Method & Madness - Advanced Techniques for Characterizing Rat Hypothalamic Chemoarchitecture and for Modernizing Legacy Data
Abstract
The hypothalamus is a region of the brain with exceptionally high anatomical, chemical, and functional diversity. It regulates homeostatic functions and a number of motivated behaviors impacting homeostasis, such as ingestion and reproduction; it also serves as a point of connection between the forebrain and hindbrain. An improved understanding of the chemical anatomy of this area would benefit scientists working in many neuroscientific disciplines. The work described herein contributes to a chemoarchitectural atlas of the rat hypothalamus, which will include data on the distribution of various hypothalamic neurotransmitters, and on their co-localizations and synaptic interactions. Importantly, the methodology used to generate this contribution to the atlas has been rigorously documented and discussed. Additionally, new methodologies for easily transferring mapped data between atlases have been explored, in order that the new chemoarchitectural atlas may benefit from the decades of behavioral and functional work performed in the rat hypothalamus. Finally, the beginnings of a comprehensive analysis of the differences between major brain atlases based on stereotaxic coordinates has been created.
Subject Area
Neurosciences
Recommended Citation
Wells, Claire Eugenia, "Method & Madness - Advanced Techniques for Characterizing Rat Hypothalamic Chemoarchitecture and for Modernizing Legacy Data" (2017). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI10742922.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI10742922