Psychology Commons^™

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 …

Baked And Buzzed: Investigating The Influence Of Co-Use Of Cannabis And Alcohol On White Matter Integrity In Emerging Adults, Natasha E. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Objective: Growing evidence suggests alcohol and cannabis use independently alter neural structure and functioning, particularly during sensitive developmental time periods such as adolescence and emerging adulthood. However, there has been minimal investigation into the effects co-occurring use of these two substances, despite preliminary evidence of unique acute and psychopharmacological changes due to using alcohol and cannabis together.

Method: Data drawn from the IDEAA Consortium was utilized to assess white matter integrity as measured by FreeSurfer’s TRACULA in emerging adults (n=192; 16-27 years old). Timeline Follow-Back was used to calculate past month cannabis use, alcohol use, co-use days, binge alcohol episode, …