Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

A Randomized Trial Of Brief Assessment Interventions For Young Adults Who Use Drugs In The Club Scene, Steven P. Kurtz, Mance E. Buttram, Maria E. Pagano, Hilary L. Surratt

Center for Health Services Research Faculty Publications

Background—Efficacious interventions to reduce drug use and its consequences for club drug using populations are not apparent in the literature. We tested interviewer-(CAPI) and self-administered (ACASI) comprehensive health and social risk assessments as distinct interventions compared to waitlist control.

Methods—750 men and women ages 18-39 with multidrug use and heterosexual behavior were randomized in equal proportions to the three conditions. Instrumentation included well-tested measures of drug use, risky sex, mental distress and substance dependence.

Results—The sample was 56% male; mean age=25. Reported risk behaviors and health consequences did not differ by assessment modality. Adjusted HLM analyses showed …

Social Rejection Magnifies Impulsive Behavior Among Individuals With Greater Negative Urgency: An Experimental Test Of Urgency Theory, David S. Chester, Donald R. Lynam, Richard S. Milich, C. Nathan Dewall

Psychology Faculty Publications

Impulsivity is a multifaceted trait with substantial implications for human well-being. One facet of impulsivity is negative urgency, the tendency to act impulsively in response to negative affect. Correlational evidence suggests that negative affect magnifies impulsive behavior among individuals with greater negative urgency, yet causal evidence for this core pillar of urgency theory is lacking. To fill this gap in the literature, participants (N = 363) were randomly assigned to experience social rejection (a situation shown to induce negative affect) or acceptance. Participants then reported their subjective negative affect, completed a behavioral measure of impulsivity, and reported their negative …

The Relationship Of Early Class Start Times On Sleepiness And Driving Behaviors In An Emerging Adult Population, Jessica L. Fry

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Teenage driver sleepiness is a recent concern for preventing motor vehicle fatalities. Early school start times limit the amount of sleep teenage high school students acquire during the week and have been related to increased crash risk. The current study extends this finding to teenage and emerging adult college students. The author examined the link between sleepiness and teenage driving behaviors, including the relationship between school start times and sleepiness. In all, 536 participants were recruited to participate in an online survey assessing driving and sleep behaviors. Correlations and path analysis found that sleepiness fully mediated the relationship between early …

Sex Differences In The Drinking Response To Angiotensin Ii (Angii): Effect Of Body Weight, Jessica Santollo, Ann-Marie Torregrossa, Derek Daniels

Biology Faculty Publications

Sex differences in fluid intake stimulated by angiotensin II (AngII) have been reported, but the direction of the differences is inconsistent. To resolve these discrepancies, we measured water intake by male and female rats given AngII. Males drank more than females, but when intake was normalized to body weight, the sex difference was reversed. Weight-matched males and females, however, had no difference in intake. Using a linear mixed model analysis, we found that intake was influenced by weight, sex, and AngII dose. We used linear regression to disentangle these effects further. Comparison of regression coefficients revealed sex and weight differences …

Changes In Saving Cognitions Mediate Hoarding Symptom Change In Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy For Hoarding Disorder, Hannah C. Levy, Blaise L. Worden, Christina M. Gilliam, Christine D'Urso, Gail Steketee, Randy O. Frost, David F. Tolin

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an empirically-supported treatment for hoarding disorder (HD). However, meta-analytic studies suggest that CBT is only modestly effective, and a significant number of individuals with HD remain symptomatic following treatment. To inform the development of more effective and targeted treatments, it will be important to clarify the mechanisms of treatment response in CBT for HD. To this end, the current study examined whether change in maladaptive saving beliefs mediated symptom change in CBT for HD. Sixty-two patients with primary HD completed measures of maladaptive saving cognitions and hoarding severity at pre-, mid-, and post-CBT. Results showed that …

Comparing Adult Cannabis Treatment-Seekers Enrolled In A Clinical Trial With National Samples Of Cannabis Users In The United States, Erin A. Mcclure, Jacqueline S. King, Aimee Wahle, Abigail G. Matthews, Susan C. Sonne, Michelle R. Lofwall, Aimee L. Mcrae-Clark, Udi E. Ghitza, Melissa Martinez, Kasie Cloud, Harvir S. Virk, Kevin M. Gray

Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Faculty Publications

Background—Cannabis use rates are increasing among adults in the United States (US) while the perception of harm is declining. This may result in an increased prevalence of cannabis use disorder and the need for more clinical trials to evaluate efficacious treatment strategies. Clinical trials are the gold standard for evaluating treatment, yet study samples are rarely representative of the target population. This finding has not yet been established for cannabis treatment trials. This study compared demographic and cannabis use characteristics of a cannabis cessation clinical trial sample (run through National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network) with three nationally …

New Approaches To Melanoma Prevention, June K. Robinson, Katie Baker, Joel J. Hillhouse

ETSU Faculty Works

Skin cancer is a major public health concern, and tanning remains a modifiable risk factor. Multidimensional influences, including psychosocial, individual, environmental, and policy-related factors, create the milieu for individuals to engage in tanning. Parents and physicians can modify the behavior of teens and young adults using strategies based on harm reduction. Environmental and policy-related factors similar to those used to limit smoking by restricting access of minors to cigarettes in the United States in the 20th century need to be created. Federal regulations can restrict direct advertising and the excise tax can be increased to a prohibitive amount. Social networking …

Do Adults Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorders Have An Advantage In Real-World Visual Search Tasks?, Nicholas Charles Russell

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often perform better than typically developing (TD) individuals in simple, albeit difficult, visual search tasks. This ability is often attributed to a lack of drive for coherence or superior local processing. We compare thirty adults with ASD with forty-nine TD individuals and twenty-seven adults with anxiety (ANX) across two real-world visual search tasks. Individuals had to find either a number superimposed over a real-world scene ("œno context" condition) or an object located in a contextually relevant location ("œcontext" condition). Each participant completed forty-one trials in each condition, each with a unique scene. Eye movements …

Investigating Motivations For Using Dating Websites And Geosocial Apps, Sean Calvin Aaron

Theses and Dissertations

Using the internet to meet dating partners is increasingly popular and may have ramifications that are not yet fully realized. Although many dating sites have been operating for years, new online dating platforms continue to draw millions of new users. By using a large sample of people who use online dating platforms (n=1,286) we identified similarities and differences in what motivates people to use geosocial apps and dating sites. Motivations previously considered in the literature were supported and brought together in a single theory driven confirmatory factor analysis for each type of dating platform. A motivation to seek amusement was …

Characterization Of Transmembrane Protein 35 Expression: Considerations Of Sex And Ovarian Hormones, Amanda M. Vanderplow

All NMU Master's Theses

The recently discovered novel neuropeptide transmembrane protein 35 (TMEM35), is believed to modulate chemical signaling within the nervous system. Notably, the TMEM35 protein is detectable in humans, non-human primates and rodents, suggesting a conserved and critical function. Despite this, the functions of TMEM35 are ill-defined in the nervous system and insufficiently studied (currently only three publications). Previous work has identified high expression of TMEM35 in both the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and the limbic circuit of the mouse brain. Due to the known functions of these two regions, this pattern of expression indicates possible roles of this neuropeptide in social behavior …

The Relationship Between Auditory Habituation And Anxiety In Autism Spectrum Disorder, David Nicholas Top

Theses and Dissertations

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have atypical sensory processing and behaviors including sensory sensitivity and low registration of sensory stimuli as well as sensory seeking and avoiding behaviors. Additionally, many individuals with ASD have clinically distressing levels of anxiety. Previous research suggests that there is a link between abnormal sensory processing, anxiety, and ASD. The purpose of this study was to experimentally observe auditory sensory processing using pupillometry methods, between ASD, control, and high-anxious control groups. While a difference in tonic pupil size was observed, there were no reactivity or habituation differences between the groups. There were no …

Insula And Amygdala Resting-State Functional Connectivity Differentiate Bipolar From Unipolar Depression, E Ambrosi, D B Arciniegas, A Madan, K N Curtis, M A Patriquin, R E Jorge, G Spalletta, J C Fowler, B C Frueh, R Salas

Staff and Researcher Publications

Objective: Distinguishing depressive episodes due to bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) solely on clinical grounds is challenging. We aimed at comparing resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) of regions subserving emotional regulation in similarly depressed BD and MDD.

Method: We enrolled 76 in-patients (BD, n = 36; MDD, n = 40) and 40 healthy controls (HC). A seed-based approach was used to identify regions showing different rsFC with the insula and the amygdala. Insular and amygdalar parcellations were then performed along with diagnostic accuracy of the main findings.

Results: Lower rsFC between the left insula and the left mid-dorsolateral …

Parent-Reported Problematic Sleep Behaviors In Children With Comorbid Autism Spectrum Disorder And Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Katharine C Reynolds, Michelle Patriquin, Candice A Alfano, Katherine A Loveland, Deborah A Pearson

Staff and Researcher Publications

Background: Sleep problems are frequent and well documented in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and children with internalizing problems, however limited work has examined sleep problems in children presenting with comorbid ASD/ADHD. In healthy children, sleep problems negatively impact social, emotional, and academic functioning. The current study sought to examine diagnostic severity as predictors of sleep problems in children with comorbid ASD/ADHD. Additionally, the association between sleep and "real-life" functional domains (i.e., intellectual functioning, academic achievement, and executive functioning) were assessed.

Method: Sleep, internalizing difficulties, intellectual functioning, academic achievement and executive functioning were …

Commentary: Thoughts On Cyberchondria -- A New Challenge For Healthcare Providers, Nancy Lutwak

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

No abstract provided.

Abnormal Dendritic Maturation Of Developing Cortical Neurons Exposed To Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (Crh): Insights Into Effects Of Prenatal Adversity?, Megan M. Curran, Curt A. Sandman, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Laura M. Glynn, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) produced by the hypothalamus initiates the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which regulates the body's stress response. CRH levels typically are undetectable in human plasma, but during pregnancy the primate placenta synthesizes and releases large amounts of CRH into both maternal and fetal circulations. Notably, placental CRH synthesis increases in response to maternal stress signals. There is evidence that human fetal exposure to high concentrations of placental CRH is associated with behavioral consequences during infancy and into childhood, however the direct effects on of the peptide on the human brain are unknown. In this study, we used …

Can We Talk?: Synergistic Effects Of Cognitive And Behavioral Frameworks To Address Substance Use And Abuse, Lauren Jaye Adams

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral economic accounts of substance use have provided a novel framework to examine constraints that affect behaviorally driven outcomes. Several behavioral studies support the application of such frameworks to examine impulsive decision-making processes as well as how subjective reward influences substance use. Based on stimulus-response models, behavioral economic research often applies mathematical formulas to draw conclusions about behavioral outcomes. These mathematical formulas, while useful, largely ignore decades of cognitive psychology research that have examined state-based influences (e.g., mood, environment, motivational processes, etc.) on behavioral sequelae. To address this issue, the present study merged a cognitive framework into two behavioral economic …

Development Of Ethologically-Based Inhibitory Avoidance Models Of Fear Memory, Savannah Dalrymple

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Translational research provides a unique opportunity to investigate innate and conditioned fear to develop an integrated understanding of anxiety disorders, ultimately improving treatment for those afflicted. Many fear conditioning paradigms use physically aversive stimuli to induce fear but ethological stimuli may better represent psychological disorders from a translational standpoint. Natural predators and immobilization have been successful in inducing both innate and contextually conditioned fear in rodents but an inhibitory avoidance paradigm that uses ethologically relevant stimuli has yet to be developed. To expand the use of these stimuli into inhibitory avoidance conditioning, an inhibitory avoidance paradigm was developed to include …

The Implications Of Using A Broad Versus Narrow Set Of Criteria In Research, Leonard A. Jason, Kristen D. Gleason Phd, Pamela Fox

Faculty Publications

The Fukuda et al. criteria is the most widely used clinical case definition for diagnosing patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Despite the frequency with which the Fukuda criteria are applied, the list of symptoms outlined in this case definition were not well enough specified to be easily applied to research settings. In 2005, Reeves et al. laid out a set of standards for operationalizing the Fukuda definition, specifying scales and cutoff scores for measuring the symptom criteria. This operationalization, often known as the empirical criteria, has been shown to identify an unexpectedly large number of patients, seemingly widening the …

Research Brief: "Impact Of Military Trauma Exposures On Post-Traumatic Stress And Depression In Female Veterans", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the relation between combat stressors, depression, and PTSD among female veterans. In policy and practice, health providers should refer female veterans to services if they have experienced military sexual trauma; the DoD and VA should conduct analysis on the experiences of service and veteran women, and how they can best support service women who experienced military sexual trauma. Suggestions for future research include using an expanded sample and more sampling strategies, as well as use clinical interviews to collect data.

Exploring The Impact Of Olfaction On Short-Term And Long-Term Maternal Recognition In Peromyscus Californicus, Mariah F. Conley

Honors Projects

Previous studies have established a connection between social behavior and olfaction, in that as anosmia causes a decrease in perception of social cues, social behavior itself decreases. Studies investigating maternal behavior specifically have focused on foster care, in which the behaviors formed during parturition are conserved and displayed with unrelated pups. The combination of long-term retention of maternal behavior, maternal recognition, and olfaction has yet to be explored. In this study, I induced anosmia in Peromyscus californicus, a monogamous, biparental species, and analyzed their behavior with their own pups and with foreign pups in the days after birth, as well …