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Longitudinal And Concurrent Contributions Of Verbal And Physical Scaffolding To Toddlers’ Inhibitory Control, Anton Petrenko

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Executive function (EF) is crucial to lifespan development and environmental factors have been found to impact its development. Previous research has shown that parenting can make meaningful impacts on children’s EF, with scaffolding receiving broad support. Scaffolding refers to an adult’s ability to guide a child through a challenging task without providing too much or too little support. However, many of the studies which have examined scaffolding have been done in preschool- and school-aged samples, with limited research conducted in younger samples. Very few studies have separately examined verbal and physical components of scaffolding, which may differentially contribute to children’s …

The Effect Of Mortality Salience On Compromising Mate Selection Standards In Homosexual And Heterosexual Individuals, Sydney Rohmann

Masters Theses

Terror management theory (TMT), proposed by Greenberg, Pyszcynski, and Solomon (1986), suggests that humans cope with terror resulting from the knowledge of their own mortality. The need for coping mechanisms arises when individuals are reminded of their own inevitable death; that is, when they experience mortality salience (MS). Hirschberger, Florian, and Mikulincer (2002) found that when primed with death reminders, heterosexual individuals tend to compromise their ideal mate selection to form close relationships. There has also been extensive research on the differences between homosexual and heterosexual mating preferences. This study examined the effect mortality salience has on an individuals’ mate …

The Influence Of Defendants' Nonverbal Behaviors On Juror Liking, Sympathy, And Sentencing, Joseph Thomas

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Jurors are highly susceptible to influence, especially in the form of emotional manipulation. Totest this, the present study applies Burgoon’s (1993) expectancy violation theory to affective defendant behaviors (i.e., remorse, immediacy). In an attempt to manipulate the perceived rewardingness of the defendant, these behaviors are coupled with a description of either a major or minor crime. The results indicate that remorse behaviors evoke sympathy, thereby leading to a more lenient sentencing recommendation by mock jurors. Though the likeability of the defendant also impacted juror sentencing recommendations, immediacy behaviors failed to produce such an effect. Implications of these results are discussed.

Cannabis Treatment Of Autism In Children: A Literature Review, Mai Xiong

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Objectives: This literature review aims to summarize the effects of medical cannabis use in children on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms, side effects and provide recommendations for practice, education, and research. Background: ASD is characterized by core behaviors of significant impairment in social communication and interaction and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (APA, 2013). In addition to these core behaviors, individuals with ASD often have noncore behavioral disorders and several medical comorbidities. Treatment for ASD symptoms includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), aripiprazole (Abilify) and/or risperidone (Risperdal). As of this review, 14 states have added ASD …

From Music To Animacy: Causal Reasoning Links Animate Agents With Musical Sounds, Minju Kim, Adena Schachner

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Listening to music activates representations of movement and social agents. Why? We ask whether high-level causal reasoning about how music was generated can lead people to link musical sounds with animate agents. To test this, we asked whether people (N=60) make flexible inferences about whether an agent caused musical sounds, integrating information from the sounds’ timing and from the visual context in which it was produced. Using a 2x2 within-subject design, we found evidence of causal reasoning: In a context where producing a musical sequence would require self-propelled movement, people inferred that an agent had been present causing the sounds. …

Preschoolers’ Spontaneous Gesture Production Predicts Analogical Transfer, Minju Kim, Caren M. Walker

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

We explore the link between children’s gesture production and analogical reasoning. Specifically, we ask whether children who spontaneously gesture when completing a retelling task are more likely to engage in analogical transfer, compared to those who do not gesture. To test this, 85 5-7-year-olds listened to three superficially distinct stories that shared a common abstract problem and solution. After each of the first two exemplar stories, participants were asked to retell the story events to a naïve listener and their speech and spontaneous gesture(s) were coded. For the third story, participants were asked to generate the analogous solution themselves. Results …

Foster Parents’ Experience Of Placement Disruptions For Youths In Foster Care, Deyettea Kim Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Placement disruptions for youths placed in foster care have been the focus of multiple studies due to the negative and long-lasting impacts on these vulnerable youths. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of placement disruptions from the foster parent’s perspective to gain further understanding of potential causes of placement disruptions and what may be helpful to prevent them. The study was based on the lens of attachment theory. Data were collected from interviews with six participants recruited on social media who were licensed in the State of Washington for at least 1 year …

Conflict In Human Relationships And Seeking Out Pets As A Safe Haven, Jennifer Rachael Bakal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has revealed the positive physical and the psychological aspects of pet ownership, suggesting that an individual’s attachment style can impact the kind of relationship they have with their pet. Two theories guided this qualitative study; the first was Bowlby’s attachment theory, which suggests that if a child feels that the attachment figure is attentive and accessible, the child will feel loved and secure. Another theory was Ainsworth’s attachment theory in which attachment figures are described as possessing four features: proximity maintenance, separation distress, secure base, and safe haven. This study consisted of 212 participants at least 18 years old …

The Relationship Between Programming After Critical Incidents, Shootings, And Resilience In Police, Michelle Lise Vincent

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine whether there was a relationship between resilience, posttraumatic growth, and reintegration programming after a critical incident and/or line of duty shooting through the cognitive, self-efficacy and resiliency theoretical lenses. The research aimed to determine if police officers, who participated in reintegration programming, specifically in this study, Edmonton Police’s Reintegration After Critical Incident programming, produced higher scores in resilience as measured on the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and posttraumatic growth, as measured on the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory scale (PTGI), with Canadian police officers compared to police officers who do not participate in …

Socioecological Determinants Of Psychoticism Among Central-Asian Immigrants To The United States, Viktor Dlugunovych

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Every year, thousands of individuals from every country and every walk of life arrive in the United States in hopes of better lives for themselves and their families. A significant portion of immigrants arrives from Central Asia countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Stress associated with the process of uprooting in the country of origin and adaptation in the country of destination often makes newcomers vulnerable to developing mental health illnesses. The purpose of this work was to analyze relationships between psychoticism, psychological comorbidities, and psychosocial factors. This study used archival data that included 195 cases of individuals …

Qualitative Exploration Of Catholic Church Leaders’ Perspectives Regarding Counseling Parishioners With Anxiety, Amy Lynn Polster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little research addressing the mental health literacy of Roman Catholic clergy in their job as spiritual counselors for parishioners with anxiety. Devout individuals struggling with fear- or worry-driven anxiety often call on divine assistance for help as a frontline defense. Anxiety is a leading mental health problem, disturbing about 40 million U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 years. This study explored the mental health literacy perceptions of six Catholic clergy leaders and their awareness of fear- or worry-based anxiety, drawing upon the concept of the triune brain and using evolutionary threat assessment systems theory as a theoretical foundation. …

Hurricane Survivors' Attitudes Regarding The Therapeutic Benefits Of Animals, Tina Callwood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is research on the benefits of animal-assisted interventions. However, no study was found on hurricane survivors' lived experience and their attitudes toward animals after a traumatic experience. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of hurricane survivors' attitudes toward their companion animals or other animals they interacted with after a natural disaster. The transactional theory of stress and coping was used to explain how participants appraised their stress and reduced it. Constructivism was used to uncover hurricane survivors' experiences and their attitudes toward animals after the disaster. The research question examined the lived …

Teacher And Parent Perception Of Cyberbullying In A Middle School Setting, Jacqueline Gallo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this mixed method study was to evaluate differences in cyberbullying perception and self-efficacy between teachers and parents. The study aimed to determine how teachers and parents reacted to cyberbullying. The importance of examining teacher and parent perception and self-efficacy in addressing cyberbullying determined the significance of intervention. The theoretical framework for the study was Bandura’s social learning theory. The purpose of this mixed method study was to examine the perceptions and self-efficacy of cyberbullying between teachers and parents as measured by the Peer Relations Assessment Questionnaire Revised and the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. A sample that incorporated perception and …

Exploring The Private And Environmental Events Of Repeat Offenders Relative To Low Self-Control, Xavier Mims

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The dissection of self-control theory itself has served as a supplemental platform for understanding how the lack of self-control can perpetuate criminal conduct. Previous research has indicated that employing self-control theory to predict criminal behavior has been widely supported by various forms of test samples, measurements, and methodologies. However, there remains a gap in the current literature regarding the internal-motivative factors between the relationship of the offender's criminal behaviors and self-control theory. Partial understanding of what the offender experiences constitutes a significant disparity between subjective concepts and actual accounts based on an offender's view on his personal life. Therefore, the …

African Immigrants' U.S. Experience Of Mental Health, Mental Illness, And Help-Seeking, Bartholomew Edem-Enang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine and explore African immigrants’ U.S. experience of mental health, mental illness, and help-seeking. Mental health, mental illness, and help-seeking are misunderstood public health issues. Indigenous cultural stigma concerning mental illness and help-seeking and mistrust of Western medicine inhibit African immigrants from reporting mental illness and seeking treatment. The segmented assimilation theory (SAT) and cultural risk theory (CRT) and interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) were used to guide data collection and analysis. Data were collected from a sample of 9 African immigrants who migrated from countries within the Five Main Regions of Africa …

Emotional Support Dogs’ Effects On Anxiety, Depression, And Somatization In Elementary Students, Truman Arthur James Spring

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Within the last few decades, there has been an ever-increasing clinical role for trained emotional support dogs (ESD) and their trained therapists in hospitals, courtrooms, and schools. More recently, within the last 5 years, there has been a prevalent trend toward introducing ESDs into schools, which has created an ongoing controversy about the legitimacy of this practice due to the lack of objective data and research on the topic. In this study, archival data analysis was conducted using data from 68 students with elevated scores for anxiety, depression, or somatization, 34 of which were in the treatment group and the …

Teaching Study Skills To College Students Using Checklist Training, Sarah T. Kong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Deficits in the study skills of college students can lead to lower academic performance and disqualification. Although behavior analytic research has evaluated methods for teaching, structuring in-class notes, increasing attendance, and improving participation, no studies have evaluated methods for improving independent studying outside of the classroom using a single-case design. We evaluated the effects of a study skills training package using a multiple probe design across skills with college students. Sessions took place in a room arranged to emulate the typical study space found in a dorm or library. During sessions, participants were given a 3–6 page reading from a …

The Effects Of Escalated Cocaine Intake On Decision-Making Dynamics, Mcallister Stephens

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) is characterized partly by the use of cocaine at the expense of other alternatives, in other words, it is a decision-making pathology (Kalivas & Volkow, 2005). Concurrent choice tasks assess decision-making in a dynamic scenario that more closely resembles real life. Value-based decision-making is an important facet of understanding the addictive properties of drugs of abuse. In order to compare two value-based theories of addiction (habit theory and relative value theory), a concurrent choice task was run in tandem with an escalation procedure. First, animals were trained on a choice task until stable, then trained on …

A Behavioral Healthcare Approach To At-Risk Youth Substance Prevention Program Development, Debra Mcintyre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Providing quality services that meet the needs of clients is key to organizational sustainability for behavioral health organizations. Strategic development of substance prevention programs for at-risk youth will play an important role in capacity building. The focus of this study was to identify the need for developing a targeted and effective substance abuse prevention program to support at-risk youth who have trauma experiences before they begin misusing substances to cope with their challenges. The Baldrige excellence framework was used to guide this descriptive case study of a behavioral health organization in the Northeastern region of the United States. The data …

Intimate Partner Violence: Effects Of Emotional Abuse In Women, Judith Marie Watiti

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEstimates by the U.S. Bureau of Statistics point to over 30% of women being victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) yearly. Severity and frequency of violence in childhood have been shown in several studies to predict adult interpersonal violence. Research has shown that emotional abuse predicts other forms of abuse, thus identifying it as a potential causal link to IPV. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether emotional abuse mediates the relationship between history of childhood abuse and IPV. Social learning theory served as the theoretical framework for the study, in which 182 adult female participants from …

Physiological Stress Responding During Negative Memory Recollection And The Habitual Use Of Psychological Coping Strategies, Kyle P. Rawn

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Coping represents an important process for stress: how effectively one copes dictates how a person experiences stress. However, research has not yet examined how a person’s long-term coping habits are related to their physiological stress responding during a particular situation. The current study addresses this through examination of skin conductance level (SCL) trajectories and coping tendencies (i.e. habitual use of coping strategies) during an autobiographical interview. 167 college students completed questionnaires assessing their demographics and their frequency of use for fourteen coping strategies. SCL was collected while participants recalled and discussed a negative family memory from their childhood. Multilevel modeling …

Distractors As A Tool To Increase “Self-Control” In Pigeons (Columba Livia), Peyton Mueller

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

In the successive delay-discounting task, all trials start with a stimulus to which a response results in a small amount of reinforcement (smaller-sooner). If no response is made, the stimulus changes and a response results in a larger reinforcer (larger-later). The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a non-reinforced distractor (a stimulus to which responding has no programmed consequence) as a method of increasing the proportion of larger-later (LL) choices in a successive delay-discounting task. Earlier research studying the use of distractors may have inadvertently associated the distractor with reinforcement. Four experiments were conducted and each …

Pharmacokinetics And Reward-Related Behaviors Of Ethanol In Male And Female Japanese Quail (Coturnix Japonica), Shannon Eaton

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Ethanol is one of the most widely used and abused drugs. Problem use is associated with many different health problems and the economic burden is in the billions of dollars. Additionally, many people have difficulty controlling their ethanol consumption and about 5% of adults end up with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Many people with an AUD often find themselves in a cycle of binge, remission, and relapse.

Following ethanol consumption ethanol enters the bloodstream from the small intestine where it gets distributed to peripheral tissues. Ethanol in the bloodstream is cleared from the system by the liver. The primary …

Mapping Out Learning: How Aerobic Exercise, Sex And Alzheimer's Disease Impact Learning, Grace G. Bouker

Senior Independent Study Theses

Exercise has the power to ameliorate the outward symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) by rescuing hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. The goal of this research was to map out how exercise and sex impact behavioral learning in AD mouse models by looking outside of the traditional measurements in the Morris water maze (MWM), as they fail to describe the process of learning itself. I calculated heading error at maximum velocity, manually categorized search strategy in the MWM across trials, and determined flexibility in the probe trial for transgenic and wild-type mice who were exposed to exercise or control housing. Mice significantly …

ผลของการบำบัดโดยใช้ถาดทรายเป็นสื่อต่อการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเอง ของนักเรียนระดับชั้นมัธยมศึกษาตอนปลายที่มีประสบการณ์การถูกกลั่นแกล้งรังแก, ปุณณภา จิราวัฒนกูล

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การศึกษาครั้งนี้เป็นการวิจัยเชิงปริมาณตามระเบียบวิธีวิจัยเชิงทดลองทดลองแบบกรณีเดียว (Single-case Experimental Design) ที่มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาผลของการบำบัดโดยใช้ถาดทรายเป็นสื่อต่อการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเองของนักเรียนระดับชั้นมัธยมศึกษาตอนปลายที่มีประสบการณ์การถูกกลั่นแกล้งรังแก กลุ่มตัวอย่างเป็นนักเรียนระดับชั้นมัธยมศึกษาตอนปลาย อายุระหว่าง 15-18 ปี มีประสบการณ์การถูกกลั่นแกล้งรังแกรูปแบบต่างๆ และมีระดับการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเองในเชิงลบ จำนวน 5 คน โดยกลุ่มตัวอย่างทุกคนจะถูกเข้าร่วมโปรแกรมการบำบัดโดยใช้ถาดทรายเป็นสื่อรูปแบบรายบุคคลสัปดาห์ละ 2 ครั้ง ครั้งละ 1 ชั่วโมง รวม 8 ครั้ง ต่อเนื่องเป็นระยะเวลา 4 สัปดาห์ และเก็บข้อมูลจากแบบวัดการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเองของ Rosenberg (RGSE) จากทั้งหมด 3 ระยะ ได้แก่ ระยะก่อนดำเนินการบำบัดโดยใช้ถาดทรายเป็นสื่อเพื่อวัดเป็นเส้นฐาน 4 ครั้ง ระยะการบำบัดโดยใช้ถาดทรายเป็นสื่อ 8 ครั้ง และระยะติดตามผล 4 ครั้ง รวมเป็นการเก็บข้อมูลจำนวนทั้งสิ้น 16 ครั้ง วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลโดยใช้สถิติเชิงพรรณนา การวิเคราะห์ค่าความเปลี่ยนแปลงของคะแนน (Level comparison) และการวิเคราะห์ขนาดอิทธิพล (PEM) ผลการศึกษาพบว่า กลุ่มตัวอย่างมีระดับการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเองที่สูงขึ้นในระยะจัดกระทำและระยะติดตามผลเมื่อเปรียบเทียบกับคะแนนในระยะเส้นฐาน โดยส่งอิทธิพลต่อการเพิ่มขึ้นของการเห็นคุณค่าในตนเองของนักเรียนระดับชั้นมัธยมศึกษาตอนปลายในระดับสูง จำนวน 4 คน และระดับปานกลาง จำนวน 1 คน

การเกิดปัญญาของผู้ให้การปรึกษาเชิงจิตวิทยาแนวพุทธที่มีประสบการณ์ในการทำงานสูง, วรากร ศรสุรินทร์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาประสบการณ์การเกิดปัญญาในการทำงานของผู้ให้การปรึกษาเชิงจิตวิทยาแนวพุทธที่มีประสบการณ์ด้วยการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพแนวปรากฏการณ์วิทยาแบบตีความ ผู้ให้ข้อมูลหลักคือผู้ให้การปรึกษาเชิงจิตวิทยาแนวพุทธที่มีประสบการณ์การทำงานด้านการปรึกษาแนวพุทธมาอย่างต่อเนื่องไม่น้อยกว่า 5 ปี จำนวน 6 ราย เก็บข้อมูลด้วยการสัมภาษณ์โดยใช้คำถามแบบกึ่งโครงสร้าง ผลการวิจัยพบ 4 ประเด็นหลัก ได้แก่ (1) ความขุ่นใจที่รบกวนขณะทำงานและชีวิตส่วนตัว ซึ่งประกอบด้วย ความขุ่นใจ กวนใจขณะทำงานกับผู้มาปรึกษา (ใจไม่ว่าง ความคิดปั่นป่วน และรับรู้เรื่องราวของผู้รับบริการได้ไม่ชัด) และความทุกข์ใจ รบกวนชีวิตส่วนตัว (ครุ่นคิดในความผิดพลาดในการปรึกษา ไม่พอใจ สงสัย ผิดหวังในตัวเอง และกระตุ้นให้เกิดความทุกข์ใจอื่นๆ ร่วมด้วย) (2) การตระหนัก เข้าใจ มุ่งสู่การแก้ทุกข์ ซึ่งประกอบด้วย การตระหนัก ใส่ใจในทุกข์ที่เกิดขึ้น (สัมผัสรับรู้สภาวะความทุกข์ และเกิดแรงจูงใจที่จะสำรวจและจัดการความทุกข์) การใช้ใจที่สงบ ทบทวนทุกข์ เมื่อมีความพร้อม (ใส่ใจกับความสงบ ความพร้อม และสำรวจและทบทวนทุกข์ที่เกิดขึ้น) การมองเห็นความคาดหวังที่ซ้อนกับทุกข์ที่เกิด (เห็นว่าเหตุของทุกข์มาจากภายในใจ ไม่ตรงความจริง และเข้าไปจัดการกับความคาดหวัง) และการสะสางตะกอนทุกข์ที่กลับมากวนใจ (3) การสร้างเหตุปัจจัยที่เอื้อต่อการเกิดปัญญา ลดทุกข์ มองเห็นความจริง ซึ่งประกอบด้วย สะสมเหตุปัจจัยด้านกุศล ก่อให้เกิดปัญญา ลดทุกข์ (การมีสติสัมปชัญญะ เกิดปัญญาคลายทุกข์ และการใช้สติ สมาธิ และญาณ เห็นแจ้งความเป็นจริง) และการเห็นความจริง ใช้ชีวิตสอดคล้องปัจจุบันขณะ (การอยู่กับปัจจุบันขณะด้วยใจที่เบาสบาย สงบ และการตกผลึกบทเรียนในการคลี่คลายทุกข์) (4) การเห็นคุณค่า การเพาะบ่มสติและปัญญาอย่างต่อเนื่อง ซึ่งประกอบด้วย การมีสติและปัญญาเป็นรากฐานการทำงานและชีวิตส่วนตัว (เห็นว่าปัญญาสำคัญต่อผู้ให้การปรึกษาเชิงจิตวิทยาแนวพุทธและเห็นว่าปัญญาสำคัญต่อการดำเนินชีวิต) การฝึกฝนบ่มเพาะสติและปัญญาในชีวิตประจำวัน

The Impact Of Healthcare Professional Students' Racial, Hiv-Related, And Abortion-Related Biases On Recommendations For Prenatal Care, Alison J. Patev

Theses and Dissertations

Black women and HIV-positive women have increased maternal mortality rates and other negative pregnancy outcomes, in part due to disparate prenatal care. Although women who seek abortions do not have the same negative outcomes, abortion stigma exists and is normalized in healthcare. Limited work has examined prenatal care provision for women in these groups, and even less work has explored the prenatal care provision by healthcare trainees (i.e., medical, nurse practitioner, and physician assistant students). Examining the role of bias on the prioritization of prenatal care items by healthcare trainees is imperative. Healthcare education sets the stage for future practice, …

Identifying Neuron Clusters Controlling Movement Vigor, Jay A. Strabinick

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that progressively decreases dopaminergic function. Lower amounts of dopamine may cause an innate motivational shift that decreases movement vigor when performing difficult tasks. In PD patients, bradykinesia, the slowing of movement, is characteristic of this decrease in vigor. The movement vigor hypothesis proposes that dopamine neurons modulate performance aspects of movement, like speed and persistence. This paper proposes a series experiments utilizing neuron recording techniques in zebrafish that would test the movement vigor hypothesis by determining whether in fact there is a distinct group of dopamine neurons that modulate movement vigor. Core elements …

The Relationship Between Resilience, Stress & Ptsd, Hadeal Al-Hamdani Ms., Adam Runyan Mr, Carissa Philippi Mrs.

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts or memories of the traumatic event that hinder daily life activities of individuals with a PTSD diagnosis. Stress exposure has further been shown to exacerbate PTSD symptoms. Given that resilience has been shown to buffer levels of stress, the current study investigated whether resilience may moderate the relationship between stress and PTSD symptoms. Eighty-one participants over the age of 18 were recruited from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and St. Louis community. Participants completed 3 self-report measures of resilience, exposure to stressful life events (e.g., Have you ever been in a …

Association Between Toxoplasma Gondii Seropositivity And Serointensity And Brain Volume In Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study, Bruce L. Brown, Lance D. Erickson, Shawn D. Gale, Dawson W. Hedges

Faculty Publications

The intracellular protozoal parasite Toxoplasma gondii has been associated with worsened cognitive function in animal models and in humans. Despite these associations, the mechanisms by which Toxoplasma gondii might affect cognitive function remain unknown, although Toxoplasma gondii does produce physiologically active intraneuronal cysts and appears to affect dopamine synthesis. Using data from the UK Biobank, we sought to determine whether Toxoplasma gondii is associated with decreased prefrontal, hippocampal, and thalamic gray-matter volumes and with decreased total gray-matter and total white-matter volumes in an adult community-based sample. The results from adjusted multivariable regression modelling showed no associations between Toxoplasma gondii and …