Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Motivational And Physiological Dysregulation Due To Development And Onset Of Obesity Via Melanocortin 4 Receptor +/- Haploinsufficiency, Alex Steiner

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is one of the leading most health risks around the world, being especially problematic in the United States. A combination of high-fat diets and genetic abnormalities are to blame for the ever-growing number of obese individuals.

Melanocortin 4 receptors are vital for regulating energy expenditure and feeding behaviors; mutations of the receptors have been found to be the leading monogenetic cause of obesity. Using MC4R +/- haploinsufficient rats being fed a range of dietary fat, we investigated the physiological and motivational differences using a locomotor task, an operant task with fixed and progressive ratios, as well as a distraction …

Inhibition Of Return In Visual Search: Disentangling Overlapping Contributions With Event-Related Potentials, Allison Michelle Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to the finding that responses to previously attended locations are slower than those to previously unattended locations. Despite over 30 years of research on IOR, there is still no consensus in the field regarding what the underlying mechanism of this effect is. Although IOR is traditionally studied within spatial cueing paradigms, this effect is thought to reflect a mechanism that facilitates efficient visual search. The following studies explored the hypothesis that multiple processes contribute to the IOR effect in visual search and examined whether these are the same processes that result in IOR in cueing …

Building A Statistical Model Of The Drivers Of Self-Presentation, Kathleen Jocoy

Theses and Dissertations

The attempt to maintain a consistently positive public image is known as self-presentation; however, the structure of self-presentation has not been adequately explored. This paper aimed to identify a theory-based model for self-presentation by examining the relationship between personality traits and utilization of self-presentational behaviors. A review of the literature suggested self-presentation would be best modeled with a second order two-factor model with second order factors of Evaluation and Response. The second order factor of Evaluation is expected to explain the first order factors Perceived Anonymity, Sociability, and Communality while the second order factor of response is expected to explain …

The Word Frequency Effect In English Second Language Students: An Eye Movement Monitoring Study, Chase Alexandria Rathfoot

Senior Theses

Reading has been the subject of hundreds of thousands of studies. Reading is fundamental skill not only to an individual’s education, but to their socialization and an understanding of the behavior is a rapidly expanding area of research. One of the least understood areas of reading behavior can be found is the growing English Second Language (ESL) population – or those who are learning English after demonstrating competence in their native language. As their native language has its own unique set of properties and is presented in its own unique written form, the influence this language has on their reading …

Behavioral And Voltammetric Analysis Of Chronic Escitalopram Treatment To The Hiv-1 Transgenic Rat: Implications For Comorbid Hiv-1 And Clinical Depression, Adam R. Denton

Theses and Dissertations

HIV-1 infection is a serious condition affecting approximately 37 million individuals. Between 30% and 60% of seropositive individuals will develop symptoms of clinical depression. These individuals are five times more likely to commit suicide than non-seropositive clinically depressed patients. Dysfunction in serotonergic and dopaminergic transmission has consistently been implicated in the pathogenesis of depression. Specifically, dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex and in the nucleus accumbens core region have been shown to be underlying factors in the trajectory of depression. Given these underlying neurological features, the present research employed behavioral testing and electrochemical recording in an attempt to elucidate the therapeutic …