詹妮弗Honeycutt 对未来三年可能发生的事情感到兴奋吗. Earlier this year the assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, 现在是她在欧洲杯竞猜网址大学的第二年, 获得了270美元,000 in funding for a research project that could have big implications for the treatment of anxiety and trauma.
该项目正式命名为 “Identification of neural and epigenetic biomarkers for affective dysfunction following early adversity”—involves investigating changes in the brains of rats that have experienced caregiver deprivation. 的资金, 分三年分发, 是次级奖励, 这是一项耗资数百万美元的计划的一部分 缅因州INBRE*程序. 由巴尔港的MDI生物实验室领导, the program works to build infrastructure and training opportunities across the state in the field of biomedical sciences.
Honeycutt’s project aims to identify neurological responses to early life trauma and how this affects brain development. “We’re particularly interested in looking at a caregiver deprivation model and comparing different male and female responses as they relate to later anxiety-like behaviors,霍尼卡特说. “In the human world this is what we see in places like underfunded orphanages, 难民营, 以及美墨边境的拘留中心, 小孩和父母分开的地方.”
使用实验室大鼠, a similar trauma is induced by separating some of them from their mother and litter mates for a period of time each day after they are born, 解释Honeycutt. 遵循以下步骤, the rats—now young adults—are presented with stimuli designed to induce anxiety, for example the ultrasonic alarm calls emitted by the animals to warn of a possible predator,”她说。.
After analyzing behavior, brain samples are collected and examined by Honeycutt and her colleagues. Through molecular and cellular analysis of these tissue samples, 可以测量出老鼠的不同焦虑程度. “We compare the brains of the rats who were subjected to early life trauma with the brains of those who were not. This provides a really useful insight into brain changes that may drive behavioral alterations related to anxiety and depression in adulthood,霍尼卡特补充道.
老鼠的大脑工作方式与人类惊人地相似, 她解释说, giving cause for real optimism that this research could one day bear fruit in helping to treat children who have suffered trauma early in their life. “These experiments are really helpful because there’s obviously no way to carry out this sort of investigation on humans,霍尼卡特说.
“我们真的只能通过问问题来跟踪人们, 而在动物模型中, we can systematically examine their experiences by studying underlying changes in brain function alongside behavioral changes as the animals reach important developmental milestones. We hope to use this knowledge to help those who might be at risk based on the experiences they have had, 并确定干预和治疗的机会.”
Working alongside Honeycutt in her lab throughout the summer were four Bowdoin students—all of whom had received fellowships from the College—and one student from Southern Maine 社区 College, 谁获得了INBRE的奖学金. She now has eleven students on her team, and they have already achieved notable successes.
在8月份的东北地区IDeA会议上, 它是虚拟的，但由罗德岛大学主办, all three of her presenting Bowdoin students walked away with awards: Emma Noel ’23 won first prize for her translational work, 悉尼Bonauto ' 23获得第二名, and Seneca Ellis ’22 earned an honorable mention within the undergraduate talk category. Ellis is also to have her review paper published in an upcoming edition of the journal 前沿 in 行为 神经科学.
作为科尔比学院的一名本科生, 霍尼卡特原本是心理学和美术专业的学生, 专攻雕塑, 在爱上行为神经科学之前.
“我喜欢艺术。. I even studied it abroad for a while and still do metalsmithing when I can, but I really loved the challenge of analyzing and interpreting neuroscience data, 所以我在大三的时候换了专业.”
The subaward will enable Honeycutt to offer support to students by offering them paid summer research positions. She is especially committed to helping those from underrepresented and nontraditional backgrounds.
“作为第一代大学毕业生和一名酷儿女性, I am committed to supporting and creating space in my lab for voices that have historically been shut out of the sciences,”她说。.
