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A Behavioral And Biopsychological Investigation Of The Role Of The Illusion Of Control And Perseverative Chasing Between Problem And Non-Problem Gamblers, Brett Evan Bauchner Oct 2014

A Behavioral And Biopsychological Investigation Of The Role Of The Illusion Of Control And Perseverative Chasing Between Problem And Non-Problem Gamblers, Brett Evan Bauchner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The illusion of control is associated with problem gambling. The perception that one is in control of a random event, when in reality there is no control, can facilitate problem gambling behaviors. The degree or extent of control may activate physiological mechanism of increased excitation and reward that reinforce gambling. In the studies presented here, performance on simulated gambling tasks that provided varying levels gambling participation were compared to physiological measures of behavioral activation in problem gambler and nongamblers. Participants watched video clips of three horseraces scenarios that permitted different degrees of participation and control over wagering. Concurrently saliva samples …


A Bioecological Approach To Understanding The Interaction Of Environmental Stress And Genetic Susceptibility In Influencing Cortisol And Blood Pressure In African American Adults, Sandra Marie Coulon Aug 2014

A Bioecological Approach To Understanding The Interaction Of Environmental Stress And Genetic Susceptibility In Influencing Cortisol And Blood Pressure In African American Adults, Sandra Marie Coulon

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are disproportionately affected by high blood pressure, a precursor to cardiovascular disease. Bioecological, biomedical, and gene-environment interaction theories were integrated to test the impact of environmental stress and genetic susceptibility on stress-related outcomes, including waking cortisol, perceived stress, and blood pressure in African-American adults. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the effects of neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES), neighborhood satisfaction, and neighborhood collective efficacy on waking cortisol, perceived stress, and blood pressure and to determine whether genetic risk for increased glucocorticoid receptor sensitivity moderated those relations in a gene-by-environment (GxE) interaction. A secondary aim was to …


Associations Between Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis System Gene Variants And Cortisol Reactivity In Preschoolers: Main Effects And Gene-Environment Interactions, Haroon I. Sheikh Jun 2014

Associations Between Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis System Gene Variants And Cortisol Reactivity In Preschoolers: Main Effects And Gene-Environment Interactions, Haroon I. Sheikh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Exposure to stressful events during early development has consistently been shown to produce long lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which may increase vulnerability to mood and anxiety disorders. Recently reported genetic association studies indicate that these disorders may be influenced, in part, by gene-environment interactions (GxE) involving polymorphisms within the corticotrophin-releasing hormone and monoaminergic system genes. However, little is known about how genetic variants and life stress work to shape children’s neuroendocrine reactivity and emerging symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to examine main effects of candidate genes and GxE on the neuroendocrine stress response and …


The Impact Of Relationship Functioning On Cortisol In Married Couples: A Dyadic Exploration Of Sleep As A Potential Mediator, Benjamin D. Clark Jun 2014

The Impact Of Relationship Functioning On Cortisol In Married Couples: A Dyadic Exploration Of Sleep As A Potential Mediator, Benjamin D. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Relationship functioning in couples has been linked to numerous health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between 1) marital functioning and sleep dimensions, 2) marital functioning and cortisol, and 3) sleep dimensions and cortisol. The sample consisted of 108 heterosexual, married couples and was part of a larger marital intervention study. As predicted, poor marital functioning was related to negative sleep outcomes. However, these effects were only significant for wives. There was also evidence to suggest that poor marital functioning was associated with increased cortisol levels in husbands. These effects were independent of age and …


Physiological And Biochemical Consequences Of Sleep Deprivation, Jade Catherine Boykin Apr 2014

Physiological And Biochemical Consequences Of Sleep Deprivation, Jade Catherine Boykin

Honors College Theses

Sleep is a universal phenomenon in vertebrates and lack of sleep has been linked with various abnormal behaviors (Singh et al 2013). Studies have shown that a strong linkage exists between stress and sleep, or lack thereof. In fact, the Better Sleep Council’s 2009 survey revealed that 65% of Americans lose sleep due to elevated stress (Wells and Vaughn 2012). Continual (chronic) elevated stress levels have been linked with serious negative health effects. By using sleep deprivation studies, on a simpler animal model than humans it is our aim to investigate the consequences of sleep deprivation at the physiological and …


Cortisol And Testosterone In Hair As Biological Markers Of Systolic Heart Failure, Justin Chan Apr 2014

Cortisol And Testosterone In Hair As Biological Markers Of Systolic Heart Failure, Justin Chan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with increased stress and alterations in metabolism, favoring catabolism over anabolism. Hormonal profiles of patients with heart failure have been assessed using serum and saliva as matrices, which are only point measurements and do not provide long-term information. Scalp hair is a novel matrix that allows for measurement of hormones over a period of several months. We aimed to evaluate whether levels of cortisol and testosterone and their ratio (C/T) in hair correlate with severity of heart failure. We conducted a prospective study in ambulatory male patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) …


Modeling Dyadic Attunement: Physiological Concordance In Newly Married Couples And Alliance Similarity In Patient-Therapist Dyads, Holly Laws Apr 2014

Modeling Dyadic Attunement: Physiological Concordance In Newly Married Couples And Alliance Similarity In Patient-Therapist Dyads, Holly Laws

Doctoral Dissertations

Mutual influence within relationships is theorized as central to human development and functioning across the lifespan. Multiple theories posit a process of progressive bidirectional influence that results in greater similarity between dyad members over time, termed attunement. Yet attunement processes, from dyadic synchrony in healthy child development to partner influence within romantic relationships, are difficult to measure and model. One difficulty is that capturing information from both members of a relationship pair, or dyad, requires statistical modeling that appropriately accounts for the interdependence between them. The present study addressed this issue by putting forward a framework for modeling attunement processes …


The Cortisol/Dhea Ratio And Sexual Function In Women With And Without A History Of Depression, Carolyn Marie Dundon Jan 2014

The Cortisol/Dhea Ratio And Sexual Function In Women With And Without A History Of Depression, Carolyn Marie Dundon

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The comorbidity between female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is well documented; however, the mechanism(s) underlying the relationship between these disorders has not been defined. The literature has associated the adrenal hormones cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with FSD and MDD, suggesting a biological mechanism that may elucidate the comorbidity between these disorders. Based on evidence pointing to a high cortisol/DHEA ratio (C/D Ratio) in MDD and low DHEA in FSD, this study investigated if the potential association between a high C/D Ratio and FSD would be greater for women with a history of MDD when compared to …


Cortisol, Physical Activity, And Weight Loss In A Randomized Clinical Trial, Shawn S. Smith Jan 2014

Cortisol, Physical Activity, And Weight Loss In A Randomized Clinical Trial, Shawn S. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

Abnormal cortisol levels may be an important factor in the ability of an individual to lose weight and maintain weight loss. This study examined overweight and obese individuals who participated in a weight loss program. Cortisol, physical activity, and weight loss were measured at regular intervals and examined for possible relationships


White Blood Cell Counts, Parasite Prevalence, And Plasma Cortisol Levels Of Dogs In A County Animal Shelter: Changes Over Days And Impact Of A Program Of Repeated Human Interaction, Emily S. Dudley Jan 2014

White Blood Cell Counts, Parasite Prevalence, And Plasma Cortisol Levels Of Dogs In A County Animal Shelter: Changes Over Days And Impact Of A Program Of Repeated Human Interaction, Emily S. Dudley

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Animal shelter housing is highly stressful for a dog, compromising welfare and leading to undesirable behaviors and unknown health consequences. We documented the changes in circulating numbers of white blood cells, plasma cortisol, and fecal parasite shedding of dogs housed for 10 days at a county animal shelter. White blood cell changes were most prominent on Day 10 after arrival to the shelter. Changes included increased total leukocytes, mature neutrophils, and lymphocytes, with less consistent increases in monocytes and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N:L). Fecal parasite shedding was elevated and not affected by day. Cortisol levels of shelter dogs declined …


Stress And Myostatin In Salmoninae, Nicholas Galt Jan 2014

Stress And Myostatin In Salmoninae, Nicholas Galt

All ETDs from UAB

The relationship between the muscle growth inhibitor, myostatin, and the stress response has been extensively studied in mammals, and myostatin is now known to partially mediate the degradative effects of stress in skeletal muscle. In fish, this relationship has not yet been clearly described. Herein, the effects of two stress mimetics, cortisol treatment and crowding, on myostatin-1a, -1b, and -2a expression in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) are described. In study I, no clear effects on myostatin mRNA expression were detected in rainbow trout …