American University View Institution's Website 6 articles published in JoVE Neuroscience Alternate Immersion in Glucose to Produce Prolonged Hyperglycemia in Zebrafish Elizabeth McCarthy1, Cassie J. Rowe1,2, Mikayla Crowley-Perry1,3, Victoria P. Connaughton1 1Department of Biology, American University, 2Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 3Department of Chemistry, American University This protocol noninvasively induces hyperglycemia in zebrafish for up to 8 weeks. Using this protocol, an in-depth study of the adverse effects of hyperglycemia can be made. Behavior The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System Cassie J. Rowe1,2, Mikayla Crowley-Perry1,3, Elizabeth McCarthy1, Terry L. Davidson2,4, Victoria P. Connaughton1,2 1Department of Biology, American University, 2Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University, 3Department of Chemistry, American University, 4Department of Neuroscience, American University We present a behavioral chamber designed to assess cognitive performance. We provide data showing that once acquired, zebrafish remember the task 8 weeks later. We also show that hyperglycemic zebrafish have altered cognitive performance, indicating that this paradigm is applicable to studies assessing cognition and memory. Chemistry Gold Nanoparticle Modified Carbon Fiber Microelectrodes for Enhanced Neurochemical Detection Sanuja Mohanaraj1, Pauline Wonnenberg1, Brianna Cohen1, He Zhao1, Matthew R. Hartings1, Shouzhong Zou1, Douglas M. Fox1, Alexander G. Zestos1,2 1Department of Chemistry, American University, 2Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, American University In this study, we modify carbon-fiber microelectrodes with gold nanoparticles to enhance the sensitivity of neurotransmitter detection. Genetics Novel Sequence Discovery by Subtractive Genomics Kathryn C. Asalone1, Megan M. Nelson1, John R. Bracht1 1Biology Department, American University The purpose of this protocol is to use a combination of computational and bench research to find novel sequences that cannot be easily separated from a co-purifying sequence, which may be only partially known. Biology Endothelial Cell Tube Formation Assay for the In Vitro Study of Angiogenesis Katie L. DeCicco-Skinner1, Gervaise H. Henry1, Christophe Cataisson2, Tracy Tabib1, J. Curtis Gwilliam1, Nicholas J. Watson1, Erica M. Bullwinkle1, Lauren Falkenburg1, Rebecca C. O'Neill1, Adam Morin1, Jonathan S. Wiest2 1Department of Biology, American University, 2Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH The tube formation assay is a fast, quantifiable method for measuring in vitro angiogenesis. Endothelial cells are combined with conditioned media and plated on basement membrane extract. Tube formation occurs within hours and newly formed tubules easily quantified. Biology Isolation and Primary Culture of Rat Hepatic Cells Ling Shen1, Allix Hillebrand2, David Q.-H. Wang3, Min Liu1 1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2American University in Washington, D.C., 3Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine Primary hepatocytes provide a valuable tool to evaluate biochemical, molecular, and metabolic functions in a physiologically relevant experimental system. We describe a reliable protocol for rat in situ liver perfusion, which consistently generates viable hepatocytes up to 1.0 × 108 cells per preparation with cell viability between 88 ~ 96%.