Identifying Bile Acid Receptors in the Brains of Song Birds

Andy Swartley

The chemical basis of songbird migration is not fully understood. Dopamine appears to play a role in stimulating migration, and bile acids are known to interact with the dopamine reward system, so we hypothesize that there may be bile acid receptors in the birds' brains. We will investigate this by using magnetic bead immunoprecipitation on songbird brain tissue using chenodioxycholic acid as the ligand.

Major: 
Biology
Exhibition Category: 
Health and Life Sciences
Exhibition Format: 
Oral Presentation
Campus: 
University Park
Faculty Sponsor: 
Paul Bartell
Poster Number: 
51856