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Community Awareness Of Youth Sport Related Concussion: A Neuropsychological Perspective, Ryan D. Bennett, Claire Stafford, Shanna K. Williams, Vijay Bajnath, Chris Burley, Alison Datoc, Alexis Hartman 2023 Nova Southeastern University

Community Awareness Of Youth Sport Related Concussion: A Neuropsychological Perspective, Ryan D. Bennett, Claire Stafford, Shanna K. Williams, Vijay Bajnath, Chris Burley, Alison Datoc, Alexis Hartman

NeuroSports

There continues to be growing public awareness regarding concussions and the detrimental effects sustaining such an injury can have on one’s life. Of increased importance is the understanding of how concussions impact children and adolescents, particularly as a result of sport engagements. Contact sports involving youth account for 41% of the concussions seen in emergency departments (Waltzman et al., 2020). Of note, hospital estimates tend to underrepresent the total number of sport-related concussions as they do not factor patients treated in a community setting (Bazarian et al., 2020). In consideration of this public health epidemic, there is a current projection …


Adverse Childhood Experiences(Aces) And Nonverbal Reasoning Skills, Monika Malinowska 2023 National Louis University

Adverse Childhood Experiences(Aces) And Nonverbal Reasoning Skills, Monika Malinowska

Dissertations

Severe stress and interpersonal traumatic experience in childhood have a cascade effect on an individual's physical and mental health. There is evidence that people with complex adverse childhood experiences have diminished cognitive abilities. However, there are few studies on the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) on non-verbal reasoning skills. This study aimed to assess the relationships between ACEs, non-verbal reasoning skills, and academic achievement.


A Deeper Understanding Of Noise Effects On Cetaceans, Jason N. Bruck 2023 Stephen F Austin State University

A Deeper Understanding Of Noise Effects On Cetaceans, Jason N. Bruck

Faculty Publications

Recent research with cetaceans under human care is illuminating just how dolphins are affected by human-made noise both in terms of their ability to cooperate as well as their ability to habituate to such noise. This research is providing granular detail to regulators assessing the problems associated with anthropogenic effects and is highlighting a role for behavior/cognition research in conservation.


Self-Confidence And Hormonal Contraceptive Use, Abigail Doran 2023 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Self-Confidence And Hormonal Contraceptive Use, Abigail Doran

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Hormonal contraceptives are widely used to regulate menstrual cycles, alleviate certain symptoms linked to reproductive hormones, and prevent pregnancy. However, women who take hormonal contraceptives may experience significant physical and psychological side effects such as increased rates of depression and changes in self-image. The current study examined self-confidence in women before beginning hormonal contraceptives and two months after using them. These participants were compared to a control group of naturally cycling women who were also assessed twice. I hypothesized that women would experience decreased feelings of self-confidence in several domains of their lives, compared to the naturally cycling women. Results …


Does A Single Night Of Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep And Stress In Female College Students?, Koushik Thudi 2023 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Does A Single Night Of Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep And Stress In Female College Students?, Koushik Thudi

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Several recent studies have shown that mindfulness-based practices have been effective in treating sleep problems. However, these studies have primarily looked at multi-component interventions that take place over several weeks or months. No studies have evaluated the efficacy of short-term mindfulness-based practices on sleep the same night. This study aims to do just that. The sample consisted of 10 students attending the University of Arkansas. All participants slept in a sleep laboratory on two consecutive weekday nights. During one night, they completed a mindfulness-based exercise. The other night, they completed a similar control task (counterbalanced). Polysomnography-based sleep data were collected …


Impact Of Acute Stress, Sex, And Childhood Maltreatment On Fear Learning And Fear Generalization In A Fear-Potentiated Startle Paradigm, Kayla M. Boaz, Chloe N. Cordes, Cassidy L. Pfister, Taylor D. Niese, Sydney L. Parker, Kristen E. Long, Mercedes L. Stanek, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Seth D. Norrholm, Phillip R. Zoladz 2023 Ohio Northern University

Impact Of Acute Stress, Sex, And Childhood Maltreatment On Fear Learning And Fear Generalization In A Fear-Potentiated Startle Paradigm, Kayla M. Boaz, Chloe N. Cordes, Cassidy L. Pfister, Taylor D. Niese, Sydney L. Parker, Kristen E. Long, Mercedes L. Stanek, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Seth D. Norrholm, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Many researchers approach the etiology of trauma-, stressor-, and anxiety-related mental disorders from the perspective of classical conditioning processes gone awry. According to this view, abnormal associative relationships between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli may underlie pathological anxiety and result in unusually intense fear memories or fear memories that cannot be properly extinguished. Recent work has expanded on this view by showing that many psychological disorders involving pathological anxiety are associated with an exaggerated form of stimulus generalization, leading individuals with such disorders to respond with fear and anxiety to a variety of contexts and cues that should not be threatening. …


Low-Dose Psilocybin Enhances Novel Object Recognition But Not Inhibitory Avoidance In Adult Rats, Claire E. Miller, Colin R. Del Valle, Margaret M. Naylor, Heather R. Sparkman, Connor M. Cruea, Rachel E. Rice, Brooke E. Bramlage, Lillianna P. Puppel, Madison L. Brown, Aleece K. Al-Olimat, Elizabeth S. Dietz, Phillip R. Zoladz 2023 Ohio Northern University

Low-Dose Psilocybin Enhances Novel Object Recognition But Not Inhibitory Avoidance In Adult Rats, Claire E. Miller, Colin R. Del Valle, Margaret M. Naylor, Heather R. Sparkman, Connor M. Cruea, Rachel E. Rice, Brooke E. Bramlage, Lillianna P. Puppel, Madison L. Brown, Aleece K. Al-Olimat, Elizabeth S. Dietz, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Given the recently renewed interest in using psychedelics to aid in the treatment of psychological disorders, we aimed to examine the impact of psilocybin, a 5-HT2A agonist, on learning and memory in rodents. Previous work has demonstrated that psilocybin and other 5-HT2A agonists can enhance fear conditioning, fear extinction, and novel object recognition (NOR). Thus, we predicted that low doses of psilocybin would enhance inhibitory avoidance (IA) and NOR memory. In the first experiment, adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent step-through IA training (involving 0.45, 0.65, or 1 mA scrambled footshock) and were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with …


Tunnel Vision, False Memories, And Intrusive Memories Following Exposure To The Trier Social Stress Test, Chloe N. Cordes, Cassidy L. Pfister, Kayla M. Boaz, Taylor D. Niese, Sydney L. Parker, Kristen E. Long, Mercedes L. Stanek, Matthew S. Risner, John G. Blasco, Koen N. Suzelis, Kelsey M. Siereveld, Shannon B. Carnes, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Phillip R. Zoladz 2023 Ohio Northern University

Tunnel Vision, False Memories, And Intrusive Memories Following Exposure To The Trier Social Stress Test, Chloe N. Cordes, Cassidy L. Pfister, Kayla M. Boaz, Taylor D. Niese, Sydney L. Parker, Kristen E. Long, Mercedes L. Stanek, Matthew S. Risner, John G. Blasco, Koen N. Suzelis, Kelsey M. Siereveld, Shannon B. Carnes, Boyd R. Rorabaugh, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Most research examining the impact of stress on learning and memory has exposed participants to a stressor and measured how it affects learning and memory for unrelated material (e.g., list of words). Such work has been helpful, but it has not been the most translational to the human condition. When considering phenomena such as intrusive memories in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or an eyewitness's memory for a crime, it is most useful to know what an individual remembers about the stress experience itself, not unrelated information. In prior work, investigators used a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test …


Psilocybin Prevents Symptoms Of Hyperarousal And Enhances Novel Object Recognition In Rats Exposed To The Single Prolonged Stress Paradigm, Colin R. Del Valle, Heather R. Sparkman, Margaret M. Naylor, Connor M. Cruea, Rachel E. Rice, Claire E. Miller, Brooke E. Bramlage, Lillianna P. Puppel, Madison L. Brown, Aleece K. Al-Olimat, Elizabeth S. Dietz, Phillip R. Zoladz 2023 Ohio Northern University

Psilocybin Prevents Symptoms Of Hyperarousal And Enhances Novel Object Recognition In Rats Exposed To The Single Prolonged Stress Paradigm, Colin R. Del Valle, Heather R. Sparkman, Margaret M. Naylor, Connor M. Cruea, Rachel E. Rice, Claire E. Miller, Brooke E. Bramlage, Lillianna P. Puppel, Madison L. Brown, Aleece K. Al-Olimat, Elizabeth S. Dietz, Phillip R. Zoladz

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Pharmacotherapy for stress-related psychological disorders remains inadequate. Patients who are treated with conventional pharmacological agents frequently report negligeable symptom reduction, and, in most cases, less than 50% experience full remission. Clearly, there is a need for additional pharmaceutical research into both established and novel approaches to alleviate these conditions. Over the past several years, there has been a renewed interest in the use of psychedelics to aid in the treatment of psychological disorders. Several studies have reported promising results in patients with major depression, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following treatment with psychedelic agents such as lysergic acid …


Mechanisms Linking Threat- And Deprivation-Related Childhood Adversity And Depression: The Biopsychosocial Model, Cut N. Kemala, Marijtje L.A. Jongsma, Donny Hendrawan, Eni Becker 2023 Behavioural Science Institue, Radboud University, The Netherlands; Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia

Mechanisms Linking Threat- And Deprivation-Related Childhood Adversity And Depression: The Biopsychosocial Model, Cut N. Kemala, Marijtje L.A. Jongsma, Donny Hendrawan, Eni Becker

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Childhood adversity involves a wide range of negative experiences that pose a serious threat to a child’s wellbeing. It has been consistently shown to predict (chronic) depression in subsequent stages of development, but mechanisms underlying the relationship are still less clear. Moving from a cumulative approach of lumping heterogeneous categories of childhood adversity to a dimensional approach of classifying negative experiences into two major dimensions (threat and deprivation) has facilitated the identification of specific processes by which childhood adversity can predict depression. This review aims to provide an integrative overview of how childhood adversity increases the risk for depression using …


Working Memory During The Menstrual Cycle: A Study Of The Role Of The Different Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle On Working Memory, Daniella Brownrigg 2023 Brescia University College

Working Memory During The Menstrual Cycle: A Study Of The Role Of The Different Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle On Working Memory, Daniella Brownrigg

Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

This study investigated the role of the menstrual cycle phases (Follicular, Luteal and Menstruation) on working memory components (verbal and visuospatial). Eighty-eight undergraduate students attending Brescia University college completed a survey regarding: demographics, menstrual cycle information and working memory cognitive tasks. The cognitive tasks were the Corsi Block Tapping Test and a shorter version of the Hooper Visual Organization test for visuospatial working memory; and the Forward Digit Span Test and the Semantic Verbal Fluency Subset: Animals from the Barcelona Test for verbal working memory. Participants were categorized into the different menstrual phases they were experiencing. No significant differences were …


Choline Supplementation Alters Hippocampal Cytokine Levels In Adolescence And Adulthood In An Animal Model Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Jessica A. Baker, Tamara S. Bodnar, Kristen Breit, Joanne Weinberg, Jennifer D. Thomas 2023 San Diego State University

Choline Supplementation Alters Hippocampal Cytokine Levels In Adolescence And Adulthood In An Animal Model Of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Jessica A. Baker, Tamara S. Bodnar, Kristen Breit, Joanne Weinberg, Jennifer D. Thomas

Psychology Faculty Publications

Alcohol (ethanol) exposure during pregnancy can adversely affect development, with long-lasting consequences that include neuroimmune, cognitive, and behavioral dysfunction. Alcohol-induced alterations in cytokine levels in the hippocampus may contribute to abnormal cognitive and behavioral outcomes in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Nutritional intervention with the essential nutrient choline can improve hippocampal-dependent behavioral impairments and may also influence neuroimmune function. Thus, we examined the effects of choline supplementation on hippocampal cytokine levels in adolescent and adult rats exposed to alcohol early in development. From postnatal day (PD) 4-9 (third trimester-equivalent), Sprague-Dawley rat pups received ethanol (5.25 g/kg/day) or sham …


"Alcohol Is Not Fun Anymore!": A Study Of Alcohol Expectancies During Covid-19, Sara McFarland, Katie Ison, Heather Kissel PhD, Ty Brumback PhD 2023 Northern Kentucky University

"Alcohol Is Not Fun Anymore!": A Study Of Alcohol Expectancies During Covid-19, Sara Mcfarland, Katie Ison, Heather Kissel Phd, Ty Brumback Phd

Posters-at-the-Capitol

College parties normalize alcohol use and students develop expectations about drinking due to peer influence and previous experience with alcohol. Our study investigated changes in alcohol expectancies by collecting cross-sectional data on predictors of alcohol use in young adults before and after the start of the pandemic. Data for 46 participants (mean age=20.74, 72% female) were collected prior to March 2020, while data for an additional 26 participants (mean age=19.27, 80.8% female) were collected starting in 2021. During the laboratory session, participants completed surveys and a structured clinical interview. We examined responses from the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ). This self-report …


Examining Allostatic Load As A Biological Mechanism Linking Childhood Adversity And Pediatric Pain, Angela Pascale 2023 Virginia Commonwealth University

Examining Allostatic Load As A Biological Mechanism Linking Childhood Adversity And Pediatric Pain, Angela Pascale

Theses and Dissertations

Despite a strong literature base relating childhood adversity to pain, the biological mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Theoretical and preliminary empirical evidence supports allostatic load as a potential biological mechanism, though prior studies investigating associations between childhood adversity and elevated allostatic load and/or between elevated allostatic load and poorer pain outcomes have primarily focused on adult populations and individual allostatic load indicators rather than a comprehensive index. Thus, the current study built upon prior literature by testing longitudinal relationships between childhood adversity and multiple biological indicators spanning across physiological systems (i.e., comprehensive allostatic load index) and pediatric pain outcomes …


Relation Between Parent Feeding And Emotional Overeating In Preschoolers As Mediated By Emotion Regulation, Lindsay Nicole Baker 2023 University of North Florida

Relation Between Parent Feeding And Emotional Overeating In Preschoolers As Mediated By Emotion Regulation, Lindsay Nicole Baker

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emotional overeating is defined as eating in response to negative emotions, and the shift from emotional undereating to overeating around the preschool years indicates environmental influences. Parent feeding practices such as using food to regulate emotions and behavior may impede children’s ability to regulate their emotions, leading to emotional overeating. This study analyzed the relation between parent feeding practices, child emotion regulation, and emotional overeating in 4- and 5-year-old children. For study 1, mothers of 4- and 5-year-old children completed online questionnaires through MTurk and Prolific. Questionnaires measured parent feeding practices, emotion regulation, and emotional overeating. Parent use of food …


Vapourized Cannabis Extract Administration Impairs Memory And Alters Neural Activity In Laboratory Rats, Megan Chladny 2023 Wilfrid Laurier University

Vapourized Cannabis Extract Administration Impairs Memory And Alters Neural Activity In Laboratory Rats, Megan Chladny

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although people have smoked cannabis for millennia, administration of cannabis by heating the dried plant material or distilled extracts to a temperature just below the combustion point (i.e., vapourization or "vaping") has rapidly increased over the past few years (Javadi-Payder, Cole, and Taffe, 2018; Manwell, Charchoglyan, Brewer, Matthews, Heipel, and Mallet, 2014). Conversely, most of the cannabinoid research using rodent models has used parenteral routes of administration to examine the effects of purified cannabis extracts such as ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), making it difficult to directly compare laboratory research to human drug use. Building on previous studies showing that THC …


Systemic Growth Factor Increases As A Result Of Exercise May Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Risk In Midlife Mice And Humans, Amanda Hewes 2022 The University of Maine

Systemic Growth Factor Increases As A Result Of Exercise May Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Risk In Midlife Mice And Humans, Amanda Hewes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with insidious onset and slow progression. AD research has traditionally been based on neuronal and glial dysfunction due to hallmark beta-amyloid and tau pathologies. Although literature supports an association between AD and cardiovascular disease and/or cardiovascular risk factors, vascular dysfunction as an etiology of AD has been overlooked. Cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in midlife individuals, an age at which modifiable risk factor management may be the most beneficial. Up to half of AD cases worldwide and in the USA are attributable to modifiable risk factors. …


Understanding The Contributions Of Hormonal Contraceptives And Cortisol Levels To Fear Learning In Women, Sahil Bardai 2022 Kennesaw State University

Understanding The Contributions Of Hormonal Contraceptives And Cortisol Levels To Fear Learning In Women, Sahil Bardai

Symposium of Student Scholars

Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder than men. Eighty-five percent of women in the US will use hormonal contraceptives at some point in their lifetime. Women who use hormonal contraceptives show heightened startle reactivity to a threatening stimulus. Previous results from our lab showed a significant increase in fear-potentiated startle (FPS) in women who were on hormonal contraceptives compared to women who were naturally cycling. These results stayed consistent throughout three acquisition trials. Others have shown that the use of OCPs (oral contraceptive pills) is related to the dysregulation of the HPA-axis and elevated …


How Disgust In Germ Averse Individuals Biases Avoidance Decision-Making, Wesley Stuart, Timothy Schoenfeld PhD 2022 Belmont University

How Disgust In Germ Averse Individuals Biases Avoidance Decision-Making, Wesley Stuart, Timothy Schoenfeld Phd

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

The present study investigates the relationship between germ aversion and avoidant decision making. Individuals in the general population who rate highly in germ-aversion and disgust sensitivity may act maladaptively in order to avoid potentially anxiety inducing scenarios. If encountered, these scenarios will cause an increase in physiological arousal and a suppression of salivatory cortisol in the individual. We hypothesize that this stress response biases decision making in an avoidant manner. Participants for this study, consisting of 60 undergraduate students at Belmont University, started by taking a perceived vulnerability to disease scale. Then, those in the experimental group performed a task …


Hiv And Early Life Stress On Neuroimaging And Risky Behavior, Paola Garcia Egan 2022 University of Missouri-St. Louis

Hiv And Early Life Stress On Neuroimaging And Risky Behavior, Paola Garcia Egan

Dissertations

This study examined the interactive effects of early life stress (ELS) and HIV on brain morphometry, diffusion-basis-spectrum-imaging (DBSI), risky decision-making, and sex-risk behavior. 122 people with HIV (PWH) and 113 people without HIV (PWoH), free of major psychiatric illness and neurological confounds, were stratified into high (≥ 3 events) vs. low (< 3 events) ELS [PWoH/low ELS (n = 57), PWoH/high ELS (n =56), PWH/low ELS (n = 43), PWH/high ELS (n = 79)] and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging, DBSI, neuropsychological, and risky-behavior assessment; all PWH were virologically controlled. Compared to PWoH, PWH had smaller orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), parietal lobes, insula, caudate and anterior cingulate. No ELS effects were detected in volumetric measures. Significant interactions were found between HIV serostatus and ELS on the OFC and on cellularity of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus after multiple comparisons adjustment. Specifically, PWH/high ELS exhibited significantly smaller OFC and PWoH/high ELS show significantly larger OFC than the other groups. PWoH/high ELS exhibited higher DBSI cellularity (neuroinflammation proxy) of the inferior-occipital-fasciculus compared to PWoH/high ELS. Regardless of HIV status, executive function moderated the relationship between the OFC and sex-risk behavior such that individuals within the sample who performed above average on a measure of executive function and had a larger OFC reported fewer sex partners in past six months than individuals with smaller volumes. No interaction was found between HIV serostatus and ELS on risky behavior measures. Clustering analyses defined ELS subgroups in PWH that were determined by demographic characteristics, duration of infection, recent CD4+ T-cell count, nadir CD4+ T-cell count and high/low ELS.Even in PWH that are virologically controlled, without major current psychiatric comorbidities, there is evidence of a synergistic impact of ELS and HIV on OFC volumes. Higher volumes in the OFC were detrimental when associated with lower executive function scores or advantageous when associated with higher executive function. Findings suggest that ELS is associated with different brain signatures among PWoH and virally suppressed PWH. However, ELS was not directly associated with risky behaviors, and subgroups in PWH were characterized by demographic variables, past substance use and HIV clinical variables.


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