Browsing by Author "Barton, Emily Avalon"
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Item Computational Image Analysis of Glial Morphology Following Binge-induced Damage and Exercise-driven Recovery(2014-08) Barton, Emily Avalon; Leasure, J. Leigh; Hernandez, Arturo E.; Roysam, BadrinathNeuronal health is dependent upon proper functioning of glial cells. When this support system fails, neurons cannot function properly. Therefore, a more complete understanding of the role of glia in brain health and pathology is vital. Exercise augments the supportive capabilities of glia, which may account for the overall beneficial effect of exercise on brain health. Conversely, binge drinking damages vulnerable corticolimbic structures and causes cognitive impairments. In the present study, we used computational image analysis to examine the effects of binge alcohol consumption and exercise on the glia in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Twenty-four female Long Evans rats were exposed to a four-day binge before exercising voluntarily for four weeks. Rats were sacrificed 35 days after their last dose of alcohol. The tissue was stained for microglia (Iba1), neurons (NeuN), astrocytes (GFAP) and cell nuclei (DAPI). Fluorescent confocal microscope images were analyzed using FARSIGHT, a computational image analysis toolkit. We found that exercise increased the number of microglia and the amount of GFAP signal surrounding microglia. However, exercise following binge exposure resulted in a reduced number of microglia and stopped the increase of GFAP surrounding microglia. Additionally, the microglia arbors in binged animals did not fan out in all directions, but instead stayed closer together and extended out further; suggesting binge exposure caused a lasting change in microglia reactivity. Together, our results demonstrate enduring changes of binge alcohol consumption in the frontal cortex 35 days after a single binge episode. Furthermore, previous binge exposure appears to reduce the available plastic response of microglia and astrocytes.Item How the Alcohol-Damaged Brain Responds to Exercise(2017-12) Barton, Emily Avalon; Leasure, J. Leigh; Eriksen, Jason; Kosten, Therese A.; Roysam, BadrinathAlcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a public health concern associated with damage to corticolimbic brain regions and cognitive impairments. As the prevalence of AUDs increases, it is necessary to find effective treatments. Exercise is a low-cost adjunctive treatment option that has been investigated. While it provides numerous health and cognitive benefits, the interactive effects of alcohol and exercise on the brain remain largely unexplored. The work presented in this dissertation examines how the timing of exercise following binge alcohol consumption alters exercise-driven plasticity, as well as the interactive effects of binge alcohol and exercise on microglia, behavioral performance, and neural efficiency. Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, were examined because they help heal the damaged brain; however, their activation is also implicated in the neurotoxic effects of chronic alcohol consumption. Exercise beginning seven days after the binge was found to increase the number of microglia displaying a partially activated morphology in the mPFC, an effect that was not seen in animals waiting 35 days to begin exercise. This suggests binge alcohol was priming microglia to be more responsive to exercise. Due to increased microglial priming and susceptibility to alcohol-induced damage in females, sex differences in response to binge alcohol and exercise were also assessed. Binged females had an increase in microglia and had more microglia with a partially activated morphology compared to binged males. Moreover, females had a higher baseline expression of MHC II+ microglia that significantly increased when females both binged and exercised. This increased reactivity of microglia to alcohol in females may contribute to the increased susceptibility of females to alcohol-induced neural damage. Finally, neural efficiency during a spatial learning task was assessed. Binge alcohol reduced neural efficiency in the mPFC of animals on the last day of water maze testing, without impairing spatial learning. Exercise following binge alcohol resulted in perseverative-like behavior during the probe trial and altered patterns of neural activation in the mPFC and DG. We conclude that exercise has a differential effect on microglia reactivity and neural processing while alcohol is still influencing the brain.