Psychology Commons^™

The Association Of Aerobic Fitness With Resting State Functional Connectivity And Verbal Learning And Memory In Healthy Young Adults, Kyle Joseph Jennette

Theses and Dissertations

The beneficial effects of exercise and cardiopulmonary fitness on general health, quality of life, and reduction of mortality are well known in older adults. There is evidence to support the positive effects of exercise and aerobic fitness on psychiatric and neurocognitive function in children, adults, and older adults. Indeed, many studies have explored the positive effects of aerobic fitness on slowing cognitive decline associated with normal and pathological aging. However, comparatively fewer empirical studies in the literature exist to support and understand the effects of aerobic fitness on the developing brain, particularly during adolescence and young adulthood, especially as it …

Alcohol Use Disorders And An Fmri Stress Task: A Connectivity Analysis, Natasha E. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Little research has been conducted on neuronal stress processing in individuals

with alcohol dependence (AD). The present study examined neural stress response in AD individuals compared to controls using an fMRI stress task, assessing amygdala

activation and its connectivity to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Further, the study

analyzed the impact of hormone levels and subjective stress on frontal-limbic

connectivity patterns.

Ten abstinent AD individuals and 11 controls were recruited. Subjects

participated in an fMRI stress task. A region of interest (amygdala) analysis was

conducted using area-under-the-curve. This activation was then examined in a whole brain functional connectivity analysis. Follow-up …

Changes In Resting-State Functional Connectivity Following Delay And Trace Fear Conditioning Acquisition And Extinction, Douglas Hank Schultz

Theses and Dissertations

Consolidation is the process of stabilizing a recently acquired memory into a more permanent or durable form. Several studies with laboratory animals have uncovered valuable information about the process of consolidation, but less is known about the process of consolidation in healthy humans. The current study examined the consolidation of emotional memories in different brain circuits in healthy humans using resting-state fMRI. We used the acquisition and extinction of two variations of Pavlovian fear conditioning, delay and trace, which rely on slightly different circuits to examine changes in functional connectivity related to a general fear learning process and also to …