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I Am A Monster: An Exploration Of The Self Through Examination Of Fragmented Identity Or Mary Shelley’S Frankenstein Becomes A Guide For Self-Reflection, Sherri A. Ahern

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the ways a fragmented identity can be reconciled through examination and analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and several other works of art. Findings suggest that identity is both generated by and projected onto individuals, and reconciliation of these questions can turn the concept of monstrosity from a negative to a positive. This research supports and promotes the notion that individuals are more than simply the sum of all their parts, and that identities can simultaneously endure the paradox of being fragmented yet whole.

Students’ Perspectives Of Experiential Learning In An Addictions Course, Tammi F. Dice, Kristy Carlisle, Rebekah Byrd

ETSU Faculty Works

Substance use disorder practitioners may identify as individuals in recovery, while others may have never experienced the challenge of abstinence. Without this lived experience, it may be difficult to accurately empathize with clients in recovery. Experiential learning is a way for students to live through an exercise in abstinence. The value of utilizing experiential learning for skill development and application of theory is established. However, there is no empirical research examining the use of experiential learning with undergraduate substance use disorder practitioner trainees not in recovery from addiction as a means to increase their ability to empathize with clients’ experiences. …

Timely Linkage Of Individuals To Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of Findhelpnowky.Org, Terry Lee Bunn, Dana Quesinberry, Tyler Jennings, Amber Kizewski, Heather Jackson, Sarah Mckee, Sarah Eustice

Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center Faculty Publications

Background: Substance use disorders (SUD) have steadily increased over the last two decades. Seeking SUD treatment involves searching SUD treatment facility types (inpatient, outpatient and intensive outpatient, residential and family residential, and detoxification facilities) that offer specialized SUD treatment depending on individual needs and preferences. Referrals to SUD treatment require innovative strategies that rapidly link individuals to SUD treatment when they are at the critical stage of readiness. The aim of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a user-friendly SUD treatment facility opening availability website called FindHelpNowKY.org. The objectives of the study were to 1) recruit SUD treatment …

The Role Of Therapeutic Communities In The Process Of Desistance: A Figurational Analysis, Darragh Farrell

Dissertations

The therapeutic community (TC) is predominantly used for the treatment of substance users. Its approach, which focuses on a strong sense of community, relies on the peer group itself as an agent of change. In one Irish TC, desistance from crime appears to be an unintended outcome of the social processes and cultural forces existing there. The current study utilises qualitative data collected from a small cohort of seven male therapeutic community graduates. All participants had histories of involvement in serious crime and had desisted to varying degrees. Using a figuarational approach, concerned with social processes, analysis of the data …

Just Another School: The Need To Strengthen Legal Protections For Students Facing Disciplinary Transfers, Miranda Johnson

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Over the past decade, there has been increasing national, state, and local attention focused on the negative impacts of school expulsion and suspension. As a result of the well-documented and long-standing research showing the harm to students of exclusionary school discipline practices, states and school districts have begun reforming their policies and practices to limit the use of suspensions and expulsions. Many of these new reforms, however, have not included changes to provisions in state law and district policies allowing for students to be transferred from their neighborhood schools to alternative schools for disciplinary reasons. In this article, we argue …

Stress Promotes Drug Seeking Through Glucocorticoid-Dependent Endocannabinoid Mobilization In The Prelimbic Cortex, Jayme R. Mcreynolds, Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Yan Li, Oliver Vranjkovic, Evan N. Graf, Daisuke Ogasawara, Benjamin F. Cravatt, David A. Baker, Qing-Song Liu, Cecilia J. Hillard, John R. Mantsch

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Clinical reports suggest that rather than directly driving cocaine use, stress may create a biological context within which other triggers for drug use become more potent. We hypothesize that stress-induced increases in corticosterone “set the stage” for relapse by promoting endocannabinoid-induced attenuation of inhibitory transmission in the prelimbic cortex (PL).

Methods

We have established a rat model for these stage-setting effects of stress. In this model, neither a stressor (electric footshock) nor stress-level corticosterone treatment alone reinstates cocaine seeking following self-administration and extinction, but each treatment potentiates reinstatement in response to an otherwise subthreshold cocaine priming dose (2.5 mg/kg, …

Verbal Memory Performance And Reduced Cortical Thickness Of Brain Regions Along The Uncinate Fasciculus In Young Adult Cannabis Users, Nina Levar, Alan N. Francis, Matthew J. Smith, Wilson C. Ho, Jodi M. Gilman

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Memory impairment is one of the most commonly reported effects of cannabis use, especially among those who initiate use earlier, perhaps due to the effects of delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol on cannabinoid (CB1) receptors in the brain. Studies have increasingly investigated whether cannabis use is associated with impairments in verbal memory, and with alterations in brain structures underlying verbal memory. The uncinate fasciculus (UF), a long-range white matter tract, connects regions with densely localized CB1 receptors that are important in verbal memory. This study investigated the impact of cannabis use on UF structures and its association with memory performance in young …

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial Of N-Acetylcysteine For Cannabis Use Disorder In Adults, Kevin M. Gray, Susan C. Sonne, Erin A. Mcclure, Udi E. Ghitza, Abigail G. Matthews, Aimee L. Mcrae-Clark, Kathleen M. Carroll, Jennifer S. Potter, Katharina Wiest, Larissa J. Mooney, Albert Hasson, Sharon L. Walsh, Michelle R. Lofwall, Shanna Babalonis, Robert W. Lindblad, Steven Sparenborg, Aimee Wahle, Jacqueline S. King, Nathaniel L. Baker, Rachel L. Tomko, Louise F. Haynes, Ryan G. Vandrey, Frances R. Levin

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background—Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults.

Methods—In a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18–50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200 mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily. All …

Neurophysiological Capacity In A Working Memory Task Differentiates Dependent From Nondependent Heavy Drinkers And Controls, Michael J. Wesley, Joshua A. Lile, Mark T. Fillmore, Linda J. Porrino

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background—Determining the brain-behavior profiles that differentiate heavy drinkers who are and are not alcohol dependent will inform treatment efforts. Working memory is linked to substance use disorders and can serve as a representation of the demand placed on the neurophysiology associated with cognitive control.

Methods—Behavior and brain activity (via fMRI) were recorded during an N-Back working memory task in controls (CTRL), nondependent heavy drinkers (A-ND) and dependent heavy drinkers (A-D). Typical and novel step-wise analyses examined profiles of working memory load and increasing task demand, respectively.

Results—Performance was significantly decreased in A-D during high working memory load …

Running Away From Addiction: Can Exercise Attenuate Methamphetamine-Induced Neurotoxicity?, Ashley N. Fricks-Gleason

Celebration of Scholarship and Research

Methamphetamine (METH) abuse continues to be a major public health concern. Use is endemic in the Western states and growing in the Midwest; Colorado currently ranks 7th in the nation for total number of METH users over the age of 25. Psychostimulant abuse carries with it several potential health risks, including addiction, and METH abuse carries the additional danger of permanent brain injury. It is well established that exposure to multiple high doses of METH produces damage to central monoamine systems. Long-lasting decreases in markers of dopamine (DA) innervation of the striatum have been reported in both human METH abusers …

The Use And Abuse Of Mutual-Support Programs In Drug Courts, Sara Gordon

Scholarly Works

There is a large gap between what we know about the disease of addiction and its appropriate treatment, and the treatment received by individuals who are ordered into treatment as a condition of participation in drug court. Most medical professionals are not appropriately trained about addiction and most addiction treatment providers do not have the education and training necessary to provide appropriate evidence-based services to individuals who are referred by drug courts for addiction treatment. This disconnect between our understanding of addiction and available addiction treatment has wide-reaching impact for individuals who attempt to receive medical care for addiction in …

Attitudes About Future Genetic Testing For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Addiction Among Community-Based Veterans., Michelle R. Lent, Stuart N Hoffman, H Lester Kirchner, Thomas G Urosevich, Joseph J Boscarino, Joseph A Boscarino

PCOM Scholarly Papers

This study explored attitudes toward hypothetical genetic testing for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and addiction among veterans. We surveyed a random sample of community-based veterans (n = 700) by telephone. One year later, we asked the veterans to provide a DNA sample for analysis and 41.9% of them returned the DNA samples. Overall, most veterans were not interested in genetic testing neither for PTSD (61.7%) nor for addiction (68.7%). However, bivariate analyses suggested there was an association between having the condition of interest and the likelihood of genetic testing on a 5-point scale (p < 0.001 for PTSD; p = 0.001 for …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Health Informatics Role In Addressing The Public Health Crisis Of Addiction And Overall Effectiveness Of Treatment, Daniel Del Toro

Applied Research Projects

In recent years, the implementation of Health Information Management (HIM) data systems has had significant positive impacts in nearly all aspects of both health and healthcare delivery. However, during this time, there has also been a dramatic increase in the demand for addiction and mental health treatment. The rising number of individuals requiring mental health treatment for addiction has resulted in its declaration as an urgent public health epidemic by the Department of Health and Human Services. The all-encompassing effects of addiction are prevalent in all areas of society, seen in the form of across-the-board rising healthcare costs, addiction related …

Inter-Relationships Linking Probability Of Becoming A Case Of Nicotine Dependence With Frequency Of Tobacco Cigarette Smoking, Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya, James C. Anthony

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Once smoking starts, some tobacco cigarette smokers (TCS) can make very rapid transitions into tobacco dependence syndromes (TCD). With adjustment for smoking frequency, we posit female excess risk for this rapid-onset TCD. In a novel application of functional analysis for tobacco research, we estimate four Hill function parameters and plot TCD risk against a gradient of smoking frequency, as observed quite soon after smoking onset.

METHODS: In aggregate, the National Surveys of Drug Use and Health, 2004-2013, identified 1546 newly incident TCS in cross-sectional research, each with standardized TCD assessment.

RESULTS: Hill function estimates contradict our apparently over-simplistic hypothesis. …

Implementing An Mhealth System For Substance Use Disorders In Primary Care: A Mixed Methods Study Of Clinicians’ Initial Expectations And First Year Experiences, Marie-Louise Mares, David H. Gustafson, Joseph E. Glass, Andrew Quanbeck, Helene Mcdowell, Fiona Mctavish, Amy K. Atwood, Lisa A. Marsch, Chanetelle Thomas, Dhavan Shah, Randall Brown, Andrew Isham, Mary Jane Nealon, Victoria Ward

Publications and Research

Background: Millions of Americans need but don’t receive treatment for substance use, and evidence suggests that addiction-focused interventions on smart phones could support their recovery. There is little research on implementation of addiction-related interventions in primary care, particularly in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that provide primary care to underserved populations. We used mixed methods to examine three FQHCs’ implementation of Seva, a smart-phone app that offers patients online support/discussion, health-tracking, and tools for coping with cravings, and offers clinicians information about patients’ health tracking and relapses. We examined (a) clinicians’ initial perspectives about implementing Seva, and (b) the first …

Stress-Induced Executive Dysfunction In Gdnf-Deficient Mice, A Mouse Model Of Parkinsonism, Mona Buhusi, Kaitlin Olsen, Benjamin Z. Young, Catalin V. Buhusi

Psychology Faculty Publications

Maladaptive reactivity to stress is linked to improper decision making, impulsivity, and discounting of delayed rewards. Chronic unpredictable stress alters dopaminergic function and re-shapes dopaminergic circuits in key areas involved in decision making, and impairs prefrontal-cortex dependent response inhibition and working memory. Glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is essential for regulating dopamine release in the basal ganglia and the survival of dopaminergic neurons, and GDNF-deficient mice are considered an animal model for aging-related Parkinsonism. Recently, GDNF expression in the striatum has been linked to resilience to stress. Here we investigated the effects of chronic unpredictable stress on decision making in GDNF-heterozygous …

Impact Of Pornography Use In Adolescent Boys: Boys’ Self-Reports On Their Use Of Pornography, Sarah R. Sangeado

Senior Honors Projects

Pornography use has become more prevalent in recent years and research has shown that excessive use can lead to addictive behaviors. This is of special concern for adolescents, who are more vulnerable to addiction because of their immature brains and heightened response to visual stimuli. This study is an inquiry into what adolescent boys are saying about pornography’s effect on their sexual and social functioning. A content analysis was done on messages from online pornography forums written by adolescent boys 19 years of age and younger. A total of 125 comments were extracted and placed into six different categories: 1) …

Cb1 Receptor Antagonism Blocks Stress-Potentiated Reinstatement Of Cocaine Seeking In Rats, Jayme R. Mcreynolds, Elizabeth M. Doncheck, Oliver Vranjkovic, Geoffrey S. Ganzman, David A. Baker, Cecilia J. Hillard, John R. Mantsch

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Rationale

Under some conditions, stress, rather than directly triggering cocaine seeking, potentiates reinstatement to other stimuli, including a subthreshold cocaine dose. The mechanisms responsible for stress-potentiated reinstatement are not well defined. Endocannabinoid signaling is increased by stress and regulates synaptic transmission in brain regions implicated in motivated behavior.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) signaling is required for stress-potentiated reinstatement of cocaine seeking in rats.

Methods

Following i.v. cocaine self-administration (2 h access/day) and extinction in male rats, footshock stress alone does not reinstate cocaine seeking but reinstatement is …

Genetic Imaging Consortium For Addiction Medicine: From Neuroimaging To Genes, Scott Mackey, Kees-Jan Kan, Bader Chaarani, Nelly Alia-Klein, Albert Batalla, Samantha Brooks, Janna Cousijn, Alain Dagher, Michiel De Ruiter, Sylvane Desrivieres, Sarah W. Feldstein Ewing, Rita Goldstein, Anna Goudriaan, Mary M. Heitzeg, Kent Hutchison, Chiang-Shan R. Li, Edythe D. London, Valentina Lorenzetti, Maartje Luijten, Rocio Martin-Santos, Angelica M. Morales, Martin P. Paulus, Tomas Paus, Godfrey Pearlson, Renee Schluter, Reza Momenan, Lianne Schmaal, Gunter Schumann, Rajita Sinha, Zsuzsika Sjoerds, Dan J. Stein, Elliot A. Stein, Nadia Solowij, Susan Tapert, Anne Uhlmann, Dick Veltman, Ruth Van Holst, Hendrik Walter, Margaret J. Wright, Murat Yucel, Murat Yucel, Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, Derrek P. Hibar, Neda Jahanshad, Paul M. Thompson, David Glahn, Hugh Garavan, Patricia Conrod

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Since the sample size of a typical neuroimaging study lacks sufficient statistical power to explore unknown genomic associations with brain phenotypes, several international genetic imaging consortia have been organized in recent years to pool data across sites. The challenges and achievements of these consortia are considered here with the goal of leveraging these resources to study addiction. The authors of this review have joined together to form an Addiction working group within the framework of the ENIGMA project, a meta-analytic approach to multisite genetic imaging data. Collectively, the Addiction working group possesses neuroimaging and genomic data obtained from over 10,000 …

Prevalence And Predictors Of Substance-Related Emergency Psychiatry Admissions, M. Scott Young, Kathleen A. Moore

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

Background: Individuals commonly present for emergency psychiatry services for reasons related to their use of alcohol or illicit drugs. This study assessed the prevalence of these phenomena and explored characteristics distinguishing emergency psychiatry admissions with versus without presenting problems related to substance use. Methods: Data included standardized emergency psychiatry intake interviews from 2,161 consecutive admissions to three hospital-based emergency psychiatry departments in Florida’s Tampa Bay area. Admissions were classified as substanceinvolved if substance use was ascertained to be related to the presenting problem(s). Cases with only substance-related presenting problems were classified as substance-only admissions. Descriptive statistics compared substance-involved admissions to …

A Mixed-Methods Examination Among Young Adult Racially/Ethnically Diverse Bariatric Surgery Patients, Christine E. Spadola

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bariatric, or weight loss, surgery (WLS) is known as the most effective treatment for severe obesity, and the number of bariatric surgeries performed in the United States has more than tripled over the past two decades. Despite the potential health benefits of WLS (i.e., reversal of type 2 diabetes), research has revealed problematic alcohol use among WLS patients, in part associated with the following risk factors: the prevalence of a lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD), the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) procedure, younger age, and an increased post-surgical sensitivity to alcohol. There is reason to believe both (a) young adult and …

The Relationship Between Gaming Addictive Behavior, Satisfaction, And Success In Computer-Based Learning, Marlene Carrilho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the association between college students’ levels of gaming addictive behavior and their levels of student satisfaction and student success in a computer-based learning environment. Additionally, gender was investigated as a moderator of the association between gaming addictive behavior and student success and between gaming addictive behavior and student satisfaction. Data was collected through online surveys from a convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled at a large, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)-accredited, evangelical Christian university located in Virginia. The statistical program SPSS 22.0 was used for the analyses. Hierarchical …

Social Media Network Participation And Academic Performance In Senior High Schools In Ghana, Jeffrey Mingle, Musah Adams

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study looks at social media network participation and academic performance in senior high schools. The study was aimed at identifying social media network sites and their usage among students, how students networked and participated on social media networks, time invested by students on social networks, the effects of social media on students’ grammar and spelling as well as the effects of social network participation on the student’s academic performance within the context of the social learning and the use and gratification theories.

To achieve the objectives of the research, the study used a mixed method approach which involved the …

Avoidance As An Explanatory Mechanism For Poor Outcomes In Treatment For Substance Use Disorders, Andrew Oakland

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent and lead to significant impairments in people's lives in a variety of ways. One area which has gained attention is that of SUDs and their high comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders. Many theories exist as to why these conditions often occur together, and the self-medication hypothesis is one that has perhaps the most research and general support behind it. The self-medication hypothesis states that individuals use substances to reduce negative affect which creates a feedback loop of negative reinforcement. Individuals then develop problematic substance use in addition to emotional dysregulation. One recent theory …

Aversive Stimuli Drive Drug Seeking In A State Of Low Dopamine Tone, Robert C. Twining, Daniel S. Wheeler, Amanda L. Ebben, Andre J. Jacobsen, Mykel A. Robble, John R. Mantsch, Robert A. Wheeler

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Stressors negatively impact emotional state and drive drug seeking, in part, by modulating the activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Unfortunately, the rapid regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimuli that cause drug seeking is not well characterized. In a series of experiments, we scrutinized the subsecond regulation of dopamine signaling by the aversive stimulus, quinine, and tested its ability to cause cocaine seeking. Additionally, we examined the midbrain regulation of both dopamine signaling and cocaine seeking by the stress-sensitive peptide, corticotropin releasing factor (CRF).

Methods

Combining fast-scan cyclic voltammetry with behavioral pharmacology, we examined the effect of …

Drug Predictive Cues Activate Aversion-Sensitive Striatal Neurons That Encode Drug Seeking, Daniel S. Wheeler, Mykel A. Robble, Emily M. Hebron, Matthew J. Dupont, Amanda L. Ebben, Robert A. Wheeler

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Drug-associated cues have profound effects on an addict’s emotional state and drug-seeking behavior. Although this influence must involve the motivational neural system that initiates and encodes the drug-seeking act, surprisingly little is known about the nature of such physiological events and their motivational consequences. Three experiments investigated the effect of a cocaine-predictive stimulus on dopamine signaling, neuronal activity, and reinstatement of cocaine seeking. In all experiments, rats were divided into two groups (paired and unpaired), and trained to self-administer cocaine in the presence of a tone that signaled the immediate availability of the drug. For rats in the paired group, …

Exposure To Kynurenic Acid During Adolescence Increases Sign-Tracking And Impairs Long-Term Potentiation In Adulthood, Nicole E. Deangeli, Travis P. Todd, Stephen E. Chang, Hermes H. Yeh, Pamela W. Yeh, David J. Bucci

Dartmouth Scholarship

Changes in brain reward systems are thought to contribute significantly to the cognitive and behavioral impairments of schizophrenia, as well as the propensity to develop co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Presently, there are few treatments for persons with a dual diagnosis and little is known about the neural substrates that underlie co-occurring schizophrenia and substance abuse. One goal of the present study was to determine if a change in the concentration of kynurenic acid (KYNA), a tryptophan metabolite that is increased in the brains of people with schizophrenia, affects reward-related behavior. KYNA is an endogenous antagonist of NMDA glutamate receptors and …

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement For Chronic Pain And Prescription Opioid Misuse: Results From An Early Stage Randomized Controlled Trial, Eric L. Garland, Eron G. Manusov, Brett Froeliger, Amber Kelly, Jaclyn M. Williams, Matthew O. Howard

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Objective: Opioid pharmacotherapy is now the leading treatment for chronic pain, a problem that affects nearly one third of the U.S. population. Given the dramatic rise in prescription opioid misuse and opioid-related mortality, novel behavioral interventions are needed. The purpose of this study was to conduct an early-stage randomized controlled trial of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), a multimodal intervention designed to simultaneously target mechanisms underpinning chronic pain and opioid misuse.

Method: Chronic pain patients (N = 115; mean age = 48 ± 14 years; 68% female) were randomized to 8 weeks of MORE or a support group (SG). Outcomes were …

Teaching Self: The Ambiguity Of Lived Experience In Classroom Discourse, Scott V. Gealy

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Inspired by Paul Heilker’s notion of the essay as a form of exploration over argument, embodying an anti-scholastic and chrono-logical approach, and Candace Spigelman’s endorsement of experience as evidence in academic discourse, this thesis weaves memoir into more traditional scholarship in an effort to complicate the archetype of the effective teacher. Furthermore, the essay seeks to deconstruct conventional student, teacher, and cultural binaries with the help of the theoretical work of Deborah Britzman, Parker Palmer, Mikhail Bakhtin, Joy Ritchie and David Wilson and others, while using Scott Russell Sanders’ narrative essay “Under the Influence” as a mentor text for …

Clinical And Reliable Change In An Australian Residential Substance Use Program Using The Addiction Severity Index, Frank P. Deane, Peter J. Kelly, Trevor P. Crowe, Justin C. Coulson, Geoffrey C.B Lyons

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Although the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) is one of the most frequently used measures in alcohol and other drug research, it has rarely been used to assess clinical and reliable change. This study assessed clients' clinical and reliable change at The Salvation Army residential substance abuse treatment centers in Australia. A total of 296 clients completed ASI interviews on admission to treatment and 3 months after discharge from treatment. Clients demonstrated significant improvement on all seven ASI composites. The range of reliable change for each ASI composite varied from 30% to 70%. More than two-thirds of clients experienced clinically significant …