Biological Psychology Commons^™

Adult And Juvenile Rats Differentially Express Mpfc Glua2 Following Traumatic Memory Retrieval, Edgar Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

To advance our understanding of how traumatic memories are modulated between adults and juveniles, we characterize the AMPAr subunits, GluA1, GluA2, GluA3 in the mPFC of rodents following traumatic memory retrieval.

GluA2 was differentially expressed in adults but not juveniles rats. There were no changes in GluA1 or GluA3 expression

The Effect Of Dopamine Blockade On Sensorimotor Gating In Social Phenotypes Of The African Cichlid Fish Astatotilapia Burtoni, Raymond A. Turco

Theses and Dissertations

We asked if blocking dopamine could improve implicit sensory gating deficits in a socially-defeated fish of a naturally-agonistic species. This study investigated the effects of dopamine D2R receptor antagonist metoclopramide on sensorimotor gating using a prepulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm in social phenotypes of male A. burtoni African cichlid fish.

Emotion Identification And Beliefs About Emotions As Mediators Of Ptsd And Parenting Meta-Emotion Philosophies, Maegan Calvert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 20% of women are sexually victimized and incarcerated women’s rates of victimization are much higher. In addition, women have a higher rate of PTSD and trauma-related sequelae than men. Interpersonal trauma experiences can have a negative impact on emotional processes such as alexithymia, recognizing others’ emotions, and healthy beliefs about emotional experiences. These difficulties are associated with problematic parenting. However, the mediational processes by which PTSD and disruptive emotional processes affect parenting is unclear. The current study examines the associations among PTSD, alexithymia, negative beliefs about emotions, emotion recognition in children, and parenting meta-emotion philosophies in incarcerated women presenting …

Do Psychopathic Traits Influence Distractibility By Empathy-Eliciting Pictures?, Priya M. Reji

Student Theses

Empathy is a crucial component in forming interpersonal connections, and reflects the ability to share and understand the feelings of others. Psychopathy is often associated with a reduced ability to feel and display empathetic concern towards other people. The Response Modulation Hypothesis argues that such individuals have an attentional deficit, which makes it difficult for them to shift focus between stimuli, thus individuals who have high scores on the interpersonal-affective factor of psychopathy have an increased ability to ignore emotional stimuli that are goal-irrelevant. The current study investigated whether psychopathic traits would influence distractibility on an emotional Stroop (eStroop) task. …

The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury On Neuropsychological Functioning And Tau Accumulation Later In Life In Military Veterans, Lindsay Eatman

Dissertations

Abstract The following study examines aging veterans that experience a TBI while in service and

compares to older veteran without a history of TBI. The objective is to look at cognitive profile later in life for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI different and compared to older veterans with no history of TBI. Is there a difference in tau accumulations on neuroimaging in military veterans with moderate to severe TBI compared to older veterans without a history of TBI? What is the relationship between the cognitive profile and tau imaging correlates for military veterans with moderate to severe TBI …

Yoga To Decrease The Stress Response: Gentle Yoga Encourages Faster Decline In Salivary Cortisol Concentrations Following Participation In Tsst, Tabetha Gaile Hopke

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Short-term, activation of the human stress response system is beneficial as it prepares the body to deal with stressors at hand (McEwen & Stellar, 1993). If this system is overactive or chronically active however, it can negatively impact health and longevity (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007). According to a review conducted by Ross & Thomas (2010) implementation of a yoga practice has been shown to down-regulate the stress response system. The present study aimed to expand on current research involving yoga for stress reduction by exploring whether participation in gentle yoga could decrease the stress response more quickly than naturally …

Multivariate Genome-Wide Association Study Of Rapid Automatised Naming And Rapid Alternating Stimulus In Hispanic American And African–American Youth, Dongnhu Thuy Truong, Andrew Kenneth Adams, Steven Paniagua, Jan C. Frijters, Richard Boada, Dina E. Hill, Maureen W. Lovett, E Mark Mahone, Erik G. Willcutt, Maryanne Wolf, John C. Defries, Alessandro Gialluisi, Clyde Francks, Simon E. Fisher, Richard K. Olson, Bruce F. Pennington, Shelley D. Smith, Joan Bosson-Heenan, Jeffrey R. Gruen

Psychology: Faculty Scholarship

Background: Rapid automatised naming (RAN) and rapid alternating stimulus (RAS) are reliable predictors of reading disability. The underlying biology of reading disability is poorly understood. However, the high correlation among RAN, RAS and reading could be attributable to shared genetic factors that contribute to common biological mechanisms.

Objective: To identify shared genetic factors that contribute to RAN and RAS performance using a multivariate approach.

Methods: We conducted a multivariate genome-wide association analysis of RAN Objects, RAN Letters and RAS Letters/Numbers in a sample of 1331 Hispanic American and African-American youth. Follow-up neuroimaging genetic analysis of cortical regions associated with reading …

Validating Empathy As Captured By The Meanness In Psychopathy-Self Report, Stephanie Marie Molina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Psychopathy is a distinctive personality disorder with an array of interpersonal and affective deficits. In particular, deficits in affective and cognitive empathy skills are noted to be a central feature of psychopathy. Specifically, the construct of psychopathic meanness, which is conceptualized as a tendency to act aggressively without regard for others, is preferentially related to deficient empathy. To elucidate the relationship between psychopathic meanness and empathy, three studies were conducted utilizing the Meanness in Psychopathy-Self Report (MiP- SR). The MiP-SR is a new measure that parses apart the construct of psychopathic meanness into three factors: Malice, Coldness, and Imperviousness. MiP-SR …

Let It Rest: Sleep And Health As Positive Correlates Of Forgiveness Of Others And Self-Forgiveness, Loren Toussaint, Andrew J. Gall, Alyssa Cheadle, David R. Williams

Faculty Publications

Objective: The present study examined forgiveness of others, self-forgiveness, sleep, and health in a nationally representative sample of United States adults. It was hypothesised that sleep would mediate the associations of forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness with health.

Design: A nationally representative survey of 1,423 United States adults.

Main Outcome Measures: Measures included forgiveness of others, self-forgiveness, sleep quantity, sleep quality, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and self-rated physical health.

Results: Forgiveness of others (β = .20, p < .001) and self-forgiveness (β = .11, p < .01) were associated with sleep and forgiveness of others (β = .24, p < .001) and self-forgiveness (β = .27, p < .001) were associated with health. Sleep was associated with health (β = .45, p < .001) and also acted as a mediator of the associations of forgiveness of others (β = .09, p < .01) and self-forgiveness (β = .05, p < .01) with health.

Conclusions: Forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness may attenuate emotions such as anger, regret, and rumination and provide …

Evaluating Changes In Error-Monitoring Electrocortcial Responses As An Outcome Of Attention Bias Modification Training, Jeremy Andrzejewski

All NMU Master's Theses

Anxiety disorders are among one of the most debilitating and prevalent mental disorders. Maladaptive anxiety has been associated with enhanced attention bias to threat as well as heightened error-monitoring following an erroneous response. In an effort to reduce an anxious individual’s attention bias to threat, an attention training paradigm known as attention bias modification (ABM) was developed. While ABM training has demonstrated the ability to reduce attention bias and anxiety symptoms, there are inconsistencies in the magnitude of symptom reduction and there is a lack of neuroimaging support in regards to ABM outcome. Therefore, this study evaluated the outcome of …

Age-Dependent Effects Of Eedq On Cocaine-Induced Locomotor Activity And D2 Receptor Supersensitivity, Angie Teran

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The neurochemical changes occurring between the preweanling period and adolescence could be crucial for understanding the role development plays in the manifestation of psychotic behaviors. N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) fully attenuates the DA agonist-induced behaviors of adult rats, while potentiating the DA agonist-induced locomotor activity of preweanling rats. My specific hypotheses were as follows: (1) Systemically administered EEDQ would block the cocaine-induced locomotor activity of adult rats. (2) Systemically administered EEDQ would potentiate the cocaine-induced locomotion of preweanling rats. (3) EEDQ would increase the E_max values (a measure of D2 receptor sensitivity) of preweanling rats, but not adolescent or adult rats. …

Mouse Performance On A Novel Touchscreen Continuous Performance Task Is Dependent On Signaling In The Prelimbic Cortex, Tyler D. Dexter, Daniel Palmer, Amy C. Reichelt, Anita Taksokhan, Lisa M. Saksida, Tim J. Bussey

Western Research Forum

Attention is the cognitive processing that facilitates the ability to target and attend to relevant environmental stimuli, while filtering out irrelevant or distracting stimuli. Control over selective attention is theorized to be dependent on organized neural communication that stems from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). To evaluate selective and sustained attention, mice were trained on the novel touchscreen rodent continuous performance task (rCPT), a task designed to emulate the human CPT. In the rodent version, images are continuously presented on a touchscreen, where mice have been trained to selectively respond to one image type while suppressing responses to all others. …

Blood, Meth, And Tears: The Super Soldiers Of World War Ii, Nicholas Racine

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Day and night, soldiers in World War II were physically and mentally strained by fatigue and psychiatric distress. Consequently, many soldiers were left exhausted and demoralized. War efforts hinged on soldiers succeeding in missions, thus a fast-acting solution was needed. Development of the psychostimulant drugs Benzedrine and Pervitin in the 1920s and 30s spurred enthusiasm among scientists, the media, the public, and various governments. Potent and powerful, these drugs exert effects that promote wakefulness, elevated mood, and improved field performance. Governments quickly began researching use of stimulants to improve their war efforts. By the early 40s, both drugs had millions …

Laboratory Induced Cortisol Reactivity Predicts Greater Rates Of Treatment Success In Affective Disorders., Andres David Roque

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Response rates to first line treatments for affective disorders remain unsatisfactory (Loerinc et al., 2015). Identification of moderators and mediators that can facilitate treatment success is of great scientific and clinical interest. One such candidate could be stress-induced cortisol reactivity. For instance, higher cortisol reactivity to a pretreatment presentation of combat-related stimuli related to significantly worse outcome at post-treatment following 6-sessions of virtual reality exposure therapy in individuals with PTSD (Norrholm et al., 2016). By contrast, greater cortisol reactivity to an acute stressor predicted greater treatment response in not only depressive symptoms (Dieleman et al., 2016) but also anxiety symptoms …

Quantitative Reasoning: Individual Differences In Heart Rate And Response Latency, Abigail L. Van Nuland

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Math is something that all students are required to use at some point during their academic careers. Then they must use it again in the real world. Unfortunately, many students struggle with quantitative processing. In the current study, participants answered first grade level math problems in order to assess cognitive effort when solving math problem. Participants were then assigned randomly to one of two conditions; Answer or Equation. In the Answer Condition participants were asked to solve a series of math problems, whereby they were given a math equation and then they were asked to choose an answer. In the …

An Erp Investigation Of Reward Signals For Differing Classes Of Reinforcing Stimuli, Darin R. Brown

Psychology ETDs

In order to successfully traverse an actively complex environment, an agent is required to learn from the consequences of their actions. For over a century, models of behavior have been developed demonstrating these consequence-based learning systems. More recently, underlying biological systems have been found to adhere to these constructs of learning. The electroencephalographic signal known as the Reward Positivity (RewP) is thought to reflect a dopamine-dependent cortical signal specific to reward receipt. Importantly, this signal has been shown to adhere to an axiomatic (rule-like) positive reward prediction error, whereby it is evoked following outcomes that are better than expected. These …

Developing Sensory Behavioral Assays For Zebrafish Autism Model, Shannon Wagner

Honors College Theses

Individuals of all ages can suffer from a wide variety of symptoms and disabilities that could be diagnosed as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Due to new methods and technology, individuals are now being diagnosed in the first two years of their life, which is when the signs of ASD are initially exhibited. Individuals diagnosed with ASD share many similar disabilities and symptoms such as hyperactivity to social, visual, and auditory stimuli, as well as hyposensitivity to olfactory stimuli. Neural circuit-based alterations are widely considered as a cause for these behavioral aberrations. We have created behavioral assays using zebrafish larvae to …

Ptsd Precipitating From Sexual Abuse And Combat War Exposure And Co-Morbid Disorders Of Chronic Pain, Substance Abuse And Immune Systems, Jessica Anzalone

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress related disorder that some people develop after exposure to a traumatic life altering event. The person must witness the traumatic event, have the traumatic event occur to a loved one, or experience a traumatic event first hand. According to the publication of the American Psychiatric Association, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the diagnostic criteria for the identity of PTSD must include behavioral symptoms that accompany PTSD in four diagnostic clusters; re-experiencing, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood, and arousal (American Psychological Association, 2018). Two …

The Effects Of Adenosine Antagonists On Vigilant Attention In Sleep Restricted Rats, Morgan Crewe

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The relation between chronic sleep restriction and performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) have been well documented in the human literature, with chronic sleep restriction as little as 7 hours per night resulting in significant impairment in sustained attention performance measured via the PVT. Recently, an analogous version of the human PVT has been developed for use with rodent models (rPVT). Recent studies have measured the effects of sleep restriction on rPVT performance, citing similar results found in the human literature. However, few studies to date have directly examined the role of adenosine accumulation during sleep deprivation in producing …

“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez

Master's Theses

Science fiction (sf) texts conversant with the temporal play between past, present, and future push readers to imagine the extremes of human and environmental existence, interaction, and potential. Simultaneously, despite the sf genre’s tendency to traffic in extremes, these texts provoke readers to consider the ways in which these imagined worlds are grounded in history as well as in the contemporary social moment. As Donna Haraway has argued, “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (306). This illusory boundary must continue to be traversed in order to consider how sf literatures, particularly those which imagine …