Digital Commons Network^™

An Automatic Recording System For The Study Of Escape From Fear In Rats, Ming Li, Wei He

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Escape from fear (EFF) is an active response to a conditioned stimulus (CS) previously paired with an unconditioned fearful stimulus (US), which typically leads to the termination of the CS. In this paradigm, animals acquire two distinct associations: S-S [CS-US] and R-O [responseoutcome] through Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning, respectively. The present study describes a computer controlled automatic recording system that captures the development of EFF and allows the determination of the respective roles of S-S and R-O associations in this process. We validated this system by showing that only rats subjected to a simultaneous CS-US conditioning (i.e., CS and US …

Time-Dependence Of Risperidone And Asenapine Sensitization And Associated D2 Receptor Mechanism, Jun Gao, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

When an antipsychotic drug is given repeatedly and intermittently, there is often a long-term increase in its behavioral efficacy, termed antipsychotic sensitization. With the passage of time, the magnitude of antipsychotic sensitization may increase or decrease depending on the principle of Time-Dependent Sensitization (TDS) or memory decay, respectively. In the present study, we examined the time-dependent feature and possible dopamine D₂ receptor mechanism of sensitization induced by the antipsychotics risperidone and asenapine in the conditioned avoidance response test. Well-trained male adult Sprague-Dawley rats were first repeatedly treated with risperidone (1.0 mg/kg) or asenapine (0.2 mg/kg) and tested for avoidance …

Slope Of Change Through D-Cycloserine Facilitation Of Exposure Therapy In A Social Anxiety Population, Christina M. Sheerin

Dissertations

The present study sought to add to a growing base of research investigating approaches that facilitate the therapeutic effects of exposure-based therapy for social anxiety disorders. In particular, the approach involves the use of medication adjuvants that work in conjunction with therapeutic learning. This work translates findings from preclinical work to further our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that impact extinction learning. Among others, a promising method has been found with the use of D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial NMDA receptor agonist. Evidence of its positive impact in preclinical work has led to its application to clinical populations who suffer from …

Prenatal Development: Annotated Bibliography, Victoria J. Molfese, Amanda Prokasky, Kathleen Moritz Rudasill, Ibrahim H. Acar, Xiaoqing Tu, Kate Sirota, Brian Keiser

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

For decades, researchers have investigated how events in the prenatal period impact women and their infants. These studies, particularly by researchers in the medical, neuroscience, and behavioral science fields, led to discoveries of important information regarding the prenatal events that were strongly associated with mortality (or death) and morbidity (or incidences of injury, pathology and abnormalities/anomalies, and neurobehavioral sequelae) in the neonatal and infancy periods. Among the many common findings from early research studies, two are particularly noteworthy. First, maternal and fetal risk conditions arising in the prenatal period do not do so in isolation. Sameroff and Chandler characterized this …

Mate Preferences Do Predict Attraction And Choices In The Early Stages Of Mate Selection, Norman P. Li, Jose C. Yong, William Tov, Oliver Sng, Garth J. O. Fletcher, Katherine A. Valentine, Yun F. Jiang, Daniel Balliet

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Although mate preference research has firmly established that men value physical attractiveness more than women do and women value social status more than men do, recent speed-dating studies have indicated mixed evidence (at best) for whether people’s sex-differentiated mate preferences predict actual mate choices. According to an evolutionary, mate preference priority model (Li, Bailey, Kenrick, & Linsenmeier, 2002; Li & KENRICK, 2006; Li, Valentine, & Patel, 2011), the sexes are largely similar in what they ideally like, but for long-term mates, they should differ on what they most want to avoid in early selection contexts. Following this model, we conducted …

Males Show Improved Perspective-Taking Performance When Females Images Occupy Locations In The Spatial Array: Preliminary Evidence Consistent With Sexual Selection Of Spatial Skills?, Bradley R. Sturz, Karen Z. Naufel

Psychology: Faculty Presentations (2009-2022)

One tenet of sexual selection theory posits that females select males on the basis of physical attributes because these attributes serve as indicators of fitness. Relatively recently, evolutionary psychologists have suggested that females also select males on the basis of cognitive attributes because such attributes also serve as indicators of fitness. Spatial abilities are hypothesized to be one such cognitive attribute, but evidence supporting this hypothesis is lacking. We tested this hypothesis by having human male participants engage in a perspective-taking task (imagine standing at object A, facing object B, point to object C). We manipulated the content of the …

Intra-Cranial Overstimulation Of The Brain Reward System, Lael J. Stander, Dr. Scott C. Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Intra-cranial self stimulation (ICSS) has been well documented in both animal models and humans. Stimulation of various centers in the brain creates a very powerful reinforcement. Subjects will prefer ICSS to food, mating behavior, and drugs of abuse. One such pleasure center is the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) which functions as an information highway between several other pleasure mediating structures in the limbic system. Interestingly, constant stimulation of the MFB produces a highly dysphoric response. Animals respond with aversive behavior similar to pain avoidance. What is the electrophysiological change that mediates this reversal of pleasure to pain? In order to …

Predator Recognition In Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Embryos, Lois J. Oulton, Vivian Haviland, Culum Brown

Aquaculture Collection

Exposure to olfactory cues during embryonic development can have long term impacts on birds and amphibians behaviour. Despite the vast literature on predator recognition and responses in fishes, few researchers have determined how fish embryos respond to predator cues. Here we exposed four-day-old rainbowfish (Melanotaenia duboulayi) embryos to cues emanating from a novel predator, a native predator and injured conspecifics. Their response was assessed by monitoring heart rate and hatch time. Results showed that embryos have an innate capacity to differentiate between cues as illustrated by faster heart rates relative to controls. The greatest increase in heart rate occurred in …

Day-Night Differences In Neural Activation In Histaminergic And Serotonergic Areas With Putative Projections To The Cerebrospinal Fluid In A Diurnal Brain, Alexandra Castillo-Ruiz, Andrew J. Gall, Laura Smale, Antonio A. Nunez

Faculty Publications

In nocturnal rodents, brain areas that promote wakefulness have a circadian pattern of neural activation that mirrors the sleep/wake cycle, with more neural activation during the active phase than during the rest phase. To investigate whether differences in temporal patterns of neural activity in wake-promoting regions contribute to differences in daily patterns of wakefulness between nocturnal and diurnal species, we assessed Fos expression patterns in the tuberomammillary (TMM), supramammillary (SUM), and raphe nuclei of male grass rats maintained in a 12:12 h light-dark cycle. Day-night profiles of Fos expression were observed in the ventral and dorsal TMM, in the SUM, …

“The Role Of Gaba Electrical Networks In Brain Stimulation Reward”, Seth Gunderson, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The basis for my project is predicated on the rewarding properties of alcohol and other substances of abuse. We set out to further our understanding the neural system that is involved in intracranial self stimulation (ICSS) and how this system is mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons. Studies involving intravenous self administration (SA) of opiates and psychostimulants have identified specific neural substrates that mediate the reinforcing actions of these drugs and they constitute part of the same central nervous reward system that has evolved for mediating natural motivated behaviors, the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system.1,2

Inception And Ibn 'Arabi, Oludamini Ogunnaike

Journal of Religion & Film

Many philosophers, playwrights, artists, sages, and scholars throughout the ages have entertained and developed the concept of life being a "but a dream." Few works, however, have explored this topic with as much depth and subtlety as the 13thC Andalusian Muslim mystic, Ibn 'Arabi. Similarly, few works of art explore this theme as thoroughly and engagingly as Chistopher Nolan's 2010 film Inception. This paper presents the writings of Ibn 'Arabi and Nolan's film as a pair of mirrors, in which one can contemplate the other. As such, the present work is equally a commentary on the film based on …

Maternal Sensitivity, Maternal Mind-Mindedness, And Infant Socioemotional Functioning: An Examination Of Concurrent Associations, Nancy Ignacia Longoria

Open Access Dissertations

Associations between maternal sensitivity, maternal mind-mindedness, and infant socioemotional (SE) functioning were examined in a sample of 40 mother-infant dyads. Semi-structured home observations were conducted to assess maternal sensitivity and collect maternal ratings of maternal depression and infant SE functioning. Mind-mindedness was assessed during free play and teaching interactions during the home visit. Sensitivity at home was positively associated with mind-mindedness during a free play interaction, but not during a teaching interaction. Neither sensitivity nor mind-mindedness was significantly associated with total infant SE scores, or scores on 3 SE subscales (adaptive functioning, self-regulation, and interaction with people). A trend between …

Making A Stronger Case For Comparative Research To Investigate The Behavioral And Neurological Bases Of Three-Dimensional Navigation, Daniele Nardi, Verner P. Bingman

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

The rich diversity of avian natural history provides exciting possibilities for comparative research aimed at understanding three-dimensional navigation. We propose some hypotheses relating differences in natural history to potential behavioral and neurological adaptations possessed by contrasting bird species. This comparative approach may offer unique insights into some of the important questions raised by Jeffery et al.

Randomized Clinical Trial Examining Duration Of Voucher-Based Reinforcement Therapy For Cocaine Abstinence., Kimberly C Kirby, Carolyn M Carpenedo, Karen L Dugosh, Beth J Rosenwasser, Lois A Benishek, Alicia Janik, Rachel Keashen, Elena Bresani, Kenneth Silverman

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: This is the first study to systematically manipulate duration of voucher-based reinforcement therapy (VBRT) to see if extending the duration increases abstinence during and following VBRT.

METHODS: We randomized cocaine-dependent methadone-maintained adults to Standard (12 weeks; n=62) or Extended (36 weeks; n=68) VBRT and provided escalating voucher amounts contingent upon urinalysis verification of cocaine abstinence. Urinalysis was scheduled at least every 2 weeks during the 48-week study and more frequently during VBRT (3/week) and 12 weeks of Aftercare (2/week).

RESULTS: Extended VBRT produced longer durations of continuous cocaine abstinence during weeks 1-24 (5.7 vs 2.7 weeks; p=0.003) and proportionally …

The Touchscreen Operant Platform For Testing Learning And Memory In Rats And Mice., Alexa E Horner, Christopher J Heath, Martha Hvoslef-Eide, Brianne A Kent, Chi Hun Kim, Simon R O Nilsson, Johan Alsiö, Charlotte A Oomen, Andrew Holmes, Lisa M Saksida, Timothy J Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

An increasingly popular method of assessing cognitive functions in rodents is the automated touchscreen platform, on which a number of different cognitive tests can be run in a manner very similar to touchscreen methods currently used to test human subjects. This methodology is low stress (using appetitive rather than aversive reinforcement), has high translational potential and lends itself to a high degree of standardization and throughput. Applications include the study of cognition in rodent models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, Huntington's disease, frontotemporal dementia), as well as the characterization of the role of select brain regions, …

The Touchscreen Operant Platform For Testing Working Memory And Pattern Separation In Rats And Mice., Charlotte A Oomen, Martha Hvoslef-Eide, Christopher J Heath, Adam C Mar, Alexa E Horner, Timothy J Bussey, Lisa M Saksida

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The automated touchscreen operant chamber for rats and mice allows for the assessment of multiple cognitive domains within the same testing environment. This protocol presents the location discrimination (LD) task and the trial-unique delayed nonmatching-to-location (TUNL) task, which both assess memory for location. During these tasks, animals are trained to a predefined criterion during ∼20-40 daily sessions. In LD sessions, touching the same location on the screen is rewarded on consecutive trials, followed by a reversal of location-reward contingencies. TUNL, a working memory task, requires animals to 'nonmatch' to a sample location after a delay. In both the LD and …

The Touchscreen Operant Platform For Assessing Executive Function In Rats And Mice., Adam C Mar, Alexa E Horner, Simon R O Nilsson, Johan Alsiö, Brianne A Kent, Chi Hun Kim, Andrew Holmes, Lisa M Saksida, Timothy J Bussey

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

This protocol details a subset of assays developed within the touchscreen platform to measure various aspects of executive function in rodents. Three main procedures are included: extinction, measuring the rate and extent of curtailing a response that was previously, but is no longer, associated with reward; reversal learning, measuring the rate and extent of switching a response toward a visual stimulus that was previously not, but has become, associated with reward (and away from a visual stimulus that was previously, but is no longer, rewarded); and the 5-choice serial reaction time (5-CSRT) task, gauging the ability to selectively detect and …

Association Of Dietary Intake Patterns With Emotion Regulation, Megan Holt

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Background: Western dietary patterns, characterized by high intakes of trans fatty acids (TFA’s), are associated with numerous preventable chronic diseases. Conversely, a Mediterranean dietary pattern is known to be favorably associated with health. Recent findings suggest a correlation between Mediterranean dietary patterns and positive affect, and an inverse correlation with negative affect. Trans fatty acid intake is also associated with negative affect. Further, affect disturbances are associated with emotion dysregulation. We have yet to understand the association of diet with emotion regulation after taking affect disturbances into consideration. The purpose of this study was to examine effects of Mediterranean diet …

Designing Mobile Educational Games On Voter‟S Education: A Tale Of Three Engines, Ma. Regina Justina E. Estuar, Nadia Rowena C. Leetian, Michael B. Syson

Department of Information Systems & Computer Science Faculty Publications

The rapid growth of mobile learning is influenced by the ability to access learning content anytime and anywhere. The on demand capability is available because mobile devices allow for convergence of internet and communications technologies. At the same time, the availability of engines makes development of mobile applications faster and seamless. However, not all mobile development engines are alike. This paper discusses on the development of mobile learning applications using mobile development engines in teaching Filipinos on responsible voting. Specifically, this paper discusses how AndEngine, Ren’Py, and homegrown Usbong were used to develop a mobile board game and a mobile …

The Effects Of Manipulating Problem Completion Rates On Assignment Choice And Preference Consistency, Kiley Bliss

Theses and Dissertations

A procedure known as mathematics interspersing provides students with additional opportunities (i.e., brief math problems) to complete math problems within an assignment by embedding brief additional problems among longer target problems. Previous research (e.g., Cates & Dalenberg, 2005) found that the more problems completed on an assignment with interspersing, the higher the likelihood the student chooses that assignment relative to an assignment without interspersing. Some students, however, choose assignments without interspersing.

The purpose of this investigation was to focus on students who do not choose assignments (i.e., non-choosers) with interspersing relative to assignments without interspersing and replicate and extend previous …

The Functions Of Literature And The Evolution Of Extended Mind, Nancy Easterlin

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Making More Room For Physical Activity In Home-Based Child Care, Nanci Weinberger

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Imagine a public fountain that spans a large plaza. If young children were there, would they splish-splash in the giant puddle of water? Imagine an open field with large stones cropping up from the grass. Would young children try any way they could to climb on the stones? Imagine a home where couch pillows lie around on the floor. Would young children jump on the pillows?

Reinforcement Learning In Individuals At Risk For Alzheimer's Disease, Christina Marie Figueroa

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Explicit memory is the hallmark of impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) while implicit memory has mixed task-dependent results. Models of memory processes have posited that hippocampal function is sensitive to reinforcement learning (RL), which involves both explicit and implicit memory. The hippocampus is also vital for the transfer of learned associations to novel situations. Nevertheless, RL paradigms have been underutilized in assessing memory processes in individuals at risk for AD, which may aid in early identification of cognitive decline. Thirty-six apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genotyped older adults (Male n=8; Mage=80; Meducation=15 years) performed word stem completion, word recognition, and RL tasks. The …

The Influence Of Anger On Implicit Biases, Katherine Reiter

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Interpretation of ambiguous information is influenced by anxious (Richards, Reynolds, & French, 1992) and depressive (Wisco, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2010) symptoms. Emotion regulation strategies, and in particular, cognitive reappraisal has shown to be effective at reducing feelings of distress (Denson, Grisham, & Moulds, 2011). The current study seeks to understand the extent that emotion regulation can influence interpretation bias, thoughts and behaviors. In the current study, participants underwent both Angry and Neutral mood inductions. For each mood condition, participants were instructed to cognitively reappraise and attend to their emotions. Participants rated the degree of negative affect they experienced, and completed 6 …

It’S Time To Fear! Interval Timing In Odor Fear Conditioning In Rats, Kiseko Shionoya, Chloé Hegoburu, Bruce L. Brown, Regina M. Sullivan, Valérie Doyère, Anne-Marie Mouly

Publications and Research

Time perception is crucial to goal attainment in humans and other animals, and interval timing also guides fundamental animal behaviors. Accumulating evidence has made it clear that in associative learning, temporal relations between events are encoded, and a few studies suggest this temporal learning occurs very rapidly. Most of these studies, however, have used methodologies that do not permit investigating the emergence of this temporal learning. In the present study we monitored respiration, ultrasonic vocalization (USV) and freezing behavior in rats in order to perform fine-grain analysis of fear responses during odor fear conditioning. In this paradigm an initially neutral …

Modified Impact Of Emotion On Temporal Discrimination In A Transgenic Rat Model Of Huntington Disease, Alexis Faure, Mouna Es-Sesddiqi, Bruce L. Brown, Hoa P. Nguyen, Olaf Riess, Stephan Von Hörsten, Pascale Le Blanc, Nathalie Desvignes, Bruno Bozon, Nicole El Massioui, Valérie Doyère

Publications and Research

Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by triad of motor, cognitive, and emotional symptoms along with neuropathology in fronto-striatal circuit and limbic system including amygdala. Emotional alterations, which have a negative impact on patient well-being, represent some of the earliest symptoms of HD and might be related to the onset of the neurodegenerative process. In the transgenic rat model (tgHD rats), evidence suggest emotional alterations at the symptomatic stage along with neuropathology of the central nucleus of amygdala (CE). Studies in humans and animals demonstrate that emotion can modulate time perception. The impact of emotion on time perception has never been …

Goats Favour Personal Over Social Information In An Experimental Foraging Task, Luigi Baciadonna, Alan G. Mcelligott, Elodie F. Briefer

Ethology Collection

Animals can use their environments more efficiently by selecting particular sources of information (personal or social), according to specific situations. Group-living animals may benefit from gaining information based on the behaviour of other individuals. Indeed, social information is assumed to be faster and less costly to use than personal information, thus increasing foraging efficiency. However, when food sources change seasonally or are randomly distributed, individual information may become more reliable than social information. The aim of this study was to test the use of conflicting personal versus social information in goats (Capra hircus), in a foraging task.We found that goats …

Cannabinoid Modulation Of Reinforcement Maintained By Stimulation Of The Medial Forebrain Bundle In C57bl/6j Mice, Jason Wiebelhaus

Theses and Dissertations

Cannabinoid agonists, including marijuana containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are found rewarding by humans. In addition to human self-reports and experimental studies that show marijuana is rewarding, contributions from preclinical studies also have implicated cannabinoid receptors in reward-motivated behavior. One way to assess these preclinical effects of cannabinoids is intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), where an animal performs a response to receive electrical stimulation of a specific brain area or circuit known to be involved in reward. Drugs of abuse, such as psychomotor stimulants, facilitate responding for ICSS. While a few studies have shown facilitating effects of cannabinoids in rats, several have shown the …

Sex Differences, Cheryll Garn

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study investigates whether males and females use distinct brain systems while performing a picture naming task. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that in some cognitive processing domains, such as spoken language comprehension, males and females differ in terms of brain hemisphere activation, with a tendency for stronger left hemisphere lateralization in males. The purpose of this study is to test whether an analogous hemispheric difference (or other systematic difference) might be found between males and females in a picture naming task, which includes visual and verbal processing components. Brain activation differences were assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) …

Discharge Activity Of Ventral Tegmental Area Gaba Neurons During Alcohol Self-Administration, Adam Bevan, Dr. Scott Steffensen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In today’s world addiction is pandemic. So many people are slaves to these controlling chemicals, from alcohol and street drugs to the more mild substances of coffee or over-thecounter medications. All these substances tend to influence brain chemistry, and the aim of our ongoing project is to uncover the effect of alcohol, cocaine and their anologues on midbrain circuitry. We believe that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons are primarily involved in addiction to these substances.