Date of Award

11-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Psychological Science

Program

Psychological Science (MS)

First Advisor/Chairperson

Amber Lacrosse

Abstract

Cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent, initiates cell death through various methods that include mtDNA damage during cell replication and produces damaging pro-inflammatory cytokines. This can result in long-term chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). Fluoxetine (FLX) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor widely used in patients with anxiety and mood disorders. Published studies report that FLX could sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy treatment and assist in attenuating CRCI. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of FLX to sensitize cancer cells to cisplatin treatment as well as the ability to attenuate cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment. Combined treatment of cisplatin +FLX was able to sensitize different cancer cell lines to treatment with cisplatin. In addition, mice treated with FLX performed significantly better when considering the response accuracy of the last three trials, regardless of criteria. These results suggest that FLX could have had a positive effect on the level of task difficulty and could improve working memory in mice.

Access Type

Open Access

Justification for Restricting Access

We plan to publish data from this thesis during the embargo period.

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Available for download on Wednesday, November 11, 2026

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