Booth Id:
BEHA036T
Category:
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Year:
2018
Finalist Names:
Bilton, Emma (School: Yorktown High School)
Bilton, Hannah (School: Yorktown High School)
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) whether mild, moderate or severe, can have a direct and
definite impact on a person’s everyday life. The initial treatment after TBI usually consists of
interventions to train individuals to learn new knowledge and skills or new ways to access
previously acquired knowledge and skills. Other treatments, like Deep Brain Stimulation which
works to stimulate the nerves around the lesion (injured) area, are highly invasive. Metformin, a
drug used for type 2 diabetes patients, has shown to promote neurogenesis in mice. This increase
could potentially reverse the effects of a TBI by creating new nervous tissue to repair the lesion area.
This study used the Drosophila melanogaster model, due to their fast-reproductive cycle and their
similar nervous system to that of a human. Through the use of a T-maze the learning abilities of
flies was tested as well as the effect of Metformin in different doses. Before testing flies were
trained to associate a sucrose reward with an odor and no reward and another, then both were
presented in the T-maze. It was found, using a One-way ANOVA test and a Tukey test, that 3.5
Add to dictionary of Metformin significantly increased learning in the flies given a TBI (p<.o5)
Awards Won:
American Psychological Association: Third Award of $500