Psychology Commons^™

Development Of Inattention And Executive Dysfunction In Youth With Spina Bifida: Condition Severity Variables As Predictors, Allison D. Payne

Master's Theses

Spina bifida (SB) is associated with neurologic impairments that increase individuals’ risk for neuropsychological deficits, particularly inattention and executive dysfunction. While extant literature has yet to examine the development of inattention in youth with SB, some research suggests that these youth may not experience the age-related improvements in executive dysfunction seen in the general population. SB is a heterogeneous condition; thus, it is important to consider variability in condition severity when examining outcomes over time in youth with SB. Lesion level and shunt status are commonly used as indicators of SB severity and have been significantly associated with variability in …

Evaluating The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program For Children With Asd Generalized To A P.E. Setting, Anissa Johns

Dissertations and Theses

ASD is a developmental disability, or group of conditions which begin during the developmental period and impact day-to-day functioning, which can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges (CDC, 2019). According to the CDC (2014) Autism Spectrum Disorder occur in every 1 in 36 children. ASD is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts (American Psychiatric Association, 2020). The diagnosis also requires the presence of restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Among the number of social skills training modalities used to promote positive social skill development for children with ASD, the Superheroes …

Physical Activity, Self-Determination, And Self-Conscious Emotions In Adolescents And Young Adults With And Without Autism Symptomatology, Dakota Morales

Master's Theses

Previous literature suggests that autistic individuals engage in physical activity less frequently compared to typically developing peers (Bandini et al., 2013; Jones et al., 2017). This is noteworthy because exercise interventions for autistic individuals have found that engaging in physical activity can improve motor, social, and behavioral skills (Anderson-Hanley et al., 2011; Duffy et al., 2017; Nicholson et al., 2011; Oriel et al., 2011). Thus, the present study seeks to understand what factors may promote physical activity engagement, such as self-determination motivation regulations and body-related self-conscious emotions, in adolescents and young adults with and without autism symptomatology. Participants included 51 …

Moral Formation In A Culture Of Relativism: Correlates Of Universalism And Relativism In The Moral Outlooks Of Emerging Adults, Steven Crawford Hayward

Journal of Catholic Education

This study explores some of the demographic, personal, and experiential factors of emerging adults that correlate to a spectrum of moral outlooks ranging from moral universalism to moral relativism. Data was gathered from 466 volunteer undergraduate students. Respondents’ demographic, experiential, and personal factors served as independent variables. The relativism index score form Forsyth’s Ethics Position Questionnaire (1980) served as the dependent variable. Results suggest several conclusions: First, adults in the life of youth are a significant factor in moral outlook, exerting influence in both universalistic and relativistic directions. Second, religious practice and involvement contribute to a universal moral outlook. Third, …

The Effect Of Intrafamilial Racism On Biracial Identity Conflict, Lauren Tan

Master's Theses

This study aimed to describe the relation between experiences of intrafamilial racism (i.e., racism perpetrated by family members against other family members), caregiver support, and identity conflict in biracial individuals. Identity conflict is defined as perceived incompatibility with two or more aspects of one’s identity (Sarno et. al., 2015) and is an experience likely to be common among biracial individuals. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relation between intrafamilial racism, caregiver support, and identity conflict. Moderation analyses were performed to determine the impact of intrafamilial racism on identity conflict at different levels of caregiver support. We hypothesized that intrafamilial …

Changing Vaccine Hesitant Attitudes Of Parents Using Moral Persuasion, Max Vitro

Master's Theses

In the fight against Covid-19, overt, science-based messaging is not enough to persuade everyone to get vaccinated no matter how encouraging the data. Recent studies on attitudes toward vaccines and other health-promoting measures have provided clues as to why so many are still opposed, suggesting many who were resistant had reasons that were rooted along moral grounds. This process of moralization occurs when a belief becomes a moral matter of ‘right and wrong’ rather than a means to an end. Because moral beliefs are more entrenched, they’ve proven much more difficult to change. There is one approach that could increase …

Parental Autonomy Support And Children’S Stem Engagement During An At-Home Tinkering Activity, Bianca Martins Aldrich

Master's Theses

Parents play an important role guiding children’s learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in informal educational contexts. In this project, we considered the ways in which parents use autonomy supportive or controlling language to encourage or discourage children's independence in problem solving, as well as their feedback to children’s ideas and behaviors. We looked at the association between autonomy support and children’s behavioral, STEM, story, and emotional engagement during an at-home tinkering and storytelling activity. Parents and their 4- to 10- year old children were observed at home via Zoom. We coded parents’ and children’s behaviors using a …

Exploring Correlates Of Student Preferences For Virtual Or In-Class Learning Among Neurodiverse Adolescents Using A Single-Case Design Methodology, Taryn A. Myers, John D. Ball, Mindy Gumpert, Mary Roberts

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study is to explore several correlates of adolescent students’ preferences for at-home virtual or in-class in-person learning in a single case of a school that serves students with learning differences. Correlates of interest were the Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) and the students’ self-reported learning engagement. Participants were recruited from a single independent school for students with neurodiversity and special learning needs, where they had high exposure to computer-/internet-assisted learning. Twenty-seven students responded to questionnaires measuring preferred learning modes, personality traits, and learning engagement. Despite teacher reports …

Association Between Brain Similarity To Severe Mental Illnesses And Comorbid Cerebral, Physical, And Cognitive Impairments, Yizhou Ma, Mark D Kvarta, Bhim M Adhikari, Joshua Chiappelli, Xiaoming Du, Andrew Van Der Vaart, Eric L Goldwaser, Heather Bruce, Kathryn S Hatch, Si Gao, Ann Summerfelt, Neda Jahanshad, Paul M Thompson, Thomas E Nichols, L Elliot Hong, Peter Kochunov

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Severe mental illnesses (SMIs) are often associated with compromised brain health, physical comorbidities, and cognitive deficits, but it is incompletely understood whether these comorbidities are intrinsic to SMI pathophysiology or secondary to having SMIs. We tested the hypothesis that cerebral, cardiometabolic, and cognitive impairments commonly observed in SMIs can be observed in non-psychiatric individuals with SMI-like brain patterns of deviation as seen on magnetic resonance imaging. 22,883 participants free of common neuropsychiatric conditions from the UK Biobank (age = 63.4 ± 7.5 years, range = 45–82 years, 50.9% female) were split into discovery and replication samples. The regional vulnerability index …

Depression And Insomnia Among Healthcare Professionals During Covid-19 Pandemic In Ethiopia: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Aragaw Asfaw Hasen, Abubeker Alebachew Seid, Ahmed Adem Mohammed

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare professionals play a great role in the struggle against COVID-19. They are highly susceptible to COVID-19 due to their responsibilities. This susceptibility directly affects their mental health status. Comprehensive evidence on prevalence of depression and insomnia during this pandemic is vital. Thus, this study aims to provide the pooled prevalence of depression and insomnia, and their associated factors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were searched from PubMed, Cochrane Library, CrossRef, African Journals Online and Google Scholar databases from …

Poor Sleep Quality And Suicidal Ideation Among Pregnant Women During Covid-19 In Ethiopia: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Aragaw Asfaw Hasen, Abubeker Alebachew Seid, Ahmed Adem Mohammed

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has profoundly impacted the mental health and well-being of pregnant women worldwide. In Ethiopia, the poor sleep quality and suicidal ideation among pregnant women has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to provide comprehensive evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of poor sleep quality and suicidal ideation among pregnant women during COVID-19 in Ethiopia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendation. Data were searched from PubMed, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online from the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic to February 2023. …

Sulforaphane Improves Cognitive Function Administered Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Jackson W S Gasperecz, Elizabeth Baumler, Leila Wood, Jeff R Temple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

As the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10 to 34, suicide is a serious public health concern. One potential predictor of suicidality is dating violence (DV) victimization, such as any physical, psychological, or sexual abuse by a current or former intimate partner. However, little longitudinal data exists on the relationship between suicidal ideation and DV. To address this gap in knowledge, we leverage data from two years of our longitudinal study

Within Subject Cross-Tissue Analyzes Of Epigenetic Clocks In Substance Use Disorder Postmortem Brain And Blood, Brenda Cabrera-Mendoza, Laura Stertz, Katherine Najera, Sudhakar Selvaraj, Antonio L Teixeira, Thomas D Meyer, Gabriel R Fries, Consuelo Walss-Bass

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There is a possible accelerated biological aging in patients with substance use disorders (SUD). The evaluation of epigenetic clocks, which are accurate estimators of biological aging based on DNA methylation changes, has been limited to blood tissue in patients with SUD. Consequently, the impact of biological aging in the brain of individuals with SUD remains unknown. In this study, we evaluated multiple epigenetic clocks (DNAmAge, DNAmAgeHannum, DNAmAgeSkinBlood, DNAmPhenoAge, DNAmGrimAge, and DNAmTL) in individuals with SUD (n = 42), including alcohol (n = 10), opioid (n = 19), and stimulant use disorder (n = 13), and controls (n = 10) in …

Validation Of The Brazilian Portuguese Version Of The Quick Inventory Of Depressive Symptomatology And Self-Report (Qids-Sr16) For The Brazilian Population, Lucas Bandinelli, Julia Luiza Schäfer, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QID-SR16), a self-report instrument based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) criteria that assesses the severity of depression symptoms, in the Brazilian population.

METHODS: Participants were 4,400 Brazilians over the age of 15 years recruited for an online survey assessing depressive symptoms during the early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Brazil. The internal consistency, construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity of the QIDS-SR16 were evaluated.

RESULTS: The model tested was considered an adequate fit to the …

Non-Pharmacological Treatment-Related Changes Of Molecular Biomarkers In Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Courtney L Irwin, Patrícia S Coelho, Bruno Kluwe-Schiavon, Anabela Silva-Fernandes, Óscar F Gonçalves, Jorge Leite, Sandra Carvalho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious mood disorder and leading cause of disability. Despite treatment advances, approximately 30% of individuals with MDD do not achieve adequate clinical response. Better understanding the biological mechanism(s) underlying clinical response to specific psychopharmacological interventions may help fine tune treatments in order to further modulate their underlying mechanisms of action. However, little is known regarding the effect of non-pharmacological treatments (NPTs) on candidate molecular biomarker levels in MDD. This review aims to identify molecular biomarkers that may elucidate NPT response for MDD.

METHODS: We performed a systematic review and a multilevel linear mixed-effects …

Processing Speed – A Potential Candidate Cognitive Endophenotype For Bipolar Disorder, Mirona Letitia Dobri, Taya Prince, Alexandre Paim Diaz, Giovana B Zunta-Soares, Sudhakar Selvaraj, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Thomas D Meyer, Marsal Sanches, Jair C Soares

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic multifactorial disorder that presents with cognitive impairment as one of its main features, in patients as well as in their first-degree relatives. However, the profile of cognitive dysfunction in BD patients and their relatives is not yet well defined. Various neurocognitive deficits have been proposed as endophenotypes for BD. In the present study, we explored the susceptibility to neurocognitive deficits in BD patients and their siblings compared to healthy controls.

METHOD: A sample consisting of patients diagnosed with BD (

RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, BD patients and their unaffected siblings showed deficits …

Non-Canonical Pathways In The Pathophysiology And Therapeutics Of Bipolar Disorder, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Alan C Courtes, Carlos A Zarate, Ioline D Henter, Husseini K Manji

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by extreme mood swings ranging from manic/hypomanic to depressive episodes. The severity, duration, and frequency of these episodes can vary widely between individuals, significantly impacting quality of life. Individuals with BD spend almost half their lives experiencing mood symptoms, especially depression, as well as associated clinical dimensions such as anhedonia, fatigue, suicidality, anxiety, and neurovegetative symptoms. Persistent mood symptoms have been associated with premature mortality, accelerated aging, and elevated prevalence of treatment-resistant depression. Recent efforts have expanded our understanding of the neurobiology of BD and the downstream targets that may help track clinical outcomes and …

Reproductive Coercion Victimization And Associated Mental Health Outcomes Among Female-Identifying Young Adults, Emily A Muñoz, Ryan C Shorey, Jeff R Temple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Reproductive coercion is a serious public health problem. Victimization has been associated with poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in clinical and college samples. We build on these findings by examining the association between reproductive coercion victimization and mental and behavioral health outcomes, including depression, PTSD symptoms, anxiety, and drinking behaviors in a diverse community-derived sample of female-identifying young adults (mean age = 20; SD=.72). Participants (n = 368) were originally recruited as part of a study on dating violence in seven Texas public high schools. Participants completed an online study that …

“So Many Extra Safety Layers:” Virtual Service Provision And Implementing Social Distancing In Interpersonal Violence Service Agencies During Covid-19, Rachel J Voth Schrag, Sarah Leat, Bethany Backes, Saltanat Childress, Leila Wood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The coronavirus pandemic necessitated rapid shifts in approach for service providers working with survivors of interpersonal violence. To reduce the spread of the virus, providers and agencies implemented a rapid and unplanned expansion of virtual services while also developing new protocols to support safe and socially distant in-person services. To understand how these shifts have impacted victim service professionals and the survivors they serve, to provide guidance for on-going efforts, and to inform planning for future public health emergencies, this study asks the question: What approaches did the interpersonal violence workforce use to address social distancing needs during COVID-19? Semi-structured …

A Multicenter Study To Evaluate Pain Characteristics In Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Mercedes Rodriguez Celin, Karen M Kruger, Angela Caudill, Chaya N Murali, Sandesh C S Nagamani, Peter A Smith, Gerald F Harris

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The objective was to describe pain characteristics and treatments used in individuals with varying severity of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and investigate pain-associated variables. This work was derived from a multicenter, longitudinal, observational, natural history study of OI conducted at 12 clinical sites of the NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network's Brittle Bone Disorders Consortium. Children and adults with a clinical, biochemical, or molecular diagnosis of OI were enrolled in the study. We did a cross-sectional analysis of chronic pain prevalence, characteristics, and treatments used for pain relief and longitudinal analysis to find the predictors of chronic pain. We included 861 …

Participant Perceptions Of Changes In Psychosocial Domains Following Participation In An Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Trial, Amanda R Merner, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Tiffany A Campbell, Michelle T Pham, Clarissa E Sanchez, Laura Torgerson, Jill Robinson, Stacey Pereira, Simon Outram, Barbara A Koenig, Philip A Starr, Aysegul Gunduz, Kelly D Foote, Michael S Okun, Wayne Goodman, Amy L Mcguire, Peter Zuk, Gabriel Lázaro-Muñoz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: There has been substantial controversy in the neuroethics literature regarding the extent to which deep brain stimulation (DBS) impacts dimensions of personality, mood, and behavior.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Despite extensive debate in the theoretical literature, there remains a paucity of empirical data available to support or refute claims related to the psychosocial changes following DBS.

METHODS: A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the perspectives of patients who underwent DBS regarding changes to their personality, authenticity, autonomy, risk-taking, and overall quality of life.

RESULTS: Patients (n = 21) who were enrolled in adaptive DBS trials for Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, obsessive-compulsive …

Pain Experience And Sensory Changes In Astronauts During And After Short-Lasting Commercial Spaceflight: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Andrea K Sauer, Marie Vigouroux, Patrick M Dougherty, Juan Pablo Cata, Pablo M Ingelmo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Space travel has been associated with musculoskeletal pain, yet little is known about the nociceptive changes and pain experience during spaceflight. This preliminary study aims to investigate the pain experience and sensory alterations in astronauts following a 17-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Space's AX-1 commercial space flight. Two participants were enrolled, and data were collected pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and three-month post-flight. Validated pain questionnaires assessed anxiety, catastrophizing, impact on physical and mental health, disability, and overall pain experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted post-landing and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and quantitative sensory testing (QST) were performed. …

Plant Sentience? Between Romanticism And Denial: Science, Miguel Segundo-Ortin, Paco Calvo

Animal Sentience

A growing number of non-human animal species are being seriously considered as candidates for sentience, but plants are either forgotten or explicitly excluded from these debates. In our view, this is based on the belief that plant behavior is hardwired and inflexible and on an underestimation of the role of plant electrophysiology. We weigh such assumptions against the evidence to suggest that it is time to take seriously the hypothesis that plants, too, might be sentient. We hope this target article will serve as an invitation to investigate sentience in plants with the same rigor as in non-human animals.

Virtual Teaching Together: Engaging Parents And Young Children In Stem Activities, Tricia A Zucker, Michael P Mesa, Michael A Assel, Cheryl Mccallum, Dana Demaster

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Early informal learning experiences are essential for sparking long-term interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In a prior study, we found more promising parent involvement outcomes when families of young children were provided with STEM family education events along with home STEM activity kits compared to providing workshops alone. This study was a conceptual replication using the same program-

METHODS: Museum informal science educators introduced four units via virtual video chat sessions linked to 12 hands-on STEM activities that were mailed to families randomly assigned to the treatment group. Half of the families were assigned to a …

Family-Level Antecedents Of Children's Patterns Of Reactivity To Interparental Conflict: Testing The Reformulation Of Emotional Security Theory, Patrick T Davies, Joanna K Pearson, Vanessa T Cao, Melissa L Sturge-Apple

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Guided by emotional security theory, this study examined the family-level antecedents of children's reaction patterns to interparental conflict in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age = 4.60 years; 48% Black; 16% Latinx; 56% girls) and their parents in the Northeastern United States. Behavioral observations of children's responses to interparental conflict over two annual measurement occasions assessed their tendencies to exhibit four patterns of defending against threat: secure (i.e., efficiently address direct threats), mobilizing (i.e., high reactivity to potential threat and social opportunities), dominant (i.e., directly defeat threat), and demobilizing (i.e., reduce salience as a target of hostility). …

Pain Experience And Sensory Changes In Astronauts During And After Short-Lasting Commercial Spaceflight: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Andrea K Sauer, Marie Vigouroux, Patrick M Dougherty, Juan Pablo Cata, Pablo M Ingelmo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Space travel has been associated with musculoskeletal pain, yet little is known about the nociceptive changes and pain experience during spaceflight. This preliminary study aims to investigate the pain experience and sensory alterations in astronauts following a 17-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Space's AX-1 commercial space flight. Two participants were enrolled, and data were collected pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and three-month post-flight. Validated pain questionnaires assessed anxiety, catastrophizing, impact on physical and mental health, disability, and overall pain experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted post-landing and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and quantitative sensory testing (QST) were performed. …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of New Multimodal Analgesia Regimen For Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled, Single-Center Clinical Study, Lin Jin, Yafen Liang, Ying Yu, Peng Miao, Yihao Huang, Liying Xu, Huilin Wang, Chunsheng Wang, Jiapeng Huang, Kefang Guo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of multimodal regimen by paracetamol, gabapentin, ketamine, lidocaine, dexmedetomidine and sufentanil among cardiac surgery patients, and compare the analgesia efficacy with conventional sufentanil-based regimen.

DESIGN: A single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

SETTING: One participating center, the cardiovascular center of the major integrated teaching hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 115 patients were assessed for eligibility: 108 patients were randomized, 7 cases were excluded.

INTERVENTIONS: The control group (group T) received conventional anesthesia management. Interventions in the multimodal group (group M) were as follows in addition to the standard of care: gabapentin and acetaminophen 1 hour …

Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Intercostal Cryoneurolysis For Acute-On-Chronic Pain In Cloves Syndrome, Sudipta Sen, Johanna B De Haan, Mariam Mehrafza, Nadia Hernandez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cryoneurolysis is an analgesic method that has been shown to provide extended pain relief in postoperative patients. However, to date, this method has not been described in nonsurgical inpatients with chronic pain experiencing an acute exacerbation. This analgesic modality has the potential to provide pain relief for patients whose expected duration of severe acute pain would outlast that of other regional anesthetic techniques while avoiding opioid escalation and facilitating discharge. We present a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic pain from breast ulcerations caused by congenital lipomatous overgrowth, vascular malformations, epidermal nevis, spinal/skeletal anomalies/scoliosis (CLOVES) syndrome that was successfully treated …

Factor Structure Of The International Trauma Questionnaire In Trauma Exposed Lgbtq Plus Adults: Role Of Cumulative Traumatic Events And Minority Stress Heterosexist Experiences, Ruby Charak, Ines Cano-Gonzalez, Roman Ronzón-Tirado, Julian D. Ford, Brianna M. Byllesby, Mark Shevlin, Thanos Karatzias, Philip Hyland, Marylene Cloitre

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Exposure to prolonged and/or multiple types of psychological trauma and stressors has been shown to be more strongly associated with ICD-11 complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans- and queer adults (LGBTQ+) are at a heightened risk of exposure to traumatic events, and minority stressors including harassment, discrimination, rejection by family, and isolation. Objective: To examine the factor structure of the international trauma questionnaire (ITQ), a self-report measure of PTSD and CPTSD, and the associations of cumulative lifetime trauma exposure assessed via the life events checklist and minority stress assessed via the daily …

Alpha Band Prefrontal Asymmetry Does Not Underlie Pain Approach-Avoidance: Results From Two Eeg Studies, Tracy W. Brown, Kayli N. Colpitts, Cristian M. Botello, Abby K. Hartman, Kathryn P. Seymour

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Pain research is often focused on escape from pain or approach of relief, yet individuals with chronic pain make complex choices to face their pain to satiate other drives (approach-avoidance conflicts). An abundance of research has indicated that prefrontal alpha band asymmetry (PFA) underlies approach-avoidance in general, but there is limited information about whether PFA underlies pain approach-avoidance conflicts. Electroencephalogram activity was recorded while 70 participants with chronic pain (n=33) and without chronic pain (n=37) approached/avoided stimuli containing simultaneous pain (low-high) and monetary reward (low-high). Findings from both studies revealed that approach-avoidance for pain stimuli is not accompanied by prefrontal …