Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

Factors Affecting Disordered Eating Among College Freshmen Upon Entering College, Libby Micaela Moser

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: There is a gap in literature on disordered eating among college freshmen since 2011. Research has shown that disordered eating manifests itself during adolescence and is likely to transcend into adulthood1,7,8,9,14,15. The freshmen year in college is likely to be challenging for many students. During this time, they may develop disordered eating or perpetuate an existing condition3,4,14,15. This research study investigated the prevalence of disordered eating among college freshmen and factors that may impact this development. A comparison of prior history of disordered eating was also examined.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted on college freshmen at Northern …

Association Of Dietary Intake With Suicidal Ideation Or Suicide Attempts In Adolescents, Zenobia J. Bryant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide is among the leading cause of adolescent deaths worldwide and thus a significant public health concern. Risk factors for suicidal behavior include drinking alcohol, smoking, and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. One area of concern is dietary patterns and their association with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Bandura's social cognitive theory emphasizes the assumption that one can perform specific actions to bring about desired outcomes. The primary research questions for this quantitative, retrospective, cross-sectional study concerned whether there is a statistically significant interaction between fruit and vegetable intake and suicidal ideation or suicide attempts. Data from 71,776 adolescents in …

A Link Between Gut Microbes & Depression: Microbial Activation Of The Human Kynurenine Pathway, Christina Cobb

CMC Senior Theses

Our gut microbiota is involved in human development, nutrition, and the pathogenesis of gut disorders, but has more recently been implicated as a possible mechanism in the pathophysiology of several brain disorders, including disorders of mood and affect, such as depression. Researchers have referred to this dynamic, bidirectional signaling pathway between the gut and the brain as the “gut-brain axis.” However, most research on this axis has been limited to rodent studies, and there has been little insight into the mechanism behind it. I propose that the kynurenine pathway, where tryptophan is converted to kynurenine, is a compelling mechanism mediating …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Adult Daughters Of Childhood Paternal Abandonment, Mary Spencer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A father's abandonment of his minor daughter can leave an indelible impression on her psyche -- one that can forever affect her intimate romantic relationships. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore where women who were abandoned by their fathers prior to the age of 18 are today as adults in terms of their intimate romantic relationships and how they develop and engage in these relationships. The research questions examined how a daughter being abandoned by her father prior to the age of 18 relates to where she is today in her adult intimate romantic relationships and …

Single Men's Experiences Of Coping With Financial Stress, Heath Downes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Experiencing financial hardship is stressful and can lead to the development of psychological symptoms, including depression and anxiety. Although researchers have examined the broad categories of coping strategies that people employ when faced with financial hardship, little is known about the experiences of single men who were able to navigate stressful times without developing anxiety or anxiety-like symptoms. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the successful coping experiences of single men with financial hardship (e.g., loss of job, home, finances). Bonanno's theory of resilience provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from interviews with 12 …

Bayesian Prediction Intervals For Assessing P-Value Variability In Prospective Replication Studies, Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya, Gabriel Ruiz, Dmitri Zaykin

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

Increased availability of data and accessibility of computational tools in recent years have created an unprecedented upsurge of scientific studies driven by statistical analysis. Limitations inherent to statistics impose constraints on the reliability of conclusions drawn from data, so misuse of statistical methods is a growing concern. Hypothesis and significance testing, and the accompanying P-values are being scrutinized as representing the most widely applied and abused practices. One line of critique is that P-values are inherently unfit to fulfill their ostensible role as measures of credibility for scientific hypotheses. It has also been suggested that while P-values …

Mindfulness And Law Enforcement: An Effective Approach To Implementing Mindfulness For First Responders, Gina White

Mindfulness Studies Theses

An increasing number of studies show that people employed as first responders in high trauma service jobs tend to experience a high level of stress, at work and after hours. Studies suggest that constant exposure to job related stress leads to both physical and mental dysregulation. This study looks at the effects of implementing mindfulness tools and techniques to those working in law enforcement. Other works on this topic report mindfulness as a successful tool to increase wellbeing to a broad spectrum of populations. The methodology used in this study was designed specifically for first responders. The data findings were …

Acetaminophen Associated Neurotoxicity And Its Relevance To Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Seol-Hee Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. The etiology of autism still remains unclear due to the heterogeneous and complex nature of the disorder, however synergistic actions between genetic components and environmental factors have been suggested. Acetaminophen (APAP) is one of the most popular over-the-counter drugs that possess antipyretic and analgesic effects. It is considered a relatively safe and effective within therapeutic doses. Recently, early exposure to APAP has been suggested to be one of the underlying cause of autism. Children are often prescribed APAP to lessen fever or irritability after vaccination during the first year, and APAP may adversely affect …

Epigenetic Editing To Validate Findings From Methylome-Wide Association Studies Of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Robin F. Chan

Theses and Dissertations

DNA methylation is necessary for learning, memory consolidation and has been implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. Obtaining high quality and comprehensive data for the three common forms of methylation in brain is challenging for methylome-wide association studies (MWAS). To address this we optimized a panel of enrichment methods for screening the brain methylome. Results show that these enrichment techniques approach the coverage and fidelity of the current gold standard bisulfite based techniques. Our MBD-based method can also be used with low amounts of genomic material from limited human biomaterials. Psychiatric disorders have high prevalence and are often chronic …

Structural Dichotomy Of The Mind; The Role Of Sexual Neuromodulators, Ion G. Motofei, David L. Rowland

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

The mind (mental function) and sexuality represent two distinct environmental functions, but which are supported within the brain by a common (somatic-autonomic) neurobiological substrate. As a consequence, mental function takes on autonomic characteristics from the sexual-autonomic system (like autonomy, duality), while sexual function takes on features from mental functioning (such as lateralization). In this paper we discuss the lateralized action of two classes of sexual neuromodulators: hormones and pheromones. This process of lateralization is assimilated with the structural dichotomy of the mind.

A relatively similar process but related to informational dichotomy of the mind will be presented in a forthcoming …

Adgrl3 (Lphn3) Variants Are Associated With A Refined Phenotype Of Adhd In The Mta Study, Maria T. Acosta, James Swanson, Annamarie Stehli, Brooke Molina, The Mta Team

Neurology Faculty Publications

Background

ADHD is the most common neuropsychiatric condition affecting individuals of all ages. Long-term outcomes of affected individuals and association with severe comorbidities as SUD or conduct disorders are the main concern. Genetic associations have been extensively described. Multiple studies show that intronic variants harbored in the ADGRL3 (LPHN3) gene are associated with ADHD, especially associated with poor outcomes.

Methods

In this study, we evaluated this association in the Multimodal Treatment Study of children with ADHD (MTA), initiated as a 14-month randomized clinical trial of 579 children diagnosed with DSM-IV ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C), that transitioned to a 16-year prospective observational …

Funciones Sensoriales En Niños Menores De 3 Años Diagnosticados Con Trastorno Del Espectro Autista (Tea) / Sensory Processing In Toddlers Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Juliana Gutiérrez, Megan Chang, Erna Imperatore Blanche

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Spanish: Las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) están ampliamente descritos en la literatura principalmente mediante el uso de encuestas a padres y observaciones. Con menor frecuencia se han descrito las dificultades de procesamiento sensorial en niños menores de 3 años de edad que han sido posteriormente diagnosticados con TEA. Este studio retrospectivo está basado en 84 niños (28 diagnosticados con TEA, 28 con retraso en el desarrollo, y 28 niños con desarrollo típico) entre 18 y 36 meses de edad que asistieron a un programa de intervención temprana y cuyos padres completaron el …

Role Of Pharmacogenetics In Improving The Safety Of Psychiatric Care By Predicting The Potential Risks Of Mania In Cyp2d6 Poor Metabolizers Diagnosed With Bipolar Disorder., Santiago Sánchez-Iglesias, Virginia García-Solaesa, Belén García-Berrocal, Almudena Sanchez-Martín, Carolina Lorenzo-Romo, Tomás Martín-Pinto, Andrea Gaedigk, José Manuel González-Buitrago, María Isidoro-García

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

One of the main concerns in psychiatric care is safety related to drug management. Pharmacogenetics provides an important tool to assess causes that may have contributed the adverse events during psychiatric therapy. This study illustrates the potential of pharmacogenetics to identify those patients for which pharmacogenetic-guided therapy could be appropriate. It aimed to investigate CYP2D6 genotype in our psychiatric population to assess the value of introducing pharmacogenetics as a primary improvement for predicting side effects.A broad series of 224 psychiatric patients comprising psychotic disorders, depressive disturbances, bipolar disorders, and anxiety disorders was included. The patients were genotyped with the AmpliChip …

Better Cognitive Control Of Emotional Information Is Associated With Reduced Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Reactivity To Emotional Stress, Grant S. Shields, Shari Young Kuchenbecker, Sarah D. Pressman, Ken D. Sumida, George M. Slavich

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Stress is strongly associated with several mental and physical health problems that involve inflammation, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and depression. It has been hypothesized that better cognitive control of emotional information may lead to reduced inflammatory reactivity to stress and thus better health, but to date no studies have examined whether differences in cognitive control predict pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to stress. To address this issue, we conducted a laboratory-based experimental study in which we randomly assigned healthy young-adult females to either an acute emotional stress (emotionally evocative video) or no-stress (control video) condition. Salivary levels of …

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy For Veteran Survivors With Full Or Partial Ptsd, Mark Aaron Mayfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Symptom severity among veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, with approximately 40% of U.S. veterans reporting significant symptomology 10 years after initial onset of the condition. Veteran survivors often struggle to find therapeutic interventions that meet their specific needs and have a difficult time maintaining a therapy that is both equitable and evidenced based. Grounded in the Rogerian, client-centered theory, the purpose of this qualitative collective exploratory case study was to explore the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with 3 veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD. A 4-stage process was used to collect …

The Relationship Between Exercise And Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Joshua Frank, Dr. Amy Adkins, Nathan Thomas, Dr. Danielle Dick

Undergraduate Research Posters

The literature shows an inverse association between exercise and mental disorders. The aim of this study is to further elaborate on this association with regards to exercise and its relationship with anxiety and depression in a college sample. The subject group focused on seniors in the Spit for Science data set which incorporated a total of 821 students. Physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to estimate the overall metabolic equivalents (MET’s) each student spent in walking, moderate, or vigorous activity levels in the previous week. Sum scores were used to measure depression and anxiety. Overall,the …

Acculturation, Inflammation, And Depression Among Hispanic Adults In The United States, Kristin Marie Marano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparities exist in the recognition and treatment of depression among Hispanics in the United States, creating a social, ethical, economic, and public health burden. This study was designed to generate an improved understanding of the causes of and/or contributors to depression within this population. It was specifically designed to 1) assess the prevalence and severity of depression among Hispanic adults in the United States relative to adults of other race/ethnicities in the United States; 2) clarify the inconsistent results in the literature concerning the relationship between acculturation and depression among Hispanic adults in the United States; and 3) fill a …

An Investigation Of Aerobic Fitness, Perceived Quality Of Life And The Direct Effects Of Self-Determination Theory In College Students 2015, Alanna Darling

Master's Theses

There have been numerous studies examining the association between physical activity, motivation and quality of life. In contrast, studies focusing on aerobic fitness and its relationship with levels of motivation and perceived quality of life are lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a direct measure of aerobic fitness, behavioral regulations, and perceptions of quality of life in college-aged sample. Participants included both males (n=129; 21.1±1.8 years) and females (n=89; 20.8±1.4 years) who completed the Behavioral Regulations of Exercise Questionnaire-2 sub-scores and Perceived Quality of Life (PQoL) instruments. Participants then performed the Queen’s College Step …

Effects Of Mild Hypohydration And Hyperthermia On Cognition And Mood In Obese And Non-Obese Females, Jenna Marie Burchfield

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Information regarding effects of hypohydration (HY) and hyperthermia (HT) on cognition, mood and development of symptoms is conflicting since the two conditions often confound each other. Further, although obese individuals may have physiological impairments during heat stress, whether psychological impairments occur with HY and HT is unknown. PURPOSE: To assess the independent and combined effects of mild HY and HT on cognition, mood, and the development of symptoms in obese and non-obese females. METHODS: Twenty-two healthy females (11 non-obese, 22±2y, 61±6kg, 25±4% body fat; 11 obese, 22±2y, 80±18kg, 44±5% body fat) volunteered in two randomized, repeated-measures trials, involving passive …

Drink Like A Lawyer: The Neuroscience Of Substance Use And Its Impact On Cognitive Wellness, Debra S. Austin

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Lawyers suffer from higher levels of anxiety and depression than the rest of the population, but most do not enter law school with these mental health issues. Disciplinary actions against attorneys involve substance abuse 50 to 75 percent of the time. However, neuroscience research has shown that both the brain and the genes enjoy the power of plasticity, which means that personal choices and environments shape the development of lawyers throughout their lives. Legal educators need a better understanding of what aspects or characteristics of legal education contribute to the decline in mental health of law students, lawyers, and judges, …

Using A Novel Optogenetic Approach To Directly Assess 5-Ht1a Somatodendritic Autoreceptor Function In Response To Chronic Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Treatment, Kelly Marie Mcgregor

Wayne State University Dissertations

Antidepressant drugs are widely used but their mechanism of action remains only partially understood. One leading hypothesis holds that a key effect of chronic treatment with a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) is loss of somatodendritic 5-HT1A receptor-mediated autoinhibition in serotonergic neurons of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). However, technical limitations have prevented direct testing of this hypothesis. In the current study we took advantage of optogenetic strategies to assess the effects of the classic SSRI fluoxetine on 5-HT1A receptor-mediated autoinhibition. We conducted these experiments in mice expressing the light-sensitive ion channel Channelrhodopsin (ChR) in 5-HT neurons to facilitate their …

The Relationship Between Vagal Tone, A Marker Of Parasympathetic Activity, And Pro-Social Behavior, Emily A. Goodlin

Scripps Senior Theses

Vagal tone, a measure of parasympathetic activity via the vagus nerve, is known to be associated with positive emotion because it promotes social engagement and self-soothing behavior. Heart rate variability (HRV), especially high frequency oscillation, is a direct measure of vagal tone, and has been used in previous studies to test the correlation between vagal tone and positive emotion. This study aims to determine if the two major oscillations of heart rate variability, high frequency (HF-HRV) and low frequency (LF-HRV) can predict pro-social behavior, which is classified as giving donations to charities. Baseline LF- and HF-HRV levels were recorded, and …

An Introduction To Drugs And The Neuroscience Of Behavior, Adam J. Prus

Books

This up-to-date text provides an introductory overview of the nervous system actions and behavioral effects of the major classes of psychoactive drugs, using pedagogy unique among pharmacology texts to make the topic approachable.

Prevalence And Prevention Of The Female Athlete Triad, Elizabeth Dachenhaus

Honors Projects

A study was composed to analyze the three components of the female athlete triad: disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. The cyclic behavior of these three components and determination of which of the pillars of the triad is the most dangerous was also focused on. In order to test the prevalence of disordered eating among women’s collegiate teams, a brief survey was distributed and analyzed among athletes at Bowling Green State University. In addition to confirming that women in aesthetic sports experience a greater amount of disordered eating on the team, the survey also identified women that participated in sports perceived …

Proximate And Evolutionary Insights Into The Epigenetics Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Levent Sipahi

Wayne State University Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important medical and social condition. Although the vast majority of individuals are exposed to traumatic events within their lifetime, a minority subsequently develop diagnosable PTSD. What underlies differential risk and resiliency in the face of trauma is an ongoing research and clinical question with implications for prevention and treatment. Recent work has revealed a putative role of epigenetic variation and modification - most notably DNA methylation - in the etiology of PTSD. That DNA methylation is stable, yet modifiable in response to lived experiences, makes it a strong candidate to mechanistically explain the ontogeny …

Psychotherapy And The Embodiment Of The Neuronal Identity: A Hermeneutic Study Of Louis Cozolino's (2010) The Neuroscience Of Psychotherapy: Healing The Social Brain , Ari Simon Natinsky

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In recent years, there have been several ways in which researchers have attempted to integrate psychotherapy and neuroscience research. Neuroscience has been proposed as a method of addressing lingering questions about how best to integrate psychotherapy theories and explain their efficacy. For example, some psychotherapy outcome studies have included neuroimaging of participants in order to propose neurobiological bases of effective psychological interventions (e.g., Paquette et al., 2003). Other theorists have used cognitive neuroscience research to suggest neurobiological correlates of various psychotherapy theories and concepts (e.g., Schore, 2012). These efforts seem to embody broader historical trends, including the hope that neuroscience …

The Cultural Manifestations Of Anorexia Nervosa, Aaron Volk

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

No abstract provided.

Prospective, Open-Label Trial Measuring Satisfaction And Convenience Of Two Formulations Of Lamotrigine In Subjects With Mood Disorders, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant drug indicated for the maintenance treatment of bipolar I disorder and for various types of epilepsy. An orally disintegrating tablet (ODT) of lamotrigine was developed to provide a formulation option that might increase patient convenience and satisfaction. Methods: Subjects with mood disorders who reported difficulty swallowing currently prescribed lamotrigine immediate-release medication (baseline) were enrolled and treated with lamotrigine ODT for three weeks (end of treatment). Subject satisfaction and convenience were measured using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). Also measured were global psychopathology using the Clinical Global Impression severity index (CGI-S) and depressive symptoms …

Expression Of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms Across The Ovulatory Cycle: A Multilevel Investigation, Tory A. Eisenlohr-Moul

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a disabling condition characterized by chronic emotion dysregulation and behavioral impulsivity. Prospective studies that test proposed mechanisms of within-person change in BPD hold the key to improving symptom predictability and control in this disorder. A small body of evidence suggests that fluctuations in estradiol such as those occurring naturally at ovulation during the monthly female reproductive cycle may increase symptoms in women with BPD (DeSoto et al., 2003). Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence that both self-esteem and feelings of social rejection are highest at ovulation, when estradiol peaks (Durante and Hill, 2009; Eisenlohr-Moul et al., …

Unlv Magazine, Erin O'Donnell, Gian Galassi, Deana Martin, Patti Shock, John Stefanelli, John Bowen, Paul J. Traudt, Jeffrey J. Matthews, Gillian Silver, Regina Barcolas, Jennifer Robison, Doug Mcinnis, Cate Weeks

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.