The Effect Of Inversion And Motor Expertise On Body Compatibility,
2016
Pomona College
The Effect Of Inversion And Motor Expertise On Body Compatibility, Harrison M. Goodall Iii
Pomona Senior Theses
Previous studies have established that when a subject’s attention is directed to a specific body part, the subject is able to move that body part faster than a body part their attention was not drawn to. This is known as the body compatibility effect, and it has been shown that this effect only occurs when viewing upright images of the human body. In this study, we presented control subjects and expert acrobats with inverted and upright stimuli. We hypothesized that the amount of time the acrobats spent inverted would result in the acrobats exhibiting body compatibility effects for both upright …
Reflections Of The Social Environment In Chimpanzee Memory: Applying Rational Analysis Beyond Humans,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Reflections Of The Social Environment In Chimpanzee Memory: Applying Rational Analysis Beyond Humans, Jeffrey R. Stevens, Julian N. Marewski, Lael J. Schooler, Ian C. Gilby
Jeffrey Stevens Publications
In cognitive science, the rational analysis framework allows modelling of how physical and social environments impose information-processing demands onto cognitive systems. In humans, for example, past social contact among individuals predicts their future contact with linear and power functions. These features of the human environment constrain the optimal way to remember information and probably shape how memory records are retained and retrieved. We offer a primer on how biologists can apply rational analysis to study animal behaviour. Using chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) as a case study, we modelled 19 years of observational data on their social contact patterns. Much …
Political Neuroscience,
2016
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Political Neuroscience, Ingrid J. Haas
Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications
The field of political science has traditionally had close ties to disciplines like economics, history, and sociology. While political science has always been somewhat interdisciplinary in nature, in recent years this interdisciplinary approach has expanded to include biology, psychology, and neuroscience. This interest in the human sciences has led to the development of new subfields within political science, including biopolitics, political psychology, and political neuroscience (also called neuropolitics). What these new subfields have in common is an interest in individual human behavior and decision-making as an approach to understanding political behavior. While political science has traditionally focused on understanding politics …
Cognitive And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol-Induced Risky Driving,
2016
University of Kentucky
Cognitive And Behavioral Mechanisms Underlying Alcohol-Induced Risky Driving, Jennifer R. Laude
Theses and Dissertations--Psychology
Alcohol intoxication represents one situation an individual might increase their amount of risk taking when driving. This dissertation is comprised of three studies that investigate the mechanisms by which alcohol increases driver risk-taking. Study 1 examined the effect of alcohol on driver risk-taking using a proxemics approach. The study also tested whether alcohol-induced increases in risky driving co-occurred with pronounced impairment in the driver’s skill. The study also examined whether the most disinhibited drivers were also the riskiest. Indeed, alcohol increased driver risk-taking and impaired driving skill. The study also revealed risky driving can be dissociable from impairing effects on …
Initiation And Retention In Couples Outpatient Treatment For Parents With Drug And Alcohol Use Disorders,
2016
Old Dominion University
Initiation And Retention In Couples Outpatient Treatment For Parents With Drug And Alcohol Use Disorders, Abbly L. Braitman, Michelle L. Kelley
Psychology Faculty Publications
The focus of the current study was to identity mental health, relationship factors, substance use related problems, and individual factors as predictors of couples-based substance abuse treatment initiation and attendance. Heterosexual couples with children that met study criteria were invited to attend 12 sessions of outpatient behavioral couples therapy. Men were more likely to initiate treatment if they had a higher income, had greater relationship satisfaction, were initiating treatment for alcohol use disorder only, were younger when they first suspected a problem, and had higher depression but lower hostility or phobic anxiety. Men attended more treatment sessions if they reported …
Loss Aversion In Cocaine Users: Influence Of Risk And Commodity Type,
2016
University of Kentucky
Loss Aversion In Cocaine Users: Influence Of Risk And Commodity Type, Justin Charles Strickland
Theses and Dissertations--Psychology
Numerous studies in behavioral economics have demonstrated that individuals are more sensitive to the prospect of a loss than a gain (i.e., loss aversion). Although loss aversion has been well described in healthy populations, little research exists in individuals with substance use disorders. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively evaluate loss aversion in cocaine users. Participants completed measures designed to assess loss aversion for drug and non-drug commodities under varying risk conditions. Cocaine demand was determined using a cocaine purchase task. Cocaine users showed a loss aversion score that was consistent across commodity and risk conditions. Compared to …
Evidence For Animal Grief?,
2016
Currently Unaffiliated
Evidence For Animal Grief?, Carolyn Ristau
Animal Sentience
The nature of evidence appropriate to the study of animal emotion (and cognition) is discussed in this review with reference to Barbara King’s book. How Animals Grieve is beautifully written, but it intermixes examples meeting King’s criteria for evidence of grief with other poignant but far less convincing examples. Yet, as noted earlier by Griffin (1958/1974), “Excessive caution can sometimes lead one as far astray as rash enthusiasm.” King cites strong evidence from long-term scientific field studies, often involving known individuals; from videotapes; from convergent evidence in neurophysiological studies; and, notwithstanding possible emotional bias, from animals living closely with humans. …
Devaluation As A Strategy To Address Behaviourally Whether Fish Feel,
2016
Indiana University Bloomington
Devaluation As A Strategy To Address Behaviourally Whether Fish Feel, Robert Ian Bowers
Animal Sentience
Failures of behavioural studies to address the question of whether fish feel pain have left scientists arguing on the basis of other criteria, including anatomy. I draw an analogy with a debate concerning the breadth of stimulus-response learning among nonhuman animals and propose an experiment that harks back to one solution to that debate: the devaluation paradigm. By changing the value of a noxious stimulus after training, one can differentiate a directly evoked response from a response to an intermediate representation, the pain.
Behavioral Phenotyping Of Vmat1 Knockout Mice: Relevance To Neuropsychiatric Disorders,
2016
Virginia Commonwealth University
Behavioral Phenotyping Of Vmat1 Knockout Mice: Relevance To Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Kevin A. Webster Ph.D.
Theses and Dissertations
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that causes a large economic burden and is prevalent across all cultures and countries around the world. Although both environmental factors and genetics are known to play an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia, the exact role of genetics and its interaction with environmental factors in an individual’s predisposition to develop schizophrenia is poorly understood. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms that include positive symptoms (e.g. delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech), negative symptoms (e.g. avolition, anhedonia, depressive-like behavior), and cognitive dysfunctions (e.g. executive functioning deficits in learning and memory, attention, and vigilance). Genomic …
Age-Related Changes In Hippocampal Arc Expression Following Minimal Behavioural Induction,
2016
Wilfrid Laurier University
Age-Related Changes In Hippocampal Arc Expression Following Minimal Behavioural Induction, Irina V. Odintsova
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
Normal ageing is associated with significant changes in cognitive function, including the decline of some forms of memory. The hippocampal formation is critical to learning and memory function, and plasticity in this region declines with age. Additionally, age-related differences in plasticity are greatest at lower levels of stimulation, thus peri-threshold plasticity may be of the greatest relevance for age-related changes in cognition. Moreover, the hippocampus is prone to changes in the expression of gene products that mediate plasticity with age. The current thesis attempts to link these observations by measuring hippocampal expression of Arc, an immediate-early gene that is critical …
Social Problems, Biomedical Answers? How Causes Of Social Problems Affect Choice Of Solutions,
2016
Wilfrid Laurier University
Social Problems, Biomedical Answers? How Causes Of Social Problems Affect Choice Of Solutions, Bianca C. Dreyer
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)
With rapid advances in behavioural genetics, scientists are identifying an increasing array of genetic influences on human behaviour. Public misconceptions about the function of genes often lead to the oversimplification of the role of genes in behaviour (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2011). To date, no study has systematically investigated whether simply learning about genetic causes of behaviour affects people’s preferred solutions to problematic behaviours. The present research program includes three studies that were designed to examine the psychological effects of exposure to genetic etiology for problematic behaviour, in particular aggression, and investigated how this information influences endorsement of solutions, rating of …
The Effects Of Pet Ownership On Anxiety And Depression Among Trauma-Exposed College Students,
2016
Virginia Commonwealth University
The Effects Of Pet Ownership On Anxiety And Depression Among Trauma-Exposed College Students, Dung N. Nguyentran, Marlene A. Michniak, James J. Jung, Christine Q. Do
Undergraduate Research Posters
Rates of anxiety and depression are prevalent in college students and can be attributed in part to stress and trauma-related events. However, studies suggest that pet ownership has the possibility of alleviating symptoms of anxiety, depression, negative emotions, and suicide. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between pet ownership and levels of anxiety and depression among those who have experienced a traumatic event. The sample was comprised of five hundred and forty-seven VCU students who completed an online survey from Spit for Science during their junior year. Linear regressions were performed to determine the nature and …
Effects Of Pharmacological De-Prenylation Of Rhes On Motor Behavior In A Beta-Nitropropionic Acid Animal Model Of Huntington's Disease,
2015
University of New Orleans
Effects Of Pharmacological De-Prenylation Of Rhes On Motor Behavior In A Beta-Nitropropionic Acid Animal Model Of Huntington's Disease, Ashley Whitmarsh
LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable, neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric disturbances. The progressive disease is caused by an unstable CAG expansion within the gene that normally encodes for the huntingtin protein (Htt). The expanded mutant form of Htt (mHtt) is expressed ubiquitously throughout patients’ bodies; however, neuronal degeneration is prominent only in the corpus striatum and, to a lesser extent, the cortex. The Ras homolog Rhes is also preferentially localized to the striatum. The putative co-factor Rhes has been shown to act with mHtt to cause neuronal death. Simvastatin, a lipid lowering drug, and zoledronate, a …
Emotional And Autonomic Responding To Auditory Stimuli,
2015
LSU New Orleans
Emotional And Autonomic Responding To Auditory Stimuli, Jeremy C. Peres
LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Much of the research examining emotion induction, regulation, and suppression considers solely the visual modality (e.g., pictures of faces) for emotion elicitation. In reality, emotions are cued, expressed, and interpreted through multiple modalities by employing the extensive use of auditory stimuli in addition to visual stimuli. There have been some recent efforts to offset this imbalance in modality preference by using emotional auditory stimuli alone or in addition to visual stimuli. This project aims to further investigate emotional and autonomic responding to auditory stimuli with the added component of examining differential responding across social (nonlinguistic vocal expression) and non-social auditory …
Effects Of Repeated Quetiapine Treatment On Conditioned
Avoidance Responding In Rats,
2015
Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Effects Of Repeated Quetiapine Treatment On Conditioned Avoidance Responding In Rats, Jun Gao, Min Feng, Natashia Swalve, Collin Davis, Nan Sui, Ming Li
Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications
The present study characterized the behavioral mechanisms of avoidance–disruptive effect of quetiapine in the conditioned avoidance response test under two behavioral testing (2 warning signals vs. 1 warning signal) and two drug administration conditions (subcutaneous vs. intravenous). In Experiments 1 and 2, well-trained adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were tested under the subcutaneous (s.c.) quetiapine treatment (5.0, 15.0, 25.0, 50.0 mg/kg) for 7 days in a novel procedure consisting of two conditioned stimuli (CS) (white noise serving as CS1 and pure tone as CS2). Only the highest dose (50.0 mg/kg) produced a persistent suppression of the avoidance response without impairing the …
Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus),
2015
University of Southern Mississippi
Olfactory Enrichment In California Sea Lions (Zalophus Californianus), Mystera M. Samuelson
Dissertations
In the wild, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) are exposed to a wide array of sensory information at all times. However, it is impossible for captive environments to provide this level of complexity. Therefore unique procedures and practices are necessary for the maintenance of physiological and psychological health in captive animals (Wells, 2009). This project aims to explore the behavioral effect of scent added to the environment, with the goal of improving the welfare of captive sea lions by introducing two scent types: 1.) Natural scents, found in their native environment, and 2.) Non-natural scents, not found in …
The Role Of Valproic Acid, A Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, In Reducing Anxiety Levels In Rats: An Epigenetics Study,
2015
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Role Of Valproic Acid, A Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, In Reducing Anxiety Levels In Rats: An Epigenetics Study, Juliet Buteme
Honors College Theses
Rats, like humans, show personality traits: they are born with different anxiety levels (i.e., high (HAn) or low anxiety (LAn) levels). In this study, we investigated (1) if treatment with valproic acid (VPA) can lower anxiety level in trait anxiety rats and (2) how VPA may interact with environment (e.g., enriched (EE), standard (SE) and isolated environments (IE)). VPA is a deacetylase inhibitor that increases Histone 3 acetylation, a known epigenetic mechanism that interacts with stress response proteins, and treats epilepsy and mood disorders. Since rats reared in IE exhibit heightened anxiety levels as compared to those in EE, we …
Experiencing Parental Loss During Adolescence And Factors Influencing Hospital Involvement And The Grieving Process,
2015
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Experiencing Parental Loss During Adolescence And Factors Influencing Hospital Involvement And The Grieving Process, Vaida Kazlauskaite
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
Experiencing the death of a loved one can be traumatic and painful to anyone. Adolescents in particular experience death in a unique way, during a time in their lives when they are developing their own autonomy and independence. Experiencing the deteriorating conditions of a terminally ill parent may affect an adolescent in many ways. However, there is relatively little research on adolescent involvement in the medical setting during a parent’s terminal illness and how this may affect the adolescent’s bereavement. This qualitative study utilized heuristic inquiry and procedures of Grounded Theory to investigate factors influencing the involvement in the hospital …
Age And Context Dependency In Causal Learning,
2015
Western Kentucky University
Age And Context Dependency In Causal Learning, Katherine Danielle Lowry
Masters Theses & Specialist Projects
The ability to make associations between causal cues and outcomes is an important adaptive trait that allows us to properly prepare for an upcoming event. Encoding context is a type of associative processing; thus, context is also an important aspect of acquiring causal relationships. Context gives us additional information about how two events are related and allows us to be flexible in how we respond to causal cues. Research indicates that older adults exhibit an associative deficit as well as a deficit in contextual processing; therefore, it seems likely that these deficits are responsible for the deficit in older adults’ …
Parent And Child Vagal Tone: Examining Parenting Behaviors As Moderators Of The Association,
2015
LSU New Orleans
Parent And Child Vagal Tone: Examining Parenting Behaviors As Moderators Of The Association, Rebecca Graham
LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Research indicates that learning how to regulate one’s emotions is critical to successful child development and is associated with adaptive social functioning and psychological adjustment (Dunn & Brown, 1994; Eisenberg, Fabes, Guthrie, & Reiser, 2000; Eisenberg, Fabes, & Murphy, 1996). Children’s emotion regulation abilities are thought to be influenced by both child (e.g., age, temperament) and parent characteristics (e.g., parenting behaviors, parental regulation; Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). Resting heart rate variability (HRV) has emerged as a potentially important biomarker associated with emotion regulation (Porges, 2007; Thayer & Lane, 2000); however, there are still significant gaps in research. In particular, …
