Journal Cafe
Swiftly the brain becomes an enchanted loom, where millions of flashing shuttles weave a dissolving pattern — always a meaningful pattern — though never an abiding one.
- Charles Sherrington
The Journal Cafe (JC) began in 2005 involving Dr. Tran and his research students in order to stay connected with current topics in neuroscience. Since then, it has expanded its reach from being a lab-centered activity to one that engages students across multiple disciplines across diverse departments. Journal Cafe is also beneficial in that students enhance their professional development as speakers and critical thinkers. The Cafe is open to all students that are interested in Neuroscience! There are two components in JC: 1) Synapse and 2) the JC presentation itself:
- Synapse: A student presents a thought/idea/concept that can be elaborated on and supported with scientific evidence in roughly 5 minutes.
- Journal Cafe: A student presents a published research paper using a platform of their choice (PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.). The presenter leads the discussion by communicating background literature, hypotheses, explaining the research methods and results, and elaborating on the conclusions/implications. In turn, students in the audience pose challenging questions or engage in discourse that extends the discussion in an intellectual manner. The presentation is typically around 30 minutes.
Fall 2024 Schedule: We meet every Friday at 10:00AM EDT via WebEx Meetings unless specified otherwise. If you are not taking a course with me and wish to participate as an extracurricular activity, then contact me for the meeting link. Below is a listing of presentations carried out by students during the 2023-2025 academic years.
| Date | Student Presenter | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| 09.01.23 | Marcus Apodaca | Zhang, Y. M., Zhang, M. Y., Wei, R. M., Zhang, J. Y., Zhang, K. X., Luo, B. L., Ge, Y. J., Kong, X. Y., Li, X. Y., & Chen, G. H. (2023). Subsequent maternal sleep deprivation aggravates neurobehavioral abnormalities, inflammation, and synaptic function in adult male mice exposed to prenatal inflammation. Front Behav Neurosci, 17, 1226300. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1226300 |
| 09.08.23 | Brandon Diaz | Kubo, H., Setoyama, D., Watabe, M., Ohgidani, M., Hayakawa, K., Kuwano, N., Sato-Kasai, M., Katsuki, R., Kanba, S., Kang, D., & Kato, T. A. (2021). Plasma acetylcholine and nicotinic acid are correlated with focused preference for photographed females in depressed males: an economic game study. Sci Rep, 11(1), 2199. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75115-4 |
| 09.22.23 | Nicholas Holmes | Ashburn, S. M., Flowers, D. L., Napoliello, E. M., & Eden, G. F. (2020). Cerebellar function in children with and without dyslexia during single word processing. Hum Brain Mapp, 41(1), 120-138. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24792 |
| 09.29.23 | Amritha Alaguraj | Lin, L., Yu, L., Xiang, H., Hu, X., Yuan, X., Zhu, H., Li, H., Zhang, H., Hou, T., Cao, J., Wu, S., Su, W., & Li, M. (2019). Effects of Acupuncture on Behavioral Stereotypies and Brain Dopamine System in Mice as a Model of Tourette Syndrome. Front Behav Neurosci, 13, 239. |
| 10.06.23 | Pricila Herrera-Castro | Leal, S. L., Noche, J. A., Murray, E. A., & Yassa, M. A. (2017). Age-related individual variability in memory performance is associated with amygdala-hippocampal circuit function and emotional pattern separation. Neurobiol Aging, 49, 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.08.018 |
| 10.20.23 | Kristen Sanson | Krikorian, R., Skelton, M. R., Summer, S. S., Shidler, M. D., & Sullivan, P. G. (2022). Blueberry Supplementation in Midlife for Dementia Risk Reduction. Nutrients, 14(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14081619 |
| 11.10.23 | Kai Davis | Lin, L., Yu, L., Xiang, H., Hu, X., Yuan, X., Zhu, H., Li, H., Zhang, H., Hou, T., Cao, J., Wu, S., Su, W., & Li, M. (2019). Effects of Acupuncture on Behavioral Stereotypies and Brain Dopamine System in Mice as a Model of Tourette Syndrome. Front Behav Neurosci, 13, 239. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00239 |
| 12.01.23 | Giulianna Catalano | Martinez-Marmol, R., Chai, Y., Conroy, J. N., Khan, Z., Hong, S. M., Kim, S. B., Gormal, R. S., Lee, D. H., Lee, J. K., Coulson, E. J., Lee, M. K., Kim, S. Y., & Meunier, F. A. (2023). Hericerin derivatives activates a pan-neurotrophic pathway in central hippocampal neurons converging to ERK1/2 signaling enhancing spatial memory. J Neurochem, 165(6), 791-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnc.15767 |
| 12.08.23 | Devarshi Patel | Radoman, M., Hoeppner, S. S., Schuster, R. M., Evins, A. E., & Gilman, J. M. (2019). Marijuana use and major depressive disorder are additively associated with reduced verbal learning and altered cortical thickness. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci, 19(4), 1047-1058. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-019-00704-4 |
| 01.19.24 | Taylor Gower | Nautiyal, K. M., Ribeiro, A. C., Pfaff, D. W., & Silver, R. (2008). Brain mast cells link the immune system to anxiety-like behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 105(46), 18053-18057. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0809479105 |
| 01.26.24 | George Cherry Jr. | Bao, W. W., Xu, W., Pan, G. J., Wang, T. X., Han, Y., Qu, W. M., Li, W. X., & Huang, Z. L. (2021). Nucleus accumbens neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors modulate states of consciousness in sevoflurane anesthesia. Curr Biol, 31(9), 1893-1902 e1895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.011 |
| 02.02.24 | Amritha Alaguraj | Tsuchiyagaito, A., Hirano, Y., Asano, K., Oshima, F., Nagaoka, S., Takebayashi, Y., Matsumoto, K., Masuda, Y., Iyo, M., Shimizu, E., & Nakagawa, A. (2017). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Gray Matter Differences Associated with Poor Outcome. Front Psychiatry, 8, 143. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00143 |
| 02.09.24 | Kristen Sansone | Glazer, J., Murray, C. H., Nusslock, R., Lee, R., & de Wit, H. (2023). Low doses of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) increase reward-related brain activity. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(2), 418-426. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01479-y |
| 02.16.24 | Skylar Thornton | Glover, M. E., Cohen, J. L., Singer, J. R., Sabbagh, M. N., Rainville, J. R., Hyland, M. T., Morrow, C. D., Weaver, C. T., Hodes, G. E., Kerman, I. A., & Clinton, S. M. (2021). Examining the Role of Microbiota in Emotional Behavior: Antibiotic Treatment Exacerbates Anxiety in High Anxiety-Prone Male Rats. Neuroscience, 459, 179-197. |
| 02.23.24 | Madeline Herring | Kane, M. J., Angoa-Perez, M., Briggs, D. I., Sykes, C. E., Francescutti, D. M., Rosenberg, D. R., & Kuhn, D. M. (2012). Mice genetically depleted of brain serotonin display social impairments, communication deficits and repetitive behaviors: possible relevance to autism. PLoS One, 7(11), e48975. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048975 |
| 03.15.24 | Rindi Povlich | Colucci, P., Mancini, G. F., Santori, A., Zwergel, C., Mai, A., Trezza, V., Roozendaal, B., & Campolongo, P. (2019). Amphetamine and the Smart Drug 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) Induce Generalization of Fear Memory in Rats. Front Mol Neurosci, 12, 292. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2019.00292 |
| 03.22.24 | Gracie Sweeney | Gerhard, D. M., Pothula, S., Liu, R. J., Wu, M., Li, X. Y., Girgenti, M. J., Taylor, S. R., Duman, C. H., Delpire, E., Picciotto, M., Wohleb, E. S., & Duman, R. S. (2020). GABA interneurons are the cellular trigger for ketamine's rapid antidepressant actions. J Clin Invest, 130(3), 1336-1349. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci130808 |
| 04.12.24 | Abe Willis | Heldmann, M., Mönch, E., Kesseböhmer, A., Brüggemann, N., Münte, T. F., & Ye, Z. (2023). Pramipexole modulates fronto-subthalamic pathway in sequential working memory. Neuropsychopharmacology, 48(5), 716-723. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01494-z |
| 04.19.24 | Manjot Singh | Oginga, F. O., & Mpofana, T. (2023). The impact of early life stress and schizophrenia on motor and cognitive functioning: an experimental study. Front Integr Neurosci, 17, 1251387. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2023.1251387 |
| 09.06.24 | Jennette Antinore | Wise, L. E., Thorpe, A. J., & Lichtman, A. H. (2009). Hippocampal CB(1) receptors mediate the memory impairing effects of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34(9), 2072-2080. https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2009.31 |