Biological Psychology Commons^™

The Effect Of Increased Sleep On The Circadian Rhythm Of Salivary Cortisol Concentrations, Mariah Jacqueline Scott

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Cortisol is a salivary marker for the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) component of the stress response. The activity of the HPA demonstrates a circadian rhythm. It is well known that sleep deprivation increases cortisol concentrations. In this study, we looked at the effect of an increase of one-hour sleep for one month on the circadian rhythm of the HPA.

Eight college subjects (n=8) collected saliva during their normal sleep wake cycle every 4 hours for 24 hours. Saliva collections were repeated after a month of increase of sleep by 1-hour. The subjects also completed demographic forms that asked for age, sex, …

Effect Of Prior Trauma Exposure On Alpha Amplitude, Heart Rate, And Self-Reported Negative Affect, Gina L. Denoble

All Master's Theses

This study was conducted to investigate whether the number of traumatic events an individual has previously experienced influences that individual’s physiological and psychological reactions when exposed to a negative affective stimulus followed by a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention. Twenty-eight participants were placed into intact quasi-experimental groups based on their scores on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ). The negative affective stimulus consisted of a series of photos bearing negative affective valence. The photos were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and paralleled the areas of trauma exposure evaluated by the TLEQ. All participants were exposed to the …

Initiation And Retention In Couples Outpatient Treatment For Parents With Drug And Alcohol Use Disorders, Abbly L. Braitman, Michelle L. Kelley

Psychology Faculty Publications

The focus of the current study was to identity mental health, relationship factors, substance use related problems, and individual factors as predictors of couples-based substance abuse treatment initiation and attendance. Heterosexual couples with children that met study criteria were invited to attend 12 sessions of outpatient behavioral couples therapy. Men were more likely to initiate treatment if they had a higher income, had greater relationship satisfaction, were initiating treatment for alcohol use disorder only, were younger when they first suspected a problem, and had higher depression but lower hostility or phobic anxiety. Men attended more treatment sessions if they reported …

On Reporting The Onset Of The Intention To Move, Uri Maoz, Liad Mudrik, Ram Rivlin, Ian Ross, Adam Mamelak, Gideon Yaffe

Psychology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In 1965, Hans Kornhuber and Luder Deecke made a discovery that greatly influenced the study of voluntary action. Using electroencephalography (EEG), they showed that when aligning some tens of trials to movement onset and averaging, a slowly decreasing electrical potential emerges over central regions of the brain. It starts 1 second ( s) or so before the onset of the voluntary action1 and continues until shortly after the action begins. They termed this the Bereitschaftspotential, or readiness potential (RP; Kornhuber & Deecke, 1965).2 This became the first well-established neural marker of voluntary action. In that, the RP allowed for more …

A Pilot Study On The Effects Of Exercise On Depression Symptoms Using Levels Of Neurotransmitters And Eeg As Markers, Timothy H. Barclay, Scott Richards, James Schoffstall, Chad Magnuson, Christine Mcphee, Josh Price, Stephen Aita, Audrey Anderson, Dan Johnson, Jerry Price

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Context: The prescribing of exercise by physicians has become a popular practice, yet the effectiveness of exercise on symptoms of depression is difficult to determine due to a lack of randomized controlled trials with clinical populations. Reports also indicate that only a small percentage of physicians advise their patients regarding exercise and confusion still exists as to how much and what types are best. Aims: To understand the mechanisms that make exercise a viable treatment in depression. Settings and Design: This study employed a six‑week, two group, single‑level trial, pre‑ and posttest design using self‑report of symptoms, blood …

Spirituality And Depression In Parents With Children In Oncology Or Hematology Treatment, Kurt D. Soell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The psychological burden of cancer treatment affects not only child patients but also their parents. There is extensive literature on the positive influence of spirituality on the cancer patient. But there is a gap in the literature on the potential healing influence of spirituality on the parent of the cancer or hematology patient. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and parents' levels of depression and anxiety during their child's hematological or oncology treatment. Using the transtheoretical model of change, a purposive sample of 48 parents of children undergoing cancer or hematology treatment completed a …

Psychological Distress And Change In A Pediatric Obesity Population, Amy Rebecca Beck

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Pediatric overweight and obesity is a growing national epidemic with 15 percent of children ages 6-19 considered obese and at least 22 percent considered overweight. While there is considerable research pointing to contributing factors of obesity, there is a paucity of research which elucidates what contributes to successful intervention. Considering that by the year 2050, nearly 50 million Americans may be obese, understanding the factors delineating success of weight loss and prevention is a necessity. The purpose of this study was to utilize archival data from the LLU Growing Fit Program to evaluate the levels of psychological distress experienced by …

Electromagnetic Differences In The Brain During Memory Retrieval, Warren Scott Merrifield

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The primary objectives for this experiment were to analyze the neuroanatomical correlates of autobiographical, episodic and semantic memory, use a different paradigm to promote episodic memory retrieval, and employ a different analysis technique to understand retrieval processes. Autobiographical and episodic memories are personal memories from the past. Autobiographical is more general (e.g. a street name of a house growing up) and episodic is more specific to time (e.g. 13th birthday party that took place on a street). For autobiographical and episodic memory retrieval operations, there is no general consensus as to the localization of function, but bilateral activation of the …

The Cardiac Correlates Of Attention In The Denervated Heart: A Study Of Infant Heart Transplant Recipients, Stephanie Dianne Griffone

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The cardiac correlate of attention is a deceleration in heart rate, controlled by the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. This has been extensively studied in infants; the findings indicate that this deceleration is affected by a number of factors, several mediated by the vagus nerve. However, the effects of denervation on this response are not known. Studies with adult heart transplant recipients have shown attenuated acceleration in response to stressful mental tasks. This study investigated the cardiac response to attention in infants who had received a heart transplant, using a habituation paradigm. The hypothesis that they would show …

Locus Of Control, Coping, And Anticipatory Nausea In Women With Breast Cancer, Melinda L. Nielsen

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Many cancer patients experience adverse chemotherapy-related side effects. The present study examined whether the perception that one can control and effectively cope with her treatment for breast cancer mitigate against any nausea and vomiting that she may experience in anticipation of chemotherapy treatments. Seventy-five women with breast cancer completed the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale - Form C, the Krantz Health Opinion Survey, the Ways of Coping Scale - Revised, and the Morrow Assessment of Nausea and Emesis. As hypothesized, internal health locus of control was significantly positively related to positive reappraisal coping strategies. This relationship was moderated by …