Neuropsychological Implications Of Nocturnal Hypoxemia In Sickle Cell Disease,
2021
Pepperdine University
Neuropsychological Implications Of Nocturnal Hypoxemia In Sickle Cell Disease, Sheena Ram
Theses and Dissertations
Neuropsychological impairments have been observed in both individuals with sleep-disordered breathing and in individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), but there has been little research on the potential effect of sleep-disordered breathing on neuropsychological function in individuals with SCD. This study aims to examine the effect nocturnal oxygen desaturations have on neuropsychological functioning in individuals with sickle cell disease when compared to those with non-sickle anemia and healthy controls. Thirty-four participants with SCD, 18 non-sickle anemia controls (ACTL), and 29 healthy controls (CTL), ages 9 to 63 years, participating in an IRB-approved Children’s Hospital Los Angeles study of cerebral blood …
Analysis Of Circadian Rhythm Irregularities On The Health Of Shift Workers,
2021
The University of Akron
Analysis Of Circadian Rhythm Irregularities On The Health Of Shift Workers, Sahil Rajan
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
Circadian rhythms involve the natural 24 wake-sleep cycle that governs proper maintenance of biological sleep schedules. Circadian rhythm disruption has been associated with health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and mental health disorders such as bipolar and sleep disorders. In this study, a survey method was utilized in order to analyze specific population demographics to determine whether working day or night shifts predisposed individuals to health issues due to disruptions in their circadian rhythms. This study was also carried out to observe popular coping strategies among night shift workers. Of all the variables tested comparing the difference between day and …
Music And Its Effects On The Brain,
2021
The University of Akron
Music And Its Effects On The Brain, Caitlyn Herron
Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects
This paper will discuss, in short, how music influences our brain, as well as some behavioral and physiological effects as a result. The brain consists of many regions responsible for different cognitive processes, such as learning, memory, recall, speech, and our emotions. It has been found that music helps to facilitate all of these cognitive processes, regardless of its emotional valence or whether the music is active or passive, such as singing or listening to it, respectively. It was discovered that music influences our ability to learn novel concepts related to mathematics, reading, and even language acquisition. It was also …
Difficult Turned Easy: Suggestion Renders A Challenging Visual Task Simple,
2020
Université Paris Sciences et Lettres
Difficult Turned Easy: Suggestion Renders A Challenging Visual Task Simple, Mathieu Landry, Jason Da Silva Castanheira, Jérôme Sackur, Amir Raz
Psychology Faculty Articles and Research
Suggestions can cause some individuals to miss or disregard existing visual stimuli, but can they infuse sensory input with nonexistent information? Although several prominent theories of hypnotic suggestion propose that mental imagery can change our perceptual experience, data to support this stance remain sparse. The present study addressed this lacuna, showing how suggesting the presence of physically absent, yet critical, visual information transforms an otherwise difficult task into an easy one. Here, we show how adult participants who are highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion successfully hallucinated visual occluders on top of moving objects. Our findings support the idea that, at …
Inactivation Of Nucleus Reuniens Impairs Spatial Memory In Mice,
2020
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Inactivation Of Nucleus Reuniens Impairs Spatial Memory In Mice, Miranda Schwabe
Theses and Dissertations
Episodic memory is a complex process requiring input from several regions of the brain. Coordinated activity in the Dorsal Hippocampus (DH) and medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) is required for episodic memory consolidation. Our laboratory demonstrated that simultaneous subthreshold chemogenetic inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus (DH) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) impairs the consolidation of object placement (OP) and object recognition (OR) memory in female mice (Tuscher et al., 2018), suggesting that these two brain regions work in concert to promote memory consolidation. However, the mechanisms through which the DH and mPFC interact to promote memory consolidation remain poorly understood. A …
Assessment Of Dopaminergic And Serotonergic Receptor Antagonists In Male Rats Trained To Discriminate 4-Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone),
2020
Western Michigan University
Assessment Of Dopaminergic And Serotonergic Receptor Antagonists In Male Rats Trained To Discriminate 4-Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone), Rachel L. Burroughs
Masters Theses
Preclinical drug discrimination studies of the synthetic cathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone (mephedrone) have demonstrated its effects are comparable to those of other popular psychostimulant drugs. Few studies have directly examined the contribution of specific neurotransmitter receptors to mephedrone’s discriminative stimulus effects. The present study investigated the role of dopamine and serotonin receptors in these effects. Eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to discriminate 3.0 mg/kg mephedrone from saline. After dose-response curves were determined with mephedrone (0.375-3.0 mg/kg), a series of stimulus antagonism tests were conducted with dopamine antagonists (Sch 23390, haloperidol) and serotonin antagonists (WAY 100,635, MDL 100,907, pirenperone) administered as …
Biological Siblings: Can You Trust Them With Your Mate?,
2020
California State University, San Bernardino
Biological Siblings: Can You Trust Them With Your Mate?, Elisha Barron
Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations
Recent studies suggest that genes may influence human mate preferences. What would this mean for same-sex siblings who share genes? Might they also share mate preferences and engage in mate poaching or would social norms and strong sibling bonds discourage such behaviors? We hypothesized that siblings would perceive their mate preferences to be more similar to their sibling’s than to an average person of their same gender. It was also hypothesized that the association between perceived sibling mate preferences and sibling mate poaching would be moderated by sibling closeness and sibling competition. Additionally, it was hypothesized that sibling mate competition …
Chronic Stress In Relation To Locus Of Control,
2020
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Chronic Stress In Relation To Locus Of Control, Kendra Clark, Miranda Jany, Carissa Philippi
Undergraduate Research Symposium
Stress is prominent in everyone’s lives, and if the right precautions are not taken, stress can become chronic and harmful to an individual’s health (Schmitz, Neumann, & Oppermann, 2000). To prevent chronic stress, researchers seek to find out important factors that lead to chronic stress. One of the most prominent factors leading to chronic stress is locus of control (LOC), or how much control people feel they have over situations (Cummins, 1988). People can endorse an internal locus of control which means individual attributes events occurring in their life to their own behavior, or an external, which one would consider …
Is Executive Function The Universal Acid?,
2020
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Is Executive Function The Universal Acid?, Stephen J. Morse
Faculty Scholarship at Penn Carey Law
This essay responds to Hirstein, Sifferd and Fagan’s book, Responsible Brains (MIT Press, 2018), which claims that executive function is the guiding mechanism that supports both responsible agency and the necessity for some excuses. In contrast, I suggest that executive function is not the universal acid and the neuroscience at present contributes almost nothing to the necessary psychological level of explanation and analysis. To the extent neuroscience can be useful, it is virtually entirely dependent on well-validated psychology to correlate with the neuroscientific variables under investigation. The essay considers what executive function is and what the neuroscience adds to our …
Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Of Adverse Trauma Outcomes In Emerging Adulthood,
2020
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Of Adverse Trauma Outcomes In Emerging Adulthood, Olena Kleshchova
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Background: Exposure to traumatic stress and adversity during the formative years of development can have adverse effects on mental health, neuroendocrine stress system function, and the brain, that persist into adulthood. One candidate mechanism that might confer vulnerability to enduring adverse outcomes of early life trauma is disruption of normal brain maturation. As the brain matures, functional interactions among brain regions change until the functional brain architecture (i.e., the functional connectome) reaches a mature state in adulthood. Given that different neural circuits have distinct developmental trajectories and sensitive periods, traumatic stress at a given point in development might have …
Assessing Sex Differences In The Effects Of Short-Term Rem Sleep On Anxiety- And Depressive-Like Behaviors In Rats,
2020
Seton Hall University
Assessing Sex Differences In The Effects Of Short-Term Rem Sleep On Anxiety- And Depressive-Like Behaviors In Rats, Nadia Meshkati
Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)
Findings from both human and animal studies suggest rapid eye movement (REM) sleep disturbances following a traumatic event can lead to inability to extinguish the fear association, and eventually influence the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, research has demonstrated that sleep disruptions, including REM sleep deprivation (RSD), increases anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors and states in animals and people, with evidence of sex differences. Furthermore, it has yet to be determined whether short-term RSD, a more natural animal model of PTSD, can influence affective state of subjects. The present study applied short-term RSD to investigate sex differences in the …
Airway Hydrogen Peroxide During A Naturalistic Period Of Sustained Psychological Stress In Individuals With Asthma And Healthy Controls,
2020
Southern Methodist University
Airway Hydrogen Peroxide During A Naturalistic Period Of Sustained Psychological Stress In Individuals With Asthma And Healthy Controls, Chelsey Werchan
Psychology Theses and Dissertations
Reactive oxygen species in the form of exhaled hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and nitric oxide (NO) are important biological markers of inflammation and immune response in the airways of both asthmatics and healthy individuals. Previous research has linked psychological distress to changes in these processes in the airways, which can impact overall disease management outcomes. The current study examined changes in H2O2, NO, mood, and other physiological measures during times of prolonged stress using a naturalistic paradigm. Both healthy and asthmatic participants were assessed at three separate time periods; once during a low …
Adhd, Willpower, And Interest: A Positive Approach,
2020
University of Pennsylvania
Adhd, Willpower, And Interest: A Positive Approach, Roger Dewitt
Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that typically presents with challenges of attention, impulsivity, self-regulation, memory, and sometimes, physical restlessness. Many practitioners, as well as the general public, often treat ADHD as a “disorder” that needs to be “cured,” and precious few researchers and practitioners look to understand and work with the ADHD nervous system rather than trying to align it to the “norm.” This paper will examine ADHD from a positive focus: that it is a nervous system that works extremely well as long as certain criteria are met. It will examine what ADHD is, where …
Electrocortical Changes Observed In The N2 As An Outcome Of Attention Bias Modification Training,
2020
Northern Michigan University
Electrocortical Changes Observed In The N2 As An Outcome Of Attention Bias Modification Training, Hayley Gilbertson
All NMU Master's Theses
Anxiety disorders are currently one of the most predominant mental health conditions worldwide. Increased anxiety is associated with elevated attentional focus to threat also known as attentional bias to threat. Attention Bias Modification (ABM) is a type of computerized training, attempting to reduce attentional focus for threatening stimuli and has been found to successfully reduce symptoms of anxiety. Past studies have implemented ABM training as a possible tool to modulate attention away from threat in attempt to decrease pathological anxiety. The N2 is an event-related potential (ERP) detected in scalp EEG recordings that is associated with conflict monitoring and complex …
Metacognition And Living Above Zero,
2020
University of Pennsylvania
Metacognition And Living Above Zero, Mary Margaret Rogers
Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstone Projects
Metacognition is a multi-dimensional phenomenon consisting of knowledge and regulatory skills used to monitor, control, and appraise one’s thoughts and thought processes (Schraw, 1998; Wells, 2009). This essay contends that metacognition is relevant to positive psychology and the non-clinical application of well-being practices as it may be utilized to promote self-efficacy, decrease anxiety, and increase well-being. Fortifying metacognitive processes (i.e. knowledge and regulation of cognition) is conceived to foster a sense of control regarding one’s thoughts and behaviors, thereby increasing one’s self-efficacy. Next, it is argued that metacognition may be used to decrease anxiety as the monitoring processes subsumed in …
Development Of Prefrontal Structure And Connectivity In Typical Children And Children With Adhd: Association With Language And Executive Function,
2020
Florida International University
Development Of Prefrontal Structure And Connectivity In Typical Children And Children With Adhd: Association With Language And Executive Function, Dea Garic
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The structure and connectivity of the prefrontal cortex has been extensively studied for its contribution to language and executive function (EF) development, but many questions still remain whether its microstructural tissue properties can reliably predict behavioral outcomes in very young typically and atypically developing populations. In particular, the bilateral frontal aslant tract (FAT) has garnered increasing interest with respect to its potential association with both language and EF, but has yet to be examined in childhood attention disorders, such Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the same time, with advances in diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), new diffusion models offer more …
Neurobiological Mechanisms Of Cognitive Processing Therapy For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Brain Network Approach,
2020
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Neurobiological Mechanisms Of Cognitive Processing Therapy For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Brain Network Approach, Tessa Vuper
Dissertations
Psychotherapy research is increasingly targeting both psychological and neurobiological mechanisms of therapeutic change. This trend is evident in and applicable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment research given the high nonresponse rate of individuals with PTSD who undergo cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). A review of the literature investigating neurobiological mechanisms of CBT in PTSD reveals inconsistent results that fail to fully support dual process or learning models of CBT effects in the brain. However, network-based models of psychopathology provide a new framework from which to understand both mental disorder symptoms and therapeutic mechanisms. The current study investigated a) whether brain networks …
Scope Of Attention Variation As A Function Of Anxiety And Depression,
2020
California State University, San Bernardino
Scope Of Attention Variation As A Function Of Anxiety And Depression, Kathleen O'Donnell
Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations
As a social species, correct emotional perception is so vital, that the human brain has evolved a mechanism to control attentional choices by exerting a narrowed field of perception during danger, called the scope of attention (SoA). The SoA determines what information will be focused on or ignored by blocking the perception of non-relevant items and increasing selective focus on danger; even if danger is merely a sad-face. The emotional items blocked from perception cannot be remembered because they were never perceived. But, attention-control to emotional stimuli also varies with mood, as seen in mood-disorders. A mood-disorder’s effect upon the …
A Quadratic Analysis Of Trait Anxiety And Heart Rate Variability,
2020
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
A Quadratic Analysis Of Trait Anxiety And Heart Rate Variability, Katlyn Schroder
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Trait anxiety refers to an individual’s sensitivity to perceived threat. Though it is not itself diagnosable according to the DSM-5, trait anxiety scales are often administered in a clinical context and serve as an indicator for anxiety disorders. High levels of trait anxiety can result in prolonged periods of intense worry and dysfunction, even in those who are not diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Previous studies have attempted to understand the relationship between trait anxiety and reactivity of the autonomic nervous system, especially in relation to vagal tone, but have found inconsistent results. One possible explanation for this inconsistency is …
The Effects Of Low Dose Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Administration In A Rodent Model Of Delay Discounting,
2020
Western Michigan University
The Effects Of Low Dose Lysergic Acid Diethylamide Administration In A Rodent Model Of Delay Discounting, Robert J. Kohler
Dissertations
The resurgence of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) as a therapeutic tool requires a revival in research, both basic and clinical, to bridge gaps in knowledge left from a previous generation of work. Currently, no study has been published with the intent of establishing optimal microdose concentrations of LSD in an animal model. In the present study, rats were administered a range of LSD doses to quantify potential augmentations in choice behavior in a rodent model of delay discounting. In the first experiment, rats were administered LSD (20 or 40 μg/kg, i.p.) or saline at the start of terminal baseline training …
