“My Logic Is Undeniable”: Replicating The Brain For Ideal Artificial Intelligence,
2016
Liberty University
“My Logic Is Undeniable”: Replicating The Brain For Ideal Artificial Intelligence, Samuel C. Adams
Senior Honors Theses
Alan Turing asked if machines can think, but intelligence is more than logic and reason. I ask if a machine can feel pain or joy, have visions and dreams, or paint a masterpiece. The human brain sets the bar high, and despite our progress, artificial intelligence has a long way to go. Studying neurology from a software engineer’s perspective reveals numerous uncanny similarities between the functionality of the brain and that of a computer. If the brain is a biological computer, then it is the embodiment of artificial intelligence beyond anything we have yet achieved, and its architecture is advanced …
A Systems Approach To Stress And Resilience In Humans: Mindfulness Meditation, Aging, And Cognitive Function,
2016
Portland State University
A Systems Approach To Stress And Resilience In Humans: Mindfulness Meditation, Aging, And Cognitive Function, Barry S. Oken
Dissertations and Theses
Psychological stress is common and contributes to many physical and mental health problems. Its effects are mediated by a complex neurobiological system centering in the brain with effectors including autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, inflammatory system, and gene expression. A stressor pushes the human physiological system away from its baseline state towards a lower utility state. The physiological system may return towards the original state but may be shifted to a lower utility state. While some physiological changes induced by stressors may benefit health, chronic stressors usually have negative effects on health. In contrast to this stressor effect is the …
Stress And Suicidal Behavior: A Cognitive, Behavioral, And Biological Integrative Approach,
2016
CUNY Graduate Center
Stress And Suicidal Behavior: A Cognitive, Behavioral, And Biological Integrative Approach, Jorge Valderrama
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young adults in the United States. Previous research has established distal and proximal life stress as a strong risk factor for suicidal behavior. However, how stress impacts suicidal behavior via interactive cognitive and biological mechanisms has not been thoroughly examined. The present research sought to better understand the relationship between stress and suicidal behavior via altered neurobiological functioning, maladaptive cognitions, and deficits in executive functioning. The first study found a relationship between the brooding subtype of rumination and trait impulsivity in the forms of negative urgency, lack of premeditation, and …
Status Signaling And The Characterization Of A Chirp-Like Signal In The Weakly Electric Fish Steatogenys Elegans,
2016
CUNY Graduate Center
Status Signaling And The Characterization Of A Chirp-Like Signal In The Weakly Electric Fish Steatogenys Elegans, Caitlin E. Field
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Sensory systems are critical to both exploratory and communicatory processes, the study of which is critical to our understanding of how animals perceive and respond to their environments. In weakly electric fishes the electrosensory system is utilized for both of these purposes. One type of communication, status signaling, is widespread across taxa and frequently hormonally modulated. This hormonal modulation keeps the signal honest, wherein the status of the sender and the production of the status signal itself are both hormone dependent. We investigated exploratory and communicatory strategies of the electromotor system in pulse-type gymnotiforms, with a focus on status communication …
A Mouse Model Of Toluene Abstinence-Induced Pathology,
2016
Wayne State University
A Mouse Model Of Toluene Abstinence-Induced Pathology, Sean Callan
Wayne State University Dissertations
The intentional misuse of volatile solvents is a persistent public health concern. Limited self-report data suggests that chronic inhalant abusers experience withdrawal symptoms including anxiety and seizure symptoms. However, these symptoms have never been explored in a preclinical model and are not considered part of the DSM-V criteria for an Inhalant Use Disorder. For this experiment, 76 young adult male Swiss Webster mice were exposed to either 5,000 ppm toluene vapor or air (0 ppm) for 24 consecutive hours beginning on postnatal day (PND) 30. Following the 24 hour exposure, mice were allowed to recover for 3 hours before behavioral …
Intertemporal Similarity: Discounting As A Last
Resort,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Intertemporal Similarity: Discounting As A Last Resort, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
Standard models of intertemporal choice assume that individuals discount future payoffs by integrating reward amounts and time delays to generate a discounted value. Alternative models propose that, rather than integrate across them, individuals compare within attributes (amounts and delays) to determine if differences in one attribute outweigh differences in another attribute. For instance, Leland (2002) and Rubinstein (2003) propose models that 1) compare the two reward amounts to determine whether they are similar, 2) compare the similarity of the two time delays, and then 3) make a decision based on these similarity judgments. Here, I tested discounting models against attribute-based …
Human Vision Inspires Cortisol And Immune Behaviors,
2016
Hamline University
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.
The Domain Specificity Of Intertemporal Choice In Pinyon Jays,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Domain Specificity Of Intertemporal Choice In Pinyon Jays, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Bryce Kennedy, Dina Morales, Marianna Burks
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
When choosing between a piece of cake now versus a slimmer waistline in the future, many of us have difficulty with self-control. Food-caching species, however, regularly hide food for later recovery, sometimes waiting months before retrieving their caches. It remains unclear whether these long-term choices generalize outside of the caching domain. We hypothesized that the ability to save for the future is a general tendency that cuts across different situations. To test this hypothesis, we measured and experimentally manipulated caching to evaluate its relationship with operant measures of self-control in pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus). We found no correlation …
Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of 1.25 Mg/Kg Clozapine In Rats: Mediation By Serotonin 5-Ht2 And Dopamine D4 Receptors,
2016
Northern Michigan University
Discriminative Stimulus Properties Of 1.25 Mg/Kg Clozapine In Rats: Mediation By Serotonin 5-Ht2 And Dopamine D4 Receptors, Adam J. Prus, Laura Wise, Alan L. Pehrson, Scott D. Philibin, Benny Bang-Andersen, Jørn Arnt, Joseph H. Porter
Journal Articles
The atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine remains one of most effective treatments for schizophrenia, given a lack of extrapyramidal side effects, improvements in negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and in symptoms in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The adverse effects of clozapine, including agranulocytosis, make finding a safe clozapine-like a drug a goal for drug developers. The drug dis- crimination paradigm is a model of interoceptive stimulus that has been used in an effort to screen experimental drugs for clozapine-like atypical antipsychotic effects. The present study was conducted to elucidate the receptor-mediated stimulus properties that form this clozapine discriminative cue by testing selective receptor ligands …
The Relationship Between Physical Fitness And School Performance In Middle School Girls,
2016
Walden University
The Relationship Between Physical Fitness And School Performance In Middle School Girls, Jamie Anne Donnelly
Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies
Past research has indicated a significant relationship between physical fitness and standardized test scores; however, the relationship between physical fitness and other aspects of school performance has yet to be empirically examined in a population specifically composed of middle school girls. This study examined several factors that contribute to school success, such as classroom behavior, attendance, and grades, in relation to physical fitness among a group of adolescent girls. It was specifically designed to examine the statistical relationship between physical fitness, as measured by the Fitnessgram, and quantitative data on school performance including grades, standardized test scores, school behavior, and …
Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol,
2016
Rollins College
Understanding Mental Toughness And Stress: The Role Of Cortisol, Alexis K. Satterwhite Ms.
Honors Program Theses
Mental toughness research aims to understand how two people of the same skill level, experience, and background react to pressure and stress, with one succumbing to the pressure while another succeeds (Clough & Strycharczyk, 2012). This study used Clough, Earle, and Sewell’s (2002) four C’s of mental toughness (commitment, challenge, control, and confidence) as a theoretical framework. The current study aims to explore physiological aspects of mental toughness through cortisol, a stress hormone that is released as an internal reaction to some type of threat occurring externally to the body (Kottler & Chen, 2011). The relationships between mental toughness and …
An Event-Related Potential Study Of Social Information Processing In Adolescents,
2016
CUNY John Jay College
An Event-Related Potential Study Of Social Information Processing In Adolescents, Danielle Difilipo, Jillian Grose-Fifer
Publications and Research
Increased social awareness is a hallmark of adolescence. The primary aim of this eventrelated potential study was to investigate whether adolescents, in comparison to adults, would show relatively enhanced early neural processing of complex pictures containing socially-relevant information. A secondary aim was to investigate whether there are also gender and age differences in the ways adolescents and adults process social and nonsocial information. We recorded EEGs from 12–17 year-olds and 25–37 year-olds (N = 59) while they viewed pleasant pictures from the International Affective Picture System. We found age-related amplitude differences in the N1 and the LPP, and gender-related differences …
Cognitive Phenotypes And The Evolution Of Animal Decisions,
2016
University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Cognitive Phenotypes And The Evolution Of Animal Decisions, Tamra C. Mendelson, Courtney L. Fitzpatrick, Mark E. Hauber, Charles H. Pence, Rafael L. Rodríguez, Rebecca J. Safran, Caitlin A. Stern, Jeffrey R. Stevens
Faculty Publications
Despite the clear fitness consequences of animal decisions, the science of animal decision making in evolutionary biology is underdeveloped compared with decision science in human psychology. Specifically, the field lacks a conceptual framework that defines and describes the relevant components of a decision, leading to imprecise language and concepts. The ‘judgment and decision-making’ (JDM) framework in human psychology is a powerful tool for framing and understanding human decisions, and we apply it here to components of animal decisions, which we refer to as ‘cognitive phenotypes’. We distinguish multiple cognitive phenotypes in the context of a JDM framework and highlight empirical …
Acute And Chronic Effects Of Inhalants In Intracranial Self-Stimulation,
2016
Student
Acute And Chronic Effects Of Inhalants In Intracranial Self-Stimulation, Matthew Tracy
Theses and Dissertations
Inhalants are a loosely defined diverse group of volatile substances which people abuse. Despite widespread misuse of inhalants, there are limited preclinical methods available to study the reinforcement-like properties of inhalants. One procedure which has demonstrated substantial promise as a tool to investigate inhalant pharmacology is the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) procedure. ICSS utilizes pulses of electrical stimulation to the mesolimbic reward pathway to serve as a temporally defined and controlled operant reinforcer with a highly adjustable efficacy. The first aim of the project was to characterize the effects of commonly abused inhalants: including toluene, trichloroethane, nitrous oxide, isoflurane and R134a …
Relation Between Harsh Parenting Exposure In Childhood And Adult Externalizing Symptoms : Moderating Role Of The Autonomic Nervous System,
2016
University at Albany, State University of New York
Relation Between Harsh Parenting Exposure In Childhood And Adult Externalizing Symptoms : Moderating Role Of The Autonomic Nervous System, Samantha Aldea Barry
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Though literature suggests that many individuals with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) report having symptoms of the respective disorder as adults, little is known about potential predictors of adulthood externalizing symptoms. The proposed study examines the impact of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), as measured by skin conductance levels (SCL), on the link between harsh parenting experienced during childhood and ADHD and ODD symptoms during young adulthood. Results yielded a significant two-way interaction between harsh parenting and resting RSA, which significantly accounted for …
Analgesia Followed By Long-Term Hyperalgesia Generated By Disinhibition Of The Basolateral Amygdala,
2016
Wayne State University
Analgesia Followed By Long-Term Hyperalgesia Generated By Disinhibition Of The Basolateral Amygdala, Derek Atchley
Wayne State University Theses
Stress produces bimodal effects on pain peception. During exposure to a stressor pain responses are inibited (i.e. stress-induced analgesia). However, following long-term exposure to a stressor increases in responsiveness to painful stimuli may develop (i.e. stress-induced hyperalgesia). Here I evaluated how a key component of the subcortical defense circuit and target of stress hormones contributes to the development of both stress-induced analgesia and hyperalgesia. Bicuculline methiodide, a GABAA antagonist, injected into the basolateral amygdala was used to mimic the neural effects of a stressor or threat exposure. Immediately following injection pain responsiveness was decreased as measured by vocalizations after discharge …
Effect Of Prior Trauma Exposure On Alpha Amplitude, Heart Rate, And Self-Reported Negative Affect,
2016
Central Washington University
Effect Of Prior Trauma Exposure On Alpha Amplitude, Heart Rate, And Self-Reported Negative Affect, Gina L. Denoble
All Master's Theses
This study was conducted to investigate whether the number of traumatic events an individual has previously experienced influences that individual’s physiological and psychological reactions when exposed to a negative affective stimulus followed by a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention. Twenty-eight participants were placed into intact quasi-experimental groups based on their scores on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ). The negative affective stimulus consisted of a series of photos bearing negative affective valence. The photos were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and paralleled the areas of trauma exposure evaluated by the TLEQ. All participants were exposed to the …
In The Light Of Evolution: Human Nature, Political Behavior, And Making Sense Of Our Social Identity,
2016
DePauw University
In The Light Of Evolution: Human Nature, Political Behavior, And Making Sense Of Our Social Identity, Corby F. Burger 16
Honor Scholar Theses
No abstract provided.
Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence,
2016
University of Kentucky
Does The Pain Of Rejection Promote The Pleasure Of Revenge? A Neural Investigation Of Cingulo-Striatal Contributions To Violence, David Chester
Theses and Dissertations--Psychology
Aggression is a dynamic and costly feature of human behavior. One reliable cause of aggression is social rejection, though the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain to be fully understood. Previous research has identified two psychological processes that are independently linked to aggressive retaliation: pain and pleasure. Given recent findings that pain magnifies the experience of pleasure, I predicted that the pain of rejection would promote the pleasure of aggression and thus, aggression itself. I also expected that this indirect effect of aggressive pleasure would only be observed among individuals with weaker self-regulatory abilities that are necessary to cope with …
Slam Poetry: An Online Intervention For Treating Depression,
2016
University of Montana
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 …
