Biological Psychology Commons^™

Do We Know What We Know? Self- Assessment Across The Lifespan, Courtney Clare Lee

Master's Theses

Self-knowledge can play a critical role in navigating physical, cognitive, and social changes in late life. To protect and preserve one's sense of self against these changes, individuals may engage in self-enhancing and self-serving biases in areas important to self-esteem. The importance attached to these areas may change with age, and self-knowledge of these psychological processes may vary with age. We investigated self-enhancing biases and metacognitive awareness of abilities in adulthood. Participants ranging in age from 20 to 80 completed a series of tests assessing the better than average effect across a variety of age-relevant domains as well as objective …

Information Acquisition And Sociality Among Migratory Birds, Zoltán Németh

Dissertations

Information use is a key feature of adaptive behavior: the better informed an individual, the better it is able to adjust its behavior to meet the demands of a variable world. Therefore, most animals attempt to reduce environmental uncertainty by gathering information when it is available. However, tracking unpredictable ecological factors may carry costs as individuals invest valuable time and energy in the process of information acquisition. Social learning (i.e., use of social information inadvertently produced by other individuals) enables the individual to gain rapid and more complete assessment of its novel environment. This process may be particularly important for …

Neuropsychological And Emotion Processing Abnormalities In Bipolar Disorder I And Ii, Carol Randall

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Bipolar disorder illness is marked by emotional lability and mood disturbance, as well as various neuropsychological deficits, and the neuroanatomical correlates of many of these deficits are beginning to be identified. Numerous studies have implicated specific cortical and sub-cortical abnormalities in areas associated with executive function, memory, motor function, and the processing of emotion. Although a large body of research has been devoted to the investigation of cognitive and emotion-processing deficits in bipolar disorder, relatively few studies have been devoted to the investigation of how these deficits differ among bipolar disorder subtypes. This is surprising in light of known symptomatological …

A Combined Fmri And Dti Examination Of Functional Language Lateralization And Arcuate Fasciculus Structure: Effects Of Degree Versus Direction Of Hand Preference Author Links Open Overlay Panel, Ruth E. Propper, Lauren J. O'Donnell, Stephen Whalen, Yanmei Tie, Isaiah Norton, Ralph O. Suarez, Lilla Zollei, Alireza Radmanesh, Alexandra Golby

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The present study examined the relationship between hand preference degree and direction, functional language lateralization in Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, and structural measures of the arcuate fasciculus. Results revealed an effect of degree of hand preference on arcuate fasciculus structure, such that consistently-handed individuals, regardless of the direction of hand preference, demonstrated the most asymmetric arcuate fasciculus, with larger left versus right arcuate, as measured by DTI. Functional language lateralization in Wernicke’s area, measured via fMRI, was related to arcuate fasciculus volume in consistent-left-handers only, and only in people who were not right hemisphere lateralized for language; given the …

Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In relation to the Cosmos, we all, as human beings, live on this tiny planet we call Earth, a planet that supports and sustains life, as we know it. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals functioning in harmony with soil, air, and water--all linked to one another in a complex web of life to form one Earth community. Unfortunately, we often take this miracle and ecosystem of life for granted. When, however, we take the ecosystem of life too much for granted, Mother Earth "speaks," reflecting imbalances and dis-harmonies. When Mother Earth "speaks," her message is …

Taking Charge Of Adult Adhd, P. S. Mcmillen

Library Faculty Publications

Barkley is one of the leading researchers and most prolific writers on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across the life span, having produced materials for mental health professionals and self-help books like this volume.

Effect Of Depression On Attention Via Mood Induction In A Healthy Population, Cheryl Mae Calvano

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This project continues research into the cognitive attention of persons with a sad mood similar to that experienced by dysthymia. The project utilizes the Dot Probe Task to evaluate attention to affective stimuli presented in the International Affective Picture Set (IAPS). Participants were psychology students recruited from La Sierra University. Participants completed a word task that intended to induce a sad or neutral mood. The Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) was used to evaluate the efficacy of the mood induction. Overall, participant’s negative PANAS scale did not differ between groups. Groups differed between administrations of the PANAS on the …

Immune Function And Health Outcomes In Women With Depression, Cherie Howk, Mary P. Bennett

Nursing Faculty Publications

This research reports immune function and health outcomes in women with depression, as compared with a nondepressed control group. Using Psychoneuroimmunolgy theory and a descriptive comparison design, scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to divide 40 non-hospitalized Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 65 years into either the control or depression comparison group. Women with depression were found to report significantly more incidences of illness over the previous two months and they were found to have significantly more indicators of illness at the time of the exam as compared to the controls. However, contrary to …

Methodological Considerations For Treatment Trials For Persons With Borderline Personality Disorder, Mary C. Zanarini, Barbara Stanley, Donald W. Black, John C. Markowitz, Marianne Goodman, Paul Pilkonis, Thomas R. Lynch, Kenneth Levy, Peter Fonagy, Martin Bohus, Joan Farrell, Charles A. Sanislow

Charles A. Sanislow, Ph.D.

BACKGROUND: The National Institute of Mental Health convened an international group of experts to examine the conduct of treatment trials for persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD). The rapid growth of treatment research had led to the recognition that investigators face unique methodological issues with these challenging patients.

METHODS: Conference members reviewed critical aspects of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy trial design for patients with BPD.

RESULTS: This article summarizes discussions held on March 17-18, 2005.

CONCLUSION: This paper addresses the most pressing issues in sample selection and trial design pertaining to BPD; issues that have bedeviled both investigators submitting applications and …

Neural Dedifferentiation In Relation To Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Nathan C. Hantke

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research indicates that as an individual's age increases, the task-related spatial extent of neural activation increases. This decrease in neural specificity, or dedifferentiation, is often demonstrated by older adults during challenging cognitive tasks. Cognitively intact individuals at-risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), as deemed by having an apolipoprotein-E ε4 allele or a family history of AD, demonstrate increased fMRI activation as compared to individuals at lower risk. Using a low effort, high accuracy event-related semantic memory task involving the presentation of famous and non-famous names, we examined spatial neural specificity through a measure of dedifferentiation using …

Cognitive And Psychiatric Predictors To Psychosis In Velocardiofacial Syndrome: A 3-Year Follow-Up Study, Kevin M. Antshel, Robert J. Shprintzen, Wanda Fremont, Anne Marie Higgins, Stephen V. Faraone, Wendy R. Kates

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

Objective: To predict prodromal psychosis in adolescents with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS). Method: 70 youth with VCFS, 27 siblings of youth with VCFS and 25 community controls were followed from childhood (Mean age = 11.8 years) into mid-adolescence (mean age 15.0 years). Psychological tests measuring intelligence, academic achievement, learning/memory, attention and executive functioning as well as measures of parent and clinician ratings of child psychiatric functioning were completed at both time point. Results: Major depressive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder diagnoses increased in the VCFS sample. With very low false positive rates, the best predictor of adolescent prodromal …

Neuropsychological Functioning And Attrition Rates In Outpatient Substance Dependence Treatment, Sandra M. Adams

Dissertations (1934 -)

Numerous neuropsychological factors have been associated with substance dependence, however, very few studies have evaluated the relationship of the neuropsychological functioning and attrition rates in substance dependence treatment. This study examined the relationship of neuropsychological functioning and attrition rates in 68 homeless, substance dependent men participating in outpatient treatment at the 7C's Community Counseling Clinic located in the Guesthouse of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A neuropsychological battery including the Delis Kaplan Executive Functioning System, the Conners' Continuous Performance Test II, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading was given to all participants to evaluate neuropsychological …

Effects Of Chlordiazepoxide On Predator Odor-Induced Reductions Of Playfulness In Juvenile Rats, Stephen M. Siviy, Courtney L. Steets, Lauren M. Debrouse

Psychology Faculty Publications

The extent to which a non-sedative dose of chlordiazepoxide (CDP) is able to modify the behavioral responses toward a predator odor was assessed in juvenile rats. Play behavior was suppressed and defensive behaviors were enhanced in the presence of a collar previously worn by a cat, when tested 24 hours later in the same context as that where the exposure occurred, and when tested in a context different than that in which the exposure occurred for up to 3 hours after exposure. CDP had no effect on the ability of cat odor to suppress play when rats were tested in …

Markers Of Marijuana Use Outcomes Within Adolescent Substance Abuse Group Treatment, Paul Amrhein, Brett Engle, Mark Macgowan, Eric Wagner

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objectives: Despite their popularity, little is known about what distinguishes effective from ineffective or even iatrogenic adolescent group interventions. Methods: Audio recordings and transcripts from 19, 8—10 session, school-based treatment groups comprised of 108, substance abusing 10- to 19-year olds were analyzed. Group leader empathy was measured globally, while two new constructs, group commitment, and peer response, were measured using discourse analysis. All variables were measured at the group level. Results: Associations among these process variables were tested and supported, as were the hypothesized associations between both group member language constructs and marijuana use outcomes. Conclusions: These findings were consistent …

Effects Of Mindfulness Training On Stress, Mood And Coping In College Students, Lily Preer

Psychology Honors Papers

The present study examined the stress-reducing effects of a mindfulness meditation (MM) intervention in college students compared with a progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercise and a control group. The participants were 43 Connecticut College students high in interpersonal sensitivity. In the two experimental sessions, participants learned the stress-reduction techniques. Perceived stress, mood, coping and cortisol levels were assessed pre-and post-intervention. Participants completed a follow-up four weeks after the second session. Repeated measures MANOVAS were used to assess changes in stress, mood and coping. There were no changes in perceived stress. Though avoidant coping, cortisol levels, and negative mood decreased in …

Effects Of Cb2 Receptor Activation On Variable Chronic Mild Stress (Cms) Induced Depression And Hippocampal Dependant Spatial Learning, Eli Shobin

Psychology Honors Papers

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) accounts for approximately 10% of all diagnosed chronic illness in the United States. The most common treatments for MDD is serotonergic manipulation via pharmacological treatments such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO-I) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). However, not only have these treatments proven to be ineffective for a portion of the population, but they also fail to treat some of the physiological damages that occur in the hippocampus during MDD due to over-activation of inflammatory cells known as microglia. Activation of the CB2 receptor in the hippocampus has been shown to inhibit microglial cells and …

The Contribution Of Genes And Hormones To The Sexual Differention Of The Zebra Finch Song System, Jessica Bayley Thompson

Wayne State University Theses

Recent studies in the zebra finch suggest the sexual differentiation of the song system and singing behavior may not be solely driven by steroid hormones organizing the brain, and may be genetically driven. In fact, genes and hormones might act together to produce sexual differentiation of the brain. To test this hypothesis, animals were implanted with a 1mm pellet containing 50ug of 17b-estradiol or a blank pellet on the third day post-hatching. At post-hatch day 25, the brains were collected and a double label fluorescence in situ hybridization protocol using biotin and digoxigenin-tagged mRNA probes was used to simultaneously label …

Integrity Of Neuropsychological Processes In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Comorbid Conditions, Julie N. Henzel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the neuropsychological and behavioral profiles seen in children diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type (IA), inattentive type plus an internalizing disorder (IA + INT), combined type (CT), and combined type plus an externalizing disorder (CT + EXT). Subjects were 63 unmedicated children aged 6 to 16 who had been assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Fourth Edition (WISC–IV), Conners’ Continuous Performance Test-Second Edition (CPT–II), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Group differences were found for the WISC–IV Digits Backward subtest (IA + INT IA and IA + INT), and externalizing behavior scales on the CBCL and TRF …

Environmental Enrichment Attenuates Nucleus Basalis Lesion Induced Impairments To Attention, Brandee Leianne Kinney-Hurd

Theses Digitization Project

This experiment examined the effects of environmental enrichment on performance in an attention-dependent learning task in rats with selective lesions of the cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM). The findings demonstrate that environmental enrichment can enhance attention-dependent learning performance in normal animals as well as attenuating NBM lesion-induced impairments otherwise seen following rearing in standard conditions.

"The Chills" As A Psychological Response: Affective Composition, Trait Antecedents, And Factor Structure, Laura Anne Maruskin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.