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Medical Neurobiology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Medical Neurobiology

The Preparatory Set: A Novel Approach To Understanding Stress, Trauma, And The Bodymind Therapies, Peter Payne, Mardi A. Crane-Godreau Apr 2015

The Preparatory Set: A Novel Approach To Understanding Stress, Trauma, And The Bodymind Therapies, Peter Payne, Mardi A. Crane-Godreau

Dartmouth Scholarship

Basic to all motile life is a differential approach/avoid response to perceived features of environment. The stages of response are initial reflexive noticing and orienting to the stimulus, preparation, and execution of response. Preparation involves a coordination of many aspects of the organism: muscle tone, posture, breathing, autonomic functions, motivational/emotional state, attentional orientation, and expectations. The organism organizes itself in relation to the challenge. We propose to call this the "preparatory set" (PS). We suggest that the concept of the PS can offer a more nuanced and flexible perspective on the stress response than do current theories. We also hypothesize …


Reward Enhances Tic Suppression In Children Within Months Of Tic Disorder Onset, Deanna J. Greene, Jonathan M. Koller, Amy Robichaux-Viehoever, Emily C. Bihun, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Kevin J. Black Jan 2015

Reward Enhances Tic Suppression In Children Within Months Of Tic Disorder Onset, Deanna J. Greene, Jonathan M. Koller, Amy Robichaux-Viehoever, Emily C. Bihun, Bradley L. Schlaggar, Kevin J. Black

Kevin J. Black, MD

Tic disorders are childhood onset neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by motor and/or vocal tics. Research has demonstrated that children with chronic tics (including Tourette syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder: TS/CTD) can suppress tics, particularly when an immediate, contingent reward is given for successful tic suppression. As a diagnosis of TS/CTD requires tics to be present for at least one year, children in these tic suppression studies had been living with tics for quite some time. Thus, it is unclear whether the ability to inhibit tics is learned over time or present at tic onset. Resolving that issue would inform theories of …


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 Jan 2015

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 …