Aging represents the biggest risk factor for developing a neurological disease. Chronological aging is associated with alterations in stress response pathways, cell cycle gene expression and pro-inflammatory factors collectively called cellular senescence. Experimental evidence has demonstrated that elimination of senescent cells (senolysis) promotes tissue rejuvenation in peripheral organs such as the pancreas and heart. Degenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, have implicated cellular senescence to neuroinflammation, diminished neurological functions and reduced regenerative capacity. However, our preliminary data indicate that senolytics may have a profoundly negative effect on the CNS. Overall the impact of senolytics on the CNS are not known. Funding from this project will determine the optimal markers of cellular senescence in the aged CNS, and evaluate the impact of senolytics on cellular senescence and pathology in the aged CNS. Results from this pilot study are expected to identify and validate senescence biomarkers and the impact of senolytic treatment on CNS pathology and the use of senolytics to target cellular senescence to treat neurological diseases.​

Sports elicit strong emotions and powerful identities that unite and divide people, but little is known about the psychophysiological dynamics of the interaction between fans, and even less about that between fans and players. This project will explore these dynamics in a real-life setting, using physiological measurements and motion capture technology to study the experience and behavior of Brazilian soccer fans and their relationship to the performance of the game itself.

When searching for a lemon in a fruit basket, its yellowness is more important than its sourness. How do we inhibit this task-irrelevant information? We will apply electrical stimulation to the scalp, over frontal areas of the brain, to explore the claim that such stimulation facilitates neural processing and the ability to inhibit irrelevant information. This project will provide insights into the dynamics of conceptual activation and into how humans adapt to their changing environments.

Most research in the brain and cognitive sciences uses participants who are located near the researcher. However, there is a lot to be gained by going off-campus to conduct research. The present project provides funding for lab space at the Connecticut Science Center. Running participants in a science museum serves two objectives: allowing for the quick recruitment of a diverse group of people and allowing IBACS researchers to share our field with a broad audience.

This IBACS seed-funded study will study an induced neonatal brain injury model in rat pups. This model simulates brain injuries typically seen in premature infants. Serum biomarkers will be obtained from rat pups 48 hrs. after induced injury, and these biomarker levels will be correlated to long-term cognitive and behavioral outcomes on a battery of tasks, as well as post mortem neuropathology measures. Results will be used to assess the predictive value of early biomarkers as a translational screening tool. Serum measures will be assessed and correlated with outcomes in both sham rat pups, hypoxic-ischemic brain injured rat pups, and injured pups treated with caffeine as a putative neuroprotectant. Overall findings will provide the basis for an expanded research plan to study a predictive role for chronic inflammatory factors measured 48 hours after preterm-like injury, as well as a possible mechanistic role for these markers that could provide a target for novel therapies. Data from injured pups treated with caffeine is expected to confirm beneficial long-term effects, and could support future clinical studies of caffeine in preterm infants.

Our research analyzes a longitudinal dataset of children’s language development (LSEL; Naigles & Fein, 2017), including both neurotypical toddlers and toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder, to investigate how object play and language support each other throughout development. To this end, we are developing a moment-to-moment coding scheme that captures the ways in which children's interactions with objects continuously adapt to adult behaviors and investigates the degree to which such interactions predict lexical knowledge and organization.