Psychology Commons^™

A Transdiagnostic Examination Of Cognitive Heterogeneity In Children And Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Sarah Al-Saoud, Emily S. Nichols, Emma G. Duerden, Loretta Norton

Western Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards (WLURAs)

Children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) demonstrate extensive cognitive heterogeneity that is not adequately captured by traditional diagnostic systems. Using a transdiagnostic approach, a retrospective cohort study of cognitive functioning was conducted with a large heterogenous sample (n = 1529) of children and adolescents 7 to 18 years of age with NDDs. Measures of short-term memory, verbal ability, and reasoning were administered to participants with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), comorbid ADHD/ASD, and typically developing (TD) participants using a 12-item web-based neurocognitive testing battery. Unsupervised machine learning techniques were implemented to create a self-organizing map (SOM), …

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 …

The Influence Of Environmental Sounds On Cognition And Mood, Huda Ahmed

Undergraduate Honours Theses

Exposure to nature has evidently been shown to benefit affective states and improve cognitive performance. Due to the predominant focus on the influence of immersive environments on restoration in prior research, the current study aimed to examine the extent to which nature-related benefits are linked to perceptual richness. The study consisted of 204 participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to listen to either unaltered nature sounds, unaltered urban sounds, degraded nature sounds, or degraded urban sounds. Participants completed the Auditory N-Back task, self-reported fatigue levels, and provided mood ratings prior to and after listening to the …

How Long Do Mood Induction Procedure (Mip) Primes Really Last? Implications For Cognitive Vulnerability Research., Jennifer C P Gillies, David J A Dozois

Psychology Publications

BACKGROUND: Mood Induction Procedures (MIPs) are used widely in research on cognitive vulnerability to depression. Although empirical evidence supports certain MIPs as effective, little research has evaluated whether MIP-induced sad moods are sufficiently persistent. This study aimed to determine (1) how long an MIP-induced mood lasts according to commonly used operational definitions and (2) whether these findings vary according to the type of MIP used.

METHODS: Four-hundred-and-one undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of three commonly used sad MIPs (music, memory, music+memory) or to one of three matched neutral MIPs. Mood was repeatedly measured immediately prior to and following …

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 …

Depressive Cognition On Twitter., David J A Dozois

Psychology Publications

No abstract provided.

Individual Differences In Executive Functioning And Psycho-Emotional Well-Being And The Impact Of Acute Exercise On Children And Youth With Adhd, Madeline Crichton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Short bouts of exercise can improve inhibitory control in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, individual differences among children with ADHD may impact the effectiveness of exercise interventions. We investigated how individual differences in inhibitory control, mood, and self-efficacy impact the efficacy of acute exercise among children with ADHD. Sixteen participants (ages 10-14) completed two interventions: 10 minutes of exercise and 10 minutes of silent reading (control). Inhibitory control was assessed prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and after a 10-minute delay. Results suggested that participants with lower initial inhibitory control benefited more from exercise than …

L-Theanine Prevents Long-Term Affective And Cognitive Side Effects Of Adolescent Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure And Blocks Associated Molecular And Neuronal Abnormalities In The Mesocorticolimbic Circuitry, Marta De Felice, Justine Renard, Roger Hudson, Hanna J. Szkudlarek, Brian J. Pereira, Susanne Schmid, Walter J. Rushlow, Steven R. Laviolette

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Chronic adolescent exposure to Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is linked to elevated neuropsychiatric risk and induces neuronal, molecular and behavioral abnormalities resembling neuropsychiatric endophenotypes. Previous evidence has revealed that the mesocorticolimbic circuitry, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and mesolimbic dopamine (DA) pathway are particularly susceptible to THC-induced pathologic alterations, including dysregulation of DAergic activity states, loss of PFC GABAergic inhibitory control and affective and cognitive abnormalities. There are currently limited pharmacological intervention strategies capable of preventing THC-induced neuropathological adaptations. L-Theanine is an amino acid analog of L-glutamate and L-glutamine derived from various plant sources, including green tea leaves. L-Theanine has previously been …

New Frontiers In Translational Research: Touchscreens, Open Science, And The Mouse Translational Research Accelerator Platform, Jacqueline A. Sullivan, Julie R. Dumont, Sara Memar, Miguel Skirzewski, Jinxia Wan, Maryam H. Mofrad, Hassam Zafar Ansari, Yulong Li, Lyle Muller, Vania F. Prado, Marco A.M. Prado, Lisa M. Saksida, Timothy J. Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

© 2020 International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd Many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases and other brain disorders are accompanied by impairments in high-level cognitive functions including memory, attention, motivation, and decision-making. Despite several decades of extensive research, neuroscience is little closer to discovering new treatments. Key impediments include the absence of validated and robust cognitive assessment tools for facilitating translation from animal models to humans. In this review, we describe a state-of-the-art platform poised to overcome these impediments and improve the success of translational research, the Mouse Translational Research Accelerator Platform (MouseTRAP), which is …

Microdosing Mindfulness: Understanding The Effects Of Brief Mindfulness Meditation In Children With Adhd, Marcus D. Gottlieb

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mindfulness Meditation (MM) is receiving increased empirical support as a method for addressing ADHD symptomology. Research shows that MM interventions lasting weeks or months promote key aspects of cognitive and psycho-emotional functioning in youth with ADHD. Using a pre-post within-subjects design, we sought to determine whether a single MM session supports neurocognitive and/or psycho-emotional functioning in youth with ADHD. Sixteen participants aged 10-14 completed measures of executive and psycho-emotional functioning before/after a 10-minute MM session and silent reading control. Functional neuroimaging assessed whether MM supported changes in prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during cognitive tasks. We found that a single MM …

The Effects Of Verbalizable Features On Category Learning Strategies, Marwan A. Syed

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study investigated the effects of how verbalizable features (easy vs not-easily) are on category learning strategies with respect to the COVIS model, which states there are two competing systems (verbal and implicit) that operate simultaneously when making categorization decisions. A total of 102 undergraduate students took part in the experiment, which was an A-B categorization task conducted in a video game setting. A rule-based approach reflected the verbal system whereas a family resemblance approach reflected the implicit system. The findings partially support the hypothesis and COVIS model in that participants in the easily verbalizable condition were more likely …

Cognitive Change In Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Leanne Quigley, David J A Dozois, R Michael Bagby, Daniela S S Lobo, Lakshmi Ravindran, Lena C Quilty

Psychology Publications

BACKGROUND: Although cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a well-established treatment for adult depression, its efficacy and efficiency may be enhanced by better understanding its mechanism(s) of action. According to the theoretical model of CBT, symptom improvement occurs via reductions in maladaptive cognition. However, previous research has not established clear evidence for this cognitive mediation model.

METHODS: The present study investigated the cognitive mediation model of CBT in the context of a randomized controlled trial of CBT v. antidepressant medication (ADM) for adult depression. Participants with major depressive disorder were randomized to receive 16 weeks of CBT (n = 54) or ADM …

The Effects Of Acute Aerobic Exercise And Caffeine On Working Memory And Caffeine Withdrawal, Anisa Morava

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Caffeine is one of the most widely used psychoactive substances worldwide. Although caffeine elicits cognitive benefits, there are concerns regarding caffeine’s effects on certain health domains. Acute, aerobic exercise has been shown to improve cognition. The effects of aerobic exercise in comparison to caffeine on working memory (WM) in non-caffeine and caffeine consumers remains unknown. Furthermore, the effects of aerobic exercise in reducing caffeine withdrawal symptoms has yet to be examined. In Phase I, twenty-nine non-caffeine and thirty caffeine consumers completed a WM assessment, followed by aerobic exercise and caffeine administration (counterbalanced). In Phase II, twenty-five caffeine consumers underwent a …

A Dyadic Partner-Schema Model Of Relationship Distress And Depression: Conceptual Integration Of Interpersonal Theory And Cognitive-Behavioral Models., Jesse Lee Wilde, David J. A. Dozois

Psychology Publications

Difficulties in romantic relationships are a prominent part of the disorder for many individuals with depression. Researchers have called for an integration of interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral theories to better understand the role of relational difficulties in depression. In this article, a novel theoretical framework (the dyadic partner-schema model) is presented. This model illustrates a potential pathway from underlying "partner-schema" structures to romantic relationship distress and depressive affect. This framework integrates cognitive-behavioral mechanisms in depression with research on dyadic processes in romantic partners. A brief clinical case example is presented to illustrate the utility of the dyadic partner-schema model in conceptualizing …

Cognition And The Brain Of Brood Parasitic Cowbirds., David F Sherry, Mélanie F Guigueno

Psychology Publications

Cowbirds are brood parasites. Females lay their eggs in the nests of other species, which then incubate the cowbird eggs and raise the young cowbirds. Finding and returning to heterospecific nests presents cowbirds with several cognitive challenges. In some species, such as brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), females but not males search for and remember the locations of potential host nests. We describe recent research on sex differences in cognition and the hippocampus associated with this sex difference in search for host nests. Female brown-headed cowbirds perform better than males on some, but not all, tests of spatial memory and females …

Dual Route Model Of Idiom Processing In The Bilingual Context, Tianshu Zhu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The dual route model predicts that idiomatic phrases show a processing advantage over matched novel phrases. This model postulates that familiar phrases are processed by a faster direct route, and novel phrases are processed by an indirect route. This thesis investigated the role of familiar form and concept in direct route activation. Study 1 provided norming evidence for experimental stimuli selection. Study 2 examined whether direct route can be activated for translated Chinese idioms in Chinese-English bilinguals. Bilinguals listened to the idiom up until the last word (e.g., draw a snake and add), then saw either the idiom ending (e.g., …

Higher And Lower Order Factor Analyses Of The Temperament In Middle Childhood Questionnaire., Yuliya Kotelnikova, Thomas M Olino, Daniel N Klein, Sarah V M Mackrell, Elizabeth P Hayden

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire (TMCQ) is a widely used parent-report measure of temperament. However, neither its lower nor higher order structures has been tested via a bottom-up, empirically based approach. We conducted higher and lower order exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) of the TMCQ in a large ( N = 654) sample of 9-year-olds. Item-level EFAs identified 92 items as suitable (i.e., with loadings ≥.40) for constructing lower order factors, only half of which resembled a TMCQ scale posited by the measure's authors. Higher order EFAs of the lower order factors showed that a three-factor structure (Impulsivity/Negative Affectivity, Negative …

Social Media And Cognition, Ana C. Ruiz Pardo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social media is an inescapable platform for sharing media and connecting with others. This thesis investigated how social media impacts cognition; specifically, attention. Study 1 investigated typical social media usage patterns and helped gauge which SM platform was most popular. Study 1 revealed three main platforms people used most often: Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Facebook was reported as the most popular social media platform. Study 2 investigated how a social media post impacts cognition. It was hypothesized that participants who posted, with the intention of provoking a reaction from their followers, on their social media prior to performing a cognitive …

Online Neural Monitoring Of Statistical Learning., Laura J Batterink, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The extraction of patterns in the environment plays a critical role in many types of human learning, from motor skills to language acquisition. This process is known as statistical learning. Here we propose that statistical learning has two dissociable components: (1) perceptual binding of individual stimulus units into integrated composites and (2) storing those integrated representations for later use. Statistical learning is typically assessed using post-learning tasks, such that the two components are conflated. Our goal was to characterize the online perceptual component of statistical learning. Participants were exposed to a structured stream of repeating trisyllabic nonsense words and a …

The Acute Effects Of Nicotine And Exercise On Working Memory, Steven Guirguis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Nicotine, an alkaloid found in tobacco leaves, has been used by humans for its psychoactive properties for centuries. Specifically, nicotine has been consistently shown to improve cognitive performance (Heishman, Kleykamp, & Singleton, 2010). Similar effects also have been shown with exercise (Chang, Labban, Gapin, & Etnier, 2012). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether a 20 min bout of moderate-intensity exercise enhances cognitive performance (working memory) as effectively as 4 mg of NICORETTE® gum in a non-smoker population. Twenty-three non-smokers (M age = 25.87; 13 female) underwent a three-week randomized counterbalanced procedure. The N-Back Task was used …

Category Learning In Older Adulthood: A Study Of The Shepard, Hovland, And Jenkins (1961) Tasks., Rahel Rabi, John Paul Minda

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Shepard, Hovland, and Jenkins (1961) examined the categorization abilities of younger adults using tasks involving single-dimensional rule learning, disjunctive rule learning, and family resemblance learning. The current study examined category learning in older adults using this well-known category set. Older adults, like younger adults, found category tasks with a single relevant dimension the easiest to learn. In contrast to younger adults, older adults found complex disjunctive rule-based categories harder to learn than family resemblance based categories. Disjunctive rule-based category learning appeared to be the most difficult for older adults to learn because this category set placed the heaviest demands on …

Tract-Based Spatial Statistics In Preterm-Born Neonates Predicts Cognitive And Motor Outcomes At 18 Months., E G Duerden, J Foong, V Chau, H Branson, K J Poskitt, R E Grunau, A Synnes, J G Zwicker, S P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Adverse neurodevelopmental outcome is common in children born preterm. Early sensitive predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome such as MR imaging are needed. Tract-based spatial statistics, a diffusion MR imaging analysis method, performed at term-equivalent age (40 weeks) is a promising predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born very preterm. We sought to determine the association of tract-based spatial statistics findings before term-equivalent age with neurodevelopmental outcome at 18-months corrected age.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 180 neonates (born at 24-32-weeks' gestation) enrolled, 153 had DTI acquired early at 32 weeks' postmenstrual age and 105 had DTI acquired later at …

Contrasting Styles In Cognition And Behaviour In Bumblebees And Honeybees., David F Sherry, Caroline G Strang

Psychology Publications

Bumblebees and honeybees have been the subjects of a great deal of recent research in animal cognition. Many of the major topics in cognition, including memory, attention, concept learning, numerosity, spatial cognition, timing, social learning, and metacognition have been examined in bumblebees, honeybees, or both. Although bumblebees and honeybees are very closely related, they also differ in important ways, including social organization, development, and foraging behaviour. We examine whether differences between bumblebees and honeybees in cognitive processes are related to differences in their natural history and behaviour. There are differences in some cognitive traits, such as serial reversal learning and …

Core Beliefs And Self-Schematic Structure In Depression, David J.A. Dozois, Katerina Rnic

Psychology Publications

This article reviews recent research on core beliefs (i.e., early maladaptive schemas; EMS) and self-schema structure in depression. The empirical research supports these variables as vulnerability factors for depression. Whereas EMS operate independently of stress, cognitive organization appears to influence depression in a manner consistent with a diathesis-stress model. Recent research has also explored predictors of EMS and schema structure. Specifically, childhood adversity (e.g., emotional maltreatment, peer rejection) are associated with negative self-schemas and core beliefs. Schema beliefs and structure also mediate the relation between early adversity and subsequent depression. Fortunately, these deeper cognitions appear to be modifiable by psychological …

The Process Dissociation Of Moral Judgments: Clarifying The Psychology Of Deontology And Utilitarianism, Paul Conway

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A growing body of work has examined responses to moral dilemmas where causing some degree of harm leads to a greater positive outcome; such dilemmas are said to pit deontological philosophical considerations (causing harm is never acceptable) against utilitarian philosophical considerations (causing harm is acceptable if it leads to the best possible outcome). According to dual-process theories of moral judgment, independent processes drive each judgment: affective reactions to harm drive deontological judgments, whereas cognitive evaluations of outcomes drive utilitarian judgments. Yet, theoretically both processes contribute to each judgment; therefore, it is an error to equate judgments with processes. To overcome …

Decoding The Neural Mechanisms Of Human Tool Use., Jason P Gallivan, D Adam Mclean, Kenneth F Valyear, Jody C Culham

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Sophisticated tool use is a defining characteristic of the primate species but how is it supported by the brain, particularly the human brain? Here we show, using functional MRI and pattern classification methods, that tool use is subserved by multiple distributed action-centred neural representations that are both shared with and distinct from those of the hand. In areas of frontoparietal cortex we found a common representation for planned hand- and tool-related actions. In contrast, in parietal and occipitotemporal regions implicated in hand actions and body perception we found that coding remained selectively linked to upcoming actions of the hand whereas …

Prospective Evaluation Of A Cognitive Vulnerability-Stress Model For Depression: The Interaction Of Schema Self-Structures And Negative Life Events., Pamela M Seeds, David J A Dozois

Psychology Publications

This study tested the diathesis-stress component of Beck's (1967) cognitive theory of depression. Initially, participants completed measures assessing cognitive organization of the self-schema and depressive symptoms. One year later, participants completed measures assessing cognitive organization of the self-schema, depressive symptoms, and negative life events. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for initial depression, indicated that more tightly interconnected negative content was associated with greater elevations in depressive symptoms following the occurrence of life events. More diffusely interconnected positive content for interpersonal self-referent information also interacted with life events to predict depressive symptoms. Cognitive organization dimensions showed moderate to high stability across …

Cognitive Vulnerability To Anxiety: A Review And An Integrative Model., Allison J Ouimet, Bertram Gawronski, David J A Dozois

Psychology Publications

Consistent research evidence supports the existence of threat-relevant cognitive bias in anxiety, but there remains controversy about which stages of information processing are most important in the conferral of cognitive vulnerability to anxiety. To account for both theoretical and empirical discrepancies in the literature, an integrative multi-process model is proposed wherein core assumptions of dual-systems theories from social and cognitive psychology are adapted to explain attentional and interpretive biases in the anxiety disorders. According to the model, individual differences in associative and rule-based processing jointly influence orientation, engagement, disengagement, and avoidance of threat-relevant stimuli, as well as negatively-biased interpretation of …

Quantum Theories Of Consciousness, Imants Barušs

Psychology

The assumption is often made in conventional cognitive science that consciousness is a computational process resulting from macroscopic neural activity as described by classical physics. That assumption has been questioned both because it has been unsuccessful in explaining consciousness and because it is based on outdated ideas about the nature of matter. More contemporary quantum theories may be more successful for understanding cognition. For example, Mari Jibu, Kunio Yasue, and Yasushi Takahashi have proposed a theory of memory as a spinor field underlying cortical dipoles in which quantum mechanical tunnelling instantiates memory decay and in which the creation of Goldstone …

Normative Data On Cognitive Measures Of Depression., David J A Dozois, Roger Covin, Jay K Brinker

Psychology Publications

The assessment of cognition and cognitive change is important for case conceptualization, monitoring the efficacy of specific interventions, and evaluating treatment outcome in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Unfortunately, a paucity of normative data exists on cognitive measures used for psychotherapy outcome research in depression, and little information is available to guide a practitioner's understanding of the magnitude and clinical significance of a patient's cognitive change. This article presents normative data on 6 self-report instruments that assess negative and positive automatic thoughts, hopelessness, cognitive biases and errors, and dysfunctional attitudes. Normative data were derived from studies published from the date of inception of …