Levetiracetam Prevents Neurophysiological Changes and Preserves Cognitive Function in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 Transactivator of Transcription Transgenic Mouse Model of HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder

Abstract

There are so many people that helped this work become a reality. First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Stanley Thayer for being a wonderful advisor. You are a fantastic scientist and an even better mentor. You were always kind and patient as I learned new techniques. Your mentorship helped mold me into the scientist I am today.Thank you to my thesis committee members: Dr. Steven Graves, Dr. Esther Krook-Magnuson, and Dr. Sade Spencer. Your advice and guidance throughout the project were invaluable. I truly appreciate the opportunity to have collaborated with you. Thank you for shaping this work (and me).Thank you to the members of the Thayer lab, past and present, for your advice, support, and camaraderie. Special thanks to Dr. Matt Green and Dr. Mariah Wu for helping me get started in the lab and teaching me how to do electrophysiology.Thank you to Dr. Ezequiel Marron for his sage advice on electrophysiology, mouse colony management, mouse behavior, and generally everything about being a scientist. I believe you could ask him about anything, and he'd be able to help you.Thank you to Dr. Erin Lind and Tessa Nichols-Meade for their assistance in mouse behavior and analysis for the Barnes maze.Thank you to the department of Pharmacology for accepting me into the graduate program and for supporting me throughout my graduate school journey.Thank you to all my friends and family for being my biggest supporters and cheering me on from start to finish. Special thanks to my parents for being there from day one and always having my back! Your support means more than you know.And finally, thank you to my husband, James, for enduring this with me. You never doubted me for a second. Thank you for always convincing me to keep going.ii DedicationTo my parents, for relentlessly cheering me on and being forever advocators of education.To my husband, James, for always believing I could and would do it. For reminding me of my strength and that I could keep going even when I didn't think I could.