Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Resting-State Brain Connectivity After Surgical And Behavioral Weight Loss, Rebecca J. Lepping, Amanda S. Bruce, Alex Francisco, Hung-Wen Yeh, Laura E. Martin, Joshua N. Powell, Laura Hancock, Trisha M. Patrician, Florence J. Breslin, Niazy Selim, Joseph E. Donnelly, William M. Brooks, Cary R. Savage, W. Kyle Simmons, Jared M. Bruce

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Objective: Changes in food-cue neural reactivity associated with behavioral and surgical weight loss interventions have been reported. Resting functional connectivity represents tonic neural activity that may contribute to weight loss success. This study explores whether intervention type is associated with differences in functional connectivity after weight loss. Methods: Fifteen participants with obesity were recruited prior to adjustable gastric banding surgery. Thirteen demographically matched participants with obesity were selected from a separate behavioral diet intervention. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was collected 3 months after surgery/ behavioral intervention. ANOVA was used to examine post-weight loss differences between the two groups in …

Differences In Prefrontal Cortex Activation And Deactivation During Strategic Episodic Verbal Memory Encoding In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Joana B. Balardin, Marcelo C. Batistuzzo, Maria Da Graca Moraes Martin, Joao R. Sato, Jerusa Smid, Claudia Porto, Cary R. Savage, Ricardo Nitrini, Edson Amaro Jr., Eliane C. Miotto

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

In this study we examined differences in fMRI activation and deactivation patterns during episodic verbal memory encoding between individuals with MCI (n = 18) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 17). Participants were scanned in two different sessions during the application of self-initiated or directed instructions to apply semantic strategies at encoding of word lists. MCI participants showed reduced free recall scores when using self-initiated encoding strategies that were increased to baseline controls' level after directed instructions were provided. During directed strategic encoding, greater recruitment of frontoparietal regions was observed in both MCI and control groups; group differences …

Biological Basis Of Motherhood And Effect Of Stress On Maternal Psychophysiology, Erin Loree Minnick 15

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Target-Directed Biosynthetic Evolution: Redirecting Plant Evolution To Genomically Optimize A Plant’S Pharmacological Profile, Dustin Paul Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

The dissertation describes a novel method for plant drug discovery based on mutation and selection of plant cells. Despite the industry focus on chemical synthesis, plants remain a source of potent and complex bioactive metabolites. Many of these have evolved as defensive compounds targeted on key proteins in the CNS of herbivorous insects, for example the insect dopamine transporter (DAT). Because of homology with the human DAT protein some of these metabolites have high abuse potential, but others may be valuable in treating drug dependence. This dissertation redirects the evolution of a native Lobelia species toward metabolites with greater activity …

Assessment Of The Impact Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder On Type 1 Diabetes, Kellee Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individual day-to-day management and effective control of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is ultimately driven by decisions made by the individual. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher tendency to be inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive. Attention deficits and impulsivity among adolescents and adults with T1D could result in poor diabetes management through infrequent self-monitoring of blood glucose and inadequate insulin dosing – key components of achieving optimal glycemic control.

This study included 7,380 adolescents and young adults, ages 13-25 years, participating in the T1D Exchange clinic registry (median age 17.4 years, duration 7.7 yrs, 50% female, 81% white). …

Differences In Stress Biomarkers In Women With High And Low Stress Appraisal, Clarissa Sara Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Measures of physiological biomarkers have been widely used in the field of stress research to explain how stress negatively impacts health outcomes. Women in particular have been shown to be more at risk for developing physiological and psychological stress-induced conditions (e.g., hypertension, depression) due to hormonal differences (Kirschbaum et al., 1992), but more importantly, because of their appraisal of stressful events (Schamus et al., 2008). Few studies however have examined whether womenâ??s stress appraisal is predictive of stress reactivity, as measured by stress biomarkers, during stressful events. The goal of this study was to examine whether stress appraisal predicted stress …

Functional Characterization Of Rai1 In Zebrafish, Joshua S. Beach

Theses and Dissertations

Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS; OMIM #182290) is a multiple congenital abnormality and intellectual disability (ID) disorder caused by either an interstitial deletion of the 17p11.2 region containing the retinoic acid induced-1 (RAI1) gene or a mutation of the RAI1 gene. Individuals diagnosed with SMS typically present characteristics such as ID, self-injurious behavior, sleep disturbance, ocular and otolaryngological abnormalities, craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities, neurological and behavioral abnormalities, as well as other systemic defects and manifestations. Previous work by Vyas in 2009 showed temporal expression of rai1 in zebrafish embryos as early as 9 hpf. We hypothesize that there is maternal …

Smoking Patterns Among Vcu Students, Jasmine Saini

Undergraduate Research Posters

For some individuals, college can be a high risk time for the development of problems associated with alcohol use and other substances. The purpose of this study is to examine these initiation and use patterns as they relate to nicotine use among college students 18 years of age and older enrolled in Spit for Science: The VCU Student Survey. The Spit for Science research project evaluates how genetic and environmental factors contribute to substance use and emotional health among college students at VCU. This study uses data from the Spit for Science 2011 cohort (n=2007) to investigate smoking patterns among …

Cross-Disciplinary Sciences At Gettysburg College: Second Annual Poster Presentation, X-Sig

Student Publications

This booklet includes Biology student presentations by: Taylor Bury, Abigail Dworkin-Brodsky, Mary Pearce, Jasper Leavitt, Morgan Panzer, Ellen Petley, Kalli Qutub, Taylor Randell, Samantha Eck, Lana McDowell, Jenn Soroka, Celina Harris, Natalie Tanke, Alexandra Turano, and Caroline Garliss.

This booklet includes Biochemistry & Molecular Biology student presentations by: Matthew Dunworth, Andrew Sydenstricker, Brianne Tomko, Albert Vill, Warren Campbell, David Van Doren, Kevin Mrugalski, Stacey Heaver, Alecia Achimovich, and Katherine Boas.

This booklet includes Chemistry student presentations by: Kristen Baker, Laura Lee, Kathryn Fodale, Daniel Ruff, Michael Counihan, Ida DiMucci, Joshua Sgroi, Celina Harris, and Natalie Tanke.

This booklet include Health …

The Genetic Interacting Landscape Of 63 Candidate Genes In Major Depressive Disorder: An Explorative Study, Magnus Lekman, Ola Hössjer, Peter Andrews, Henrik Källberg, Daniel Uvehag, Dennis Charney, Husseini Manji, John A. Rush, Frances J. Mcmahon, Jason H Moore, Ingrid Kockum

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background:

Genetic contributions to major depressive disorder (MDD) are thought to result from multiple genes interacting with each other. Different procedures have been proposed to detect such interactions. Which approach is best for explaining the risk of developing disease is unclear.

This study sought to elucidate the genetic interaction landscape in candidate genes for MDD by conducting a SNP-SNP interaction analysis using an exhaustive search through 3,704 SNP-markers in 1,732 cases and 1,783 controls provided from the GAIN MDD study. We used three different methods to detect interactions, two logistic regressions models (multiplicative and additive) and one data mining and …

Food Insecurity And Psychological Well-Being Among Women Living With Hiv/Aids On Antiretroviral Therapy In The Alabama Black Belt, Andrew A. Zekeri, Youssouf Diabate

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The objective of this research was to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity and determine if food insecurity is associated with psychological well-being among women living with HIV/AIDS. Survey data were collected from 268 women living with HIV/AIDS attending two clinics that provide medical and social support services to HIV-positive patients who live in 23 counties in Southeast Alabama. The results indicated that, using USDA food security scale, 54% of the women were food insecure. Multiple regression analysis results indicated that income, depressive symptoms, race, and participation in SNAP were significant predictors of food insecurity; employment and education were not …

Olanzapine-Induced Methylation Alters Cadherin Gene Families And Associated Pathways Implicated In Psychosis, Melkaye G. Melka, Christina A Castellani, Nagalingam Rajakumar, Richard O'Reilly, Shiva M Singh

Biology Publications

BACKGROUND: The complex aetiology of most mental disorders involves gene-environment interactions that may operate using epigenetic mechanisms particularly DNA methylation. It may explain many of the features seen in mental disorders including transmission, expression and antipsychotic treatment responses. This report deals with the assessment of DNA methylation in response to an antipsychotic drug (olanzapine) on brain (cerebellum and hippocampus), and liver as a non-neural reference in a rat model. The study focuses on the Cadherin/protocadherins encoded by a multi-gene family that serve as adhesion molecules and are involved in cell-cell communication in the mammalian brain. A number of these molecules …

Increasing Maternal Or Post-Weaning Folic Acid Alters Gene Expression And Moderately Changes Behavior In The Offspring, Subit Barua, Kathryn K. Chadman, Salomon Kuizon, Diego Buenaventura, Nathan W. Stapley, Felicia Ruocco, Umme Begum, Sara R. Guariglia, W. Ted Brown, Mohamad Junaid

Publications and Research

Background: Studies have indicated that altered maternal micronutrients and vitamins influence the development of newborns and altered nutrient exposure throughout the lifetime may have potential health effects and increased susceptibility to chronic diseases. In recent years, folic acid (FA) exposure has significantly increased as a result of mandatory FA fortification and supplementation during pregnancy. Since FA modulates DNA methylation and affects gene expression, we investigated whether the amount of FA ingested during gestation alters gene expression in the newborn cerebral hemisphere, and if the increased exposure to FA during gestation and throughout the lifetime alters behavior in C57BL/6J mice.

Methods …

Can Anyone With Low Income Be Food Secure?: Mitigating Food Insecurity Among Low Income Households With Children In The Tampa Bay Area, Edgar Allan Amador

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the US over the last few years, approximately 14.5% of households experience food insecurity at some point throughout the year. While studies on food insecurity in the US have determined that household income and specifically income available to spend on food is of critical importance to food security, it is still unclear why some households with low income are able to maintain food security while others experience food insecurity in a pattern characterized as not constant but recurrent. This dissertation compares households with children at different levels of food security and insecurity using the USDA Core Food Security Module …

Brain Science And Stem Learning, Dennis L. Molfese

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Brain Science is an interdisciplinary science and as such touches on a host of domains that among others include Behavioral & Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Computer & Information Science, Economics, Engineering (multiple domains from Electrical to Mechanical to Structural), Education, Human Resources, Engineering, Environmental, Education, Geosciences, Engineering, Mathematical, Physical Sciences, Psychology, and Zoology. The approach provides a means to study matter from an assortment of elements to the integration of complex domains that stretch from the interactions of neuropeptides to conscious thought that cover the lifespan of single cell organisms to humans. We will touch on a few of these …

Comparison Of Functional Network Connectivity For Passive-Listening And Active-Response Narrative Comprehension In Adolescents, Yingying Wang, Scott K. Holland

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Comprehension of narrative stories plays an important role in the development of language skills. In this study, we compared brain activity elicited by a passive-listening version and an active-response (AR) version of a narrative comprehension task by using independent component (IC) analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 21 adolescents (ages 14–18 years). Furthermore, we explored differences in functional network connectivity engaged by two versions of the task and investigated the relationship between the online response time and the strength of connectivity between each pair of ICs. Despite similar brain region involvements in auditory, temporoparietal, and frontoparietal language networks …

Review: The Rediscovery Of The Wild, Jillian M. Slater

Marian Library Faculty Publications

Copyright (c) 2014, Jillian Slater. This review is available for non-commercial, educational use, provided that the user identify the author and the publication listed as the place of first publication, along with the volume and the year of the work's publication.

Using Otoacoustic Emissions To Evaluate Efferent Auditory Function In Humans, Simon Henin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The auditory system continually adapts to changes in the acoustic environment over short periods of time. This fine-tuning of its dynamics is mediated in part by the medial olivocochlear (MOC) bundle, a neural feedback loop which aids in the regulation of cochlear micro-mechanics. The ability to measure the response of the MOC system in humans may provide significant insight into unique cochlear functions, such as its sharp frequency selectivity and wide dynamic range. In humans the efferent system can be investigated non-invasively using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). However, how OAEs can best be used to evaluate efferent function, the pitfalls associated …

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.

The Helminthological Society Of Washington 2013 Anniversary Award: Larry S. Roberts, Sherman S. Hendrix

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Dr. Roberts was born in the great state of Texas, and much of his early life is murky, but snakes are often mentioned. Larry received his Bachelor’s degree at Southern Methodist University; his Master of Science at the University of Illinois; and his Doctorate in the Department of Pathobiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Larry’s doctoral research, published in Experimental Parasitology, documented the early development and crowding effect of the tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta, in the rat small intestine. His publication on this subject opened the door to the golden age of cestode physiology and biochemistry …

Can Helmet Design Reduce The Risk Of Concussion In Football?, Steven Rowson, Stefan M. Duma, Richard M. Greenwald, Jonathan Beckwith, Jeffrey J. Chu, Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Jason P. Mihalik, Joe Crisco, Bethany J. Wilcox, Thomas W. Mcallister, Arthur C. Maerlender, Steven P. Broglio, Brock Schnebel, Scott Anderson, P. Gunnar Brolinson

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Of all sports, football accounts for the highest incidence of concussion in the US due to the large number of athletes participating and the nature of the sport. While there is general agreement that concussion incidence can be reduced through rule changes and teaching proper tackling technique, there remains debate as to whether helmet design may also reduce the incidence of concussion. A retrospective analysis was performed of head impact data collected from 1833 collegiate football players who were instrumented with helmet-mounted accelerometer arrays for games and practices. Data were collected between 2005 and 2010 from 8 collegiate football teams: …

Winning And Losing: Differences In Reward And Punishment Sensitivity Between Smokers And Nonsmokers, Laura E. Martin, Lisa S. Cox, William M. Brooks, Cary R. Savage

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background: Smokers show increased brain activation in reward processing regions in response to smoking-related cues, yet few studies have examined secondary rewards not associated with smoking (i.e., money). Inconsistencies exist in the studies that do examine secondary rewards with some studies showing increased brain activation in reward processing brain regions, while others show decreased activation or no difference in activation between smokers and nonsmokers. Aims: The goal of the current study is to see if smokers process the evaluation and delivery of equally salient real world rewards similarly or differently than nonsmokers. Methods: The current study employed functional magnetic resonance …

Eating Disorders: The Hidden Hormonal Effect On Fertility, Esther Tessler-Karfunkel

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Women who have a history of eating disorders, specifically anorexia nervosa, are more prone to suffer from infertility. There are several hormones which are the driving force in this system and are therefore responsible for this. Fortunately, there are treatments which can help women with a history of eating disorders to reproduce. Using information found on Pubmed and Touro College’s database, this paper will discuss why the body cannot reproduce when it is lacking proper nutrition, as well as the various dynamics in the human reproductive system which are compromised when the body is not properly nourished.

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 Effects Of Anxiety On Sensory Gating, Jonathon Meier

Honors Projects

Sensory gating is a proposed important physiological process of inhibiting neuronal responses of repetitious stimuli in the central nervous system to allocate more cognitive resources to additional salient information. Sensory gating is currently being studied to better understand psychiatric illnesses, especially those characterized by emotional changes and the inability to concentrate such as schizophrenia, ADHD, anxiety disorder, and Parkinson’s. Anxiety is a strong feeling of nervousness that occurs in all individuals at varying degrees and is associated with detrimental health effects as well as hindering concentration. Numerous brain regions are associated with anxiety levels such as the anterior limbic system, …

A Systems Biology Approach To Detect Eqtls Associated With Mirna And Mrna Co-Expression Networks In The Nucleus Accumbens Of Chronic Alcoholic Patients, Mohammed Mamdani

Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol Dependence (AD) is a chronic substance use disorder with moderate heritability (60%). Linkage and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated a number of loci; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying AD are unclear. Advances in systems biology allow genome-wide expression data to be integrated with genetic data to detect expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL), polymorphisms that regulate gene expression levels, influence phenotypes and are significantly enriched among validated genetic signals for many commonly studied traits including AD.

We integrated genome-wide mRNA and miRNA expression data with genotypic data from the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a major addiction-related brain region, of 36 …

Life In Groups: The Roles Of Oxytocin In Mammalian Sociality, Allison M.J. Anacker, Annaliese K. Beery

Psychology: Faculty Publications

In recent decades, scientific understanding of the many roles of oxytocin (OT) in social behavior has advanced tremendously. The focus of this research has been on maternal attachments and reproductive pair-bonds, and much less is known about the substrates of sociality outside of reproductive contexts. It is now apparent that OT influences many aspects of social behavior including recognition, trust, empathy, and other components of the behavioral repertoire of social species. This review provides a comparative perspective on the contributions of OT to life in mammalian social groups. We provide background on the functions of OT in maternal attachments and …

Predeliberation Activity In Prefrontal Cortex And Striatum And The Prediction Of Subsequent Value Judgment, Uri Maoz, Ueli Rutishauser, Soyoun Kim, Xinying Cai, Christof Koch

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Rational, value-based decision-making mandates selecting the option with highest subjective expected value after appropriate deliberation. We examined activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and striatum of monkeys deciding between smaller, immediate rewards and larger, delayed ones. We previously found neurons that modulated their activity in this task according to the animal's choice, while it deliberated (choice neurons). Here we found neurons whose spiking activities were predictive of the spatial location of the selected target (spatial-bias neurons) or the size of the chosen reward (reward-bias neurons) before the onset of the cue presenting the decision-alternatives, and thus before rational deliberation …

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 …

Sex Differences In White Matter Development During Adolescence: A Dti Study, Yingying Wang, Chris Adamson, Weihong Yuan, Mekibib Altaye, Anna W. Byars, Scott K. Holland

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Adolescence is a complex transitional period in human development, composing physical maturation, cognitive and social behavioral changes. The objective of this study is to investigate sex differences in white matter development and the associations between intelligence and white matter microstructure in the adolescent brain using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). In a cohort of 16 typically-developing adolescents aged 13 to 17 years, longitudinal DTI data were recorded from each subject at two time points that were one year apart. We used TBSS to analyze the diffusion indices including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity …