Paige Travis, Daniela Orozco, Anthony Strohbusch, Gabriel Vargas-Castillo, Dr. Sonsoles de Lacalle, Dr. Gareth Harris, Dr. Beatrice de Oca, & Dr. Hugo Tapia
Abstract
Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a severe neurodegenerative condition with a wide array of symptoms, including motor and cognitive dysfunction. The neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), which is necessary for voluntary and involuntary movement, memory, and other cognitive functions, is implicated in many symptoms of the disease. Huntington’s Disease causes neural atrophy beginning in the basal ganglia, where cholinergic neurons are active and involved in movement signal output. Based on the foundation knowledge and observations in C. elegans from the HLTH 490 STEM bootcamp, we examine the literature, which includes human and mouse studies, to understand the role that ACh dysfunction plays in the presentation of HD. It is expected that abnormal cholinergic activity in the brain directly contributes to the motor, musculature, and cognitive symptoms observed in HD. This relationship is useful to understand as a model of how the brain communicates and creates purposeful action in a healthy system, and is also an area of research that can be targetted for treatment of HD symptoms in humans.
Details
Session 1
9:30am – 11:00am
Grand Salon
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