How does the glycine receptor contribute
to the cognitive-behavioral effects that humans experience due to lead
poisoning? I am interested to study this research topic because lead poisoning
has been an issue for a long time now. Apart from children acquiring lead
poison by accidentally eating dirt, some older homes still have lead paint on
their walls which also contribute to accumulating in the soil. This can prevent
families from planting fruits and vegetables in their gardens. Although lead
poisoning has its cures, the detrimental effects left in someone’s brain after
getting the disease remains. People with lead poisoning can develop problems to
their cognitive ability which can affect motor function, memory, vision, and
the ability to make decisions.
Therefore, I am specifically studying glycine receptors because they are responsible for fast inhibitory
neurotransmission in the CNS, predominantly in the spinal cord and brainstem as
well as the retina. This receptor in the human body plays a role in allowing
neurons to fire so that signals can be sent to our brain in order to complete
everyday tasks. By using the glycine receptor, I will be injecting frog eggs
with several solutions to see how lead poisoning affects the way they function.
Apart from conducting the actual
research, I play a role in actually building the neuroscience lab from scratch.
Dr. Herin is the first professor at George Mason to be studying this topic; our
team has put together all of the equipment and protocol necessary for this
project every week. We have put together two microscopes, the current and
voltage meter needed to measure the frog eggs, a TV in order to see the
microscopic images in high definition, making solutions needed for the
injections, and setting up the test tubes needed for the solutions. Last week,
we started injecting the frog eggs for the first time with DI water. By
practicing this technique, we plan on injecting the eggs with RNA after spring
break. After our group becomes acclimated to injecting the eggs, we will begin
the research project with the glycine receptor.
In the long-run, I think that this
project will give us great results that will show us how lead poisoning can
affect frog eggs. We can run multiple trials with various solutions to cure the
lead poisoning while also observing the negative cognitive effects it leaves
behind. Apart from this project, I strongly believe that we are building a
useful lab that future students at George Mason University can use.
