Psychology Commons^™

Association Of Interpersonal Trauma And Polygenic Risk Scores With Depressive Symptoms In College Students, Rowan K. O'Hara

Theses and Dissertations

Major depression is considered a complex trait influenced by both polygenic risk factors and environmental exposures, such as childhood trauma. This study applied statistical genetic methods to calculate aggregate genetic risk for major depression to predict depressive symptoms scores in a college student sample. Data were from the Spit for Science (S4S) study in which college students from a large urban university self-reported interpersonal trauma (IPT) exposure prior to college and depressive symptoms from the past month (N = 7502; ancestry group: 20% African [AFR], 12% Admixed Americas [AMR], 10% East Asian [EAS], 49% European [EUR], 8% South Asian [SAS]). …

Examining Genetically-Informed Etiologic Models Of Co-Occurring Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Recreational Cannabis Use Among College Students, Terrell A. Hicks

Theses and Dissertations

The college years encompass a period of increased risk recreational cannabis use (RCU), as well as a time of increased risk for trauma exposure and developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given the high co-occurrence between RCU and PTSD, and the potentially negative consequences of the two (e.g., worse academic outcomes), there is a need to understand the etiologic mechanisms of these commonly co-occurring conditions. Two primary phenotypic models exist: self-medication model (i.e., PTSD to RCU) and the high-risk model (i.e., RCU to PTSD). To date, there are two existing studies longitudinally examining the etiologic models proposed to explain co-occurring RCU …

Incorporating A Developmental Perspective Into Gene Identification Models For Alcohol Use Behaviors, Nathaniel S. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Frequent alcohol use can lead to alcohol use disorder, which accounts for three million deaths and over 133 million life years lost to disability and death worldwide per year. Alcohol use behaviors unfold across development, beginning with initiation of drinking and progressing through various escalating stages of use. Alcohol use behaviors are also under genetic influence. Genome-wide association represents the state-of-the-science statistical methodology for identifying genes associated with alcohol use outcomes. However, contemporary genome-wide association study (GWAS) methods typically do not account for variability in genetic effects throughout development. In this project, I applied novel multivariate genomic methods to combine …

Attitudes And Opinions About Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing In Undergraduate Science Students, Morgan N. Driver, Sally I-Chun Kuo, Olivia Nayeri, Chloe J. Walker, Chelsea Derlan Willians, Tricia Smith, Amy E. Adkins, Danielle M. Dick

Graduate Research Posters

Background: There has been exponential growth in the number of direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits sold in the past decade. Consumers utilize direct-to-consumer genetic tests for a number of reasons which include learning about one’s ancestry and potential ways to manage health. Emerging adults tend to be early adopters of new technologies; however, there has been little research regarding the opinions about direct-to-consumer genetic testing in emerging adults.

Methods: Data came from a study conducted in an upper-level biology course focusing on understanding undergraduate science students’ overall experiences with receiving personalized genetic testing results from 23andMe. The present study used data …

Principal Components Analysis Corrects Collider Bias In Polygenic Risk Score Effect Size Estimation, Nathaniel S. Thomas, Peter B. Barr, Fazil Aliev, Sally I. Kuo, Danielle M. Dick, Jessica E. Salvatore

Graduate Research Posters

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide polygenic scoring has emerged as a way to predict psychiatric and behavioral outcomes and identify environments that promote the expression of genetic risks. An increasing number of studies demonstrate that the effects of polygenic risk scores (PRS) may be biased by the inclusion of heritable environments as covariates when the environment is influenced by unmeasured confounding variables, an example of collider bias. Inclusion of the principal components of observed confounders as covariates may correct for the effect of unmeasured confounders.

METHODS: A simulation study was conducted to test principal components analysis (PCA) as a correction for collider bias. …

Transcriptomic Profiling Of Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex And Nucleus Accumbens From Chronic Alcohol Abusers., Eric S. Vornholt

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness that develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. While it is well documented that AUD is heritable, the shift from recreational alcohol use to abuse/dependence is poorly understood. In this dissertation, using postmortem brain tissue from individuals with alcohol dependence (AD), we profiled the genome-wide expression of circular RNA (circRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) to better understand the impact of gene expression on the development of AUD. To achieve this, we performed two independent studies that explore transcriptome differences between AD cases and controls. The first of …

Genome-Wide Systems Genetics Of Alcohol Consumption And Dependence, Kristin Mignogna

Theses and Dissertations

Widely effective treatment for alcohol use disorder is not yet available, because the exact biological mechanisms that underlie this disorder are not completely understood. One way to gain a better understanding of these mechanisms is to examine the genetic frameworks that contribute to the risk for developing this disorder. This dissertation examines genetic association data in combination with gene expression networks in the brain to identify functional groups of genes associated with alcohol consumption and dependence.

The first study took advantage of the behavioral complexity of human samples, and experimental capabilities provided by mouse models, by co-analyzing gene expression networks …

The Role Of Mindfulness In Self-View Investment: Neural And Subjective Indicators, Hadley Rahrig

Theses and Dissertations

Self-concept is strongly influenced by beliefs about one’s personal psychological attributes, and these beliefs are held with varying degrees of confidence and consequence. Hence, it is investment in self-views of those attributes that helps to regulate and maintain stable self-concept. Self-view investment is relevant to numerous self-related functions, but high self-view investment can also contribute to maladaptive self-views. Theory suggests that mindfulness cultivates a less personal, more objective perception of one’s thoughts, emotions and behaviors, and training in mindfulness has been shown to alter self-referential processing. The current pilot study (N=21) investigates the possible role of dispositional mindfulness in two …

College Student Alcohol Use And Engagement In Prevention Programming, Alexis H. Branch, Shimona Kumar, Christina Mcgrath

Undergraduate Research Posters

Social problems and adverse consequences have been associated with risky alcohol use (Paschall et al, 2015). Personalized Normative Feedback (PNF) has been utilized to address these problems (White and Hingson, 2014) by comparing students’ alcohol use to campus or national norms (Butler et al, 2009). The current investigation sought to understand differences in alcohol use behaviors in freshmen who did and did not report completion of a personalized feedback intervention (PFI) in a diverse sample of college students from the Spit for Science (S4S) project. S4S is a campus-wide, longitudinal study on the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to …

Effects Of Electronic Cigarette Liquid Solvents Propylene Glycol And Vegetable Glycerin On User Nicotine Delivery, Heart Rate, Subjective Effects, And Puff Topography, Tory Spindle

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are a class of tobacco products that use a heating element to aerosolize a liquid, typically containing nicotine, allowing for user inhalation. Despite their rapid growth in popularity, little is known about ECIGs including how certain device and liquid factors influence nicotine delivery, user physiological and subjective responses, and puffing behavior (puff topography). Limited pre-clinical research has demonstrated that the ratio of two solvents commonly found in ECIG liquids, propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG), may have an influence on the nicotine content of ECIG aerosols. However, the extent to which PG:VG ratio in ECIG liquids …

Dynamic Modeling Of Problem Drinkers Undergoing Behavioral Treatment, Rebecca A. Everett

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Integrating Genetics And Neuroimaging To Study Subtypes Of Binge Drinkers, Megan E. Cooke

Theses and Dissertations

Risky alcohol use is a major health concern among college students, with 40.1% reporting binge drinking (5 or more drinks in one occasion) and 14.4% reporting heavy drinking (binge drinking on 5 or more occasions) in the past month. Risky alcohol use is thought to be the result of a complex interplay between genes, biological processes, and other phenotypic characteristics. Understanding this complex relationship is further complicated by known phenotypic heterogeneity in the development of alcohol use. Developmental studies have suggested two pathways to risky alcohol use, characterized by externalizing and internalizing characteristics, respectively. However, the underlying biological processes that …

Acute And Chronic Effects Of Inhalants In Intracranial Self-Stimulation, Matthew Tracy

Theses and Dissertations

Inhalants are a loosely defined diverse group of volatile substances which people abuse. Despite widespread misuse of inhalants, there are limited preclinical methods available to study the reinforcement-like properties of inhalants. One procedure which has demonstrated substantial promise as a tool to investigate inhalant pharmacology is the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) procedure. ICSS utilizes pulses of electrical stimulation to the mesolimbic reward pathway to serve as a temporally defined and controlled operant reinforcer with a highly adjustable efficacy. The first aim of the project was to characterize the effects of commonly abused inhalants: including toluene, trichloroethane, nitrous oxide, isoflurane and R134a …

The Relationship Between Exercise And Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Joshua Frank, Dr. Amy Adkins, Nathan Thomas, Dr. Danielle Dick

Undergraduate Research Posters

The literature shows an inverse association between exercise and mental disorders. The aim of this study is to further elaborate on this association with regards to exercise and its relationship with anxiety and depression in a college sample. The subject group focused on seniors in the Spit for Science data set which incorporated a total of 821 students. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to estimate the overall metabolic equivalents (MET’s) each student spent in walking, moderate, or vigorous activity levels in the previous week. Sum scores were used to measure depression and anxiety. Overall,the …

The Effects Of Pet Ownership On Anxiety And Depression Among Trauma-Exposed College Students, Dung N. Nguyentran, Marlene A. Michniak, James J. Jung, Christine Q. Do

Undergraduate Research Posters

Rates of anxiety and depression are prevalent in college students and can be attributed in part to stress and trauma-related events. However, studies suggest that pet ownership has the possibility of alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, negative emotions, and suicide. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between pet ownership and levels of anxiety and depression among those who have experienced a traumatic event. The sample was comprised of five hundred and forty-seven VCU students who completed an online survey from Spit for Science during their junior year. Linear regressions were performed to determine the nature and …