Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Associations Between Adolescent Cannabis Use Trajectories And Anxiety, Jacqueline C. Duperrouzel

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effects of cannabis use is critical for reducing adverse behavioral, social, and academic outcomes, particularly among adolescent users who are most at risk for cannabis related problems. Although support from both the animal and human literatures suggests the relationship between cannabis and anxiety may be associated with levels of use, much is still unknown. Thus, examining relationships between the most common mental health issue in adolescence and one of the most commonly used drugs is of great public health significance and impact. Prior longitudinal studies assessing effects of cannabis use on anxiety have not evaluated different patterns of …

It's Capitalism, Stupid!: The Theoretical And Political Limitations Of The Concept Of Neoliberalism, Bryant William Sculos

Class, Race and Corporate Power

This polemical essay explores the meaning and function of the concept of neoliberalism, focusing on the serious theoretical and political limitations of the concept. The crux of the argument is that, for those interested in overcoming the exploitative and oppressively destructive elements of global capitalism, opposing "neoliberalism" (even if best understood as a process or a spectrum of "neoliberalization" or simply privatization) is both insufficient and potentially self-undermining. This article also goes into some detail on the issues of health care and climate change in relation to "neoliberalism" (both conceptually and the material processes and policies that this term refers …

The Influence Of Maternally Regulated Prenatal Sensory Experience On Postnatal Motor Coordination In Neonatal Bobwhite Quail, Starlie C. Belnap

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Comparative animal studies aid in understanding how prenatal sensory experiences regulated by maternal activity facilitate or interfere with growth and phenotype development. However, there is a paucity of information on how prenatal sensory experience influence postnatal motor performance. In this series of studies, we used an avian model, the bobwhite quail, to evaluate the effects of prenatal temperature (study 1), prenatal movement (study 2), prenatal light duration (study 3), and prenatal light presentation pattern (study 4) on hatchability, growth and postnatal motor performance in 24hr quail neonates. In study 1, quail embryos were exposed to naturally occurring cool (36.9°C) or …

Distinct Neural Circuits Underlie Prospective And Concurrent Memory-Guided Behavior, Amanda G. Hamm, Aaron T. Mattfeld

Department of Psychology

The past is the best predictor of the future. This simple postulate belies the complex neurobiological mechanisms that facilitate an individual’s use of memory to guide decisions. Previous research has shown integration of memories bias decision-making. Alternatively, memories can prospectively guide our choices. Here, we elucidate the mechanisms and timing of hippocampal (HPC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and striatal contributions during prospective memory-guided decision-making. We develop an associative learning task in which the correct choice is conditional on the preceding stimulus. Two distinct networks emerge: (1) a prospective circuit consisting of the HPC, putamen, mPFC, and other cortical regions, which …

Motor-Language Cascades: How Fine Motor Relates To Language Outcomes Across Early Development, Sandy Gonzalez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current dissertation examined the role of motor skills on children’s language outcomes across early development. For study one a systematic review was conducted to examine differences in how gross and fine motor skills foster language development from 0-5 years of age. Results based on 22 articles indicated that while both gross and fine motor skills are related to language outcomes, too few studies have measured fine motor skills to conclusively determine differences in how gross and fine motor skills differentially relate to language outcomes.

The aim of study two was to investigate whether gross or fine motor skills were …

Effects Of Cannabinoid Administration For Pain: A Meta-Analysis And Meta-Regression, Julio A. Yanes, Zach E. Mckinnell, Meredith A. Reid, Jessica N. Busler, Jesse S. Michael, Melissa M. Pangelinan, Matthew T. Sutherland, Jared W. Younger, Raul Gonzalez, Jennifer L. Robinson

Department of Psychology

No abstract provided.

The Nucleus Reuniens Of The Thalamus Sits At The Nexus Of A Hippocampus And Medial Prefrontal Cortex Circuit Enabling Memory And Behavior, Margriet J. Dolleman- Van Der Weel, Amy L. Griffin, Hiroshi T. Ito, Matthew L. Shapiro, Menno P. Witter, Robert P. Vertes, Timothy A. Allen

Environmental Health Sciences

The nucleus reuniens of the thalamus (RE) is a key component of an extensive network of hippocampal and cortical structures and is a fundamental substrate for cognition. A common misconception is that RE is a simple relay structure. Instead, a better conceptualization is that RE is a critical component of a canonical higher-order cortico-thalamo-cortical circuit that supports communication between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (HC). RE dysfunction is implicated in several clinical disorders including, but not limited to Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Here, we review key anatomical and physiological features of the RE based primarily on …

Decision-Making As A Latent Construct And Its Measurement Invariance In A Large Sample Of Adolescent Cannabis Users, Ileana Pacheco-Colon, Samuel W. Hawes, Jacqueline C. Duperrouzel, Catalina Lopez-Quintero, Raul Gonzalez

Center for Children and Families Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE:

Relative to the vast literature that employs measures of decision-making (DM), rigorous examination of their psychometric properties is sparse. This study aimed to determine whether three measures of DM assess the same construct, and to measure invariance of this construct across relevant covariates.

METHOD:

Participants were 372 adolescents at risk of escalation in cannabis use. DM was assessed via four indices from the Cups Task, Game of Dice Task (GDT), and Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess unidimensionality of the DM construct, and moderated nonlinear factor analysis (MNLFA) to examine its measurement invariance.

RESULTS: …

Prefrontal Pathways Provide Top-Down Control Of Memory For Sequences Of Events, Maanasa Jayachandran, Stephanie B. Linley, Maximilian Schlecht, Stephen V. Mahler, Robert P. Vertes, Timothy A. Allen

Department of Psychology

We remember our lives as sequences of events, but it is unclear how these memories are controlled during retrieval. In rats, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is positioned to influence sequence memory through extensive top-down inputs to regions heavily interconnected with the hippocampus, notably the nucleus reuniens of the thalamus (RE) and perirhinal cortex (PER). Here, we used an hM4Di synaptic-silencing approach to test our hypothesis that specific mPFC→RE and mPFC→PER projections regulate sequence memory retrieval. First, we found non-overlapping populations of mPFC cells project to RE and PER. Second, suppressing mPFC activity impaired sequence memory. Third, inhibiting mPFC→RE and …

The Role Of Hedonics In The Human Affectome, Susanne Becker, Anne-Kathrin Brascher, Scott Bannister, Moustafa Bensafi, Destany Calma-Birling, Raymond C.K. Chan, Tuomas Eerola, Dan-Mikael Ellingsen, Camille Ferdenzi, Jamie L. Hanson, Mateus Joffily, Navdeep K. Lidhar, Leroy J. Lowe, Loren J. Martin, Erica D. Musser, Michael Noll-Hussong, Thomas M. Olino, Rosario Pintos Lobo, Yi Wang

Department of Psychology

Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of …

Assessing Cognitive Interview Mnemonics And Their Effectiveness With Non-Native English Speakers, Bryan Keith Wylie

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cognitive interview is a widely recommended forensic interviewing strategy which elicits more details than comparison interviews. However, little research has attended to which of its component mnemonics drive the overall effect. Furthermore, some mnemonics—like asking witnesses to recall in reverse order—are cognitively demanding. Responding to cognitively demanding interview mnemonics may be challenging for witnesses who are already under heavy cognitive load, such as non-native English speakers. Speaking a second language is a cognitively difficult task that may leave non-native English speakers with limited cognitive resources to devote to complex interviewing mnemonics. Other mnemonics, though, may be particularly beneficial for …

Attentional Processes In Anxiety: Examining Threat-Related Attention Bias And Attentional Control In Anxious Youth, Raquel Melendez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention bias modification treatment (ABMT) is a computer-administered intervention informed by theoretical models implicating the role of attentional processes in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety. Attention bias modification treatment presents an innovative, cost-effective approach to meeting demand for treatment of anxiety disorders; however data are limited regarding long-term outcomes and related predictors of ABMT treatment outcomes in youth. Therefore, the present study examined long-term outcomes of ABMT as a standalone or adjunctive treatment in 74 youth referred to an anxiety disorders clinic. Three groups of youth (ages 9 to 22) were identified and assessed approximately one to six years …

The Effect Of Methylphenidate On Associative Learning Among Youth With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Amy R. Altszuler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite strong evidence supporting the short-term efficacy of interventions for youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and despite the fact that the majority of youth with ADHD receive treatment for the disorder at some point over the course of childhood, the long-term prognosis for individuals with ADHD remains poor. One potential explanation for the gap between short-term efficacy and long-term outcomes is that the most common intervention for youth with ADHD, stimulant medication, paradoxically undermines children’s abilities to learn from contingencies through their action on the dopaminergic system. The dynamic dopamine theory posits that by increasing levels of dopamine, stimulant medication …

The Effects Of Cognitive Bias, Examiner Experience, And Stimulus Material On Forensic Evidence Analysis, Michelle M. Pena

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Forensic examiners have come under scrutiny in recent years because of high profile exoneration cases that have highlighted the negative impact contextual bias can have on investigations including forensic evidence analyses. This has led to several proposed solutions to reduce the effects of bias including blind testing and redacting task-irrelevant information. However, practitioners have not been receptive to such recommendations because of the limitations found in past research, such as the use of untrained undergraduate students to examine complex pieces of forensic evidence (e.g., fingerprints). The current study thus had the following aims: (a) examine the effect of contextual bias …

Affective States And Work Attitudes Linking Abusive Supervision To Employee Performance And The Impact Of Ethical Climate On Abusive Supervision And Work Attitudes, Armando Falcon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prior research indicates that abusive supervision (AS, Tepper, 2000) is associated with employee job performance. On the other hand, ethical organizational climate (EOC; Victor & Cullen, 1988) has yet to be investigated in the context of AS. The objective of the present study is to evaluate, within a general sample of US employees, (1) the relative strength of specific indirect effects of AS on performance via positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect, and via work-related attitudes (Leader-member exchange, LMX; Interactional justice, IJ; Perceived organizational support, POS; Affective organizational commitment, AOC), and (2) the relationship between EOC, AS, and the same …

Examining The Feasibility And Acceptability Of Behavioral Consultation With Latinx Teachers And Students, Anne S. Morrow

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Daily behavioral report cards are an efficacious intervention for children with ADHD, yet there is little information on Latinx teachers’ perceptions about ADHD and preferences related to behavioral treatment, including the Daily Report Card (DRC). The purpose of our convergent, mixed-method study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of behavioral consultation with Latinx teachers and students, as well as potentially associated factors. Teachers completed DRCs which included a chart with individualized, operationalized target behaviors, such as remaining in seat/area. Their students’ behavioral targets were titrated via a changing criterion design, and students’ daily performance was rewarded via a menu …

How Organizational Cultures Moderate The Relationship Between Demographic Diversity And Intragroup Conflict: A Meta-Analysis, Ryan K. Jacobson

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that as work groups become more demographically diverse, they are more likely to experience relationship and task conflict (Barak, 2016; Holck, Muhr, & Villeseche, 2016; Mohammed & Angell, 2004). In an increasingly diverse, global workforce, one way to mitigate this conflict might be to promote organizational cultures that support group harmony and respect, such as team-oriented culture (Galinsky et al., 2015; Lambert, 2016; Nielsen, 2017; Williams & O’Reilly, 1998). In this paper, we sought to test the moderating potential of organizational culture on the relationship between worker diversity and conflict using a meta-analysis. Using 40 samples, we examined …

Inhibitory Control And Information Processing In Adhd: Comparing The Dual Task And Performance Adjustment Hypotheses, Whitney D. Fosco, Michael J. Kofler, R. Matt Alderson, Stephanie J. Tarle, Joseph S. Raiker, Dustin E. Sarver

Center for Children and Families Faculty Publications

Inhibition is a key neurocognitive domain in ADHD that is commonly assessed with the stop-signal task. The stop-signal involves both "go" and "stop" trials; previous research indicates that response times are reliably slower to "go" trials during tasks with vs. without intermittent "stop" trials. However, it is unclear whether this pattern reflects deliberate slowing to maximize inhibitory success (performance adjustment hypothesis) and/or disrupted bottom-up information processing due to increased cognitive demands (dual-task hypothesis). Given the centrality of "go" responding for estimating children's inhibitory speed, finding that children with ADHD slow differently -or for different reasons- has the potential to inform …

Poly-Strengths Skill Building For Urban Teens At High-Risk For Violence Exposure: Leveraging Community After-School Programs To Promote Youth, Kelly D. Cromer M.S.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Violence exposure increases teens’ risk for emotion dysregulation, anxiety, depression, and aggression towards peers. Urban teens are disproportionately more likely to be exposed to violence and less likely to receive mental health services. Community after-school programs can help to reduce these disparities by offering opportunities for skills development and mental health promotion to mitigate risk associated with violence exposure.

The current study examined the implementation and promise of brief meditation and sleep health journaling activities infused within a pre-existing parks-based after-school program for black and Latinx teens. Data include pre-/post-measures of violent and non-violent adversity, emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, and …

#Fomo: How The Fear Of Missing Out Drives Consumer Purchase Decisions, Michelle Van Solt

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on consumers’ experiential purchase decisions motivated by the fear of missing out (FOMO). I propose that consumers are more likely to attend an event when individuals with whom they have strong (weak) interpersonal ties will be present, because consumers will experience higher (lower) levels of FOMO. The results of one qualitative and four quantitative studies, including a behavioral study, demonstrate that purchase intent is higher when participants imagine that their close friends (i.e., strong ties) will attend, an effect mediated by FOMO and anticipated regret. Furthermore, the type of experience (i.e., ordinary, extraordinary) moderates the relationship of …

Self-Concept In Children And Adolescents As A Lever For Change In Academic Success For Under-Served Youth, Robert Ray Ogle

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children and adolescents in under-resourced urban communities simultaneously experience higher rates of major life stressors, including mental health problems, and less access to the services needed to address these concerns. The combination of high need and few resources makes identifying broadly effective, resource-minimal interventions a critical goal. Amongst potential targets for intervention, academic success, particularly graduating from high school, predicts positive life outcomes across a wide range of health factors. To be effective in supporting academic success in under-served communities, an intervention must be universally applicable, inexpensive, and easy to deliver with fidelity. The current study examined the promise of …

Automated, Efficient, And Accelerated Knowledge Modeling Of The Cognitive Neuroimaging Literature Using The Athena Toolkit, Michael C. Riedel, Taylor P. Salo, Jason Hays, Matthew D. Turner, Matthew T. Sutherland, Jessica A. Turner, Angela Laird

Department of Physics

Neuroimaging research is growing rapidly, providing expansive resources for synthesizing data. However, navigating these dense resources is complicated by the volume of research articles and variety of experimental designs implemented across studies. The advent of machine learning algorithms and text-mining techniques has advanced automated labeling of published articles in biomedical research to alleviate such obstacles. As of yet, a comprehensive examination of document features and classifier techniques for annotating neuroimaging articles has yet to be undertaken. Here, we evaluated which combination of corpus (abstract-only or full-article text), features (bag-of-words or Cognitive Atlas terms), and classifier (Bernoulli naïve Bayes, k-nearest …

Improving Satisfaction, Engagement And Clinical Outcomes Among Traditionally Underserved Children Through Cultural Formulation, Amanda Lucia Sanchez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Economically disadvantaged and ethnic/racial minority children are more likely to suffer from disruptive behavior problems than their middle-to-upper-income Caucasian counterparts, yet they are less likely to receive quality care and are more likely to drop out of treatment services. Disparities in the reception of and engagement with mental health services suggests that standard mental health practices may not properly consider the unique cultural context of child mental health problems in traditionally underserved families. Initial research focused on adult populations has suggested that incorporating the brief Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) as part of baseline assessment can promote improved medical communication, leading …

Activation Of The Default Mode Network Is Related To High Reaction Time Variability In Adhd, Parsa Nilchian

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common mental condition in U.S. children and affects more than 6.1 million individuals between the ages of 2-17 years. Recent studies have identified elevated reaction time variability (RTV) as a reliable feature of ADHD, yet it is under debate whether increased RTV is related to lapses of attention, and the neural mechanisms behind high RTV are not well understood. The default mode network (DMN) is a functional brain system responsible for internally-directed mental processes, and it is most active when not engaged in cognitively demanding tasks. Activation of the DMN during active states could …

Confidence Mediates The Sex Differences Observed In Mental Rotation Tests, Carlos J. Desme

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Mental rotation is defined as the ability to rotate 2-D and 3-D objects in space using one's mind. Individual differences recorded in this ability are related with entry into STEM. Several research laboratories bespeak that factors explaining these sex differences include exposure to spatial activities/toys, spatial anxiety, and cognitive strategy used to resolve tasks. One discrete factor receiving less attention is confidence. The study attempted to replicate these differences, examine whether confidence interacts with mental rotation ability estimation, and determine whether confidence mediates these differences. 510 college students completed a 24-item Mental Rotation Test, in which they were shown one …

Do Relationships Matter?: Understanding The Impact Of Student-Teacher Relationships On Academic Performance For Children With Ebps, Sebastian Salinas

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Problem behavior in early childhood is associated with academic and social difficulties in the years following preschool (Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). Previous studies have suggested that teacher-child relationships are predictive of higher academic success in elementary school-age children (Hamre & Pianta, 2001), but few studies have examined this association in preschoolers (Lee & Bierman, 2015). The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between teacher-child relationships and academic outcomes (i.e., reading and writing proficiency)in preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) prior to participation in an early intervention summer program. Teacher report of conflict, closeness, and dependency dynamics …

Differences In Predictive Ability Of Gross And Fine Motor Skills Towards Language Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Veronica Alvarez

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

Motor skills can be divided into two types: gross motor skills (e.g., crawling, walking) and fine motor skills (e.g., grasping). When infants are first learning to navigate their environment, motor skills are a primary way for infants to independently explore and interact with objects and people. Importantly, research has indicated that motor skills can have a cascading effect on language acquisition. The purpose of the current study is to systematically review current literature on the relation between gross and fine motor abilities and language development in order to investigate any potential differences in predictive abilities of gross and fine motor …

Introverts And Extroverts: Learning To Understand One Another, Nicole Larraguibel

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

The world today is made up of individuals with varying levels of introversion and extroversion. Such strong differences in personality can easily lead to clashes, making it crucial for introverts and extroverts to learn to understand one another. The purpose of this research paper is to highlight the differences in personalities and demonstrate how they can be used as strengths to complement one another. If introverts and extroverts are able to better understand each other, then it will immensely benefit interpersonal communication in all aspects of life, ranging from relationships to the workplace.

Bilingualism And Executive Functions, Trinidad Arguelles

Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference

For this research experiment our team was able to recruit and test 36 Miami Dade College Students, (13 Monolingual , 22 bilinguals, and one trilingual). Participants ranged in age from 18- 30 years old. The study is part a collaboration with Nova Southeastern University (NSU). By administering a series of multiple audio, visual, and verbal tests our team was able to compare cognitive functioning between the two samples. The battery of tests consisted of : The Nonverbal Stroop Card Sorting Test (NSCST), Bilingual Verbal Ability Test (BVAT), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Shipley, and the N-BACK. We use language …

The Structure Of Cognition In 9 And 10 Year-Old Children And Associations With Problem Behaviors: Findings From The Abcd Study’S Baseline Neurocognitive Battery, Wesley K. Thompson, Deanna M. Barch, James M. Bjork, Raul Gonzalez, Bonnie J. Nagel, Sara Jo Nixon, Monica Luciana

Center for Children and Families Faculty Publications

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study is poised to be the largest single-cohort long-term longitudinal study of neurodevelopment and child health in the United States. Baseline data on N=" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 16.2px; word-spacing: normal; overflow-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative;">N= 4521 children aged 9–10 were released for public access on November 2, 2018. In this paper we performed principal component analyses of the neurocognitive assessments administered to the baseline sample. The neurocognitive battery included …