Document Type
Honors Project
Publication Date
6-13-2025
Abstract
Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialized extracellular matrix structures that regulate synaptic plasticity and stabilize neural circuits, particularly during the closure of critical periods, a time when the brain is highly plastic and susceptible to environmental influence. Emerging evidence suggests that PNNs may be sensitive to hormonal fluctuations associated with critical periods such as puberty and pregnancy, yet their role in the female brain, particularly in relation to other well-characterized hormonally-mediated events, remains underexplored. This project investigated whether PNN expression in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex varied following vaginal opening, or across different stages of the estrous cycle in Peromyscus californicus (California mice). Using immunohistochemical staining and fluorescence microscopy, we quantified PNN density in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex across the four phases of the estrous cycle. Because estrogen and progesterone, two key ovarian hormones that fluctuate systematically across the estrous cycle, are known to influence synaptic plasticity, we hypothesized that cycle phase, as a proxy for hormone level, would influence PNN expression, potentially altering hippocampal plasticity and could have implications for memory-related processes. By explaining hormone-dependent changes in PNNs, this study aims to inform our understanding of sex-specific mechanisms underlying cognitive aging and neurodegeneration, with implications for conditions such as menopause-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Level of Honors
cum laude
Department
Select One
Department
Neuroscience
Advisor
Elizabeth Becker
Recommended Citation
Harunani, Nazlee, "Hormonal Modulation of Perineuronal Net Density in the Female Peromyscus californicus Hippocampus and Medial Prefrontal Cortex" (2025). Lawrence University Honors Projects. 216.
https://lux.lawrence.edu/luhp/216