Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons^™

Investigating The Role Of Targeted Memory Reactivation In Sleep Spindle Production, Justin W. Hopper

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In ‘targeted memory reactivation’ (TMR) paradigms, information learned during wakefulness is paired with a cue, and reactivated during sleep by presenting that same cue. TMR improves memory. In a prior study (Antony et al., 2012), participants learned two melodies. One melody was cued during a nap, and performance was better than for the uncued melody. The current study reanalyzed these data to characterize sleep spindle density during TMR cue-periods relative to non-cued periods, and whether spindle density correlated with performance. During TMR stimulation, spindle density was significantly higher than during non-stimulation in four time windows. Compared to the non-TMR group, …

The Effect Of The Dopamine Agonist Pramipexole On Measures Of Impulsivity In Young, Healthy Participants, Daniel Glizer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Patients with Parkinson disease are prescribed dopamine agonists such as pramipexole to improve motor symptoms. Several studies have found that patients taking dopaminergic medication develop impulse control disorders. In contrast, other studies suggest that some behaviors become less impulsive with pramipexole. We evaluated the performance of 20 young, healthy participants who received pramipexole (0.5 mg) and 20 participants who received placebo, on the Go/No-Go, the Stop Signal Task, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. We found that the pramipexole group had more timed out Go trials on the Go/No-Go task than the placebo group, suggesting reduced motor impulsivity. There were …

Seeing With Sound: Investigating The Behavioural Applications And Neural Correlates Of Human Echolocation, Jennifer L. Milne

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some blind humans use the reflected echoes from self-produced signals to perceive their silent surroundings. Although the use of echolocation is well documented in animals such as bats and dolphins, comparatively little is known about human echolocation. The overarching goal of the work presented in this thesis was to shed light on some of the basic functions of human echolocation, including the perception of the shape, size, and material. I addressed these aspects of echolocation using behavioural psychophysics and neuroimaging.

In Chapter 2 I show that blind echolocators were able to accurately identify the shape of 2D objects, but that …

The Change Program: Comparing An Interactive Versus Prescriptive Telephone-Based Behavioural Intervention On The Psychological And Physiological Profiles Of University Students With Obesity, Erin S. Pearson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of the CHANGE (Coaching towards Healthy Actions Naturally through Goal-related Empowerment) Program was to compare the effectiveness of an interactive versus prescriptive 12-week telephone-based behavioural intervention on the psychological and physiological profiles of university students with obesity. Motivational Interviewing administered using Co-Active Life Coaching (MI-via-CALC) and a structured lifestyle treatment following the LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships, Nutrition) Program for Weight Management were examined.

Article 1 provided a methodological account of the CHANGE Program which included a detailed rationale for its development and a comprehensive description of the methods used. Because goal setting has been established as an …