Daniel Hofer – författare

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Biology - Miscellaneous, grade: 2,0, University of Ulm (Institut fur Neurobiologie), language: English, abstract: In this bachelor thesis the behavior of burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) was further investigated through a detailed behavioral study. In this study fighting videos between N. vespilloides residents (females with larvae and a carcass) and intruders (females without larvae and a carcass) were evaluated. Half of the residents were treated with a FMRFamide solution and the other half there treated with a saline solution (control group). The FMRFamide treatment results in a more aggressive behavior in the females. This reaffirm the role of FMRFamide as an agent which has an influence in triggering aggressive behavior in burying beetles. Aggressive behavior is widespread among animals and crucial for survival and passing on their genes. Aggressive behavior therefore mostly occurs during competition for resources like mating partners, nutrition and territory. Hence the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides also use aggressive behavior to protect its brood. In previous studies the JH III (Juvenile Hormone III) titer in burying beetles could be identified to be causal for brooding behavior and therefore also causal for the increased aggression during breeding time. The regulation of JH titer in insects is unclear to this moment. Peptides with a tetrapeptic ending like FMRFamide have been suggested in the past to play a role in the regulation. Hence the effect of FMRFamide as a potential JH releasing factor also was investigated in burying beetles. This effect could not be confirmed to this date however a correlation between aggression and FMRFamide was found.

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Medicine - Neurology, Psychiatry, Addiction, grade: 1,0, University of Ulm (Klinik fur Neurologie), language: English, abstract: This thesis deals with the video-oculographic examination of oculomotor function in presymptomatic ALS mutation carriers. Cognitive deficits are observable in ALS. This study was performed in order to test if this deficit could already be observed in a preclinical phase. Up to this moment putative alterations in a preclinical, presymptomatic phase of ALS-MC are barely studied. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating preclinical oculomotor performance in asymptomatic ALS mutation carriers.quantitatively detect changes in executive eye movement control in asymptomatic ALS mutation carriers by video-oculographic examination under controlled conditions with healthy age, sex and educational matched healthy unrelated controls. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most frequent adult-onset motor neuron disease. As for now, causal therapeutic options are still limited for ALS. The devastating disease is defined as a fast progressive, multisystem degenerative disorder, which is clinically characterized by a predominant loss of motor neurons that disrupts signals to all voluntary innervated muscles. This leads to a progressive weakness of the respective muscles following an almost complete paresis after a couple of years. ALS usually ends in death due to respiratory failure after 30 months on average from disease onset.