Biological Psychology Commons^™

Repeated Treatment With 5-Ht1a And 5-Ht1b Receptor Agonists: Evidence Of Tolerance And Behavioral Sensitization, Jordan Taylor

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Serotonin has been found to regulate several cognitive and physiological functions, and its role in depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders has been a focus of research. More specifically, a wealth of research regarding serotonin focuses on serotonergic medications in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, and stimulates the 5-HT_1A and 5-HT_1B receptors. Within the last decade, there has been an increase in prescriptions of psychotropic medication for children, however, the efficacy and adverse effects of these drugs have not been evaluated in younger populations. While antidepressants reduce symptoms of depression in adults, they are …

The Feeling Of Control: The Psychology Behind Immersive Controls In Video Games And Their Real World Effects, Atom Orbit Carrasco

Senior Projects Spring 2023

There is a phenomenon that can occur while playing video games where the player begins to feel similar sensations to the player character. This phenomenon, unnamed until now, has very little research directly related to it. There is plenty of indirect research that can be applied to this phenomenon, now called sensation mirroring. A review of both cognitive and psychobiological literature allows for major connections between human functions and how they interact with video game control schemes to be drawn. These connections help form a potential theory on the mechanisms of sensation mirroring and provide directions for future research on …

Neuroanatomy In Mild Cognitive Impairment: Relationship To Functional Skills, Treatment Expectancy, And Comorbid Depression, Sara Rushia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurocognitive disorder defined by cognitive decline in older adults. Although MCI has been studied for decades, there remain important areas to be explored in order to adequately characterize aspects of this disorder that provide information valuable for possible interventions and disease progression to dementia, including a better understanding of the neuroanatomical variables relevant to this disorder. Such neuroanatomical variables include cortical thickness, hippocampal volume, and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). This dissertation consists of three separate studies aimed at addressing gaps in the literature on MCI in relation to brain morphometrics and under-studied characteristics involved …

Effects Of Residual Arousal And Cognitive Appraisal On Psychophysiological Reactivity To Stress, Hanna Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Generalized arousal can amplify emotional responses to a range of target stimuli, but it is not yet known whether perceiver characteristics moderate the effects of arousal as target characteristics do. This study investigated the effects of residual arousal from exercise on psychological and physiological reactivity to an active coping task, when individual appraisals of the task differed. Participants who endorsed either a positive or negative attitude toward job interviews underwent either a highly or minimally arousing exercise task, followed by a mock job interview, to which self-reported and cardiovascular responses were assessed. Using the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat …

Cortisol Administration Normalizes Aberrant Functional Connectivity In Women With Depression, Adam C. Runyan

Dissertations

Previous resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) research has identified aberrant connectivity in several large brain networks in depression, including the default mode (DMN), frontoparietal (FPN), and salience networks (SN). Connectivity of these networks is also related to depressive symptom severity and is affected by cortisol levels. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the effects of acute cortisol administration on rsFC of DMN, FPN, and SN in individuals varying in depression history and severity. We collected resting-state fMRI scans for 74 women with and without a history of depressive disorder after administration of cortisol and placebo using a …

Does Having Siblings Affect Caretaking Responses To Infants?, Kaitlin Rose Duskin

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Infant facial cues affect a variety of caretaking-related responses in adults. These effects have primarily been explored as they relate to parental care, however infants receive care from others who are not their parents and it would be important for any caregiver, regardless of parental status, to respond to infant cues effectively. Because siblings often fulfill a caregiver role in the home, this study investigated whether having siblings, younger siblings in particular, influences the way in which adults respond to infant cues. Contrary to my predictions, the findings in this study indicate that having siblings does not influence how rewarding …

Reiki For Recovery: Incorporating Japanese Health Practices To Increase Contemporary Resiliency In American Health, Leif Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Japanese health practice of Reiki attempts to maximize the latent ability of the human system to heal itself. The Reiki system, established over a century ago, combines multiple Asian health traditions, experimenting with practices that maximize the natural processes of the body to perform its own repairs. Reiki encourages healthy behaviors that balance the mind and body, return the human system to a lowered stress level, and allow for an optimal recovery state for the patient. This paper illustrates how this Japanese health-affirming method can be integrated and utilized within existing health and medical practices. An area that is …

Do You Copy? Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Auditory Processing, And Heart Rate Variability, Lyndsey Johnson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self -report measures used in PTSD research have the potential to limit the degree of symptom severity in military veterans, especially as there is often underreporting in this population (Kline, Falca-Dodson, Susner et al., 2010). Polyvagal Theory provides a framework assessing if physiological measures can tap into PTSD Symptomology (Porges, 1995). It is therefore hypothesized that lower scores on auditory processing tests will be positively correlated with higher scores on Stress and PTSD measures. Additionally, it is thought that lower scores on auditory processing tedts as well as higher scores on PTSD and Stress Measures will be positively correlated with …

Barriers And Facilitators To Opioid Use Treatment And Recovery Services During Pregnancy, Loralie Woods

Dissertations

Purpose: To identify barriers and facilitators to opioid use treatment and recovery services among pregnant and nonpregnant women who misuse opioids.

Background: Over 130 Americans die daily after overdosing on opioids. Women have not been immune from opioid use disorders (OUDs), with a 4-fold increase from 1999-2010. The prevalence of opioid use among pregnant women increased from 1.5 per 1,000 hospital deliveries to 6.5. Although the annual National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) has provided information on risk factors for OUD related to socioeconomic and demographic factors, no studies using this data have identified barriers to opioid use …

The Effects Of Activity-Based Anorexia On The Rewarding Properties Of Methamphetamine And Wheel Running, Rachael M. Langa

Theses and Dissertations

An activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm in adolescent female mice was used to explore whether anorexia affects circuits underlying reward. The ABA paradigm significantly enhanced methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP), but not wheel-induced CPP. These results indicate that the ABA paradigm enhances the rewarding properties of methamphetamine, but not wheel running.

Student Beliefs About What Factors Influence Their Gpa, Emma R. Denelsbeck

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

There are many different factors that contribute to grade point averages (GPAs) in college. Students may attribute their academic performance and GPAs to any number of different variables such as stress levels, sleep quality and alcohol use. The current study investigated what students believed had an effect on their GPA, and if these differed based on concussion history. This study examined if students thought that concussions affected their GPA. Participants were University students who completed an online survey consisting of the Texas Evaluation of Concussion History (TECH), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The results of a Mann-Whitney …

Minocycline As A Treatment For Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Impulsive And Attentional Deficits, Kristen M. Pechacek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impacts millions worldwide and can cause lasting psychiatric symptoms. Chronic neuroinflammation is a characteristic of post-injury pathology and is positively associated with psychiatric conditions such as ADHD and bipolar disorder. Therefore, the current study sought to treat TBI-induced impulsivity and inattention using minocycline, an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties. Rats were trained on the five-choice serial reaction time task (5CSRT), a measure of motor impulsivity and attention. After behavior was stable on the 5CSRT, rats received either a bilateral frontal TBI or sham procedure. Minocycline was given at either 1 h post-injury or beginning at 8 weeks …

Investigating How Neural Entrainment Relates To Beat Perception By Disentangling The Stimulus-Driven Response, Aaron Wc Gibbings

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Beat perception – the ability to perceive a steady pulse in music – is nearly ubiquitous in humans, but the neural mechanisms underlying this ability are unknown. A growing number of electroencephalography (EEG) studies suggest that beat perception is related to neural entrainment, a phenomenon in which cyclic changes in the excitability of populations of neurons synchronize with a rhythmic stimulus. However, the relationship between acoustically-driven and entrainment-driven neural activity is unclear. This thesis presents EEG research that extends our understanding neural entrainment is related to beat perception by characterizing, equating, and finally removing the stimulus-driven response in the neural …

First Thirty Days Of Life: Examining Calf Behavioral Development In Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus Leucas) And Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (Lagenorhyncus Obliquidens) At One Zoological Facility, Kendal Smith

Master's Theses

Cetacean development is important for general comparative understanding and the implementation of informed husbandry policies. Due to the inaccessibility of many of these species in the wild, researchers can study managed care populations to better understand basic developmental patterns of cetaceans, as well as to improve husbandry policies for facility animals. However, no previous studies have attempted to observe the behavioral development of Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhyncus obliquidens). Eight beluga whale calves and four Pacific white-sided dolphin calves were observed for the first 30 days of life to determine the developmental trajectory of several typically monitored behaviors. The …

Contextually Modulated Avoidance Behavior In Rats Post-Pavlovian Extinction, Lauren Branigan

Theses and Dissertations

The following study sought to examine the psychological substrates of renewal (e.g.., context dependent extinction processes) for conditioned avoidance behaviors in rats. Using signaled active avoidance conditioning, rats acquired two-way shuttle responding, to two different auditory stimuli. These behaviors were then extinguished through exposure to the auditory stimuli where shuttling behavior was now without consequence. Subjects were then tested for renewal of avoidance in three distinct renewal sequences (e.g., ABA vs ABB, AAB vs AAA, and ABC vs ABB) in three separate groups of rats. It was found that subjects showed more responding to a stimulus presented outside of its …

Dispositional Empathy And Autonomic Reactivity During A Comfort Interaction, Alaina G. Tiani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of the current study was to examine the association between dispositional (trait) empathy and autonomic reactivity during dyadic interactions among women enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses. The primary research question was: do individuals who are deemed higher in dispositional empathy according to self-report exhibit differential autonomic reactivity patterns during a task in which they are asked to comfort another student experiencing emotional distress than those who are deemed lower in dispositional empathy? The literature on this relation has been mixed and has utilized photos or videos to evoke emotion; thus this study sought to examine the relation between …

Effort-Related Motivational Dysfunctions: Behavioral And Neurochemical Studies Of The Wistar-Kyoto Rat Model Of Depression, Brendan Abbott

Masters Theses

Depression and related disorders are characterized by motivational dysfunctions, including deficits in behavioral activation and exertion of effort. Animal models of relevance to depression represent a critical starting point in elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivational dysfunctions. The present study explored the use of the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) animal model of depression to examine effort-related functions as measured by voluntary wheel running and performance on a mixed fixed ratio 5/progressive ratio (FR5/PR) operant task. Given the known link between activational aspects of motivation and the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA) system, the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine (0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg, IP), a psychostimulant …

Insulin Modulates The Strong Reinforcing Effects Of Nicotine And Changes In Insulin Biomarkers In A Rodent Model Of Diabetes, Bryan Cruz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined whether the strong reinforcing effects of nicotine and changes in insulin biomarkers observed in diabetic rats are modulated via insulin. A model of diabetes was employed involving administration of streptozotocin (STZ), which produces hypoinsulinemia in rats. The present study included vehicle- or STZ-treated rats that received sham surgery or an insulin pellet. Two-weeks later, the rats were given extended access to intravenous self-administration (IVSA) of saline or nicotine. Concomitant changes in food intake, water responses, and body weight were assessed during 12 days of IVSA. After the last session, plasma levels of insulin, leptin, amylin, and glucagon-like …

Neurocorrelates Of The Mirror Neuron System In Children With Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, Ade Marais

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Activation of brain regions that make up the mirror neuron system (MNS) is thought to reflect processing and perceiving behavior, action, and intentionality of other organisms. Sensing and perceiving motor behavior in others is an important component of understanding and participating in social interactions. Children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are diagnosed with serious medical, cognitive, and socio-emotional symptoms. Atypical development and function of the MNS may underpin some aspects of socio-emotional impairment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like symptomology reported. This study of the MNS investigates differences in activation in the operculum, sensorimotor areas, and basal ganglia (BG) in …

Do Flashbulb Memories Transmit Across Generations? 9/11 As A Case Study, Shanique Meyler

Student Theses

Psychologists have only recently begun to examine the extent to which personal memories transmit across generations. When they have, they typically focus on family stories (see Merrill & Fivush, 2016) or memories of historical events (Svob & Brown, 2012). The present study extends this line of research to flashbulb memories, or memories of an individual’s circumstances when first learning about a consequential, historical event (Brown & Kulik, 1977). To this end, the present study examines the extent to which flashbulb memories surrounding the events of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 transmit to the next generation. The results suggest that flashbulb …

The Impact Of Fertility Cues On Intrasexual Competition And Threat Perception, Grant Ostrander

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Humans are capable of detecting subtle fertility indicators that change across women’s menstrual cycle. One such indicator is the voice, which may change over the course of the menstrual cycle and provide fertility cues to listeners. Such cues provide an obvious advantage to men selecting mates, however research suggests that women can also detect these cues. Women may monitor the fertility of others to more effectively adjust their own mating strategies. By monitoring women’s skin conductance, cortisol, and testosterone responses to hearing high- and low-fertility female voices, the current study further investigated whether vocal cues of fertility may physiologically prime …

Dopamine D1 And D3 Receptor Polypharmacology In Cocaine Reward And Cocaine Seeking, Ewa J. Galaj

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: In the search for efficacious pharmacotherapies to treat cocaine addiction much attention has been given to agents targeting D1 or D3 receptors because of the involvement of these receptors in cocaine-related behaviors. D1 and D3 receptor partial agonists and antagonists have been shown to reduce cocaine reward, reinstatement of cocaine seeking and conditioned place preference (CPP) in rodents and non-human primates. However, translation of these encouraging results with selective D1 or D3 receptor agents has been limited due to a number of factors including toxicity, poor pharmacokinetic properties and extrapyramidal and sedative side effects.

Purpose: Given the …

Capturing The Attention Of Caregivers: Variability In Infant Vocalizations, Catharine A. Castelluccio De Diesbach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The effect of variability in infant vocalizations on potential caregivers’ heart rate variability (HRV), facial expressions, and subjective ratings on emotional reactions and desire to approach the baby was examined in an evolutionary context. Recordings of non-canonical, canonical, fussing, and crying vocalizations were utilized to elicit physiological and self-reported reactions from sixty participants. Breastfeeding mothers, non-mothers at high estradiol point in menstrual cycle, non-mothers at low estradiol point in menstrual cycle, fathers, and non-fathers were included in the study. Participants wore Polar RS800 heart rate monitors, were video recorded for facial expression analysis, and filled out 11 point self-rating forms …

Alleged Insanity: Frank Johnson Sr., Racial Injustice, And The Failure Of The Mental Health Care System In South Carolina, Jonathon P. Johnson

Senior Theses

This thesis is about Frank Johnson Sr. and the circumstances that led to his downfall as a farmer and father of six, to his tragic death in the isolation of a racially segregated mental institution 18 miles away from his home. Using his life and incarceration at the South Carolina State Park mental health facility, I argue that racial injustice contributed to his tragic death and the woefully inadequate treatment thousands of African Americans in South Carolina received during Jim Crow. Additionally, I argue that the tragic circumstances around my great grandfather’s institutionalization and death were part of an enduring …

Reactivity And Recovery Among Oif/Oef/Ond Combat Veterans: Do Those With Subthreshold Ptsd Differ From Veterans With And Without Ptsd?, Paula Castro-Chapman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study expanded the current literature by assessing PTSD in relation to reactivity and recovery from negative emotional arousal among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. Cardiac impedance was employed during a speech task and a trauma imagery procedure. Those in the PTSD-S group displayed lower SBP and higher TPR reactivity relative to the PTSD- and PTSD+ groups; lower CO reactivity relative to the PTSD+ group; and more CO recovery than those in the PTSD+ group to the trauma task. For speech task, Veterans in the PTSD-S group exhibited lower HR reactivity for both speech preparation and delivery than those in the PTSD- group. …

An Analysis Of Canine Processing Of Stimulus Compounds Varying In Light And Sound Intensity, Katherine O. Compitus

Theses and Dissertations

A dog was trained to respond deferentially to two light-sound compounds. The dog was then tested with combinations of additional light and sound intensities. The dog appeared to use the information provided by both stimulus dimensions. This research is relevant to the understanding of information processing, specifically categorization and generalization.

Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression, Spencer J. Ruchti, Mercedes Becker, Cara Mckee, Austin Herron, Alex Swalling

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Given that depression is the “leading cause of disability worldwide,” and that less than 50% of people suffering from depression receive treatment, this study aims to provide support for a globally accessible depression treatment (WHO, 2012). The study conducted implemented an internet-based treatment for depression in which users were provided an opportunity to watch slam poetry videos related to mental health issues and write free responses regarding the content of the videos and their subjective experience of depression. Numerous studies provide support for the effectiveness of expressive writing, online mental health interventions, and slam poetry in particular for reducing symptoms …

Human Vision Inspires Cortisol And Immune Behaviors, J. Forrest Olsen

Departmental Honors Projects

Ten-minute slideshows of disease stimuli were presented to human participants who donated saliva samples before and after its completion. Much to our surprise, this research found cortisol decreased upon the visual perception of a disease threat, a response depicting the physiological consequences of Behavior Immune System activation. Even subliminal exposure to disease stimuli, totaling only 0.5 seconds over the ten-minute slideshow, was found to elicit a cortisol response.

Cognitive And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol-Induced Risky Driving, Jennifer R. Laude

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Alcohol intoxication represents one situation an individual might increase their amount of risk taking when driving. This dissertation is comprised of three studies that investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol increases driver risk-taking. Study 1 examined the effect of alcohol on driver risk-taking using a proxemics approach. The study also tested whether alcohol-induced increases in risky driving co-occurred with pronounced impairment in the driver’s skill. The study also examined whether the most disinhibited drivers were also the riskiest. Indeed, alcohol increased driver risk-taking and impaired driving skill. The study also revealed risky driving can be dissociable from impairing effects on …

Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), Mystera M. Samuelson

Dissertations

In the wild, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are exposed to a wide array of sensory information at all times. However, it is impossible for captive environments to provide this level of complexity. Therefore unique procedures and practices are necessary for the maintenance of physiological and psychological health in captive animals (Wells, 2009). This project aims to explore the behavioral effect of scent added to the environment, with the goal of improving the welfare of captive sea lions by introducing two scent types: 1.) Natural scents, found in their native environment, and 2.) Non-natural scents, not found in …