Contact
- Email: Verginia_Cuzon@urmc.rochester.edu
- Alternate Email: Verginia.C.Cuzon@dartmouth.edu
- Advisor: Hermes Yeh
- Department(s):
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Rochester
- Physiology Department, Dartmouth College
- Phone: (603) 650-7708
- Address:
HB 7700
Hanover, NH 03755
Area of Interest / Current Research
Abuse of ethanol during pregnancy can be detrimental to the offspring, the most severe being the constellation of developmental defects and abnormalities commonly referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). In the central nervous system FAS is hallmarked by a wide range of defects in brain morphology, including microcephalus, the formation of neuronal heterotopias, and disorders in cortical lamination, all of which are associated with insult to the brain during corticogenesis. These deficits can result in behavioral disorders such as motor dysfunction, hyperactivity, increased susceptibility to seizures, and deficits in learning and memory.
There is now abundant evidence of an interaction between ethanol and the GABAA receptor. Prenatal chronic ethanol exposure has been shown to increase the number of GABAA receptors, alter the expression of certain GABAA receptor subunits and decrease the number of GAD-positive cells. These changes suggest compromised GABAergic transmission. Loss of inhibitory regulation in the cortex with chronic prenatal ethanol exposure could contribute to the abnormalities in seizure susceptibility and deficits in sensory information processing associated with FAS.
In my thesis work I ask whether chronic ethanol consumption during pregnancy leads to abnormal development of the GABAergic system in the offspring. I will test the hypothesis that the abnormalities of the cortex seen in FAS manifest itself early in corticogenesis by affecting the migration of primordial GABAergic interneurons to their usual laminar position within the cortex. Since in the rodent, the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) is the principle source of cortical GABAergic interneurons I will focus on the interaction between ethanol exposure and the tangential migration of MGE-derived cells into the cortex. In testing the central hypothesis, I propose three specific aims to answer the following questions: (1) Does prenatal ethanol exposure in utero disrupt the tangential migration of MGE-derived cells in a dose and time dependent manner? (2) Are the observed changes in tangential migration of MGE-derived cells the result of a direct interaction between ethanol and the GABAergic system? (3) If so, does chronic ethanol exposure in utero cause changes in GABAA receptors of MGE-derived cells or in GABA release mechanisms? Answers to these questions will contribute to the understanding of the deleterious effects of maternal ethanol consumption on corticogenesis in the offspring.
Education
- 2002-current : Ph.D. student, Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Rochester
- 2005 : MS in Neuroscience, Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Rochester
- 1997-2001 : B.S. in Biology and Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Abstracts & Publications
- Verginia C. Cuzon, Pamela W.L. Yeh, Qing Cheng, Hermes H. Yeh (2005) Ambient GABA promotes cortical entry of tangentially migrating cells derived from the medial ganglionic eminence. Cereb Cortex (Epub ahead of print)
- Verginia C. Cuzon, Pamela W.L. Yeh, Hermes H. Yeh. Alcohol exposure in utero disrupts tangential migration of MGE-derived cells during corticogenesis. Presented at the 2005 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Qing Cheng, Verginia C. Cuzon, Pamela W. Yeh, Hermes H. Yeh. Cajal-Retzius cells in embryonic mouse cortex express g-less GABAA receptor pharmacology. Presented at the 2004 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Verginia C. Cuzon, Hermes H. Yeh. An ambient level of GABA in the developing neocortex regulates tangential migration of MGE-derived neurons. Presented at the 2004 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Jason A. Hamilton, Verginia C. Cuzon, David A. Rempe, Hermes H. Yeh, Howard J. Federoff. Hypoxia modifies medial ganglionic eminence cell migration by altering neuropilin-1 signaling. Presented at the 2004 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Stavaros Therianos, Verginia Cuzon, Jennifer Pennack, Min Zhu, Victoria Meyers, Paul D. Coleman. Class III POU factors interact with notch and are linked to cellular alterations in Alzheimer’s Disease. Presented at the 2003 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Hermes H. Yeh, Verginia C. Cuzon, Pamela W. Yeh, Chun-Hung Chan. GABAA receptors in tangentially migrating neurons of the developing mouse neocortex. Presented at the 2003 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Hong Wang, Verginia C. Cuzon, Virginia M. Pickel (2003) Ultrastructural localization of delta-opioid receptors in the rat caudate-putamen nucleus during postnatal development: relation to synaptogenesis. J Comp Neurol 467(3): 343-353.
- Hong Wang, Verginia C. Cuzon, Virginia M. Pickel (2003) Postnatal development of mu-opioid receptors in the rat caudate-putamen nucleus parallels asymmetric synapse formation. Neuroscience 118(3): 695-708.
- Hong Wang, Verginia C. Cuzon, Virginia M. Pickel. Subcellular distribution of delta-opiod receptors in the postnatal rat caudate-putamen nucleus. Presented at the 2002 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
- Hong Wang, Verginia C. Cuzon, Virginia M. Pickel. Postnatal development of mu-opiod receptors in the rat caudate-putamen nucleus parallels asymmetric synapse formation. Presented at the 2001 Annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting.
Rotations
These are some labs I have rotated through during my first year:
- Hermes H. Yeh, Ph.D. and Carol Kellogg, Ph.D. Fall of 2002
Completed a five month project developing a slice culture system to study the effects of diazepam during development. - Stavaros Therianos, Ph.D. and Paul Coleman, Ph.D. Spring 2003
Completed three month project testing the role of Brn-2 in Alzheimer’s Disease by in situ and transfection of siRNA in primary neuronal cultures. - Hermes H. Yeh, Ph.D. Summer 2003
Completed a three month project testing the role of GABA on the tangential migration of cortical GABAergic interneurons from the medial ganglionic eminence.
Honors & Awards
- Most Science Impact, Poster Session, University of Rochester Neuroscience Annual Retreat, 2005.
- Dean's List, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997-2001
- Recipient, Honor’s College Scholarship, State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1997.
Other Interests
- Baking and ESPN...oops I just copied Erin's
- shopping
- My Boston Terrier, Pork
- softball
- White Sox fans
- Watching Law and Order SVU