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Dose-Response Effects Of Lithium On Spatial Memory In The Black Molly Fish., Thomas Kyle Creson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lithium continues to be widely prescribed for the management of bipolar disease, yet cognitive impairment-related side effects promote noncompliance of the treatment regimen. We have introduced a novel animal model, the black molly fish, to study dose-response effects of lithium on short-term (STM) and long-term (LTM) memories. We developed a method utilizing capillary ion analysis (CIA), to measure plasma and brain lithium levels employed in our behavioral studies. We then developed an appropriate testing environment to ascertain learning capacities of these fish. We established that black mollies could adequately perform a forced-choice spontaneous alternation (SA) task used extensively in rodents …

Feature Retention And Phonological Knowledge Across Children With Suspected Developmental Apraxia Of Speech, Phonological Impairment, And Typically Developing Speech., Tracy A. Ford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research effort was to examine whether the feature retention patterns and phonological knowledge of children with suspected apraxia of speech (AOSc) in comparison to those of children with phonological impairment (PI). A second purpose was to determine if a relationship exists between phonological knowledge and feature retention.

The study consisted of three groups of children: PI, AOSc, and typically developing (TD), ages four to seven. A 245-item speech sample was collected from each group. Feature retention percentages and phonological knowledge, represented by percent correct underlying representations (PCUR) were calculated for each child.

All groups retained place …

Early Academic Performance In Children With Cleft Lip And/Or Palate., Krista Leanna Lowe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Studies of preschool children have shown early speech and language deficits in children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). For some children, the deficits during kindergarten diminish as they begin school while some children continue to show delays. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between speech and language skills and early reading skills of phonological awareness, letter identification, and rapid naming in children with and without CLP. The subjects, four kindergarten children with and four without CLP, were administered a battery of speech, language, early reading skills, and nonverbal cognition measures. Two-way analysis of …