Reliability Architecture and Aging: Degeneration and Robustness in a Low Redundancy Neuronal Control System, VD1 and RPD2 Body Water Homeostasis in Lymnaea stagnalis

McFadden, Eamon Sean Patrick

Reliability Architecture and Aging: Degeneration and Robustness in a Low Redundancy Neuronal Control System, VD1 and RPD2 Body Water Homeostasis in Lymnaea stagnalis

dc.contributor.advisor	Wildering, Willem Carel
dc.contributor.author	McFadden, Eamon Sean Patrick
dc.contributor.committeemember	Barclay, Robert
dc.contributor.committeemember	Syme, Douglas
dc.date	2024-05
dc.date.accessioned	2024-01-30T19:34:45Z
dc.date.available	2024-01-30T19:34:45Z
dc.date.issued	2024-01-30
dc.description.abstract	VD1 and RPD2 are two electrotonically coupled, peptidergic neurons that form an essential low redundancy neural control system in the central nervous system of the Great Pond Snail Lymnaea stagnalis. VD1 and RPD2 have been shown to exert a cardioregulatory role fundamental to proper osmoregulatory function. The performance of the electrical synapse between the two neurons has been shown to change dramatically with age. This change in performance between the neurons occurs concurrently with an increase in the mortality rate of the population. Additionally, ablation of one of the neurons exerting control over these functions has extreme consequences to the organism’s survival. This includes other measures of body water homeostasis thus demonstrating how dramatic the consequences of a lack of system redundancy can be. This thesis explores the intersection of reliability architecture and aging in a low redundancy neural control system. I will provide evidence for the following ideas: 1) The VD1/RPD2 system experiences age-associated declines in performance however, this decline is not uniform throughout the population. 2) Aging in VD1 and RPD2 result in a reduced capacity for acute adaptation to osmotic changes in the external environment. 3) Despite its low redundancy and the accumulation of age-related damage, VD1 and RPD2 prove robust over the lifespan and home-osmotic range of L. stagnalis.
dc.identifier.citation	McFadden, E. S. P. (2024). Reliability architecture and aging: degeneration and robustness in a low redundancy neuronal control system, VD1 and RPD2 body water homeostasis in Lymnaea stagnalis (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/118143
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/42987
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Lymnaea stagnalis
dc.subject	gastropod
dc.subject	VD2 and RPD2
dc.subject	aging
dc.subject	reliability theory
dc.subject	body water
dc.subject	homeostasis
dc.subject	osmoregulation
dc.subject	osmotic stimuli
dc.subject	electrophysiology
dc.subject	electrical synapse
dc.subject	gap junction
dc.subject.classification	Animal Physiology
dc.subject.classification	Ecology
dc.subject.classification	Neuroscience
dc.subject.classification	Zoology
dc.title	Reliability Architecture and Aging: Degeneration and Robustness in a Low Redundancy Neuronal Control System, VD1 and RPD2 Body Water Homeostasis in Lymnaea stagnalis
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Biological Sciences
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.