Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons^™

Evaluation Of Hyperhomocysteinemia In The Progression Of Parkinson's Disease, Marisa A. Ducach, Pritpal S. Saggu

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2020-current

Abstract:

Objective:To assess the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and if this elevated serum level can be used as a predictive biomarker in risk assessment for the progression of cognitive decline in PD.

Design:Systematic Literature Review

Methods:A literature search was conducted through Google Scholar and Pubmed using phrases such as, “Parkinson's Disease”, and “homocysteine”, “Parkinson’s progression. Three articles, measuring serum homocysteine levels and cognitive functioning in PD patients, were selected, analyzed, and compared to assess for a relationship between homocysteine levels and cognitive decline in PD.

Results: Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with worse cognitive …

Difficult Turned Easy: Suggestion Renders A Challenging Visual Task Simple, Mathieu Landry, Jason Da Silva Castanheira, Jérôme Sackur, Amir Raz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Suggestions can cause some individuals to miss or disregard existing visual stimuli, but can they infuse sensory input with nonexistent information? Although several prominent theories of hypnotic suggestion propose that mental imagery can change our perceptual experience, data to support this stance remain sparse. The present study addressed this lacuna, showing how suggesting the presence of physically absent, yet critical, visual information transforms an otherwise difficult task into an easy one. Here, we show how adult participants who are highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion successfully hallucinated visual occluders on top of moving objects. Our findings support the idea that, at …

Nocebo-Hypothesis Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Nh-Cbt) For Persons With Functional Neurological Symptoms (Motor Type): Design And Implementation Of A Randomized Active-Controlled Trial, Matt Richardson, Maria Kleinstäuber, Dana Wong

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Functional Neurological Symptom Disorders (FNSD) are associated with high levels of disability and immense direct and indirect health costs. An innovative interdisciplinary rehabilitation approach for individuals with functional neurological symptoms of motor type–Nocebo-Hypothesis Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (NH-CBT)—combines CBT and movement retraining with video feedback embedded in a comprehensive explanatory model of the etiology of FNSD. Methods: This protocol describes the development and implementation of a phase II, parallel group, randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessors to compare the efficacy of NH-CBT with an active control condition (supportive counseling and movement retraining). Individuals meeting diagnostic criteria of an FNSD …

Perturbing The Sense Of Agency, Maiia Tolia-Shah, Brenda Gutierrez, Sook Mun (Alice) Wong, Uri Maoz

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The goal of this experiment is to test a model of the sense of agency, intention, volition, and causality in order to examine the time course of the sense of agency associated with voluntary and involuntary movements. We examine the roles of context, expectation, and sensory feedback in the feeling of agency as well as examining the aspects of volition in different kinds of decisions. This experiment is thought to be very novel as it stimulates an internal signal for movement from an external source which is why the participant can find it hard to decipher if they are fully …

Historical Trauma Response Scores As A Function Of Unresolved Grief And Substance Use Disorder In American Indian Populations, Andrew R. Saunders

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Abstract

Researchers are interested in the outcomes of interventions, specifically, measuring historical trauma (HT) among American Indian/Alaska Native communities and the long-term distress and substance abuse as a result of historical trauma response (HTR). Previous literature has implicated limitations in the clinical conceptualization of the relationship between intergenerational transfer of HTR and substance abuse. The aim of the current study is to examine treatment efficacy of 50 homosexual, American Indian males randomized to a culturally-adapted juxtaposition of (1) Group Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), (2) Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and (3) Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief Intervention (HTUG), or (4) waitlisted on …

Air Pollution And The Dynamic Association Between Depressive Symptoms And Memory In Oldest-Old Women, Andrew J. Petkus, Diana Younan, Xinhui Wang, Daniel P. Beavers, Mark A. Espeland, Margaret Gatz, Tara Gruenewald, Joel D. Kaufman, Helena C. Chui, Joann E. Manson, Susan M. Resnick, Gregory A. Wellenius, Eric A. Whitsel, Keith Widaman, Jiu-Chiuan Chen

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Exposure to air pollution may contribute to both increasing depressive symptoms and decreasing episodic memory in older adulthood, but few studies have examined this hypothesis in a longitudinal context. Accordingly, we examined the association between air pollution and changes in depressive symptoms (DS) and episodic memory (EM) and their interrelationship in oldest-old (aged 80 and older) women.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study-Epidemiology of Cognitive Health Outcomes.

SETTING

Geographically diverse community-dwelling population.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 1,583 dementia-free women aged 80 and older.

MEASUREMENTS

Women completed up to six annual memory assessments (latent composite …

Perampanel-Induced Cataplexy In A Young Male With Generalized Epilepsy, Kelsey Kenaan, Mohsin Zafar, Ronnie Bond, Barbara L. Gracious

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Perampanel (Fycompa) is a newer anti-epileptic drug believed to exert its effects in the central nervous system by inhibiting post-synaptic glutamate receptors. However, the precise therapeutic mechanism is unknown. The most common neuropsychiatric side effect is affective dysregulation; there are also reports of psychosis. We describe a 32 year old African American male with recurring generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures, who presented to our hospital with onset of mood lability for several months, after Perampanel was added to his antiepileptic medications. Perampanel administration was temporarily withheld, and subsequently on restarting, noted to be coincident with neuropsychiatric symptomatology, including motor weakness in …

An Exploration Of Pediatricians’ Personal Value On Mental Health: Experience With Integrated Healthcare And Its Impact On Physicians’ Lives, Bridget Anton, Jason D. Reynolds 4858637

The Qualitative Report

An integrated healthcare model incorporates behavioral health services into a medical setting to address patients’ physical, emotional, and behavioral healthcare concerns. The integrated healthcare model has been associated with positive patient satisfaction and health outcomes, yet limited studies have examined, using qualitative methods, physicians’ experiences of working alongside behavioral health consultants (BHCs) in integrated healthcare settings. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with pediatricians (N=4) working in an integrated healthcare model. Participants shared that as pediatricians they received personal, educational, and organizational benefits from an integrated healthcare model. Pediatricians also reported increased knowledge in effectively addressing mental health concerns for …

Empowering Nurses Of Minority In The Face Of Incivility And Bullying: Through The Lens Of Phenomenology, Corrine Floyd

Dissertations

Abstract

Up to 85% of nurses have reported exposure to incivility in the workplace (Hunt & Marini, 2012). The often-subtle nature of incivility toward nurses in a minority population may partially explain why it remains a problem. Healthcare organizations realize the need for civility to counter the high turnover rate, staff shortages, and low job satisfaction reported by nurses, but lack understanding of how nurses of a minority population perceive incivility and bullying. This study aimed to answer the research question how do nurses with minority representation experience incivility and bullying versus empowerment in the workplace? A descriptive phenomenological design …

Definition And Characteristics Of Behavioral Medicine, And Main Tasks And Goals Of The International Society Of Behavioral Medicine –An International Delphi Study, Joost Dekker, Marie Amitami, Anne H. Berman, Helen Brown, Bryan Cleal, Maria João Figueiras, Lila J. Finney Rutten, Egil A. Fors, Konstadina Griva, Jing Gu, Chris Keyworth, Maria Kleinstäuber, Claas Lahmann, Joseph T. F. Lau, Bernd Leplow

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: In the past decades, behavioral medicine has attained global recognition. Due to its global reach, a critical need has emerged to consider whether the original definition of behavioral medicine is still valid, comprehensive, and inclusive, and to reconsider the main tasks and goals of the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM), as the umbrella organization in the field. The purpose of the present study was to (i) update the definition and scope of behavioral medicine and its defining characteristics; and (ii) develop a proposal on ISBM’s main tasks and goals. Method: Our study used the Delphi method. A core …

Attachment, Exploration, And Internalized Homonegativity, Gregory J. Gagnon

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background: Internalized homonegativity (IH; a.k.a. internalized homophobia), has been implicated in health disparities between lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons (LGBs) and their heterosexual peers. Yet, little available research has explored factors that may increase or decrease IH.

Objective: This dissertation investigates relations between child and adult attachment and IH. It further examines the mediating and moderating roles of exploration and mentalization, respectively, in the attachment–IH relation.

Method: One hundred fifty cisgender LGB adults participated in two waves of an online survey. The first assessed recalled child–maternal and child–paternal attachment and current attachment to the romantic partner. The second, conducted two …

Object Relations, Identity Formation, And Transitional Space In Religious Conversion, Arielle Rubenstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conversion between broad religious groups is a life transformation undertaken by 15% of Americans, yet it has seldom been studied closely from a psychodynamic perspective. The psychological study of conversion began with a Protestant paradigm of sudden and total transformation of the self, and over time came to characterize different manifestations of conversion to more diverse religious groups. Research on conversion has primarily sought to understand whether conversion is essentially a psychopathological phenomenon, and has led to a multiplicity of both positive and negative, at times contradictory, findings. Research has shown that conversion is associated with insecure attachment, neurotic personality …

Living With Multiple Sclerosis: A Phenomenological Study Of Worries, Concern And Psychological Problems In Iranian Patients With Ms, Zahra Abdekhodaie, Shahriar Shahidi, Mohammad Ali Mazaheri, Laily Panaghi, Vahid Nejati

The Qualitative Report

Multiple sclerosis (MS), as a progressive and degenerative illness, has an impact on different aspects of individual lives and may lead to difficulties, concerns, and worries in patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate concerns, worries and problems in patients with MS. We used a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach. Participants were volunteers purposively selected based on their availability. We carried out deep interviews with 15 MS patients and analyzed the detailed information obtained from these interviews by using Colaizzi’s method. We extracted six essential themes and thirty-four sub-themes associated with MS from the content of the interviews. …

Optimism And Risk Of Incident Hypertension: A Target For Primordial Prevention, Laura D. Kubzansky, Julia K. Boehm, Andrew R. Allen, Loryana L. Vie, Tiffany E. Ho, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Hayami K. Koga, Lawrence M. Scheier, Martin E. P. Seligman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Aims

Optimism is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk; however, few prospective studies have considered optimism in relation to hypertension risk specifically. We investigated whether optimism was associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension in U.S. service members, who are more likely to develop high blood pressure early in life. We also evaluated race/ethnicity, sex and age as potential effect modifiers of these associations.

Methods

Participants were 103 486 hypertension-free U.S. Army active-duty soldiers (mean age 28.96 years, 61.76% White, 20.04% Black, 11.01% Hispanic, 4.09% Asian, and 3.10% others). We assessed optimism, sociodemographic characteristics, health conditions, health behaviours and …

Flattening The Curve Of Distress: A Public-Facing Webinar For Psychoeducation During Covid-19, Grant Smith, Stephanie Harman, Keri Brenner

Patient Experience Journal

This case report describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a public-facing webinar that provided psychoeducation addressing the emotional distress that has accompanied the coronavirus pandemic. Using a webinar was an effective strategy for reaching a large, public audience and making content from expert clinicians accessible. Participants were likely to recommend the webinar to friends or family. Participants appreciated that the webinar acknowledged the presence of distressing emotions and provided practical advice for reducing the negative psychological sequelae of the coronavirus pandemic. Areas for improvement included addressing technical issues and incorporating additional information into the webinar.

Experience Framework

This article …

How Do They Feel About It? Testing A New Mixed Methods Survey Tool To Assess Collective Emotional Status, Michael G. Schwab, Vasileios Margaritis

The Qualitative Report

Emotions are now widely accepted as important elements of qualitative research, in studies of individuals and communities. However, collective emotional status—what a community feels about a given situation or proposition—can be challenging to assess. In this study, we examined the validity and acceptability of a new mixed methods survey tool, primarily qualitative, to address this challenge—the Assessment of Collective Emotional Status (ACES). The tool begins with an adjustable set of questions about emotion, to draw respondents’ attention to their own feelings. These are followed by an emotional self-assessment, in which respondents select and prioritize five emotional responses to a standardized …

Risk And Protective Factors For Psychological Distress Following A Morally Injurious Event In Combat Veterans, Aaron Keating

Dissertations

Morally injurious events have been shown to increase the likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms of combat veterans. Research has found that guilt and shame are associated with higher levels of symptomology following morally injurious events. Similarly, individuals who are high in trait proneness to guilt and shame may be at higher risk for developing symptoms following a morally injurious event; however, no research to date has examined this possibility. In addition, acts that go against what one considers morally right bring about cognitive dissonance which then leads to anxiety. In order to reduce anxiety caused by …

Data Augmentation For Deep-Learning-Based Electroencephalography, Elnaz Lashgari, Dehua Liang, Uri Maoz

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Data augmentation (DA) has recently been demonstrated to achieve considerable performance gains for deep learning (DL)—increased accuracy and stability and reduced overfitting. Some electroencephalography (EEG) tasks suffer from low samples-to-features ratio, severely reducing DL effectiveness. DA with DL thus holds transformative promise for EEG processing, possibly like DL revolutionized computer vision, etc.

New method

We review trends and approaches to DA for DL in EEG to address: Which DA approaches exist and are common for which EEG tasks? What input features are used? And, what kind of accuracy gain can be expected?

Results

DA for DL on EEG begun …

Exploring Predictors Of Older Adults' Performance On A Novel Driving Simulator Task, John Philip Bernstein

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

On a per-mile driven basis, older adults are at increased risk of being involved in an automobile accident. The development and implementation of driving assessment tools is necessary to inform decisions about driving reduction and cessation. Driving simulators are one method of assessing driving performance and safety, however many simulators are cost-prohibitive for most researchers and clinicians. Additionally, while driving performance has been previously explored with respect to clinical populations (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease), less work has evaluated this topic in a cognitively healthy sample. The present study sought to determine whether a novel, cost-effective driving simulator (Assetto Corsa (AC)) might …

Creatively Exploring Self: Applying Organic Inquiry, A Transpersonal And Intuitive Methodology, Larisa J. Bardsley Phd

The Qualitative Report

This article explores the merit of using Organic Inquiry, a qualitative research approach that is most effectively applied to areas of psychological and spiritual growth. Organic Inquiry is a research approach where the psyche of the researcher becomes the instrument of the research, working in partnership with the experiences of participants and guided by liminal and spiritual influences. Organic Inquiry is presented as a unique methodology that can incorporate other non-traditional research methods, including intuitive, autoethnographic and creative techniques. The validity and application of Organic Inquiry, as well as its strengths and limitations are discussed in the light of the …