Loretta Grate and Brent Witgen will be working on senior thesis projects that seeks to improve the laboratory models of the behavioral deficits that result from brain damage that is less complete than is often used in laboratory investigations. Searching for and characterizing the subtle defects that result from such injury will permit the analysis of what neurotrophins can do to speed recovery. Their research also will have implications for neural network modeling of brain damage . Azure Smith is working on another pharmacological problem, the role melatonin may play in improving cognitive performance. Azure is pulling together two distinct research areas.
Researchers know that melatonin alters certain physiological features of the sleep cycle.
Researchers also know that similar aspects of the sleep cycle may be involved in memory consolidation . Azure is taking the additional step by asking if melatonin can improve memory consolidation after the rats are sleep deprived.