Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Relationship Between Hearing Status And Cognitive Performance And The Influence Of Depressive Symptoms In The Older Adult, Julie A. Daugherty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hearing loss and cognitive impairment are significant health problems, threatening the independent function of older adults. While there appears to be a strong relationship between the two conditions, the mechanisms underlying this association are complex and are not fully elucidated.

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to explore the relationship between hearing ability and cognitive performance in older adults. In addition, this study attempted to examine the role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between hearing loss and cognitive performance. Comprehensive measures of peripheral hearing, central auditory processing and cognitive performance were utilized to examine these relationships in a …

The Association Of Cognitive Endophenotypes And Risky Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Of Alzheimer's Disease Within The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Adni) Database, Kyle Joseph Jennette

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) previously associated with Alzheimer's disease on specific domains of cognition, when controlling for Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE), in a sample of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Methods: The data were drawn from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, a comprehensive, longitudinal database of controls, persons with mild cognitive impairment, and persons with mild Alzheimer's disease. Each subject has a full neuropsychological assessment, neuroimaging, genetic sequencing, and physical evaluation. For the purposes of this study, individuals were selected based on the presence of the three …

Effects Of Nicotine Withdrawal On Motivation, Reward Sensitivity And Reward-Learning, Jason A. Oliver

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on addictive behavior has traditionally emphasized the role that primary reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse plays in the development and maintenance of dependence. However, contemporary behavioral economic theory and animal models of nicotine dependence suggest the need for greater attention to the impact that response to alternative rewards may have on smoking behavior. The present study sought to investigate the impact of nicotine withdrawal on self-report, behavioral and neural indices of motivation, immediate response to rewards and the capacity to learn and modify behavior in response to positive and negative feedback. Heavy smokers (n = 48) completed two …