Cognitive Neuroscience Commons^™

The Dissociable Impact Of Auditory Vs. Visual Emotional Cues On Visual Processing, Emma K. Stewart Bsc, Derek Gv Mitchell Phd

Western Research Forum

Background: Emotional information has privileged access to processing resources, which can cause it to have a distracting or facilitating effect on task performance for reasons that are poorly understood. The sensory modality through which it is presented may be one determining factor. Some findings suggest that auditory stimuli facilitate visual task performance while visual stimuli interfere with it, but there are conflicting findings.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that emotional content of a different sensory modality from the task improves task-related performance via a general alerting and arousing effect for all stimuli, while emotional content of the same modality disrupts performance when …

Optimization Of The Touchscreen-Based Visuomotor Conditional Learning Task In Mice, Oren Princz-Lebel, David I. Wasserman, Miguel Skirzewski, Penny A. Macdonald, Lisa M. Saksida, Tim J. Bussey

Western Research Forum

The translational gap between animal models and clinical trials is a longstanding, yet largely unresolved, limitation in the study of cognition. This discrepancy is largely due to the differences in how cognition is assessed in animal models compared to those in clinical populations. In the stimulus-response (S-R) learning literature, for example, the techniques used to assess the acquisition of habitual behaviour differ greatly across species, leading to poor cross-species translation and often conflicting results. As a result, we set out to optimize a S-R learning task in mice using the touchscreen-based operant technologies. Similar to human studies, this touchscreen technique …

A 24-Week Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study Of The Efficacy And Safety Of The Ampa Modulator S47445 In Patients With Mild To Moderate Alzheimer's Disease And Depressive Symptoms, Eileen M. Bulger, Sylvie Gouttefangeas, Sylvie Bretin, Stéphanie Galtier, Philippe Robert, Vjera Holthoff-Detto, Jeffrey Cummings, Maria Pueyo

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Introduction S47445 is a novel positive allosteric modulator of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid receptors that may emerge as a favorable candidate for the symptomatic treatment of cognitive and depressive disorders in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) of mild to moderate severity and with depressive symptoms. Methods For this double-blind, placebo-controlled 24-week phase II trial, 520 outpatients aged between 55 and 85 years, with probable AD at mild to moderate stages (a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 24-15 inclusive) and exhibiting depressive symptoms (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia [CSDD] ≥ 8) were recruited in twelve countries and randomized to 3 doses …

Spontaneous Mimicry Of Emotional Facial Expressions As A Function Of Trait Sadism, Cathleen Fleury, Mary Ritchie, Derek Mitchell

Western Research Forum

Using electromyography (EMG), it has been shown that facial muscles imperceptibly mirror the facial expressions of others, a phenomenon referred to as spontaneous facial mimicry. Facial mimicry may be involved in empathy processing, and is impaired in several empathy deficit disorders. It was previously believed to follow the direct-matching principle, a theory postulating that spontaneous facial mimicry involves the observer mirroring their partner’s expression exactly. However, several recent studies have demonstrated that context and individual differences may be influencing factors of spontaneous facial mimicry. In the present study, we propose to investigate the relationship between facial mimicry and empathy through …

Associations Between Comorbid Tdp-43, Lewy Body Pathology And Neuropsychiatric Symptoms In Alzheimer's Disease, Ece Bayram, Guogen Shan, Jeffrey L. Cummings

School of Public Health Faculty Research

More than half of the patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have comorbidities including TDP-43 and Lewy bodies, which are also associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and dementia with Lewy bodies, respectively. These comorbidities may help explain the overlapping neuropsychiatric symptoms between AD and other dementias. Data on 221 AD patients with Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire were obtained from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center. TDP-43 was associated with aberrant motor activity, whereas Lewy bodies were associated with anxiety, irritability, sleep behavior, and appetite problems. The associations between these comorbidities and neuropsychiatric symptoms were more significant for patients with sparse diffuse plaques.

Becoming The Good Shepherds, Eze Paez

Animal Sentience

It is very important that we clarify what we owe to nonhuman animals. To that end, we need a better understanding of animal cognition and emotion. Marino & Merskin’s target article is a welcome contribution to this project. Sheep, like most other animals, are sentient beings with interests of their own. It is wrong to discriminate against them based on species-membership or cognitive sophistication. We are morally required not to harm them, and to help them have the best possible lives, just as we would be in the case of human beings with similar interests. We must become the good …

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

Sensory Perception, Adrian Rodriguez-Contreras

Open Educational Resources

Different types of sensory systems with their functional modalities will be presented. The biological bases for how these functions are generated and modified will then be described. As vision is the principal means of perception, we will focus in this course most on visual processing. Scientific data will be integrated into the lectures, such that students develop critical skills in analyzing data and proposing hypotheses.

Changes In Hemodynamic Response To Faces, Scenes, And Objects In A Visual Statistical Learning Task: An Fmri Analysis, Aaron T. Halvorsen

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Learning causes changes in brain activity and neural connections. Statistical learning is an implicit learning process that involves extracting regularities from the environment and finding patterns in stimuli based on their transitional probabilities. The following study describes an attempt to elucidate temporal changes in hemodynamic activity for three category-specific brain areas using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Blood oxygen-level dependent signal (BOLD) responses were collected while subjects viewed faces, scenes, and objects with high and low transitional probabilities in an fMRI scanner. We expected brain activity to show a temporal shift in timing of activation when comparing BOLD signal responses …

Acc Theta Improves Hippocampal Contextual Processing During Remote Recall, Ryan A. Wirt, James M. Hyman

Psychology Faculty Research

Consolidation studies show that, over time, memory recall becomes independent of the medial temporal lobes. Multiple lines of research show that the medial frontal cortex, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), is involved with contextual information processing and remote recall. We hypothesize that interactions between the ACC and hippocampal area CA1 will change as memories became more remote. Animals are re-exposed to multiple environments at different retention intervals. During remote recall, ACC-CA1 theta coherence increases, with the ACC leading area CA1. ACC theta regulates unit spike timing, gamma oscillations, and ensemble and single-neuron information coding in CA1. Over the course …

Variance Partitioning Reveals Consistent Representation Of Object Boundary Contours In Lo Across Different Datasets, Mark D. Lescroart, Utkarsh Singhal

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Its Skin Is My Skin, Bryan Page

Graduate School of Art Theses

This text examines the complexity of attempting to empathize with bodies that are vastly othered from my own. This broad yet nuanced subject crosses epistemological boundaries and complicates the dualities between both the mind and body, and between the corporeal and the virtual. My desire to better understand the conditions of another’s experience originates from a painful traumatic loss which caused me to feel isolated and incomplete. In response to this suffering, I long to emotionally connect with other beings and create artwork that attempts to bridge the qualia of individual experience.

I am interested in the capacity (or lack …

Visual And Verbal Serial List Learning In Patients With Statistically-Determined Mild Cognitive Impairment., Victor Wasserman, Sheina Emrani, Emily F Matusz, David Miller, Kelly Davis Garrett, Katherine A Gifford, Timothy J Hohman, Angela L Jefferson, Rhoda Au, Rod Swenson, David J Libon, Consortium For Clinical And Epidemiological Neuropsychological Data Analysis (Cenda).

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

Background and Objective: Prior research with patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) suggests that visual versus verbal episodic memory test performance may be more sensitive to emergent illness. However, little research has examined visual versus verbal episodic memory performance as related to MCI subtypes.

Research Design and Methods: Patients were diagnosed with non-MCI, amnestic MCI (aMCI), and combined mixed/dysexecutive MCI (mixed/dys MCI). Visual and verbal episodic memory were assessed with the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R) and the 12-word Philadelphia (repeatable) Verbal Learning Test (P[r]VLT), respectively.

Results: BVMT-R and P(r)VLT scores yielded similar between-group patterns of performance. Non-MCI patients scored …

Using The Implicit Association Test To Investigate The Strength Of Synesthetic Associations, Margaret Martinez, Nicole Steiner, Simon Lacey, Lynne C. Nygaard, K. Sathian

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which experiences in one sensory or cognitive domain are associated with automatic, involuntary experiences in a second domain. The present study investigated the relationship between the consistency and strength of these associations in grapheme-color synesthesia, in which a specific color is experienced when seeing a particular letter or number. Firstly, synesthetic participants completed the online Synesthesia Battery (SB) which measures the consistency with which individuals choose the same color for the same grapheme and returns a standardized score which distinguishes genuine synesthetes from non-synesthetes. Secondly, synesthetes and age/gender-matched non-synesthetic control participants completed an Implicit Association …

Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Impairs Performance In A Rodent Assay Of Cognitive Flexibility, Christopher P. Knapp, Doug P. Fox, Ramesh Raghupathi, Laura L. Giacometti, Stan B. Floresco, Barry D. Waterhouse, Rachel L. Navarra

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) occurs in almost 80% of the 3 million reported cases of TBI-related emergency department visits each year in the United States. The majority of mTBIs, sometimes classified as concussions, are due to sports-related activities and typically occur repeatedly over the course of an athlete’s career. mTBI symptoms are generally classified as either somatic or neuropsychiatric/cognitive in nature and include impairments in prefrontal cortex mediated functions, including attention, memory, processing speed, reaction times, problem solving, and cognitive flexibility. To date, there remains a major gap in our understanding of the behavioral manifestations, underlying neurobiology, and treatment …

Electrophysiological Correlates Of Visual Object Category Formation In A Prototype-Distortion Task, Stephanie Marie Long

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In perceptual learning studies, participants engage in extensive training in the discrimination of visual stimuli in order to modulate perceptual performance. Much of the literature in perceptual learning has looked at the induction of the reorganization of low-level representations in V1. However, much remains to be understood about the mechanisms behind how the adult brain (an expert in visual object categorization) extracts high-level visual objects from the environment and categorically represents them in the cortical visual hierarchy. Here, I used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the neural mechanisms involved in object representation formation during a hybrid visual search and prototype …

Feedforward And Feedback Signals In The Olfactory System, Srimoy Chakraborty

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The conglomeration of myriad activities in neural systems often results in prominent oscillations. The primary goal of the research presented in this thesis was to study effects of sensory stimulus on the olfactory system of rats, focusing on the olfactory bulb (OB) and the anterior piriform cortex (aPC). Extracellular electrophysiological measurements revealed distinct frequency bands of oscillations in OB and aPC. However, how these oscillatory fluctuations help the animal to process sensory input is not clearly understood. Here we show high frequency oscillations in olfactory bulb carry feedforward signals to anterior piriform cortex whereas feedback from the aPC is predominantly …

Interhemispheric Communication And Lateralization In The Mouse Hippocampus, Jake Jordan

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The hippocampus is essential for memory and spatial navigation. Many theories have been proposed to explain how the hippocampus contributes to cognition; however, none has fully explained relevant neurophysiological and behavioral data. Hemispheric lateralization of hippocampal function has been reported in humans and in rodents, and lateralization of hippocampal neural circuitry has been reported in rodents. Most theories of hippocampal function fail to consider the hippocampus as a bilateral structure with hemispheric differences. Further, proposed theories of hippocampal lateralization have their own limitations in explaining empirical data concerning left/right function. Little is known about communication between the hippocampi across hemispheres. …

The 5-Ht1a-R Knockout Mouse As A Model Of Later Life Anxiety Disorders: Implications For Sex Differences, Tatyana Budylin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety affects nearly twice as many women as it affects men across all cultures and economic groups. Importantly, girls have a higher chance of inheriting anxiety disorders than boys, and many anxiety disorders appear at a very young age. However, little is known about sex differences in brain and behavioral development and how they relate to anxiety in adulthood. Serotonin 1A receptor (5-HT_1A-R) mediated signaling has been implicated in depression and anxiety, however most studies that focus on the involvement of the 5-HT_1A-R have been conducted in adults. Little is known about how the 5-HT_{1A …}

Validity And Reliability Of A 5-Minute Web-Camera Based Eye Tracking Test To Assess Visual Memory And Cognition, Emily Bates

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are approximately 5.7 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Early detection of cognitive impairment allows for earlier treatment, potentially slowing or halting cognitive decline. A 30-min web-camera eye tracking assessment (30-min VPC) has been validated as a tool to predict AD risk. However, a shorter version would allow for greater scalability and improve user experience. The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the validity of the 5-minute web-camera based VPC test with the 30-min test, 2) determine the test-retest reliability of the 5-min test, 3) compare the 5-minute test scores of cognitively intact adults (18-39 …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Counseling Students In A Co-Facilitated Experiential Group, Alexandra Meyers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research in the fields of experiential learning, group psychotherapy, and neuroscience has supported the inclusion of the experiential group in counseling training programs due to the potential for positive impact on students’ personal and professional development (Badenoch & Cox, 2010; Denninger, 2010). Investigations exploring counseling students’ experiences of the experiential group have been primarily limited to quantitative studies, while in-depth qualitative inquiry has been minimal. Additionally, an extensive review of the literature has found there have been no qualitative studies examining experiential groups co-facilitated by a course instructor and a doctoral student. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to …

Breastfeeding And How It Affects Cognitive Development, Kylie Farris, Barbara Mcclaskey

Posters

If one was asked “which is better: breastfeeding or formula feeding?” the most common answer would be “breastfeeding.” This would be the answer 9 times out of 10. It is a known fact by a wide range of people, that in general, breastfeeding is the better option. Infants who are breastfed exclusively in the first six months of life tend to have better overall health outcomes than children that are fed only iron-fortified formula or a combination of the two. Therefore, it is likely that breastfeeding will indeed also improve cognitive developmental outcomes. That is the purpose of this study. …

The Generalization Of Fear Condition Between Viewed And Imagined Percepts, Lauryn Michelle Burleigh

LSU Master's Theses

Mental images can provoke intense emotional states (Holmes & Matthews, 2010). Imagery and perception have common neural and physiological mechanisms, including activation of the early visual areas (Albers et al., 2013). We tested the prediction that individuals can acquire fear to imagined percepts and if this fear transfers to viewing percepts, using fMRI and self-reported measures to determine participants’ fear. The participants completed a task in which they viewed and imagined two stimuli, and were fear conditioned when imagining the CS+. Participants are only told that mild electrical stimulation will be paired with one of the stimuli, but not which …

Forgotten Children & Bonds That Heal: The Critical Nature Of Attachment, August Ashbaker

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

Human attachment is one of the most critical factors in proper neurological and physiological development. Attachment is built through the mutuality of emotional impact, as well as the regular reception of physical touch. Infants and children who have been deprived of these vital necessities through the lacking initiatives of their caregivers—through neglect—display visible signs of its physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impact. Research has found neglect to be the highest risk factor for permanent damage to brain development in comparison to other forms of complex trauma (i.e. chronic caregiver interpersonal trauma in childhood); it is also the most prevalent …

The Intersection Of Neuroscience And Art, Matilde Mendes Pinto

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The Interaction of Neuroscience and Art will give you an insight into how they interact with each other by analyzing visual art, musical art and theatrical art.

Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sensorimotor Synchronization With Different Forms Of Rhythms, Ryan Meidinger, Vivien Marmelat

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Introduction: Neural activity exhibits non-periodic rhythm [2] but it is unknown if neural activity synchronizes with non-periodic, as it does with periodic rhythms [1]. The purpose of this research is to determine the neural mechanisms present leading to synchronized finger tapping to varying rhythms. Methods: Twenty young healthy adults will be recruited to participate in the present study (see Figure 1 for the protocol). Electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to measure the amplitude (AE) and beats for interbeat intervals (IBIs), and a pressure sensor will be used to measure intertap intervals (ITIs). The AE will be assessed for …

Post-Synaptic Mechanisms Of Early And Late Prepulse Inhibition In The Goldfish, Daniel Bronson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sensorimotor gating, or prepulse inhibition (PPI), attenuates the startle response during sensory processing by limiting sensory input to the startle circuit. In the goldfish startle circuit, a single action potential in the Mauthner-cell (M-cell) triggers the startle response. PPI in the M-cell is mediated by multiple post-synaptic mechanisms, including the activation of a tonic, shunting inhibition as well as a voltage-sensitive conductance, both of which briefly reduce M-cell excitability. However, the specific channels and pathways that modulate PPI are not fully known. This work further characterizes the post-synaptic conductances that mediate PPI by blocking voltage-gated and inward-rectifying potassium channels, antagonizing …

Contextually Modulated Avoidance Behavior In Rats Post-Pavlovian Extinction, Lauren Branigan

Theses and Dissertations

The following study sought to examine the psychological substrates of renewal (e.g.., context dependent extinction processes) for conditioned avoidance behaviors in rats. Using signaled active avoidance conditioning, rats acquired two-way shuttle responding, to two different auditory stimuli. These behaviors were then extinguished through exposure to the auditory stimuli where shuttling behavior was now without consequence. Subjects were then tested for renewal of avoidance in three distinct renewal sequences (e.g., ABA vs ABB, AAB vs AAA, and ABC vs ABB) in three separate groups of rats. It was found that subjects showed more responding to a stimulus presented outside of its …

Novel Biobehavioral Methods For Assessing The Anxiety-Related Attention Bias, Samantha Denefrio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Anxiety disorders will affect an estimated one in three Americans, significantly impacting emotional health and quality of life. High personal and economic costs make research on the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety a crucial public health goal. Selective and exaggerated attention towards threat, termed attention bias (AB), has been identified as a core behavioral and neurocognitive mechanism in anxiety. A novel treatment, attention bias modification training (ABMT), targets AB and aims to ameliorate anxiety. Rarely acknowledged, however, are the challenges in the conceptualization and measurement of AB. First, associations between anxiety and AB in anxious populations have been increasingly …

Electrophysiological Mechanisms For Preparing Control In Time, Jacqueline Rosemary Janowich

Psychology ETDs

Cognitive control is critical in guiding goal-directed behavior, preparing neural resources and adapting processing to promote optimal action in a given environment. According to the Dual Mechanisms of Control theory (Braver, 2012), control can be dichotomized into proactive and reactive modes of control, utilized reciprocally in ahead-of-time preparation versus last-minute, stimulus-evoked reaction. Although a substantial body of work has tested differences between proactive control and reactive control, the underlying assumption of proactive control as a unitary process has not been systematically investigated. Very little is known as to how or when proactive control is initiated, sustained, or implemented.

As time …