Biological Psychology Commons^™

Paradoxical Interaction Between Ocular Activity, Perception, And Decision Confidence At The Threshold Of Vision, Aaron Schurger

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

In humans and some other species perceptual decision-making is complemented by the ability to make confidence judgements about the certainty of sensory evidence. While both forms of decision process have been studied empirically, the precise relationship between them remains poorly understood. We performed an experiment that combined a perceptual decision-making task (identifying the category of a faint visual stimulus) with a confidence-judgement task (wagering on the accuracy of each perceptual decision). The visual stimulation paradigm required steady fixation, so we used eye-tracking to control for stray eye movements. Our data analyses revealed an unexpected and counterintuitive interaction between the steadiness …

Behavioral And Neuroanatomical Outcomes Of Early And Late Preterm Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury And The Neuroprotective Effects Of Whole-Body Hypothermia: An Animal Model, Haley C. Garbus

University Scholar Projects

The overarching aims of this research were: first, to characterize the anatomical and behavioral effects of preterm hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in rodent models; and second, to explore the method of passively induced whole-body hypothermia as a neuroprotective intervention following HI. Clinical research of preterm injured infants has shown a large range of behavioral deficits, including delays in language learning, spatial and non-spatial memory, visual attention, and motor coordination. The current studies focused on these behavioral abnormalities, using HI rodent models. Specifically, we explored a model for early preterm HI (HI induced on postnatal day (P) 3 in rats), and compared …

The Impact Of Childhood Trauma As Moderated By Ptsd, Relationship With Caregiver, And Rumination, Aislyn M. Allen

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

The current study explored the relationship between childhood trauma and deliberate rumination, as well as PTSD symptomology, psychological and physiological functioning. Participants consisted of 55 undergraduate students, ages 18-23; who completed measures about a specific traumatic event, psychological functioning, parental attachment, PTSD symptoms, deliberate rumination, childhood maltreatment, and a demographics questionnaire. Reported childhood trauma was a specifically identified traumatic life event, child maltreatment, or having a parent with a substance abuse or mental disorder. Following completion of measures, participants were asked to answer questions while heart rate, heart rate variability, and electrodermal activity were monitored. Results indicated there was relation …

Are Women Higher In Anxiety Than Men? United States Surveys, 2003‐2013, Rabale Hasan

Honors Scholar Theses

A large proportion of the U.S. population suffers from anxiety and related mental illnesses. An in-depth analysis needs to examine all possible factors that may explain why anxiety is on an upward trend and why women are more likely than men to present with anxiety. This study examined the anxiety in five cross-sectional United States surveys (Total N=19,630) taken in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2013. Predictors such as demographics (e.g., race, age, gender), medical conditions, behavioral choices (e.g., BMI, exercise, sleep), and psychosocial stressors were investigated. Linear regression and logistic regression analyses were used to examine trends. Anxiety is …

Oscillatory Activity In The Subthalamic Nucleus And Motor Cortex In A Pharmacological Model Of Parkinsonian Tremor, Aileen F. Haque

Honors Scholar Theses

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a motor disorder with symptoms including resting tremor, akinesia, bradykinesia, and rigidity. A major neuropathological feature of PD is degeneration of nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurons. The resulting DA depletions lead to the production of severe motor deficits. Pharmacological agents that reduce DA transmission can also induce these motor abnormalities. In addition to the involvement of DA, drugs acting on acetylcholine, namely cholinomimetics, can induce or exacerbate Parkinsonian symptoms. In humans, one of the main motor symptoms associated with PD is resting tremor, occurring at a frequency of 3-7 Hz. This can be modeled in rodents using …

Inverse Changes In Ghrelin And A2a Receptor Gene Expression Levels In The Hippocampus Of Heart Failure Canines Following Spinal Cord Stimulation, Benjamin E. Jewett

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Myocardial infarction (MI), often referred to as a heart attack, is a serious health issue in the United States. There is a well-documented link between MI and major depressive disorder (MDD), with a high incidence of MDD occurring after an MI. Overlapping pathologies have been observed within the hippocampus of the brain in animal models of MI and depression. These observations suggest that pathobiological cross-talk between the heart and brain could have a role in the etiology of MDD that occurs after an MI. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has previously been shown to have both cardioprotective and neuroprotective effects post-MI, …

The Synergistic Effects Of Methylphenidate On The Behavioral Effects Of Nicotine, Kristen K. Leedy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

One of the most common childhood disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) places individuals at a higher risk for nicotine (NIC) dependence. Approximately 37.2% of individuals with ADHD currently smoke compared to the 18.3% of individuals with no record of mental illness. Methylphenidate (MPH; Trade name Ritalin) is the most commonly prescribed treatment for ADHD. Research regarding the synergistic effects of MPH and NIC, however, is divided. Some research indicates that MPH may enhance susceptibility to NIC effects, whereas other studies report that MPH may inhibit sensitization to NIC. The present study examines the effects of pre-exposure to MPH (1.0 mg/kg) …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Different Doses Of Gabab Receptor Ligands On Spatial Learning And Memory And Memory Flexibility, Chelcie Heaney

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, gamma amino-butyric acid (GABA), mediates several types of learning and memory. Of the two main receptor subtypes for GABA, the in vivo role of GABAB receptor in learning and memory is less well characterized and the current data often conflict. Based on the current literature, it is unclear, for instance, whether enhancing GABAergic activity via the GABAB receptor could be beneficial for or detrimental to learning and memory. Hippocampally-dependent learning and memory tasks are of particular interest due to their clinical relevance to patients with schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s disease, who exhibit impaired performance …

Electrophysiological Changes In P200 Latency And Amplitude Of Jittered Orientation Visual Integration Task In Healthy Participants: A Multi-Block Design Eeg Study, Monika M. Rozynski, Chi-Ming Chen

Honors Scholar Theses

Visual integration, the ability to fuse environmental information such as light, color, shades, and motion to form a representation of a whole cohesive higher-order visual image, is impaired in persons with schizophrenia. Little is known how the P200 component, an event-related potential (ERP) in the parieto-occipital region, is affected in persons with schizophrenia while they perform visual integration tasks, when compared to healthy persons. This study administered Gabor contours that varied in high and low degrees of orientational jitter through the Jitter Orientation Visual Integration (JOVI) task to investigate visual integration by analyzing latency and amplitude of the P200 component. …

Effects Of 17Β-Estradiol On Learning And Memory And Strategy Use During A Hole Board Spatial Navigation Task In Aged Male Rats, Megan Berthiaume

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Treatment with 17β- estradiol has been shown to ameliorate age related deficits in spatial learning and memory as well as to promote the use of an allocentric strategy during spatial navigation. While the majority of research using 17β- estradiol has been done using females rodents, there have been studies showing an improvement in spatial learning and memory and promoted use of allocentric strategies in spatial navigation in males as well. In males testosterone (T) is metabolized into estradiol by aromatase. As circulating levels of T decline with aging there is less available T to be metabolized into estradiol. The current …

Bugs Are Not Loved, David Bober

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The story The Metamorphosis is about Gregor, a young salesman, who turns into a giant insect. Over the course of The Metamorphosis, Gregor slowly begins to hate his change more and more. During his change, he slowly separates from his family to the point where they are relieved when he dies. This story is important because the protagonists has clear ordeals with change and how it affects him. From the story, I learned that most change is often resented, and when change is pushed, it usually ends negatively.

Double Dissociation Of The Anterior And Posterior Dorsomedial Caudate–Putamen In The Acquisition And Expression Of Associative Learning With The Nicotine Stimulus, Sergios Charntikov

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide. This habit is not only debilitating to individual users but also to those around them (second-hand smoking). Nicotine is the main addictive component of tobacco products and is a moderate stimulant and a mild reinforcer. Importantly, besides its unconditional effects, nicotine also has conditioned stimulus effects that may contribute to the tenacity of the smoking habit. Because the neurobiological substrates underlying these processes are virtually unexplored, the present study investigated functional involvement of dorsomedial caudate putamen (dmCPu) in the conditioning processes with nicotine as a conditioned stimulus. Rats were trained …

Oprm1 Rs1799971 Genotype Predicts Drinking Behavior In Males, But Not Females, Sarah Hughes Berheim, Carmen Ochoa, Grace Sullivan, Scott F. Stoltenberg

UCARE: Research Products

• The prevalence of alcohol disorders costs Americans $223.5 billion yearly due mostly from losses in workplace productivity, as well as health care and criminal justice expenses (CDC, 2016).

• Maximum number of drinks consumed in a 24 hour period is a valid indicator of dangerous drinking behavior and may reflect an increased tolerance for high levels of alcohol (Edenberg, 2016).

• Awareness of factors related to such heavy drinking is important for targeting interventions for dangerous alcohol use.

• Men drink significantly more than women, with about 4.5% of men and 2.5% of women meeting the diagnostic criteria for …

Stress And Eyewitness Memory: Timing Of Stressor And Association With Cortisol Stress Responding, Timothy Ryan Robicheaux

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Witnesses to and victims of criminal events can face significant stress during such encounters. Stress responding consists of a multitude of responses (e.g., anxiety, cardiovascular changes, cortisol responding). In the current study, I utilized a physiological stressor (i.e., the cold-pressor test) and a facial recognition paradigm to examine the relationship between cortisol change following stress exposure and memory accuracy. More specifically, I examined whether cortisol levels at specific memory stages (i.e., acquisition and retrieval) predicted stress responding differently.

Findings suggested that individual differences in cortisol stress responding to the cold-pressor test predicted facial recognition when peak cortisol was at a …

The Neurophysiology Of Intersensory Selective Attention And Task Switching, Jeremy W. Murphy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Our ability to selectively attend to certain aspects of the world and ignore others is fundamental to our day-to-day lives. The need for selective attention stems from capacity limitations inherent in our perceptual and cognitive processing architecture. Because not every elemental piece of our environment can be fully processed in parallel, the nervous system must prioritize processing. This prioritization is generally referred to as selective attention. Meanwhile, we are faced with a world that is constantly in flux, such that we have to frequently shift our attention from one piece of the environment to another and from one task to …

Repeated Effects Of The Neurotensin Receptor Agonist Pd149163 In Three Animal Tests Of Antipsychotic Activity: Assessing For Tolerance And Cross-Tolerance To Clozapine, Shinnyi Chou, Collin Davis, Sean Jones, Ming Li

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Neurotensin is an endogenous neuropeptide closely associated with the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and shown to possess antipsychotic-like effects. In particular, acute neurotensin receptor activation can inhibit conditioned avoidance response (CAR), attenuate phencyclidine (PCP)-induced prepulse inhibition (PPI) disruptions, and reverse PCP-induced hyperlocomotion. However, few studies have examined the long term effects of repeated neurotensin receptor activation and results are inconsistent. Since clinical administration of antipsychotic therapy often requires a prolonged treatment schedule, here we assessed the effects of repeated activation of neurotensin receptors using an NTS1 receptor selective agonist, PD149163, in 3 behavioral tests of antipsychotic activity. We also investigated whether …

Spontaneous Facial Behavior Computing In Human Machine Interaction With Applications In Autism Treatment, Seyedmohammad Mavadati

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital devices and computing machines such as computers, hand-held devices and robots are becoming an important part of our daily life. To have affect-aware intelligent Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) systems, scientists and engineers have aimed to design interfaces which can emulate face-to-face communication. Such HMI systems are capable of detecting and responding upon users' emotions and affective states. One of the main challenges for producing such intelligent system is to design a machine, which can automatically compute spontaneous behaviors of humans in real-life settings. Since humans' facial behaviors contain important non-verbal cues, this dissertation studies facial actions and behaviors in HMI …

A Mixed Methods Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of A Group Yoga Intervention As An Adjunctive Trauma Therapy For Adolescent Girls, Melissa Eileen Houser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Neuroscience findings support the need for trauma treatments that work from the lowest levels of the brain up to the highest levels of the brain (Perry, 2009) due to evidence that the inverse relationship between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex is not as strong in individuals who have experienced trauma, leading to difficulty in inhibiting fear responses through cognition (McRae, Ochsner, & Gross 2011). Difficulties associating language with traumatic events have also been found (van der Kolk, 2006). The integration of mindfulness practices and the popularization of yoga in the West have led to use of yoga to address trauma …

Developing A Neuroplasticity-Based Treatment Program For Psychopathy: Treatment Foci And Options, Mariah Villanueva

UROP Posters

Psychopathy is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is commonly misunderstood as the condition of criminals, and many people believe the best cure is simple confinement for those who ignore society’s laws. Psychopathy, though, is a genuine condition with a genetic basis that manifests itself through neurotransmitter system disruption and hormone imbalances. Psychopathy has a serious neurological impact on an individual, with impairments largely focused in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, as well as overall negatively affecting the limbic system of the brain. Together, the total impact causes issues with that individual’s ability to empathize, to experience emotions normally, to develop a …

Cannabinoid Modulation Of Cisplatin Induced Neuropathy, Hannah Marie Harris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Endocannabinoid modulation of cancer-related pain is well-documented. Sativex, a cannabinoid extract with a 1:1 ratio of tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) and cannabidiol (cbd) has been shown to alleviate neuropathic pain associated with chemotherapy. This research examined whether thc or cbd alone is effective in attenuating or preventing tactile allodynia associated with cisplatin-administration. Mice (c57bl/6) were given eight doses of 2.3 mg/kg cisplatin or saline solution ip every second day to induce tactile allodynia (ringers on alternate days). Tactile responses to hind-paws were quantified in g of force using an electric von frey (evf) prior to (baseline) and after the cisplatin administration protocol. …