Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

White Matter Inflammation And Executive Dysfunction: Implications For Alzheimer Disease And Vascular Cognitive Impairment, Alexander Levit

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

White matter integrity is crucial to healthy executive function, the cognitive domain that enables functional independence. However, in the ageing brain, white matter is highly vulnerable. White matter inflammation increases with age and Alzheimer disease (AD), which disrupts the normal function of white matter. This may contribute to executive dysfunction, but the relationship between white matter inflammation and executive function has not been directly evaluated in ageing nor AD. White matter is also particularly vulnerable to cerebrovascular disease, corresponding with the common presentation of executive dysfunction in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Thus, white matter may be an important substrate by …

Searching For Wisdom: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Women's Perspectives Following Participation In An Ovarian Cancer Supportive Care Group, Helen Butlin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study used a novel methodology of hermeneutic-poetic-phenomenology to explore perspectives of women living with ovarian cancer. Each had participated in a supportive care group process Soul-Medicine prior to volunteering. Three women, Beth, Carrie, and Denise contributed to this study. The methodology was grounded in Gaston Bachelard’s philosophy of poetic-phenomenology. Data was analyzed with attention to image-centred knowledge; material imagination; reverie; and horizons of hope to elucidate their implicated aspects of wisdom and the ways participant’s formed their personal wisdom integrating feminist theories of embodiment and bioethics.

Findings are framed through three images of a uniquely formed inner ‘wisdom-compass’, an …

Cannabinoid Transmission In The Basolateral Amygdala Modulates Prefrontal Cortex And Ventral Hippocampal Activity, Brian J. Pereira

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The cannabinoid system is important for maintaining neuron-to-neuron communication within the mammalian brain. One of the most commonly used substances to alter the cannabinoid system is cannabis. Individuals who are exposed to cannabis report having dissociable effects; both positive and negative. High amounts of THC have been commonly associated with the negative effects of cannabis, whereas CBD can be used to counter these. Pre-clinical evidence suggests that the combination of the two compounds can produce a therapeutic benefit for individuals who are susceptible to the effects of THC. The present study investigates whether the combination of THC+CBD can prevent electrophysiological …

Examining The Relationship Between Body Mass Index And Health-Related Quality Of Life Perception Among People With Mental Illness, Fatima Bukair

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

People suffering from mental illness are three times more likely to die prematurely from ‘natural’ causes than those without mental disorders as a result of their physical condition. Their life expectancy is reduced by 12-19 years. Obesity is commonly associated with mental illness and accounts for increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, heart disease, some cancers and osteoarthritis. This paper examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life perception using the Short-Form Health Survey 36 among people living with mental illness. A Multivariate Multiple Regression model was employed to estimate the variables that …

The Epidemiology Of Infective Endocarditis Among People Who Inject Drugs In London, Ontario., Brian Hallam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Infective endocarditis is an infectious disease that affects the valves of the heart. Injection drug use is currently a leading risk factor among patients with endocarditis. We conducted a prospective study using data from hospital chart records among patients with endocarditis in London, Ontario, which has a relatively high prevalence of people who inject drugs to assess the severity of the issue and the major risk factors of mortality pertaining to this population. This study had a sample size of 353 and included a review of the incidence of admissions of endocarditis, as well as a survival analysis, using both …

Altered Brain Networks In Patients With Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (Pnes) Using Ultra High Field Mri, Brittney Castrilli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures (PNES) are attacks that appear similar to epileptic attacks. However, they lack abnormal electrical discharges in the brain and have psychological underpinnings and causes. The gold standard of diagnosis is video-EEG which is not widely accessible, creating a poor prognosis for patients. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of PNES by helping better understand brain networks in patients with PNES. This study examines brain networks in patients with PNES with a focus on the default mode network and salience network.

Methods: Twelve patients with PNES between the ages of …

Use Of Psychotropic Medications Among Pregnant Women With Bipolar Disorder: Patterns, Determinants, And Impact On Perinatal Outcomes, Misbah Salim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Navigating psychotropic treatment use for bipolar disorder (BD) in pregnancy is challenging as it is, but it is even more difficult with use of multiple medications across various drug classes for treatment, given the absence of evidence of their safe use. This retrospective cohort study assessed prescription patterns, patient characteristics associated with these patterns, risk of adverse outcomes, and rates of readmission in women with BD who were prescribed antipsychotic, antidepressant, or combination treatment during pregnancy, relative to untreated women. An estimated 25% of women were prescribed psychotropic drugs during pregnancy. Women with past suicide attempts and those with recurrence(s) …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Humor Styles And Depression, Marisa L. Kfrerer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The present study examined the relationship between humor styles and depression using two methods of examination: (1) the mean humor style differences between individuals who reported that they had been diagnosed with depression versus those who did not report being depressed; and (2) a short scale assessing depressed affect. Participants were 878 adult Australians. With respect to mean differences, depressed individuals were found to use self-defeating humor more, and self-enhancing humor less than non-depressed adults. When the depressed affect scale score was analyzed, negative correlations were found between depressed affect and both positive styles of humor, affiliative and self-enhancing. Additionally, …

Role Of The Dorsal Striatum In Learning And Decision Making, Nole M. Hiebert

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The striatum, the input region of the basal ganglia, has been shown to mediate many cognitive functions. The striatum itself can be functionally segregated into dorsal (DS) and ventral striatum (VS). For more than 60 years, DS has been reported to mediate stimulus-response learning, though evidence has been accruing pointing to a role in decision making. These literatures have been growing independently and an aim of this thesis was to bridge these two bodies of knowledge. We directly investigated the role of DS in stimulus-response learning versus decision making using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with Parkinson’s disease …