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Theses/Dissertations

2020

Cortisol

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The Neuroinflammatory Effects Of Chronic Unpredictable Stress On Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Brandon Stewart Dec 2020

The Neuroinflammatory Effects Of Chronic Unpredictable Stress On Zebrafish, Danio Rerio, Brandon Stewart

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Stress is a state of threatened homeostasis counteracted by various physiologic and behavioral responses aimed to maintain or restore balance. As such, stress acts as a motivator to perform during the challenges of life to survive. Chronic perturbations to the stress response homeostasis without relief can lead to dysregulation, thus attenuating organ systems and structures and causing significant damage {1]. Individuals who undergo psychological trauma endure an acute and transient experience, which results in minimal functional impairment, but some suffer from a chronic condition called posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals who have PTSD are likely to experience intense stress, …


Hormonal Responses To Seasonal Thermal And Ecological Stressors In Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata), Lilianne Nelson Dec 2020

Hormonal Responses To Seasonal Thermal And Ecological Stressors In Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata), Lilianne Nelson

Masters Theses

Relative to most primate species, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) experience extreme seasonal variation in thermal and ecological stressors that can impact energetic demands. To cope with these environmental changes, levels of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol and triiodothyronine, fluctuate to facilitate energetic adjustments. While previous research in primates has investigated thermal and ecological stressors individually, a combined assessment of these stressors alongside hormone levels can provide a more holistic understanding of the relationship between a primate’s thermoregulation, energetic balance, and stress. The goals of this study were to determine the effects of season, temperature and ecological stress on …


Predictors Of Psychosocial And Physiological Distress In Colorectal Cancer Patients, Hyrum Eddington Jun 2020

Predictors Of Psychosocial And Physiological Distress In Colorectal Cancer Patients, Hyrum Eddington

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Distress among cancer patients has been broadly accepted as an important indicator of patient well-being. However, questions remain such as what patient characteristics are associated with high distress and whether patient-reported distress is correlated with distress biomarkers. To answer these questions, we performed a survey study of 238 colorectal patients in which we assessed patient-reported distress, possible contributors to that distress, and patient anxiety and depression. We also abstracted demographic and clinical information from patient charts and collected measures for salivary cortisol and sarcopenia. We conducted bivariate statistical analyses between patient demographics, clinical factors, and psychosocial measures with our three …


Overcoming Adversity In The Stem Classroom: Examining Learned Helplessness In First-Year Community College Students Using Salivary Cortisol, Surveys And Interviews, Diane M. Price Banks Jun 2020

Overcoming Adversity In The Stem Classroom: Examining Learned Helplessness In First-Year Community College Students Using Salivary Cortisol, Surveys And Interviews, Diane M. Price Banks

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to determine whether a relationship between STEM attrition and Learned Helplessness exist in a group of first year STEM majors studied at an urban community college. STEM attrition rates have shown that 69% of the 20% of incoming STEM freshmen in associate degree programs, drop out or switch their majors to non-STEM curriculum within their first year of college (NCES, 2013). Learned helplessness is a behavioral phenomenon where some may become helpless as the conditions surrounding their success become adverse. Classic signs expressed with learned helplessness include: lack of motivation, depression, poor social skills, absence of control …


How Resilience-Building Interventions Impact Parenting Stress And Cortisol Reactivity In Mothers With Adverse Childhood Experiences, Victoria Jones May 2020

How Resilience-Building Interventions Impact Parenting Stress And Cortisol Reactivity In Mothers With Adverse Childhood Experiences, Victoria Jones

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Research has found that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with changes in both parenting stress and cortisol. Resilience-building interventions may be able to help diminish the effects of ACEs, thus impacting parenting stress and cortisol reactivity. This study aims to examine how two resilience-building interventions (emotion-based and behavior-based) will impact parenting stress and cortisol reactivity in mothers with ACEs. This project is in the preliminary stages of data collection; as such, this honors thesis will review the relevant literature, describe current methodology and proposed analyses, and discuss possible implications and future directions. Participants (goal N=100) undergo a pre-assessment where …


The Effect Of Slow-Feeding Hay Nets On Post-Prandial Equine Salivary Cortisol Levels, Grace Simpson Apr 2020

The Effect Of Slow-Feeding Hay Nets On Post-Prandial Equine Salivary Cortisol Levels, Grace Simpson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Throughout its evolution, the Equus caballus, or horse, developed a physiological response to environmental alterations involving the synthesis and release of cortisol from the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, to regulate blood glucose levels, vascular tone and hormone release throughout the body (Ambrojo et al., 2018). With a hypothesis that changing a horse’s feeding method can alter salivary cortisol levels, the aim of this research project was to determine if feeding forage to horses in slow-feeding haynets would significantly reduce acute cortisol salivary level fluctuations, which would be valuable to minimize horses’ stress and increase overall welfare. Two feeding methods …


More Than Just Words On A Screen: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Understanding Effects Of Race-Related Media, Melinda Kittleman Mar 2020

More Than Just Words On A Screen: A Biopsychosocial Approach To Understanding Effects Of Race-Related Media, Melinda Kittleman

Dissertations

Racial disparities in physical and mental health are ongoing and well-documented problems in the United States. Black Americans, compared to White Americans, have higher risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, depression, and substance abuse. Research suggests prejudice and discrimination play a role in racial health disparities. Everyday discrimination is considered a chronic, psychosocial stressor that impacts the health of Black Americans. A biopsychosocial approach states there are various factors that contribute to the pathway from discrimination to disease and proposes complex relationships that explain effects of racial discrimination on health. The current study examined social factors (race-related media), biological factors …


Effect Of The Prospect Of Transport On Captive Tiger Behavior And Fecal Cortisol In Naïve And Experienced Tigers, Callan Lichtenwalter Jan 2020

Effect Of The Prospect Of Transport On Captive Tiger Behavior And Fecal Cortisol In Naïve And Experienced Tigers, Callan Lichtenwalter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With close to 5,000 captive tigers in the United States, it is vital to ensure that these tigers are receiving adequate welfare whether they are in an accredited facility, or privately owned. The goal of this study was to assess whether captive tigers at a rescue facility with experience being transported outside of the facility would respond differently to the presentation of their transport vehicle than their naïve counterparts who had only been transported within the facility. The behavior of 5 naïve and 7 experienced tigers (n = 12) located at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas was …


Attentional Control In Infancy: The Role Of Sociodemographic Risk, Cortisol, And The Home Environment, Hannah B. White Jan 2020

Attentional Control In Infancy: The Role Of Sociodemographic Risk, Cortisol, And The Home Environment, Hannah B. White

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Infants’ ability to channel their cognitive resources by controlling their visual attention allows them to be active agents in their learning and development. Individual differences in attentional control have been linked to a wide variety of developmental outcomes including disparities between social classes in cognitive functioning. However, it is yet unknown when in development differences in attentional control related to sociodemographic factors emerge, or how factors of the home environment and the infant’s stress response relate to this effect. Accordingly, Experiment 1 examined whether certain sociodemographic factors, such as socioeconomic and minority status, predict 3.5-month-old infants’ (N = 102) …


Identifying Metabolites As Markers Of Fatigue In Athletes, Christopher D. George Jan 2020

Identifying Metabolites As Markers Of Fatigue In Athletes, Christopher D. George

Honors Theses

Fatigue in athletes caused by inadequate rest and other stressors can be severely detrimental to their health, and yet there is no reliable way to measure and track fatigue. Many classical measures of fatigue like body mass and resting heart rate are not reliable ways to track the physical fatigue of an athlete because they can change with many factors. In addition, it is not known how academic stress on top of physical stress affects fatigue. Metabolomics is a relatively new area of study and tracking metabolites offers the possibility to produce biomarkers to assess fatigue. This study collected saliva …