Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

PDF

Psychology

Cognition

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Cognitive-Emotional Processing In Alexithymia: An Integrative Review, Olivier Luminet, Kristy A. Nielson, Nathan Ridout Mar 2021

Cognitive-Emotional Processing In Alexithymia: An Integrative Review, Olivier Luminet, Kristy A. Nielson, Nathan Ridout

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Alexithymia is a multifaceted personality construct characterised by difficulties identifying one’s feelings and distinguishing them from bodily sensations, difficulties describing one’s feelings to others, and an externally oriented cognitive style. Over the past 25 years, a burgeoning body of research has examined how alexithymia moderates processing at the cognition–emotion interface. We review the findings in five domains: attention, appraisals, memory, language, and behaviours. The preponderance of studies linked alexithymia with deficits in emotion processing, which was apparent across all domains, except behaviours. All studies on behaviours and a proportion of studies in other domains demonstrated emotional over-responding. Analysis at the …


A Review Of Minority Stress As A Risk Factor For Cognitive Decline In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender (Lgbt) Elders, Anthony N. Correro, Kristy A. Nielson Jan 2020

A Review Of Minority Stress As A Risk Factor For Cognitive Decline In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender (Lgbt) Elders, Anthony N. Correro, Kristy A. Nielson

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults comprise a unique and growing subset of the aging population. The historical context in which they came of age was imbued with victimization and discrimination. These experiences are subjectively stressful and collectively known as minority stress. Older LGBT adults continue to face stressors related to their gender and sexual identities in their daily lives. Importantly, chronic minority stress (CMS), like other forms of chronic stress, is harmful to health and well-being. CMS contributes to LGBT health disparities, including cardiovascular disease and depression, conditions that in turn increase risk for premature cognitive decline. …


Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated With Increased Cortical Thickness In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Katherine Reiter, Kristy A. Nielson, Theresa J. Smith, Lauren R. Weiss, Alfonso J. Alfini, J. C. Smith Nov 2015

Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated With Increased Cortical Thickness In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Katherine Reiter, Kristy A. Nielson, Theresa J. Smith, Lauren R. Weiss, Alfonso J. Alfini, J. C. Smith

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Cortical atrophy is a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that correlates with clinical symptoms. This study examined changes in cortical thickness from before to after an exercise intervention in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy elders. Thirty physically inactive older adults (14 MCI, 16 healthy controls) underwent MRI before and after participating in a 12-week moderate intensity walking intervention. Participants were between the ages of 61 and 88. Change in cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using residualized scores of the peak rate of oxygen consumption (V̇O2peak) from pre- to post-intervention. Structural magnetic resonance images were processed using FreeSurfer v5.1.0. …


Physical Activity And Brain Function In Older Adults At Increased Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease, J. Carson Smith, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Stephen M. Rao Mar 2013

Physical Activity And Brain Function In Older Adults At Increased Risk For Alzheimer’S Disease, J. Carson Smith, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Leisure-time physical activity (PA) and exercise training are known to help maintain cognitive function in healthy older adults. However, relatively little is known about the effects of PA on cognitive function or brain function in those at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease through the presence of the apolipoproteinE epsilon4 (APOE-ε4) allele, diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or the presence of metabolic disease. Here, we examine the question of whether PA and exercise interventions may differentially impact cognitive trajectory, clinical outcomes, and brain structure and function among individuals at the greatest risk for AD. The literature suggests that the protective …


Does Physical Activity Influence Semantic Memory Activation In Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment?, J. Carson Smith, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Matthew D. Verber, Sally Durgerian, Piero Antuono, Alissa M. Butts, Nathan C. Hantke, Melissa A. Lancaster, Stephen M. Rao Jul 2011

Does Physical Activity Influence Semantic Memory Activation In Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment?, J. Carson Smith, Kristy A. Nielson, John L. Woodard, Michael Seidenberg, Matthew D. Verber, Sally Durgerian, Piero Antuono, Alissa M. Butts, Nathan C. Hantke, Melissa A. Lancaster, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

The effect of physical activity (PA) on functional brain activation for semantic memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) was examined using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging during fame discrimination. Significantly greater semantic memory activation occurred in the left caudate of High- versus Low-PA patients, (P=0.03), suggesting PA may enhance memory-related caudate activation in aMCI.


Adolescent Triangulation Into Parental Conflicts: Longitudinal Implications For Appraisals And Adolescent-Parent Relations, Gregory M. Fosco, John H. Grych Apr 2010

Adolescent Triangulation Into Parental Conflicts: Longitudinal Implications For Appraisals And Adolescent-Parent Relations, Gregory M. Fosco, John H. Grych

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Although triangulation into parental conflict is a risk factor for child and adolescent maladjustment, little is known about how triangulation affects adolescents’ functioning or the factors that lead children to be drawn into parental disagreements. This prospective study examined the relations between triangulation, appraisals of conflict, and parent-child relations in a sample of 171 adolescents, ages 14 to 19 years, at 2 time points. Cross-lagged path analyses revealed that youths who experienced greater threat in response to conflict reported increases in triangulation over time, and triangulation was associated with increased self-blame and diminished parent-adolescent relations. This study highlights links between …


The Effects Of Acute Stress On Human Prefrontal Working Memory Systems, Anthony J. Porcelli, Daniel Cruz, Karen Wenberg, Michael D. Patterson, Bharat B. Biswal, Bart Rypma Oct 2008

The Effects Of Acute Stress On Human Prefrontal Working Memory Systems, Anthony J. Porcelli, Daniel Cruz, Karen Wenberg, Michael D. Patterson, Bharat B. Biswal, Bart Rypma

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

We examined the relationship between acute stress and prefrontal-cortex (PFC) based working memory (WM) systems using behavioral (Experiment 1) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI; Experiment 2) paradigms. Subjects performed a delayed-response item-recognition task, with alternating blocks of high and low WM demand trials. During scanning, participants performed this task under three stress conditions: cold stress (induced by cold-water hand-immersion), a room temperature water control (induced by tepid-water hand-immersion), and no-water control (no hand-immersion). Performance was affected by WM demand, but not stress. Cold stress elicited greater salivary cortisol readings in behavioral subjects, and greater PFC signal change in fMRI …


Age-Related Functional Recruitment For Famous Name Recognition: An Event-Related Fmri Study, Kristy A. Nielson, Kelli Douville, Michael Seidenberg, John L. Woodard, Sarah K. Miller, Malgorzata Franczak, Piero Antuono, Stephen M. Rao Oct 2006

Age-Related Functional Recruitment For Famous Name Recognition: An Event-Related Fmri Study, Kristy A. Nielson, Kelli Douville, Michael Seidenberg, John L. Woodard, Sarah K. Miller, Malgorzata Franczak, Piero Antuono, Stephen M. Rao

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Recent neuroimaging research shows that older adults exhibit recruitment, or increased activation on various cognitive tasks. The current study evaluated whether a similar pattern also occurs in semantic memory by evaluating age-related differences during recognition of Recent (since the 1990s) and Enduring (1950s to present) famous names. Fifteen healthy older and 15 healthy younger adults performed the name recognition task with a high and comparable degree of accuracy, although older adults had slower reaction time in response to Recent famous names. Event-related functional MRI showed extensive networks of activation in the two groups including posterior cingulate, right hippocampus, temporal lobe …


Comparability Of Functional Mri Response In Young And Old During Inhibition, Kristy A. Nielson, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Thomas J. Ross, Hugh Garavan, Stephen M. Rao, Elliot Stein Jan 2004

Comparability Of Functional Mri Response In Young And Old During Inhibition, Kristy A. Nielson, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Thomas J. Ross, Hugh Garavan, Stephen M. Rao, Elliot Stein

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

When using fMRI to study age-related cognitive changes, it is important to establish the integrity of the hemodynamic response because, potentially, it can be affected by age and disease. However, there have been few attempts to document such integrity and no attempts using higher cognitive rather than perceptual or motor tasks. We used fMRI with 28 healthy young and older adults on an inhibitory control task. Although older and young adults differed in task performance and activation patterns, they had comparable hemodynamic responses. We conclude that activation during cognitive inhibition, which was predominantly increased in elders, was not due to …


Frontal Recruitment During Response Inhibition In Older Adults Replicated With Fmri, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Kristy A. Nielson Oct 2003

Frontal Recruitment During Response Inhibition In Older Adults Replicated With Fmri, Scott Aaron Langenecker, Kristy A. Nielson

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Recent research has explored age-related differences in multiple areas of cognitive functioning using fMRI, PET, and SPECT. However, because these studies used different tasks, subjects, and methods, little is known about whether the results of these studies are generalizable or repeatable. The present study replicated a previous study [Psychol. Aging 17 (2002) 56] using the same Go/No-go task with a subset of 11 of the original older adult subjects, and using the same fMRI scanner and imaging methods. A direct comparison was made between these participants at Time 1 and Time 2 for both behavioral and functional data. These participants …