Emily Bryant
Austin Peay State University Graduate Student
Student Teaching Fall 2006 at Rossview High School-Biology

Dr. Ronald Salomon- Dept. of Psychiatry

This summer I worked with Dr. Salomon of the Dept. of Psychiatry. He focuses on the research of depression.  He recently concluded a research study involving cerebrospinal fluid collections to measure the metabolites of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine in depressed and healthy participants. The depressed patients were treated with a randomly assigned antidepressant for 8 weeks and CSF collections were done after the treatment on both the depressed and healthy patients. Urine collections were also performed during this study. During the course of the study, Dr. Salomon began collaborating with a fellow researcher at Vanderbilt who specializes in oxidative stress. Dr. Salomon ran a pilot study to measure the biomarker for oxidative stress, F2-Isoprostanes, in the urine of both the depressed and healthy subjects. Dr. Salomon hypothesizes that the depressed individuals will have higher oxidative stress and thus higher urinary F2-Isoprostane levels. The subject’s moods were evaluated using both an observer-rated and an self-rated mood rating scale (HAM-D and POMS).  I was involved in analyzing the data of the rating scales and the urinary F2-Isoprostane levels. I performed statistical analyses to determine the correlation, if any, of mood with urinary F2-Isoprostane levels. Again, this is a pilot study and the data will be shared with Dr. Salomon’s colleagues to determine further research opportunities.

My module focuses on the anatomy and physiology of the nerve cell (neuron) and the relationship of neurotransmitters with neurological and mental illnesses.