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Psychology

Theses/Dissertations

2018

University of South Carolina

Social and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology, Experimental Psychology

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Exercise As A Therapeutic For Hiv-1-Associated Neurocognitive Deficits, Michael N. Cranston Jan 2018

Exercise As A Therapeutic For Hiv-1-Associated Neurocognitive Deficits, Michael N. Cranston

Theses and Dissertations

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) afflicts nearly 38 million individuals worldwide (Joseph et al., 2013; “WHO | HIV/AIDS,” 2016). Despite the reduction in disease mortality due to increased use of antiretroviral medication, HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) affects approximately 50% of HIV infected individuals (Antinori et al., 2007; Castellon, Hinkin, Wood, & Yarema, 1998; Castelo, Sherman, Courtney, Melrose, & Stern, 2006; Cysique & Brew, 2009; Heaton et al., 2011, 2015). The brain itself is particularly sensitive to HIV-1 related viral proteins and viral infection (Masliah, DeTeresa, Mallory, & Hansen, 2000), thus, it is vital to empirically examine potentially effective therapeutics which …


Advancing Understanding Of Dynamic Mechanisms In Onset To Event Models: Discrete Time Survival Mediation With A Time Variant Mediator, Heather Lasky Mcdaniel Jan 2018

Advancing Understanding Of Dynamic Mechanisms In Onset To Event Models: Discrete Time Survival Mediation With A Time Variant Mediator, Heather Lasky Mcdaniel

Theses and Dissertations

Integrating discrete time survival and mediation analytic approaches, discretetime survival mediation models (DTSM) help researchers elucidate the impact of predictors on the timing of event occurrence. Though application of this model has been gainful in various applied developmental and intervention research contexts, empirical work has yet to consider how DTSM models operate with a mediator that has a varying effect over time. The importance of examining this situation has important impacts for application of the model, given more complex statistical models are required, and subsequent interpretation of model parameters differ from the basic DTSM model. The overarching purpose of this …


Neurochemistry, Physiology, And Behavior In A Model Of Gulf War Illness, Victoria A. Macht Jan 2018

Neurochemistry, Physiology, And Behavior In A Model Of Gulf War Illness, Victoria A. Macht

Theses and Dissertations

Upon returning from the first Gulf War, soldiers cited a plethora of unexplained physical and cognitive deficits which have since been termed Gulf War Illness (GWI). Presentation of GWI is positively correlated with pyridostigmine bromide (PB) use, which was prophylactically administered to soldiers in response to threats of chemical warfare. To test the overarching hypothesis that PB interacted with stress of deployment to alter neural, endocrine, and immune systems, the following studies used a 2×2 rodent model with 14 days of drug treatment (vehicle; PB) and 10 days of repeated restraint stress (stressed) or non-stressed-control conditions. Results indicate that PB …


Evaluative Conditioning Of Product Preferences: An Eye-Tracking Perspective, Christine E. Weber Jan 2018

Evaluative Conditioning Of Product Preferences: An Eye-Tracking Perspective, Christine E. Weber

Theses and Dissertations

In evaluative conditioning, the affective response toward a neutral stimulus is altered by pairing it with a positive or negative stimulus. One behavioral and two eye tracking studies were conducted to investigate how evaluative conditioning operates on consumer preferences by pairing neutral products with valenced music and using multiple product exemplars and test trials in order to test evaluative effects at the individual level. Study 1 showed an overall positive effect of evaluative conditioning on choice and liking ratings, although there were individual differences in the magnitude and direction of the effect. Study 2 found significant results at the individual …


Questioning The Modality Of The Occipital Lobe, William J. Brixius Jan 2018

Questioning The Modality Of The Occipital Lobe, William J. Brixius

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the occipital lobe’s response to non-visual inputs, and whether this responsivity partitions into separate localization and identification pathways as seen with visual inputs. We hypothesized that occipital areas may merely prefer visual inputs, while maintaining similar task-based sensory recruitment in response to other senses. Our secondary hypothesis was that the robust occipital activation seen in late-blind participants stems at least initially from standard connections present even in the typically sighted, and that these standard connections are functionally utilized by the typically sighted in spatially relevant non-visual analyses. Our initial literature review supported our hypotheses that the occipital …