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A Novel Test Of Emotion Recognition Bias Using Dynamic Facial Morphing, Michael R. Gallagher
A Novel Test Of Emotion Recognition Bias Using Dynamic Facial Morphing, Michael R. Gallagher
Theses and Dissertations
Depressed persons have demonstrated emotion based cognitive biases, specifically surrounding vigilance of negative information and avoidance of positivity. These biases are sometimes operationalized through emotion recognition tasks. However, previous emotion recognition tasks lack in their ability to accurately measure and decompose positivity avoidance with enhanced negativity, while accounting for basic cognitive processes that can drive the results. Therefore, we developed a novel emotion recognition task that examines emotional intensity thresholds, while accounting for general response bias. Linear mixed effects modeling revealed substantial individual differences on all conditions in the task, using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Additionally, the findings suggest …
The Development And Validation Of An Automated Screener Of Attention, Rachel Bridges
The Development And Validation Of An Automated Screener Of Attention, Rachel Bridges
Theses and Dissertations
Previous research has demonstrated a strong relationship between symptoms of ADHD and academic underachievement. Interventions specific to academic deficits in children with ADHD are available, which are most effective if implemented before secondary concerns arise. Performance based screening is one method for determining the need for early intervention, yet extant measures of attention have limitations for the purposes of large-scale screening. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties and guiding conceptual model of a novel instrument of executive functioning—the GNG Screen— which measures response inhibition via a go/no-go paradigm. Results from Rasch modeling and exploratory factor analysis provide preliminary psychometric …
A Psychometric Evaluation Of Computerized Attention Measures In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Sara Katharine Pardej
A Psychometric Evaluation Of Computerized Attention Measures In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Sara Katharine Pardej
Theses and Dissertations
Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) often demonstrate difficulties with attention and executive functioning that can be evident even starting at a young age. Despite this consistent finding in the literature, there has been no research to determine which measures of attention are most suitable for use with children with NF1. Recently, there have been several computerized measures of attention and executive abilities that have become available to researchers and clinicians. This study explored the National Institute of Health Toolbox Flanker, Dimensional Change Card Sort, and List Sort Working Memory; Cogstate Identification; and Conners Kiddie Continuous Performance Test, second edition …
Attention Capture By Episodic Long-Term Memories: Evidence From Eye Movement Data, Allison Eleanor Nickel
Attention Capture By Episodic Long-Term Memories: Evidence From Eye Movement Data, Allison Eleanor Nickel
Theses and Dissertations
Successfully navigating the world on a moment-to-moment basis requires the interaction of multiple cognitive processes. Therefore, studies that examine when and how these fundamental processes interact can provide important insights into how we behave. Many studies indicate that long-term memory can facilitate search for a target object (e.g., contextual cueing), however, the ways in which long-term memory might capture attention and disrupt goal-directed behavior have not been well studied. In five experiments, questions about whether encoded objects might capture attention, even when they are task-irrelevant, were addressed. Each experiment began with an encoding phase, where participants were instructed to commit …
Degree Of Bilingualism, Age, Income And Teacher Ratings Of Giftedness As Potential Predictors Of Dichotic Listening Performance, Francisco J. Sierra
Degree Of Bilingualism, Age, Income And Teacher Ratings Of Giftedness As Potential Predictors Of Dichotic Listening Performance, Francisco J. Sierra
Theses and Dissertations
Bilinguals and gifted individuals have consistently shown distinctive patterns of performance on measures of brain laterality and auditory processing. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between bilingualism, teacher ratings of giftedness, and auditory divided attention by comparing children and adults with income partialed out. Child participants from first to fifth grade were included in addition to an adult comparison group. Assessment of bilingualism, auditory divided attention, and giftedness occurred via the Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey-III (WMLS-III), the Dichotic Test of Attention (DITA), and the Hispanic Bilingual Gifted Screening Instrument (HBGSI). The main hypothesis of this study is …
Behavioral Hypervigilance In A Normative Population, Karly Weinreb
Behavioral Hypervigilance In A Normative Population, Karly Weinreb
Theses and Dissertations
Hypervigilance is conceptualized as a symptom of trauma-related disorders, however it can also occur in a normative population. To distinguish normative hypervigilance from trauma-related hypervigilance, 372 participants (123 trauma-exposed and 249 non-trauma-exposed) completed a questionnaire assessing hypervigilance in contexts. Trauma-exposed participants reported greater levels of hypervigilance in 3 contexts.
The Effect Of Content-Related And Unrelated Break Activities On Test Results, Ryan Gentek
The Effect Of Content-Related And Unrelated Break Activities On Test Results, Ryan Gentek
Theses and Dissertations
Researchers have recently explored using brief breaks to maintain performance during prolonged tasks (Ariga and Lleras, 2011). However, research has yet to fully explore the effect of break activity content on the performance of the primary task. The present study sought to explore the differing effects of two break activities that were respectively similar and different in content to the main task. The present researcher compared past studies of task-switching and interruption studies to theories of the vigilance decrement and hypothesized that a brief similar task should result in significantly different main-task performance than the brief dissimilar task. 20 participating …
Neural Circuitry Underlying The Intrusion Of Task-Irrelevant Threat Into Working Memory In Anxiety, Daniel Stout
Neural Circuitry Underlying The Intrusion Of Task-Irrelevant Threat Into Working Memory In Anxiety, Daniel Stout
Theses and Dissertations
Dispositional anxiety is an important risk factor for the development of anxiety and other psychological disorders. Symptoms commonly expressed by highly anxious individuals include intrusive memories, uncertainty, and worry — all occurring in the absence of immediate threat. This raises the possibility that anxious individuals have difficulty governing threat’s access to working memory, the mental workspace where goal-related information is actively retained for guiding on-going behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while 81 subjects completed a well-validated working memory task, I show that threat-related and neutral distracters unnecessarily gain access to working memory, as evidenced by increased neural activity …
Facilitating Visual Selective Attention Via Monetary Reward: The Influence Of Feedback, Hedonic Capacity, And Lifetime Major Depressive Disorder, Lauren Elizabeth Taubitz
Facilitating Visual Selective Attention Via Monetary Reward: The Influence Of Feedback, Hedonic Capacity, And Lifetime Major Depressive Disorder, Lauren Elizabeth Taubitz
Theses and Dissertations
Recently, several researchers have demonstrated that reward enhances visual selective attention; however, no one has evaluated how individual differences in reward sensitivity or psychopathology involving disturbances in hedonic capacity (e.g., Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)) affect this process. In this investigation, a novel incentivized visual search task was developed to unite the literatures on reward facilitation of attention with the studies of individual differences in hedonic capacity and remitted MDD (rMDD). 161 undergraduates responded to self-report measures and completed standard and incentivized visual search tasks. In the standard task, subjects had to indicate if a letter F (target) was present or …
Low-Dose Stimulant Treatment During Periadolescence In A Fasd Model: Interactions Among The Catecholamines, Victoria Macht
Low-Dose Stimulant Treatment During Periadolescence In A Fasd Model: Interactions Among The Catecholamines, Victoria Macht
Theses and Dissertations
One of the most common of deficits observed in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is difficulties with attention. Because attention deficits are commonly treated with stimulants, the impact of d-amphetamine (AMPH) treatment during the juvenile period in an animal model of FASD was examined. A dose-response study first assessed the appropriate dose of AMPH to use. In the dose-response study, therapeutic doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg/day of AMPH were chronically administered to female rats between postnatal days (PD) 26-40. Rats were subjected to an open field test on the first and last day of treatment. The dose of …
Do Parent And Teacher Ratings Of Behavior Measure What They Are Intended To Measure?, Phillip Martin
Do Parent And Teacher Ratings Of Behavior Measure What They Are Intended To Measure?, Phillip Martin
Theses and Dissertations
This study involves an examination of the neurocognitive correlates of subscales of the Conners' Rating Scale - Revised (CRS-R), an ADHD behavioral rating form, in both a child (n=72) and an adolescent (n=49) sample. While both behavioral rating forms and neuropsychological measures are commonly employed in pediatric clinical evaluations, these two forms of assessment do not generally converge as expected. The purpose of the current research was to examine and compare the abilities of intellectual, academic, attentional, and executive skills to account for variance in parent and teacher ratings of behavior across two pediatric age groups in a clinical setting. …
Visual Attention Bias And Body Dissatisfaction In Eating Disorders, Janet Lydecker
Visual Attention Bias And Body Dissatisfaction In Eating Disorders, Janet Lydecker
Theses and Dissertations
Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, have profound negative effects on the quality of life of both affected individuals and their families. Behavioral approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are commonly used for the treatment of these disorders. CBT teaches skills to restructure maladaptive thought patterns as a method of altering feelings and behaviors. However, even after CBT, 50-70% of women with bulimia and 67-87% of women with anorexia report continued eating disordered thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Measuring underlying cognitive processes such as orienting, maintaining, and executive attention in individuals with eating disorder symptomatology might be an important …
Relations Between Fine Motor Skill And Parental Report Of Attention In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Christy Casnar
Relations Between Fine Motor Skill And Parental Report Of Attention In Young Children With Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Christy Casnar
Theses and Dissertations
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is one of the most common genetic disorders presenting in approximately 1 in 3,000 live births. NF1 is a highly variable condition with a large number of complications. A common complication is neuropsychological problems, including developmental delays and learning difficulties that affect as many as 60% of patients. Research has suggested the children with NF1 often have poorer fine motor skills and are at greater risk for attention difficulties than the general population. Furthermore, recent research is beginning to demonstrate a relationship between fine motor skills and attention in older children; however, very little research has …
Modeling Hiv-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders And The Therapeutic Effects Of The Phytoestrogen Metabolite S-Equol In The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat, Landhing Mary Moran
Modeling Hiv-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders And The Therapeutic Effects Of The Phytoestrogen Metabolite S-Equol In The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat, Landhing Mary Moran
Theses and Dissertations
HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) continue to afflict individuals with HIV-1 in the combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) era, most notably affecting executive function, as well as preattentive processing. Currently, there is no effective treatment for HAND, with only adjunctive treatment targeting symptomatic relief. There were two hypotheses in this dissertation: 1) that HIV-1 Tg rats will show disruptions in measures of executive function and preattentive processing, as well as neural network alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a brain region implicated in executive function, and 2) that administration of the phytoestrogen metabolite S-equol will improve performance as measured by executive …
Menstrual Cycle And Visual Information Processing, Michelle Nash
Menstrual Cycle And Visual Information Processing, Michelle Nash
Theses and Dissertations
This project examined the effects menstruation may have on visual attention in women. A recent study examined electroencephalographic (EEG) gender differences using a visual object recognition task. Results indicated certain EEG amplitudes (specifically, P300 and N400) are greater in women than men. This study extended the previous findings to determine if these increased EEG amplitudes vary across menstrual phases. Eighteen female participants participated in a series of 3 EEG recording sessions using the same visual object recognition task from the previous study; 18 male participants completed this task once. Analyses from 15 of the 18 female and 16 of the …