Class
Article
College
College of Science
Department
Biology Department
Faculty Mentor
Sara Freeman
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Oxytocin is commonly known as “the love hormone,” as it is the neurotransmitter responsible for pair bonding in many mammalian species, including humans. However, it and its related hormone vasopressin also have other very important and wide ranging functions for physical, emotional, and social well-being. The Freeman neurobiology lab is working to map the location of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors within brains of the common coyote (Canis latrans). This work will permit comparisons with the brains of other pair-bond-forming mammals and will further our understanding of how these transmitters and their receptors affect behavior. However, inferring the locations of these receptors can be difficult and relatively inaccurate without a clear view of the associated neuroanatomical landmarks. For this reason, counterstaining is a vital step in obtaining accurate regional boundaries in any neuroanatomical research--especially when working in an as-yet undescribed species’ brain like the coyote. One method to accomplish this is through the use of acetylcholinesterase stain to visualize the cholinergic neurons in the brain, providing important anatomical references for study. Another counterstaining method that is useful for this mapping process is known as Nissl staining, which uses a thionin dye to stain the RNA within neuron cell bodies. This approach reveals the important structural features of the brain’s cellular anatomy, providing additional reference points for delineating boundaries between regions. We applied both of these staining methods to the same sections that had previously been processed for oxytocin and vasopressin receptor autoradiography; this approach provides more accurate results than using adjacent slides, since the exact same tissue samples are being examined. These complementary counterstained sets of brain sections were used to interpret the results of ongoing research to describe the oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distributions in the coyote brain. These same staining methods are also used in brain atlases for mice, rats, dogs, monkeys, and humans, which allows a direct comparison of the resulting coyote brain sections to these well defined brain atlas images in order to identify and label the regions of the coyote brain. Presentation Time: Wednesday, 10-11 a.m.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-10-2021 12:00 AM
Included in
Establishment of a Coyote Brain Atlas: Counterstaining Techniques in a Canid Brain
Logan, UT
Oxytocin is commonly known as “the love hormone,” as it is the neurotransmitter responsible for pair bonding in many mammalian species, including humans. However, it and its related hormone vasopressin also have other very important and wide ranging functions for physical, emotional, and social well-being. The Freeman neurobiology lab is working to map the location of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors within brains of the common coyote (Canis latrans). This work will permit comparisons with the brains of other pair-bond-forming mammals and will further our understanding of how these transmitters and their receptors affect behavior. However, inferring the locations of these receptors can be difficult and relatively inaccurate without a clear view of the associated neuroanatomical landmarks. For this reason, counterstaining is a vital step in obtaining accurate regional boundaries in any neuroanatomical research--especially when working in an as-yet undescribed species’ brain like the coyote. One method to accomplish this is through the use of acetylcholinesterase stain to visualize the cholinergic neurons in the brain, providing important anatomical references for study. Another counterstaining method that is useful for this mapping process is known as Nissl staining, which uses a thionin dye to stain the RNA within neuron cell bodies. This approach reveals the important structural features of the brain’s cellular anatomy, providing additional reference points for delineating boundaries between regions. We applied both of these staining methods to the same sections that had previously been processed for oxytocin and vasopressin receptor autoradiography; this approach provides more accurate results than using adjacent slides, since the exact same tissue samples are being examined. These complementary counterstained sets of brain sections were used to interpret the results of ongoing research to describe the oxytocin and vasopressin receptor distributions in the coyote brain. These same staining methods are also used in brain atlases for mice, rats, dogs, monkeys, and humans, which allows a direct comparison of the resulting coyote brain sections to these well defined brain atlas images in order to identify and label the regions of the coyote brain. Presentation Time: Wednesday, 10-11 a.m.