Randolph - Macon College issued the following announcement on July 21
During a year when people around the world reported high levels of stress and anxiety, it was only logical to Alex Chapman ’23 to look for ways that people might alleviate that stress in the future. Her Schapiro Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) project, titled “Locked and Isolated: Can Play Behavior Mitigate the Effects of Chronic Stress?” explores how the simple act of having fun can help reduce anxiety.
Her 10-week summer project methodology largely relies on examining brain tissue from laboratory rats, and thus builds on the Behavioral Neuroscience research projects of several cohorts of SURF fellows in the recent past. This year, there are no rats in the labs of Copley Science Center. Instead, Chapman’s day-to-day process involves evaluating brain tissue for evidence of the expression of the Neuropeptide-Y (NPY) protein, which alleviates stress, and the levels of various stress-related hormones. She compares this data to videos of the rats’ behavior filmed during previous work in 2019.
“We will be comparing that to how much and what kind of play the rats did, and looking to see if there is any relationship,” Chapman explains. “If we find that play behavior does mitigate chronic stress, that really helps us get a grip on what is effective, and what isn’t, in dealing with our chronic stress.”
Chapman is working with faculty mentor Dr. Massimo Bardi, Professor of Neuroscience, whose ongoing research focus is coping and resiliency. A long-time mentor to SURF students, he has previously supervised student research on the topic. For example, recent research focused on how caffeine intake impacts resiliency in the brain, how herbal medicine reduces stress, and how the natural environment impacts stress. As a passionate advocate for learning by doing, particularly in the field of neuroscience, he says the connectivity of the projects he has sponsored year after year help to make the work more relevant over the long-term. He believes it also allows students to work side-by-side in ways that are mutually beneficial.
“You can extend this timeline if you create an environment in which students can help each other. I always have in my lab students who are just starting that work side-by-side with seniors,” Dr. Bardi explains. “Creating this network among students - you can have students who are also learning by doing and helping each other to learn.”
Beyond the Classroom
Chapman, a Behavioral Neuroscience and Spanish double major, is a Leadership Fellow and an Honors student at R-MC. A North Chesterfield, Virginia native, she is also involved with 4WMN, Students for Environmental Action, and Macon Outdoors.
“SURF is a vital part to my future in research, allowing me an experience that most undergraduates don’t get, let alone for multiple years. Eventually, I want to go to graduate school and focus my research on the maternal/ infant relationship, as well as advocate for more research to be done focusing on females,” she commented. “Without Dr. Bardi, I may not have realized my passion for research, and the SURF program facilitated his mentorship.”
Chapman says she hopes to continue to make research a central part of her future, through SURF, after college, and in graduate school.
Original source can be found here.
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