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Biology Senior Researches Antidepressants' Effects on Memory and Learning

Age-related decline in learning and memory ability is a major health, social and economic issue facing society.

Alzheimer's disease, for example, is a chronic, progressive disease associated with aging that is characterized by memory impairments followed by more global cognitive deficits.
Current pharmacological treatments for the disease are limited due to side effects, limited efficacy and the inability to halt the progression of the disease.

Recent research suggests, however, that certain antidepressant drugs that increase levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and/or norepinephrine in the brain may have positive effects on memory and learning.

At the University of New England, Tina Marks '04, a senior majoring in biological sciences, has been working on a series of research projects that will assess the effects of various antidepressants on learning and memory performance in different strains of mice.

Marks' research is part of a host of projects being conducted in the laboratories of Edward Bilsky, Ph.D., an associate professor of Pharmacology in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Lab Experience
Marks began working in Dr. Bilsky's lab in January of 2003, assisting in a project evaluating the effects of a variety of antidepressants on learning and memory in different strains of young mice. Over the course of spring and summer, she gained experience in the handling and behavioral testing of the animals, preparation of drug solutions, injection of compounds, graphing and analysis of results, and the design of new experiments.

With the award of a research grant from the American Foundation of Pharmaceutical Education, Marks is using three strains of mice with different anxiety and learning characteristics to test the effects of several antidepressants that selectively affect the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain.

Aged Mice
She will also be testing the effects of at least two antidepressants in aged mice that are showing deficits in learning, and she will also begin to measure the expression of select genes in response to aging and the antidepressant treatments.

"We hope that we will find one of the antidepressants will help decrease memory loss or increase the ability to learn while you age," Marks explains.

"The mice have deficits in cognitive performance that are the result of either high anxiety/stress levels or aging," Dr. Bilsky explains. "Tina is trying to determine the relative role that serotonin and norepinephrine have in reversing the deficits."

"This research has direct applications to clinical situations where anxiety/stress or the normal aging process produces problems in learning and memory," he adds.

Marks came to the University of New England from her hometown of Walpole, Mass., as a pre-physician assistant major in biological sciences, but her interests turned to pharmacology. Besides her work with Dr. Bilsky's laboratory, she also works part time at a pharmacy in Kennebunk.

Balancing Academics and Service
"Tina is one of those students who can balance a difficult academic load with other responsibilities," Dr. Bilsky notes. "She helps her fellow students as a peer tutor, and she volunteers her time with patients and programs that assist the community."

Upon graduation, Marks plans to go to graduate school to earn either a Ph.D. or Pharm.D. "But I don't want to work in retail," she says. "I'd rather keep doing research. I'd like to work at a hospital or a clinic - continuing to do research. Or be a pharmacist at a hospital that has challenging clinical cases that require integration between the various health care providers."

Her research credentials should help her in her applications to graduate programs, especially since it will increase her visibility among researchers in her field. After receiving a travel grant from the national organization Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, she flew to New Orleans in November to present a poster presentation on one of her research projects at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

(Last updated 11/03)

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