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Articles 1 - 30 of 120
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Neural Responses To Magnetic Orientation Information In Songbirds, Madeleine Ir Brodbeck
Neural Responses To Magnetic Orientation Information In Songbirds, Madeleine Ir Brodbeck
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Effective navigation and orientation is essential for animals to survive. The study of migratory birds provides insights into these processes, particularly through mechanisms like the geomagnetic compass, which uses Earth's magnetic field for directional information. A brain region in songbirds relevant to this is cluster N, known for its potential role in processing geomagnetic information. Notably, cluster N appears exclusive to nocturnally migratory birds, being active solely at night, and lesion studies reveal that an intact cluster N is necessary for geomagnetic compass orientation. However, given the scarcity of empirical data concerning cluster N, substantial questions persist regarding its function. …
Smartphones For Smart Eating: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Smartphone Applications On Improving Adolescent Food Knowledge, Heather A. Jantzi
Smartphones For Smart Eating: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Smartphone Applications On Improving Adolescent Food Knowledge, Heather A. Jantzi
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Many Canadian adolescents have unhealthy eating habits which are risk factors for developing chronic diseases later in life. Food literacy plays a role in healthy eating habits but teens in Ontario currently lack sufficient nutrition education learning opportunities in home and school environments. Across health research, smartphones have been utilized as a novel medium to promote learning and alter behaviour. This thesis seeks to understand the effectiveness of smartphone applications at improving food knowledge in adolescents through (i) a systematic review of published interventions, and (ii) by investigating the efficacy of a novel location-based smartphone application. Findings from this thesis …
White Matter Connectome Associations With Reading Functions In Children, Chenglin Lou
White Matter Connectome Associations With Reading Functions In Children, Chenglin Lou
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This thesis investigated associations between the white matter connectome and reading in children with a wide range of reading abilities. It is well established that the connectome supports the interplay among brain regions and connections within an integrated system. In this dissertation, I examine the hypothesis that it could therefore represent multiple mapping processes among reading components and further explain variations in reading performance. Such associations between the organization of the connectome and reading skills have not been well explored. This thesis aimed to address this issue by considering both the relationship between connectome measures and standardized reading performance out …
The Role Of Serotonin In The Estradiol-Dependent Selectivity Of Auditory Regions In Songbirds, Calista J. Henry
The Role Of Serotonin In The Estradiol-Dependent Selectivity Of Auditory Regions In Songbirds, Calista J. Henry
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Breeding-typical levels of estradiol in songbirds has been shown to lead to selective auditory processing and induce a release of serotonin in auditory regions of the forebrain. These findings triggered the question of whether auditory discrimination is driven by estradiol directly, or by the associated release of serotonin. I treated non-breeding female white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) with either blank implants, 17β-estradiol, serotonin enhancer and blank implants, or serotonin antagonist and 17β-estradiol implants. Birds then heard male conspecific songs or control tones, and ZENK-immunoreactivity was quantified in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and caudomedial mesopallium (CMM). While I did not …
Fraction Magnitude Understanding Across Learning Formats: An Fmri Study, Chloe A. Henry
Fraction Magnitude Understanding Across Learning Formats: An Fmri Study, Chloe A. Henry
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Knowledge of fraction magnitudes are an important, but notoriously difficult mathematical concept to master. Behavioural work has begun to explore and compare the instructional tools used for fraction learning. However, how fraction instructional tools are processed in the brain remains an underexplored question. Therefore, in the present thesis, we used functional brain MRI methodology to examine the neural activity of adult participants while completing a fraction verification task using the number line and area model, two common methods of fraction learning. We found that both models commonly recruited fronto-parietal activity, the neural regions typically implicated in number processing. However, we …
Investigating The Roles Of The Dorsal And Ventral Striatum In Humor Comprehension And Appreciation Throughout Health, Aging, And Parkinson’S Disease, Maggie Prenger
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Humor processing is thought to involve two distinct components. The first, humor comprehension, involves detecting and resolving incongruities that are present within a humorous stimulus. This is related to cognitive processes such as ambiguity resolution, response inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, functions that are mediated in part by the dorsal portion of the striatum (DS). Humor appreciation, on the other hand, refers to the subjective amusement and mirth that one experiences in response to a joke. This is related to reward processing, which implicates the ventral portion of the striatum (VS). Across three separate studies, we investigated the involvement …
“Return To Play”: The Impact Of, And Changes To, Ontario Children’S Physical Activity During Covid-19, Monika B. Szpunar Ms.
“Return To Play”: The Impact Of, And Changes To, Ontario Children’S Physical Activity During Covid-19, Monika B. Szpunar Ms.
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation explored parents’ and their children’s perspectives of returning to play/sport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, and assessed how children’s physical activity levels changed during COVID-19. To understand the initial impact of the pandemic, Study 1 (August 2020) explored the influence of family sociodemographic factors (e.g., housing type) and risk tolerance (using the validated Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale) on parents’ return to play/sport attitudes. Via interviews with parents (n = 9) and children (n = 12), Study 2 (December 2020 – January 2021) gathered participants’ experiences of getting active …
From Micro To Macro: Examining Potential Microbiome Mediated Influences On Human Growth And Health Outcomes Through Breastfeeding And Antibiotic Exposures, Nicole K. Phillips
From Micro To Macro: Examining Potential Microbiome Mediated Influences On Human Growth And Health Outcomes Through Breastfeeding And Antibiotic Exposures, Nicole K. Phillips
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Human microbiome research has rapidly developed over the past two decades yet absent from most research is the composition and dynamics of microbiomes within human populations. Given the limitations in longitudinal studies which requires decades of repeated microbe taxonomic testing of a population sample, an alternative option is to examine microbiomes and their influences via proxies using pre-existing health datasets. This research demonstrates preliminary associations between presumed disrupted and supportive microbiomes dynamics proxied by antibiotic and breastmilk exposure respectively. Using health record data across the life span from approximately 500,000 U.K. participants, this research demonstrates variable altered growth and health …
Perceptual Benefits From Long-Term Exposure To Naturalistic Sound Patterns, Bruno A. Mesquita
Perceptual Benefits From Long-Term Exposure To Naturalistic Sound Patterns, Bruno A. Mesquita
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Our brains are proficient in learning recurring structures in the environment, in order to optimize perceptual inferences based on relevant information in a stochastic input. Sensory information is multi-dimensional, and the relationship between sound dimensions may be, in itself, a source of information. Many sounds in our environment covary dynamically, and these covariances may be learned, and therefore shape our perception, through exposure to them in our natural environment. In the present study we investigate how natural (long term), and experimental (short term), learning of statistical regularities in sounds may shape our ability to categorize them (Experiment 1) and to …
Investigation Of Neurotransmitter’S Knockdown Effect On Drosophila Melanogaster Female Aggression, Asil N. El Galad
Investigation Of Neurotransmitter’S Knockdown Effect On Drosophila Melanogaster Female Aggression, Asil N. El Galad
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster) is a popular model organism in neurobiology. While aggression has been studied heavily in male drosophila, there's minimal research on aggression in female drosophila. Neurotransmitters influencing aggressive behaviour in female D. melanogaster are poorly understood. Various neurotransmitters such as dopamine, octopamine, and serotonin influence aggression in D. melanogaster Further investigation of the role of neurotransmitters on aggression is thus important. The purpose of our experiment is to observe the effect of the knockdown of dopamine, octopamine and glutamate on aggression in female D. melanogaster.
The Effect Of Propionic Acid On The Habituation To Social And Non-Social Odour Cues In Adult Male Rats, Cashmeira-Dove P. Tyson
The Effect Of Propionic Acid On The Habituation To Social And Non-Social Odour Cues In Adult Male Rats, Cashmeira-Dove P. Tyson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The enteric bacterial metabolite, propionic acid (PPA), elicits physiological and behavioural changes in rodents reminiscent of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This includes abnormal sensory processing and social behaviour. ASD may contribute to social deficits through impaired habituation; therefore, the present study examined the effects of intraperitoneal PPA on the habituation to social and non-social odours. Adult male rats were injected daily with PPA or the vehicle control, and for 3 days, habituated to a conspecific odour or vanilla extract for 10 minutes. On day 4, rats were exposed to a novel conspecific odour or almond extract for 10 minutes to …
Examining The Relationships Between Socio-Cognitive Factors And Neural Synchrony During Movie Watching Across Development, Kathleen M. Lyons
Examining The Relationships Between Socio-Cognitive Factors And Neural Synchrony During Movie Watching Across Development, Kathleen M. Lyons
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
While different cognitive abilities mature, the conscious experiences of children likely become richer and more elaborate. A challenge in investigating relationships between cognitive development and real-world experiences is having measures that assess naturalistic processing. Movie watching offers a solution, since following the plot of a film requires cognitive processes that are similar to real-world experiences. When different adults watch the same film, their brain activity begins to align (known as neural synchrony). The strength of this alignment has been shown to reflect the degree to which different individuals are having a similar experience of the movie. While this phenomenon has …
Role Of The Default-Mode Network During Narrative Integration In Major Depressive Disorder, Darren Ri-Sheng Liang
Role Of The Default-Mode Network During Narrative Integration In Major Depressive Disorder, Darren Ri-Sheng Liang
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
How brain activity is synchronized across individuals during narrative comprehension has previously been characterized by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy and patient populations. To our knowledge, there has been limited investigation as to how it is affected by major depressive disorder (MDD). We addressed this issue with fMRI through examination of inter-subject synchronization in the default mode network (DMN), brain structures which have previously been implicated in MDD pathology. Twenty-two patients with MDD and 20 matched control participants listened to Intact versus Scrambled versions of an auditory narrative; these experimental conditions differed in the degree of temporal integration …
Assessing The Impact Of Lipopolysaccharide On Learning And Memory In Rats, Anahat Luthra
Assessing The Impact Of Lipopolysaccharide On Learning And Memory In Rats, Anahat Luthra
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
The immune system and the central nervous system (CNS) have a bi-direction relationship, modulating one another.4 Proinflammatory cytokines released from CNS immune cells have an impact on cognitive processes such as learning and memory.1 Liposaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of Gram-negative bacteria, which is used to activate proinflammatory cytokine release has been found to impact learning and memory processes, such as in the anticipatory nausea paradigm (ANP).2 Anticipatory nausea and vomiting is that which may occur before a chemotherapy treatment session begins in a patient who has had chemotherapy before. It is caused by triggers like …
A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib
A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …
Using A Musical Beat To Influence Linguistic Statistical Learning, Aspen Leung
Using A Musical Beat To Influence Linguistic Statistical Learning, Aspen Leung
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
The similarities between music and language continue to provide research questions in the area of psychology. Despite the large amount of research on this area of knowledge, there are still many existing questions in regards to the processing of musical and linguistic stimuli. Statistical learning involves the ability to extract statistical regularities from a stimulus and continues to be studied in both domains due to the similar hierarchical structure of music and language. Recently, neural entrainment (the synchronization of neural oscillations with the rhythm of an external stimulus) has been studied as a mechanism of statistical learning. Music has been …
Entropic Voxels Indicate Large Brain-State Repertoires, Adam Hull
Entropic Voxels Indicate Large Brain-State Repertoires, Adam Hull
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
Brain entropy is a measure that has been increasingly studied in neuroscience over the past decade. It is based on Shannon Entropy, a measure from Information Theory that quantifies the information capacity of a system from the probability distribution of its states. Brain entropy is thus posited to reflect the information capacity of the brain and has been linked to various cognitive abilities and states. However, most studies on brain entropy measure the time-series entropy of each voxel independently, ignoring any patterns that emerge from the relations between voxels. Here, we measured brain entropy of resting-state fMRI data based on …
The Ommaba Project, Katsiaryna Buchko
The Ommaba Project, Katsiaryna Buchko
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
The Open Multimodal Music and Auditory Brain Archive (OMMABA) is the first multimodal (behavioural, EEG, and neuroimaging) database characterizing normal human auditory processing. My project aims to shed light on the importance of this collaborative project that is transforming the field of auditory cognitive neuroscience.
Evaluating The Impact Of A Safe Exercise Training Workshop On Knowledge And Self-Efficacy To Manage Dysfunctional Exercise Among Eating Disorders Clinicians At Alsana Eating Disorders Center, Danika A. Quesnel
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Engaging in dysfunctional exercise (DEX) is detrimental to eating disorders (EDs) prognosis, although common amongst clients. Though nutritionally supported exercise can improve ED treatment outcomes, without negatively impacting weight restoration, clinicians remain hesitant to address DEX, perhaps due to a lack of information and training. The current study examined the effects of a Safe Exercise at Every Stage (SEES) training on clinician knowledge and self-efficacy in managing DEX in ED treatment. Eating disorders clinicians completed measures before (n = 96) and after (n = 44) SEES training to assess their knowledge and self-efficacy around treating DEX, with a …
Examining The Impact Of Financial Incentive Removal On Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study Of 584,760 Mobile Health Application Users, Sean Kevin Spilsbury
Examining The Impact Of Financial Incentive Removal On Physical Activity: A Quasi-Experimental Study Of 584,760 Mobile Health Application Users, Sean Kevin Spilsbury
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
BACKGROUND: Government interest in using financial incentives (FIs) to stimulate physical activity (PA) is increasing. The cost of longer-term incentive interventions may be prohibitive, however. PURPOSE: To examine the impact of FI withdrawal on PA. METHODS: A 25-week retrospective pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted with users of a FI-based mHealth app. Users from three Canadian provinces were included. Daily FI were removed in Ontario (ON; intervention) but not British Columbia (BC) and Newfoundland and Labrador (NL; control). Simple linear regression models were used to examine weekly mean daily step count after FI withdrawal. RESULTS: The total sample included 584,760 users …
The Impact Of Energetic Trade-Offs On The Developmental Trajectory And Life History Strategy Of Homo Sapiens: The Modern Human Female Phenotype, Laura Ann Hope Atkinson
The Impact Of Energetic Trade-Offs On The Developmental Trajectory And Life History Strategy Of Homo Sapiens: The Modern Human Female Phenotype, Laura Ann Hope Atkinson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This study interrogates the relationship between early life environmental variability (measured through birth weight and age at menarche), and adult phenotypic outcomes in female athletes and non-athletes from the United Kingdom. Using anthropometric, and 3D body surface scan analysis, patterns of phenotypic variation were interpreted in a life history context. Significant correlations between birth weight, stature, and bi-iliac breadth were observed. Age at menarche had significant correlations with linear growth and body composition measures in both Pearson and Canonical Correlation analyses. Crural index was found to be negatively correlated with limb segment SA:Vol in opposition to the expectations of Allen’s …
The Genetics Of Pain: An Exploration Of Gene-By-Environment Interactions And Their Effects On Pain, Mohamad F. Fakhereddin
The Genetics Of Pain: An Exploration Of Gene-By-Environment Interactions And Their Effects On Pain, Mohamad F. Fakhereddin
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The findings presented in this dissertation are part of the bigger SYMBIOME project which aims to use the biopsychosocial model of pain to develop a prognostic clinical phenotype for people that experience musculoskeletal (MSK) trauma. Chapter 2 presents an exploratory analysis to assess the relationships between genetic polymorphisms and pain severity and interference. Early childhood trauma was also explored as a moderator between genetic polymorphisms and pain outcomes. For pain severity, major allele carriers (A/A and G/A) of FKBP5 rs9394314 reported significantly higher scores than minor allele carriers (G/G). Further, major allele carriers who had at least one adverse childhood …
Using Spatial Methods To Analyse Anthropogenic Predation Risk And Movement Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Rhiannon D. Kirton
Using Spatial Methods To Analyse Anthropogenic Predation Risk And Movement Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Rhiannon D. Kirton
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Hunting has been used as a central tool by wildlife managers to maintain populations of game species, however, we still lack a good understanding of exactly how hunting influences deer biology. Technological advances in GPS data over the last two decades now enable us to perform more detailed analysis on the effects of human hunters on wildlife populations. This research explores the spatial ecology of hunters and White-tailed deer in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Oklahoma. Using new statistical methodologies to analyse simultaneous GPS tracking data on deer and hunters to study their spatial interactions. The results show how new …
The Expression Of Guilt, Chloe A. Stewart
The Expression Of Guilt, Chloe A. Stewart
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Though aversive, the experience and expression of guilt is important to healthy social functioning. Guilt is often described as visceral, and nonverbal guilt expressions are anecdotally observed, yet much remains unknown about how guilt is expressed. The present work aimed to explore the visceral experience of guilt via the autonomic nervous system (ANS), and the nonverbal display of guilt via facial, gestural, and postural expressions. Using a novel film paradigm, we explored ANS activity during guilt in healthy adults and adults with neurodegenerative disorders (NDs). We further explored the nonverbal behaviours associated with guilt in healthy adults. We hypothesized that, …
Intergenerational Transmission Of Functional Connectivity Profiles In Isolated Reading And Math Networks: A Scoping Review And Study Proposal, Ashini Peiris, Ira Gupta, Lien Peters, Eric D. Wilkey
Intergenerational Transmission Of Functional Connectivity Profiles In Isolated Reading And Math Networks: A Scoping Review And Study Proposal, Ashini Peiris, Ira Gupta, Lien Peters, Eric D. Wilkey
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
The scoping review surveyed the existing literature on the topic of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and mathematical cognition. The review revealed that rsFC is indicative of distinct long-term developmental trends in mathematical processing, alluding to individual differences in math abilities. Though there have been multiple studies that investigate individual differences in functional connectivity patterns related to math development and math learning disorders, no study has directly investigated to what degree these neurobiological factors are heritable. To address this topic, the following intergenerational transmission (IT) study is proposed. IT is the transfer of personal values, abilities, behaviours, and traits, from parents …
The Influence Of The Social Determinants Of Health On Para-Sports Involvement Throughout The Caribbean And Americas, Laura Misener
The Influence Of The Social Determinants Of Health On Para-Sports Involvement Throughout The Caribbean And Americas, Laura Misener
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
As the number of individuals with a disability grows worldwide, the Paralympic Games and para-sports have seen a growth in participation (WHO, 2011). However, international sporting competitions including the Paralympic Games remain dominated by developed countries (Andreff, 2001). In the last Paralympic Games, the USA, Canada, and Brazil made up nearly 70% of participants from the North and South American region with 17 of the 28 committees sending five or less participants (Maleske & Sant, 2020). The present study investigates the social and cultural determinants in the Caribbean and Americas of para-sport participation in the region and their relation to …
Assessing Reading Comprehension And Memory Recall Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jasmeen Mander
Assessing Reading Comprehension And Memory Recall Of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Jasmeen Mander
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
This project examined the influence of background knowledge on reading comprehension and memory recall of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in comparison to typically developing children. Furthermore, the true or false scores and average story recalls of the two groups of children, ADHD and without ADHD were also compared. The participants varied in ages 9-14 years old and were assigned a self-paced reading task followed by 24 true or false questions and two memory recall questions. For both groups of children, the amount of background knowledge an individual conveyed did not correlate to their reading comprehension and memory recall. …
Familiarity As A Motivator For Information-Seeking, Danielle Raynes-Goldfinger
Familiarity As A Motivator For Information-Seeking, Danielle Raynes-Goldfinger
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
Curiosity is an integral part of motivation and results in information-seeking behaviors to obtain rewarding information. Theories on curiosity suggest that it occurs when an information gap is detected. Here, we explored whether the assessment of familiarity may result in the induction of curiosity. We employed 3 phases, the first involving memorization of face-name pairs. Next, participants were presented with new and the old faces and were asked to judge whether they fully remembered the name, whether the face was familiar despite the name being unrecallable, or whether the face nor name was familiar. To conclude, we allowed participants to …
Memoir Dataset: Quantifying Image Memorability In Adolescents, Gal Almog, Yalda Mohsenzadeh
Memoir Dataset: Quantifying Image Memorability In Adolescents, Gal Almog, Yalda Mohsenzadeh
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
Every day, humans observe and interact with hundreds of images and scenes; whether it be on a cellphone, on television, or in print. Yet a vast majority of these images are forgotten, some immediately and some after variable lengths of time. Memorability is indeed a property intrinsic to all images that can be extracted, as well as predicted. While memory itself is a process that occurs in the brain of an individual, the concept of memorability is an intrinsic, continuous property of a stimulus that can be both measured and manipulated. We selected images from the MemCat data set that …
Running Behaviour In Impalas In Response To Various Levels Of Predation Threat, Alisiia Glushak
Running Behaviour In Impalas In Response To Various Levels Of Predation Threat, Alisiia Glushak
Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference
No abstract provided.