Erika Correll | University of Massachusetts Amherst (original) (raw)

Papers by Erika Correll

By Maxon Knott, Neurobiology; Noah Ziemba, University of Pittsburgh; Jennifer McGuire, University... more By Maxon Knott, Neurobiology; Noah Ziemba, University of Pittsburgh; Jennifer McGuire, University of Cincinnati; Erika Correll, University of Massachusetts Amherst Advisor: Laura Ngwenya Abstract: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients with pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses have worse outcomes after TBI but are almost universally excluded from clinical TBI research. In order to study processes that impede recovery in vulnerable individuals, we used the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat. The WKY strain has a behavioral phenotype that recapitulates aspects of human depression. Dysregulation of glutamate signaling is implicated in the etiology of multiple neurobehavioral disorders including major depression. We hypothesized that TBI would impact glutamate signalling more in the WKY rats than the Wistar (WIS) parent strain. We used the lateral fluid percussion model to induce TBI in adult male WKY and WIS rats, with sham controls for each strain. We used Western blotting to determine proteinlevels...

Neurobiology of Disease, 2019

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Eve... more Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Even in comparatively mild injuries, cognitive and behavioral symptoms can persist for years, and there are currently no established strategies for mitigating symptoms in chronic injury. A key feature of TBI-induced damage in acute and chronic injury is disruption of metabolic pathways. As neurotransmission, and therefore cognition, are highly dependent on the supply of energy, we hypothesized that modulating metabolic activity could help restore behavioral performance even when treatment was initiated weeks after TBI. We treated rats with pioglitazone, a FDA-approved drug for diabetes, beginning 46 days after lateral fluid percussion injury and tested working memory performance in the radial arm maze (RAM) after 14 days of treatment. Pioglitazone treated TBI rats performed significantly better in the RAM test than untreated TBI rats, and similarly to control animals. While hexokinase activity in hippocampus was increased by pioglitazone treatment, there was no upregulation of either the neuronal glucose transporter or hexokinase enzyme expression. Expression of glial markers GFAP and Iba-1 were also not influenced by pioglitazone treatment. These studies suggest that targeting brain metabolism, in particular hippocampal metabolism, may be effective in alleviating cognitive symptoms in chronic TBI.

IBRO Neuroscience Reports

It has been demonstrated that adult born granule cells are generated after traumatic brain injury... more It has been demonstrated that adult born granule cells are generated after traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is evidence that these newly generated neurons are aberrant and are poised to contribute to poor cognitive function after TBI. Yet, there is also evidence that these newly generated neurons are important for cognitive recovery. Pattern separation is a cognitive task known to be dependent on the function of adult generated granule cells. Performance on this task and the relation to dentate gyrus dysfunction after TBI has not been previously studied. Here we subjected Sprague Dawley rats to lateral fluid percussion injury or sham and tested them on the dentate gyrus dependent task pattern separation. At 2 weeks after injury, we examined common markers of dentate gyrus function such as GSK3ß phosphorylation, Ki-67 immunohistochemistry, and generation of adult born granule cells. We found that injured animals have deficits in pattern separation. We additionally found a decrease in proliferative capacity at 2 weeks indicated by decreased phosphorylation of GSK3ß and Ki-67 immunopositivity as compared to sham animals. Lastly we found an increase in numbers of new neurons generated during the pattern separation task. These findings provide evidence that dentate gyrus dysfunction may be an important contributor to TBI pathology.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 69 million people annually worldwide, and those with pr... more Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 69 million people annually worldwide, and those with pre-existing depression have worse recovery. The molecular mechanisms that may contribute to poor recovery after TBI with co-morbid depression have not been established. TBI and depression have many commonalities including volume changes, myelin disruption, changes in proliferation, and changes in glutamatergic signaling. We used a well-established animal model of depression, the Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat, to elucidate changes after TBI that may influence the recovery trajectory. We compared the histological and molecular outcomes in the hippocampal dentate gyrus after experimental TBI using the lateral fluid percussion injury (LFPI) in the WKY and the parent Wistar (WIS) strain. We showed that WKY had exaggerated myelin loss after LFPI and baseline deficits in proliferation. In addition, we showed that while after LFPI WIS rats exhibited glutamate receptor subunit changes, namely increased G...

By Maxon Knott, Neurobiology; Noah Ziemba, University of Pittsburgh; Jennifer McGuire, University... more By Maxon Knott, Neurobiology; Noah Ziemba, University of Pittsburgh; Jennifer McGuire, University of Cincinnati; Erika Correll, University of Massachusetts Amherst Advisor: Laura Ngwenya Abstract: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) patients with pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses have worse outcomes after TBI but are almost universally excluded from clinical TBI research. In order to study processes that impede recovery in vulnerable individuals, we used the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat. The WKY strain has a behavioral phenotype that recapitulates aspects of human depression. Dysregulation of glutamate signaling is implicated in the etiology of multiple neurobehavioral disorders including major depression. We hypothesized that TBI would impact glutamate signalling more in the WKY rats than the Wistar (WIS) parent strain. We used the lateral fluid percussion model to induce TBI in adult male WKY and WIS rats, with sham controls for each strain. We used Western blotting to determine proteinlevels...

Neurobiology of Disease, 2019

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Eve... more Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Even in comparatively mild injuries, cognitive and behavioral symptoms can persist for years, and there are currently no established strategies for mitigating symptoms in chronic injury. A key feature of TBI-induced damage in acute and chronic injury is disruption of metabolic pathways. As neurotransmission, and therefore cognition, are highly dependent on the supply of energy, we hypothesized that modulating metabolic activity could help restore behavioral performance even when treatment was initiated weeks after TBI. We treated rats with pioglitazone, a FDA-approved drug for diabetes, beginning 46 days after lateral fluid percussion injury and tested working memory performance in the radial arm maze (RAM) after 14 days of treatment. Pioglitazone treated TBI rats performed significantly better in the RAM test than untreated TBI rats, and similarly to control animals. While hexokinase activity in hippocampus was increased by pioglitazone treatment, there was no upregulation of either the neuronal glucose transporter or hexokinase enzyme expression. Expression of glial markers GFAP and Iba-1 were also not influenced by pioglitazone treatment. These studies suggest that targeting brain metabolism, in particular hippocampal metabolism, may be effective in alleviating cognitive symptoms in chronic TBI.

IBRO Neuroscience Reports

It has been demonstrated that adult born granule cells are generated after traumatic brain injury... more It has been demonstrated that adult born granule cells are generated after traumatic brain injury (TBI). There is evidence that these newly generated neurons are aberrant and are poised to contribute to poor cognitive function after TBI. Yet, there is also evidence that these newly generated neurons are important for cognitive recovery. Pattern separation is a cognitive task known to be dependent on the function of adult generated granule cells. Performance on this task and the relation to dentate gyrus dysfunction after TBI has not been previously studied. Here we subjected Sprague Dawley rats to lateral fluid percussion injury or sham and tested them on the dentate gyrus dependent task pattern separation. At 2 weeks after injury, we examined common markers of dentate gyrus function such as GSK3ß phosphorylation, Ki-67 immunohistochemistry, and generation of adult born granule cells. We found that injured animals have deficits in pattern separation. We additionally found a decrease in proliferative capacity at 2 weeks indicated by decreased phosphorylation of GSK3ß and Ki-67 immunopositivity as compared to sham animals. Lastly we found an increase in numbers of new neurons generated during the pattern separation task. These findings provide evidence that dentate gyrus dysfunction may be an important contributor to TBI pathology.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 69 million people annually worldwide, and those with pr... more Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects over 69 million people annually worldwide, and those with pre-existing depression have worse recovery. The molecular mechanisms that may contribute to poor recovery after TBI with co-morbid depression have not been established. TBI and depression have many commonalities including volume changes, myelin disruption, changes in proliferation, and changes in glutamatergic signaling. We used a well-established animal model of depression, the Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat, to elucidate changes after TBI that may influence the recovery trajectory. We compared the histological and molecular outcomes in the hippocampal dentate gyrus after experimental TBI using the lateral fluid percussion injury (LFPI) in the WKY and the parent Wistar (WIS) strain. We showed that WKY had exaggerated myelin loss after LFPI and baseline deficits in proliferation. In addition, we showed that while after LFPI WIS rats exhibited glutamate receptor subunit changes, namely increased G...