Integrating Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum: 3. Research Training in the Upper-level Neuroscience Curriculum.

The benefits of undergraduate training in research are significant. Integration of such training into the undergraduate experience, however, can be challenging at institutions without extensive research programs, and may inadvertently exclude some populations of students. Therefore, inclusion of research into the academic curriculum ensures all students can access this important training.

Integrating Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum: 2. Scaffolding Research Skills and Transitioning toward Independent Research.

Undergraduate research experiences are widely regarded as high-impact practices that foster meaningful mentoring relationships, enhance retention and graduation, and stimulate postbaccalaureate enrollment in STEM graduate and professional programs. Through immersion in a mentored original research project, student develop and apply their skills in critical thinking, problem solving, intellectual independence, communication, collaboration, project ownership, innovation, and leadership. These skills are readily transferable to a wide array of future careers in and beyond STEM that are well-served by evidence-based approaches.

Integrating Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum: 1. Early Research Experiences and Training.

Undergraduate research experiences have emerged as some of the most beneficial high-impact practices in education, providing clear benefits to students that include improved critical thinking and scientific reasoning, increased academic performance, and enhanced retention both within STEM majors and in college overall. These benefits extend to faculty members as well. Several disciplines, including neuroscience, have implemented research as part of their curriculum, yet many research opportunities target late stage undergraduates, despite evidence that early engagement can maximize the beneficial nature of such work.

Effectiveness of a Low-Cost, Graduate Student-Led Intervention on Study Habits and Performance in Introductory Biology.

Institutions have developed diverse approaches that vary in effectiveness and cost to improve student performance in introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. We developed a low-cost, graduate student-led, metacognition-based study skills course taught in conjunction with the introductory biology series at Miami University. Our approach aimed to improve performance for underachieving students by combining an existing framework for the process of learning (the study cycle) with concrete tools (outlines and concept maps) that have been shown to encourage deep understanding.

Glial remodeling during metamorphosis influences the stabilization of motor neuron branches in Drosophila.

Motor neurons that innervate the dorsal longitudinal (flight) muscles, DLMs, make multiple points of contact along the length of fibers. The stereotypy of the innervation lies in the number of contact points (CPs) made by each motor neuron and is established as a consequence of pruning that occurs during metamorphosis. Coincident with the onset of pruning is the arrival of glial processes that eventually ensheath persistent branches.

Founder cells regulate fiber number but not fiber formation during adult myogenesis in Drosophila.

During insect myogenesis, myoblasts are organized into a pre-pattern by specialized organizer cells. In the Drosophila embryo, these cells have been termed founder cells and play important roles in specifying muscle identity and in serving as targets for myoblast fusion. A group of adult muscles, the dorsal longitudinal (flight) muscles, DLMs, is patterned by persistent larval scaffolds; the second set, the dorso-ventral muscles, DVMs is patterned by mono-nucleate founder cells (FCs) that are much larger than the surrounding myoblasts.

Substitution of critical isoleucines in the KH domains of Drosophila fragile X protein results in partial loss-of-function phenotypes.

Fragile X mental retardation proteins (FMRP) are RNA-binding proteins that interact with a subset of cellular RNAs. Several RNA-binding domains have been identified in FMRP, but the contribution of these individual domains to FMRP function in an animal model is not well understood. In this study, we have generated flies with point mutations in the KH domains of the Drosophila melanogaster fragile X gene (dfmr1) in the context of a genomic rescue fragment.

The adult abdominal neuromuscular junction of Drosophila: a model for synaptic plasticity.

During its life cycle, Drosophila makes two sets of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs), embryonic/larval and adult, which serve distinct stage-specific functions. During metamorphosis, the larval NMJs are restructured to give rise to their adult counterparts, a process that is integrated into the overall remodeling of the nervous system. The NMJs of the prothoracic muscles and the mesothoracic dorsal longitudinal (flight) muscles have been previously described.

A dominant negative form of Rac1 affects myogenesis of adult thoracic muscles in Drosophila.

Blocking Rac1 function in precursors of the indirect flight muscle of Drosophila severely disrupts muscle formation. The DLM fibers that develop using larval scaffolds are reduced in number and fiber size, while the DVMs, which develop using founder cells, are mostly absent. These adult muscle phenotypes are in part due to a reduced myoblast pool present at the third larval instar.

A role for Fas II in the stabilization of motor neuron branches during pruning in Drosophila.

During insect metamorphosis, the nervous system is extensively remodeled resulting in the development of new circuits that will execute adult-specific behaviors. The peripheral remodeling seen during development of innervation to the Dorsal Longitudinal (flight) Muscle (DLM) in Drosophila involves an initial retraction of larval neuromuscular junctions followed by adult-specific branch outgrowth. Subsequently, a phase of pruning occurs during which motor neuron branches are pruned back to reveal the stereotypic pattern of multiple contact points (or arbors) along the length of each DLM fiber.

Motoneurons regulate myoblast proliferation and patterning in Drosophila.

Motoneurons directly influence the differentiation of muscle fibers, regulating features such as muscle fiber type and receptor development. Less well understood is whether motoneurons direct earlier events, such as the patterning of the musculature. In Drosophila, the denervation of indirect flight muscles results in a diminished myoblast population and smaller or missing muscle fibers.

Pruning of motor neuron branches establishes the DLM innervation pattern in Drosophila.

During the Drosophila life-cycle two sets of neuromuscular junctions are generated: the embryonic/larval NMJs develop during the first half, followed by the period of metamorphosis during which the adult counterpart is generated. Development of the adult innervation pattern is preceded by a withdrawal of larval NMJs, which occurs at the onset of metamorphosis, and is followed by adult-specific motor neuron outgrowth to innervate the newly developing adult fibers. Establishment of the adult innervation pattern occurs in the context of a broader restructuring of the nervous system, which results in the development of neural circuits that are necessary to carry out behaviors specific to the adult.