Graduation Date
Spring 2017
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research
Committee Chair Name
Ethan Gahtan
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Christopher Aberson
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
David Baston
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Parkinson's, Zebrafish, Caffeine, Paraxanthine, Calcium, Neurons, Dopamine, Neuroprotective
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
Caffeine has diverse effects on neurons including, potentially, protection against Parkinson’s-related neurodegeneration. Caffeine may protect neurons from damage by limiting mitochondrial membrane permeability through a calcium-dependent mechanism. This study was a first step investigating calcium’s role in caffeine neuroprotection in vivo using zebrafish larvae. Elavl3:GCaMP6s zebrafish, which express a genetically encoded fluorescent calcium indicator protein in most CNS neurons, received caffeine (0, 50, 125, 250 µM, bath applied) in an ascending dose series during fluorescence calcium imaging of a central catecholaminergic nucleus (a proposed zebrafish homolog of the locus coeruleus, a structure affected in Parkinson’s disease). Parallel experiments tested effects of an ascending dose series of paraxanthine (0, 40, 100, 200 µM), a neuroactive caffeine metabolite, to assess whether paraxanthine mediates caffeine effects. Five outcomes were measured: spontaneous calcium oscillations, visually-evoked calcium responses, spontaneous swimming activity, visually-evoked swimming, and heart rate (visual responses were evoked by a sudden dimming of ambient illumination). Caffeine and paraxanthine had no effect on the power of low frequency (
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Hartsuyker, Kendra Jean, "Are caffeine’s effects on neuronal calcium levels due to the caffeine metabolite, paraxanthine?" (2017). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 35.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/35