Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Adverse Childhood Experiences(Aces) And Nonverbal Reasoning Skills, Monika Malinowska

Dissertations

Severe stress and interpersonal traumatic experience in childhood have a cascade effect on an individual's physical and mental health. There is evidence that people with complex adverse childhood experiences have diminished cognitive abilities. However, there are few studies on the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on non-verbal reasoning skills. This study aimed to assess the relationships between ACEs, non-verbal reasoning skills, and academic achievement.

Heart Rate Variability Following Treatment For Ptsd: Testing The Polyvagal Theory, Brittany F. Goodman

Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been linked to lower heart rate variability (HRV), including measures of vagal tone. Treatments targeting the autonomic nervous system (ANS) have demonstrated efficacy in improving vagal tone, but it is less clear whether similar effects can also be achieved with cognitive therapies. The polyvagal theory has suggested that symptoms of social dysfunction are linked to vagal tone through a phylogenetically organized response to stress. HRV was collected during rest, reactivity (exposure to personalized trauma scripts), and recovery using a scripted imagery paradigm in female PTSD positive physical and sexual assault survivors (N = 41) …

Exploration Of Patient Variables And Characteristics Best Suited For Medical Marijuana Treatment For Anxiety And Depressive Disorders, Corey Gazoo

Dissertations

Individuals with posttraumatic stress, anxiety and depressive disorders are currently being prescribed medical marijuana as a treatment in many states across the United States. However, marijuana is still considered a schedule one narcotic by the Drug Enforcement Administration and federal government, which provides several barriers and challenges to conduct research such as approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and following guidelines from the National Institute on Drug Abuse issued by the DEA. Additionally, individuals prescribed medical marijuana for mental health disorders are not always thoroughly instructed on the type of medical marijuana, the dosage, and how frequently to …

Neurobiological Mechanisms Of Cognitive Processing Therapy For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Brain Network Approach, Tessa Vuper

Dissertations

Psychotherapy research is increasingly targeting both psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of therapeutic change. This trend is evident in and applicable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment research given the high nonresponse rate of individuals with PTSD who undergo cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). A review of the literature investigating neurobiological mechanisms of CBT in PTSD reveals inconsistent results that fail to fully support dual process or learning models of CBT effects in the brain. However, network-based models of psychopathology provide a new framework from which to understand both mental disorder symptoms and therapeutic mechanisms. The current study investigated a) whether brain networks …

The Effects Of Historical Alcohol Use On Neuropsychological Functioning In Older Adults Following A Traumatic Brain Injury, Ryan Sever

Dissertations

The present study aimed to determine the effects of alcohol abuse and dependence in long term functioning of older adults who have experienced a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. The research question being answered in the current study was if a history of alcohol abuse or dependence would worsen neuropsychological functioning in older adults who experienced at least one moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Participants of the study were selected from the more extensive database provided by the Brain Aging in Vietnam War Veterans (DOD-ADNI) database. All participants were Vietnam War veterans between the ages of 61 and …

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Neuropsychological Functioning And Tau Accumulation Later In Life In Military Veterans, Lindsay Eatman

Dissertations

Abstract The following study examines aging veterans that experience a TBI while in service and

compares to older veteran without a history of TBI. The objective is to look at cognitive profile later in life for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI different and compared to older veterans with no history of TBI. Is there a difference in tau accumulations on neuroimaging in military veterans with moderate to severe TBI compared to older veterans without a history of TBI? What is the relationship between the cognitive profile and tau imaging correlates for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI …

Redefining Burnout: Exploring Common Conceptualizations And The Neurophysiology Of Chronic Stress To Establish An Integrated Allostatic Model, Danny A. Guzzi

Dissertations

Burnout is a widely researched stress-related phenomenon associated with numerous adverse outcomes for employees and organizations. Unfortunately, burnout is not well understood and research to this point has been flawed due to a lack of consensus on the definition, dimensionality, and context of the construct. Prevalent conceptualizations of burnout have been criticized for being arbitrarily developed without solid theoretical foundation and for failing to clearly distinguish burnout from depression or other work-related conditions such as compassion fatigue, secondary traumatization, and vicarious traumatization. The current project first examines relevant literature to identify commonalities among prevalent burnout conceptualizations. Then relevant stress research …

Validation Of The Barkley Deficits Of Executive Functioning Scale-Short Form, Brian Sheble

Dissertations

The Barkley Deficits of Executive Functioning-Short Form (BDEFS-SF) is a short rating scale measuring executive functioning in adults. The BDEFS-SF was developed using the 5 highest loading questions from the BDEFS-LF. Consequently, the psychometric qualities of the BDEFS-SF were not investigated using formal methods. In this study, the psychometric attributes of the BDEFS-SF were examined using two separate but similar groups. The first group of 264 men and women aged 18-35 years old completed the BDEFS-SF via an internet survey. The second group of 36 men and women aged 18-35 years old completed the BDEFS-SF and individualized assessments of executive …

The Relationship Between Suicide Ideation And Parasuicide: An Electrophysiological Investigation Using The Loudness Dependence Of Auditory Evoked Potential, Angelika Marsic

Dissertations

The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) has been proposed as a promising valid and a non-invasive indicator of behaviorally relevant central 5-HT functioning. There is limited research on the utility of the LDAEP in discriminating individuals who engage in various degrees of suicidal behavior. The primary purpose of the present study was to examine if the LDAEP, as a measure of central serotonergic functioning, can be useful in distinguishing groups of individuals who: (a) solely experience suicidal ideation (SI group); (b) experience suicidal ideation and have engaged in deliberate self-harm acts (SH group); and (c) individuals with …

Assessment N>E Discriminative Stimulus Effects Of (±)-3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Mdma, "Ecstasy") And (+Lysergic Add Diethylamide (Lsd) In A Three-Lever Drug Discrimination Procedure, Amy K. Goodwin

Dissertations

(±)3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a common drug of abuse known as "ecstasy." Currently, MDMA is classified into the traditional drug classes as both a "stimulant" and a "hallucinogen" because it is reported to share both subjective and physiological properties of both classes. MDMA is thought to produce its psychoactive effects by acting as both a serotonin and a dopamine agonist. However, the relative importance of the serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter systems in mediating the stimulus properties of MDMA remains unclear.

The drug discrimination assay is used to classify drugs as "similar" or "dissimilar," as well as to examine underlying neurochemical changes …