Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Gait Analysis Of Teenagers And Young Adults Diagnosed With Autism & Severe Verbal Communication Disorders, Michael J. Weiss, Matthew F. Moran, Mary E. Parker, John T. Foley

Faculty Publications

Both movement differences and disorders are common within autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These differences have wide and heterogeneous variability among different ages and sub-groups all diagnosed with ASD. Gait was studied in a more homogeneously identified group of nine teenagers and young adults who scored as “severe” in both measures of verbal communication and overall rating of Autism on the Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS). The ASD individuals were compared to a group of typically developing university undergraduates of similar ages. All participants walked a distance of 6-meters across a GAITRite (GR) electronic walkway for six trials. The ASD and ...

Two-Legged Hopping In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Matthew F. Moran, John T. Foley, Mary E. Parker, Michael J. Weiss

Faculty Publications

Sensory processing deficits are common within autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Deficits have a heterogeneous dispersion across the spectrum and multimodal processing tasks are thought to magnify integration difficulties. Two-legged hopping in place in sync with an auditory cue (2.3, 3.0 Hz) was studied in a group of six individuals with expressive language impaired ASD (ELI-ASD) and an age-matched control group. Vertical ground reaction force data were collected and discrete Fourier transforms were utilized to determine dominant hopping cadence. Effective leg stiffness was computed through a mass-spring model representation. The ELI-ASD group were unsuccessful in matching their hopping cadence ...

An Infrasonic Missing Fundamental Rises At 18.5hz, Christopher D. Lacomba, Steven A. Lloyd, Ryan A. Shanks

Papers and Publications: Interdisciplinary Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Missing Fundamental (MF) phenomenon is an auditory processing artifact which arises from the perception of a harmonically-structured complex sound in the absence of the complex sound’s fundamental frequency (f₀). Constructive interference occurring between constituent waveforms of the harmonic series may elicit a perceptible tone at the f₀’s pitch. A related illusion, known as binaural auditory beats (BAB), may also generate nonexistent perceptible pitches through a shared mechanism. A harmonic series suggesting to an infrasonic f₀ (1/f) noise and broken MF conditions. This data suggests that an infrasonic MF tone is generated, despite the ...

The Relationship Between Drinking To Cope And Comorbid Depression & Social Anxiety, Willem Parshley

Papers and Publications: Interdisciplinary Journal of Undergraduate Research

Previous research shows that social anxiety and depression are associated with severe alcohol problems, and that drinking to cope mediates the relationship between suicidal ideation and alcohol problems. Most research has focused on drinking to cope with social anxiety or depression when the two conditions are singular. This study sought to establish a relationship between drinking to cope and comorbid depression and social anxiety. Participants’ levels of depression, social anxiety, and two measures of drinking to cope were assessed. I hypothesized that individuals who score high for depression and social anxiety (“comorbids”) would report drinking to cope more often than ...

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy ...

Reduced P300 Amplitude During Retrieval On A Spatial Working Memory Task In A Community Sample Of Adolescents Who Report Psychotic Symptoms., Caroline Rawdon, Jennifer Murphy, Mathieu M. Blanchard, Ian Kelleher, Mary C. Clarke, Fergal Kavanagh, Mary Cannon, Richard Ap Roche

Psychiatry Articles

BACKGROUND: Deficits in working memory are widely reported in schizophrenia and are considered a trait marker for the disorder. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and imaging data suggest that these differences in working memory performance may be due to aberrant functioning in the prefrontal and parietal cortices. Research suggests that many of the same risk factors for schizophrenia are shared with individuals from the general population who report psychotic symptoms. METHODS: Forty-two participants (age range 11--13 years) were divided into those who reported psychotic symptoms (N = 17) and those who reported no psychotic symptoms, i.e. the control group (N = 25). Behavioural ...

Bibliotherapy: Tracing The Roots Of A Moral Therapy Movement In The United States From The Early Nineteenth Century To The Present, Len L. Levin, Ruthann Gildea

Library Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Hospital libraries, including ones designed for patient use, share a common history with hospitals in the evolution of health care delivery 1. The library as a component of the early “insane asylum” in the United States is well documented, and many had been established by the mid-nineteenth century. While these libraries certainly existed as a means of recreation for asylum patients, this historical communication will demonstrate they also served as a center for “bibliotherapy,” the use of reading as a means of healing.

Metacognition As A Predictor Of Conceptual Change, Sharang Tickoo

Cognitive Science Student Scholarship

Metacognitive ability - proficiency in analyzing ones own thought processes - is related to the ability to correctly gauge one's mastery of a task (Kruger, 1999; Dunning, 2003). It may also be tied to the ability to make radical conceptual changes learning new information incongruous with prior beliefs. We hypothesize performance on an expanded version of the Cognitive Reflection Test (Frederick, 2005), a battery of questions designed to measure metacognitive ability, would be a predictor of the extent to which undergraduate college students (N=103) improved their understanding of evolution after a semester of college level biology, particularly in the Darwinian ...

Sustaining Remission Of Psychotic Depression: Rationale, Design And Methodology Of Stop-Pd Ii, Alastair J. Flint, Barnett S. Meyers, Anthony J. Rothschild, Ellen M. Whyte, Benoit H. Mulsant, Matthew V. Rudorfer, Patricia Marino, Stop-Pd Ii Study Group

Psychiatry Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Psychotic depression (PD) is a severe disabling disorder with considerable morbidity and mortality. Electroconvulsive therapy and pharmacotherapy are each efficacious in the treatment of PD. Expert guidelines recommend the combination of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications in the acute pharmacologic treatment of PD. However, little is known about the continuation treatment of PD. Of particular concern, it is not known whether antipsychotic medication needs to be continued once an episode of PD responds to pharmacotherapy. This issue has profound clinical importance. On the one hand, the unnecessary continuation of antipsychotic medication exposes a patient to adverse effects, such as weight ...

Multi-Modal Approach For Investigating Brain And Behavior Changes In An Animal Model Of Traumatic Brain Injury, Meghan E. Heffernan, Wei Huang, Kenneth M. Sicard, Bernt T. Bratane, Nanyin Zhang, Marc Fisher, Jean A. King, Elif M. Sikoglu

Psychiatry Publications and Presentations

Utilization of novel approaches in imaging modalities are needed for enhancing diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes of persons suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study explored the feasibility of using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in conjunction with behavioral measures to target dynamic changes in specific neural circuitries in an animal model of traumatic brain injury. Wistar rats were randomly assigned to one of two groups (traumatic brain injury / sham operation). TBI rats were subjected to the closed head injury (CHI) model. Any observable motor deficits and cognitive deficits associated with the injury were measured using Beam Walk and Morris ...

Long-Term Influence Of Normal Variation In Neonatal Characteristics On Human Brain Development, Kristine Beate Walhovd, Anders M. Fjell, Timothy T. Brown, Joshua M. Kuperman, Yoonho Chung, Donald J. Hagler Jr., J. Cooper Roddey, Matthew Erhart, Connor Mccabe, Natacha Akshoomoff, David G. Amaral, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Ondrej Libiger, Nicholas J. Schork, Burcu F. Darst, B. J. Casey, Linda Chang, Thomas M. Ernst, Jean A. Frazier, Jeffrey R. Gruen, Walter E. Kaufmann, Sarah S. Murray, Peter Van Zijl, Stewart Mostofsky, Anders Dale, Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, And Genetics Study

Psychiatry Publications and Presentations

It is now recognized that a number of cognitive, behavioral, and mental health outcomes across the lifespan can be traced to fetal development. Although the direct mediation is unknown, the substantial variance in fetal growth, most commonly indexed by birth weight, may affect lifespan brain development. We investigated effects of normal variance in birth weight on MRI-derived measures of brain development in 628 healthy children, adolescents, and young adults in the large-scale multicenter Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics study. This heterogeneous sample was recruited through geographically dispersed sites in the United States. The influence of birth weight on cortical thickness ...

Bioenergetic Measurements In Children With Bipolar Disorder: A Pilot 31p Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study, Elif M. Sikoglu, J. Eric Jensen, Gordana Vitaliano, Ana A. Liso Navarro, Perry F. Renshaw, Jean A. Frazier, Constance M. Moore

Psychiatry Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Research exploring Bipolar Disorder (BD) phenotypes and mitochondrial dysfunction, particularly in younger subjects, has been insufficient to date. Previous studies have found abnormal cerebral pH levels in adults with BD, which may be directly linked to abnormal mitochondrial activity. To date no such studies have been reported in children with BD.

METHODS: Phosphorus Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ((31)P MRS) was used to determine pH, phopshocreatine (PCr) and inorganic phosphate (Pi) levels in 8 subjects with BD and 8 healthy comparison subjects (HCS) ages 11 to 20 years old.

RESULTS: There was no significant difference in pH between the patients ...

Traumatic Brain Injury: The Relationship Of Psychosocial Variables And Location Of Injury To Post-Injury Depression, Alicia L. Smith

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects nearly 1.4 million people in the United States annually, and of these, 10% to 77% will experience post-injury depression. Psychosocial variables such as previous substance and alcohol abuse, prior mental illness, low educational attainment, and poverty have been identified as possible risk factors. Additionally, the location of injury appears to play a key role particularly if the injury occurs in the left hemisphere. This study examined archival data from brain-injured patients in an effort to better understand the factors related to post-TBI depression. Past medical records of brain-injured adults (N = 52) were reviewed and ...

The Effects Of Question Placement On Reading Comprehension Scores Of High Comprehenders, Katharine Beideck, Kristen Bartlett, Jessica Kuiphoff, Jane Biedron, Shemika Cookbey, Thomas Sutherlin, Katelyn Staples

Celebration of Undergraduate Scholarship

Previous research has shown that embedded questions hurt the reading comprehension of high comprehenders. All participants had high reading comprehension skills scoring at or above 66 percent on the ACT/SAT. Participants either read a packet with questions embedded about every paragraph or a packet where questions were all located at the end of the reading. Participants answered the questions as they came to them. After a week of delay, the participants came back and took a test with questions that were either: target, non-target, or related. For all of the dependent variables, people who had taken a statistics course ...

Smoking, Cardiac Symptoms, And An Emergency Care Visit: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Cognitive And Emotional Reactions, Karyn A. Tappe, Edwin D. Boudreaux, Beth Bock, Erin L. O'Hea, Brigitte M. Baumann, Steven Hollenberg, Bruce M. Becker, Gretchen B. Chapman

Open Access Articles

Emergency departments and hospitals are being urged to implement onsite interventions to promote smoking cessation, yet little is known about the theoretical underpinnings of behavior change after a healthcare visit.

This observational pilot study evaluated three factors that may predict smoking cessation after an acute health emergency: perceived illness severity, event-related emotions, and causal attribution. Fifty smokers who presented to a hospital because of suspected cardiac symptoms were interviewed, either in the emergency department (ED) or, for those who were admitted, on the cardiac inpatient units. Their data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to capture the individual ...

Self-Reported Adherence With The Use Of A Device In A Clinical Trial As Validated By Electronic Monitors: The Vibes Study, Brianne A. Jeffrey, Marian T. Hannan, Emily K. Quinn, Sheryl Zimmerman, Bruce A. Barton, Clinton T. Rubin, Douglas P. Kiel

Open Access Articles

BACKGROUND: Adherences to treatments that require a behavioral action often rely on self-reported recall, yet it is vital to determine whether real time self reporting of adherence using a simple logbook accurately captures adherence. The purpose of this study was to determine whether real time self-reported adherence is an accurate measurement of device usage during a clinical trial by comparing it to electronic recording.

METHODS: Using data collected from older adult men and women (N=135, mean age 82.3 yrs; range 66 to 98 yrs) participating in a clinical trial evaluating a vibrating platform for the treatment of osteoporosis ...

Reduced Duration Mismatch Negativity In Adolescents With Psychotic Symptoms: Further Evidence For Mismatch Negativity As A Possible Biomarker For Vulnerability To Psychosis., Jennifer R. Murphy, Caroline Rawdon, Ian Kelleher, Deirdre Twomey, Patrick S. Markey, Mary Cannon, Richard Ap Roche

Psychiatry Articles

BACKGROUND: Deficits in the mismatch negativity (MMN) and P3a components are the most reliable and robust findings in schizophrenia. These abnormalities have also been recently documented in individuals clinically at risk for psychosis, indicating that the MMN may be a potential biomarker for psychosis. However, the at risk samples included in MMN studies are characterised by pre-existing clinical symptomatology and significant functional decline which are related to MMN amplitude. These factors may be potential confounds in determining whether deficient MMN is present prior to clinical manifestation of the disorder. Therefore, investigating the MMN in the extended psychosis phenotype comprising adolescents ...

Defining The Developmental Parameters Of Temper Loss In Early Childhood: Implications For Developmental Psychopathology, Heide Hullsiek, Margaret J. Briggs-Gowan

Articles - Research

Abstract

Background

Temper modulation problems are both a hallmark of early childhood and a common mental health concern. Thus, characterizing specific behavioral manifestations of temper loss along a dimension from normative misbehaviors to clinically significant problems is an important step toward identifying clinical thresholds.

Methods

Parent-reported patterns of temper loss were delineated in a diverse community sample of preschoolers (n = 1,490). A developmentally sensitive questionnaire, the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschool Disruptive Behavior (MAP-DB), was used to assess temper loss in terms of tantrum features and anger regulation. Specific aims were: (a) document the normative distribution of temper loss in ...

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Of Brain Tissue Abnormalities: Transverse Relaxation Time In Autism And Tourette Syndrome And Development Of A Novel Whole-Brain Myelin Mapping Technique, Yann Gagnon

University of Western Ontario - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The transverse relaxation time (T2) is a fundamental parameter of magnetic resonance imaging sensitive to tissue microstructure and water content, thus offering a non-invasive approach to evaluate abnormalities of brain tissue in-vivo. Prevailing hypotheses of two childhood psychiatric disorders were tested using quantitative T2 imaging and automated region of interest (ROI) analyses. In autism, the under-connectivity theory, which proposes aberrant connectivity within white matter (WM) was assessed, finding T2 to be eleveted in the frontal and parietal lobes, while dividing whole brain data into neurodevelopmentally relevant WM ROIs found increased T2 in bridging and radiate WM. In Tourette syndrome, tissue ...

Body Image And Disordered Eating Patterns In African-American College Women, Amazing Grace L. Danso

Senior Honors Papers

Currently, increasing scholarly attention is being given to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating. A bulk of the research on the issue has focused on Caucasian women. As a result, the body of research may be limited in its generalization to other racial and ethnic groups. This study, therefore, sought to study disordered eating among African-American college women. Two models based on research questions were tested. The first focused on how body mass index (BMI) impacted disordered eating, while the second focused on how the difference between perceived actual and ideal body image impacted disordered eating ...