SELECTIVE MOLECULAR MODIFICATION TO CALCIUM CONDUCTANCE DOMAINS OF NMDA RECEPTOR GLUN2 SUBUNITS REGULATES MATURATION OF HIPPOCAMPAL BEHAVIORS by

ii This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noderivs 3.0 unported license. iii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my ohana. 'Ohana' is Hawaiian for 'family' and I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by such supportive people in my home, my dojo, and my lab. I could not have done this without any of you. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all the people in academia who have helped instill not only the attributes of diligence necessary for research but also the amazingly rewarding desire to teach and mentor. with the College of Charleston, thank-you for mentoring me in my first molecular investigations in your summer program for research experience for undergraduates (REU). My lifelong dream to become a marine biologist had finally become realized. I would like to thank Dr. Nora Terwilliger and Dr. John Postlethwait, at the University of Oregon, for further enriching my career in marine research and teaching experience at both elementary school and college level students. They gave me the opportunity to become interested in development which became the focus of my Masters research while I taught science to both elementary school and college students. It was while immersing myself in both the classroom and at the bench that I became acutely aware of my awakened interest in cognitive development. Almost serendipitously, I was offered the opportunity to come to George Mason University by my advisor, Dr. Ted Dumas to investigate and generate a novel animal model for autism. Since being in the PBNJ lab, I have met many people on the spectrum and family members of these people and it has been a huge driving force to help me persist in research that I find to be both compelling and vital for better understanding something we know so little truth about and that affects so many people. I would also like to especially thank my advisor, Dr. Ted Dumas, and my committee members, Dr.