Biological Psychology Commons^™

Daily Bidirectional Relationships Between Sleep And Mental Health Symptoms In Youth With Emotional And Behavioral Problems, Tori R. Van Dyk, Ronald W. Thompson, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective The present study examined the daily, bidirectional relationships between sleep and mental health symptoms in youth presenting to mental health treatment. Methods Youth aged 6 to 11 (36% female, 44% European American) presenting to outpatient behavioral health treatment (N = 25) were recruited to participate in the study. Children and parents completed daily questionnaires regarding the child’s sleep, mood, and behavior for a 14-day period, while youth wore an actigraph watch to objectively measure sleep. Results Examining between- and within-person variance using multilevel models, results indicate that youth had poor sleep duration and quality and that sleep and mental …

Effects Of Optogenetic Activation And Pharmacological Modulation Of Dopamine Neurons, Remington J. Rice

All NMU Master's Theses

This study explored the use of optogenetic tools to better understand treatments used for schizophrenia. The “positive” symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, paranoia, etc.) of schizophrenia may come from overexpression of dopamine in mesolimbic dopamine neurons. Positive symptoms can be produced in healthy volunteers treated with amphetamine, a psychostimulant drug and dopamine releaser. Conversely, antipsychotic drugs may reduce positive symptoms by blocking dopamine receptors. This study used optogenetics to explore how drugs that alter neurotransmission, might alter behaviors occurring from activation of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Light-induced activation of DA neurons in the VTA in male …

The Contribution Of A Polygenic Risk Score To Individual Differences In Aggressive Behavior: The Moderating And Mediating Roles Of Stressful Events, Christa C. Christ

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although aggression can be beneficial in certain situations (e.g. playing sports, self-defense), excessive and inappropriate aggression can lead to adverse physical and psychological health outcomes in both perpetrators and victims. Genetic susceptibility to negative environments can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior in the context of situational risk factors. Low efficiency of serotonin neurotransmission and exposure to stress appear to play a prominent role in the etiology of aggressive behavior. A set of three studies assessed the contribution of polygenic risk (TPH2 rs4570625, SLC6A4 5-HTTLPR+rs25531, HTR1B rs13212041, MAOA uVNTR) to aggressive behavior, including alcohol-related aggression, in university students at varying …

Evaluation Of The Discriminable Stimulus Effects Of 0.3 Mg/Kg 3, 4‑Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (Mdpv) And 1.0 Mg/Kg 4-Methylmethcathinone (4-Mmc) Using A Drug Discrimination Procedure In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Michael Berquist

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Experimental investigations into the behavioral and neurochemical effects of illicit β-ketophenethylamines (synthetic cathinones, “bath salts”) has increased in recent years. Two cathinone derivatives in particular, MDPV and mephedrone (4-MMC), have received a considerable amount of research attention given their relative popularity among users at the turn of the 21st century. Researchers investigating MDPV and 4-MMC have devoted much of their attention toward evaluating the drugs’ reinforcing efficacy, rewarding effects, receptor binding profiles, and effects on ambulatory responses.

There exist few published studies that have evaluated the discriminable stimulus effects of MDPV and 4-MMC using rodent drug discrimination procedures. To date, …

Previous Exposure To Lsd Fails To Enhance The Psychomotor Stimulant Effects Of D-Amphetamine In Male Sprague-Dawley Rats, Keli Herr

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

• The hallucinogenic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) have been largely attributed to its high affinity for 5-HT2A receptors. However, LSD also has a high affinity at several other monoamine receptors (Nichols, 2004; Passie et al., 2008).
• The contribution of dopaminergic mechanisms to LSD’s behavioral effects have not been investigated to the same extent that serotonergic mechanism have been studied. Some authors have hypothesized that chronic treatment of rats with LSD may produce a persistent behavioral state characterized by sensitivity to dopamine agonists (Marona-Lewicka and Nichols, 2007).
• Repeated exposure to psychostimulant drugs is known to produce progressive increases in locomotor …

Effect Of Apoe E4 Variant On Progression From Mild Cognitive Impairment To Alzheimer’S Disease, Brad P. Taylor

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Alzheimer’s disease is a very prevalent and fatal disorder in older adults, and Mild Cognitive Impairment is often seen as a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of Dementia that is characterized by loss of cognitive abilities while aging. It is ultimately fatal. Mild Cognitive Impairment is more of an intermediate stage between normal mental decline with aging and the more serious decline of dementia. The ApoE E4 gene has been shown to be highly correlated with a greater likelihood of acquiring late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This study looked to see the effect that the ApoE E4 gene …

The Effects Of Chronic Partial Sleep Deprivation On Alcohol Consumption And Delta Fos B Accumulation, Kristian Ponder

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

The present study explores the relation between sleep restriction and alcohol use and the neural substrates that result from chronic behaviors, such as transcription factors. Transcription factor activity is suggested as a possible outcome of chronic behaviors, such as addiction. Sleep is discussed as possible mediating factor in the relationship between specific transcription factors and alcohol. Analysis will focus on brain areas related to both sleep and reward.

Effects Of Acute Stress And Ethanol Consumption On Il-1Β In Female Long Evans Rats: A Pilot Study, Kristin R. Creel

Honors Theses

Background: Acute stress elicits many physiological, behavioral, and neurological responses, and many studies have aimed to better our understanding of these responses and their effects. However, a majority of preclinical studies have used male test subjects, despite growing evidence that males and females have different responses to acute and chronic stressors. This study thus aims to evaluate the ability of three different acute stressors to cause a physiological stress response in adult and adolescent female subjects.

Methods: In this preliminary investigation, Female Long Evans rats (N=12) underwent three acute stressors over the course of three consecutive days. In order, these …

“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 …

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus And Subparaventricular Zone Lesions Disrupt Circadian Rhythmicity But Not Light-Induced Masking Behavior In Nile Grass Rats, Andrew J. Gall, Dorela D. Shuboni, Lily Yan, Antonio A. Nunez, Laura Smale

Faculty Publications

The ventral subparaventricular zone (vSPVZ) receives direct retinal input and influences the daily patterning of activity in rodents, making it a likely candidate for the mediation of acute behavioral responses to light (i.e., masking). We performed chemical lesions aimed at the vSPVZ of diurnal grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) using N-methyl-D,L-aspartic acid (NMA), a glutamate agonist. Following NMA lesions, we placed grass rats in various lighting conditions (e.g., 12:12 light-dark, constant dark, constant light); presented a series of light pulses at circadian times (CT) 6, 14, 18, and 22; and placed them in a 7-h ultradian cycle to assess behavioral masking. …

Nature As A Buffer: The Physiological Effects Of Exposure To Nature On Stress, Tyler J. Stading, Jeffrey R. Stevens

UCARE: Research Products

Exposure to images of nature following a stressful event can reduce physiological measures associated with stress. The objectives of this study was to determine whether exposure to nature before the stressor can buffer the stress response. We varied whether nature or urban images were viewed before or after a stressor and measured galvanic skin response in our participants. We describe how order of presenting the stressor influences nature’s calming effect on physiology.

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, 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, 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, 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, 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 …

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, 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 …

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 …

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 …