient centrifugation demonstrates an increase in the protein levels of GluN2 subunits in vesicular compartment; and biotinylation shows an increase in the surface levels of GluN2A-containing NMDARs. Taken together, our results suggest σ-1Rs may enhance NMDARs function by increasing their expression, trafficking, and surface levels. This σ-1R-mediated increase in NMDAR expression and surface levels might be involved in several physiological processes such as learning and memory. Our findings also suggest that σ-1Rs could form a potential target for designing novel antipsychotics.