Examining Differences in Male and Female Aged Mouse Brains
School Name
Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physiology and Health
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
The gender differences seen in the development of the neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are a prevailing topic in today’s neuroscience research. These statistical differences between the genders could be caused by a number of deviations in the concentrations of chemical substances and neuron support cells. In an effort to observe these deviations, this study focused on distinguishing the differences in the levels of dopamine, astrocyte activations, and microglial activation between the sexes. In performing this experiment, four aged mouse brains, two females and two males, were sectioned. These sections were stained antibodies for TH, GFAP, and Iba-1, which are present in dopamine, astrocyte activations, and microglial activations, respectively. Sections were mounted onto slides, dried, and observed under the microscope, and the mean density of the stain was calculated using ImageJ and Excel and analyzed. Staining these antibodies revealed minimal differences between the genders in regard to dopamine levels, astrocyte activation or microglial activation. Although no significant gender differences were observed, in future research more brains would be included into the research and a wider variety of mouse brains would most likely be considered. Using the information that may be obtained from this study could be beneficial to finding more reasons for why there are such substantial differences in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
Recommended Citation
Gardner, Lindsay, "Examining Differences in Male and Female Aged Mouse Brains" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 78.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/78
Location
Neville 322
Start Date
4-14-2018 10:15 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Examining Differences in Male and Female Aged Mouse Brains
Neville 322
The gender differences seen in the development of the neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are a prevailing topic in today’s neuroscience research. These statistical differences between the genders could be caused by a number of deviations in the concentrations of chemical substances and neuron support cells. In an effort to observe these deviations, this study focused on distinguishing the differences in the levels of dopamine, astrocyte activations, and microglial activation between the sexes. In performing this experiment, four aged mouse brains, two females and two males, were sectioned. These sections were stained antibodies for TH, GFAP, and Iba-1, which are present in dopamine, astrocyte activations, and microglial activations, respectively. Sections were mounted onto slides, dried, and observed under the microscope, and the mean density of the stain was calculated using ImageJ and Excel and analyzed. Staining these antibodies revealed minimal differences between the genders in regard to dopamine levels, astrocyte activation or microglial activation. Although no significant gender differences were observed, in future research more brains would be included into the research and a wider variety of mouse brains would most likely be considered. Using the information that may be obtained from this study could be beneficial to finding more reasons for why there are such substantial differences in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
