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Date of Award

Summer 2023

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

Experimental Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Rose, Jacqueline K.

Second Advisor

Wang, Adrienne M.

Third Advisor

Grimm, Jeffrey W. ǂc (Behavioral scientist)

Abstract

There has been a growing body of research in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease that investigates the healthful properties of phenolic acids. The phenolic compound, Ferulic acid, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and amyloidogenic effects that makes it a great candidate to aid in the search of new effective Alzheimer’s treatments. Amyloid beta oligomers, a hallmark protein of Alzheimer’s, can inhibit the learning process by leading to downregulation of the learning receptors AMPA and NMDA. Studies in rodents, sea urchins, C. elegans, and in vitro have already shown ferulic acid to negate the negative effects of amyloid beta. The current study uses a transgenic strain of C. elegans that pan-neuronally expresses amyloid beta. The C. elegans are fed ferulic acid to test their learning ability with a benzaldehyde-starvation associative conditioning assay. This study, however, did not find that FA aided in the learning recover of the amyloid beta transgenic worms. Baseline expression of the AMPA learning receptor was also visualized with the use of a green fluorescent protein marker and confocal microscopy. Administration of ferulic acid increased the mean relative intensity for receptor puncta along the ventral chord in the WT strain, but that increase was not seen in the Alzheimer’s strain. Although the results of this study were not congruent with other studies showing the beneficial effects of ferulic acid on an Alzheimer’s research model, perhaps a higher concentration of ferulic acid and longer exposure to amyloid beta expression could better showcase any benefits of FA.

Type

Text

Keywords

Alzheimer’s Disease, amyloid beta, C. elegans, learning, AMPA receptors, ferulic acid, antioxidant

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1485517242

Subject – LCSH

Phenolic acids--Therapeutic use; Phenols--Physiological effect; Alzheimer's disease--Treatment--Research; Alzheimer's disease--Animal models; Glutamic acid--Receptors; Caenorhabditis elegans; Amyloid beta-protein

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Available for download on Thursday, January 21, 2027

Included in

Psychology Commons

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