Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Neuroscience, Psychology, and Behaviour'
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1
Blum, Bridget E. "Consumer Neuroscience: A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Marketing Leveraging Advances in Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1414.
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For decades, neuroscience has greatly contributed to our foundational understanding of human behavior. More recently, the findings and methods of neuroscience have been applied to study the process of decision-making in order to offer advanced insights into the neural mechanisms that influence economic and consumer choices. In this thesis, I will address how customized marketing strategies can be enriched through the integration of consumer neuroscience, an integrative field anchored in the biological, cognitive and affective mechanisms of consumer behavior. By recognizing and utilizing these multidisciplinary interdependencies, marketers can enhance their advertising and promotional mix to elicit desired neural and affective consumer responses and measure these reactions in order to enhance purchasing decisions. The principal objective of this thesis is to present a comprehensive review of consumer neuroscience and to elucidate why it is an increasingly important area of study within the framework of human behavior. I will also describe how the insights gained from this emerging field can be leveraged to optimize marketing activities. Finally, I propose an experiment that illuminates key research questions, which may have considerable impact on the discipline of consumer neuroscience as well as the marketing industry.
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Kolling, Nils Stephen. "Decision making, the frontal lobes and foraging behaviour." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ea509f5e-dca4-44e5-9f3f-f7d6550e5b45.
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The aim of this thesis was to understand the function of the frontal lobes during different types of decisions thusfar mostly neglected in cognitive neuroscience. Namely, I sought to understand how decisions are made when comparisons are not about a simple set of concrete options presented, but rather require a comparison with one specific encounter and a sense of the value of the current environment (Chapter 2-3). Additionally, I wanted to understand how decisions between concrete options can be contextualized by the current environment to allow considerations about changing environmental constraints to factor into the decision making process (Chapter 4-5). At last, I wanted to test how the potential for future behaviours within an environment has an effect on peoples decisions (Chapter 6). In other words, how do people construct prospective value when it requires a sense of own future behaviours? All this work was informed by concepts and models originating from optimal foraging theory, which seeks to understand animal behaviours using computational models for different ecological types of choices. Thus, this thesis offers a perspective on the neural mechanisms underlying human decision making capacities that relates them to common problems faced by animals and presumably humans in ecological environments (Chapter 1 and 7). As optimal foraging theory assumes that solving these problems efficiently is highly relevant for survival, it is possible that neural structures evolved in ways to particularly accommodate for the solution of those problems. Therefore, different prefrontal structures might be dedicated to unique ways of solving ecological kinds of decision problems. My thesis as a whole gives some evidence for such a perspective, as dACC and vmPFC were repeatedly identified as constituting unique systems for evaluation according to different reference frames. Their competition within a wider network of areas appeared to ultimately drive decisions under changing contexts. In the future, a better understanding of those changing interactions between these prefrontal areas which generate more complex and adaptive behaviours, will be crucial for understanding more natural choice behaviours. For this temporally resolved neural measurements as well as causal interference will be essential.
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Richards, Caroline Ruth. "Self-injurious behaviour in autism spectrum disorder." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3515/.
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Background: Self-injury is reported to be common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there are limited robust data detailing the prevalence, persistence, associated person characteristics and operant function of self-injury in ASD. Method: Three large scale survey studies were employed to establish the prevalence, persistence and risk markers for self-injury in ASD compared to contrast groups. Experimental functional analyses were conducted, including a fine grained temporal analysis of behaviours associated with self-injury. Results: Self-injury was displayed by 50% of the ASD sample and was persistent over three years in 77.8% of the group. Self-injury was associated with higher levels of autistic behaviour in individuals without idiopathic autism. Self-injury was associated with higher levels of impulsivity, hyperactivity, painful health conditions, repetitive behaviours and lower levels of adaptive behaviour. ‘ASD weighted’ operant functions for self-injury were identified for the majority of children with ASD. Conclusions: Self-injury is prevalent and persistent in ASD. The presence of ASD phenomenology is a risk marker for self-injury. There is a role for repetitive behaviours, pain and impaired behavioural inhibition in the development and persistence of self-injury. Self-injury is likely to be maintained by operant reinforcement in many individuals with ASD, through ‘ASD weighted’ reinforcement contingencies.
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Ralph-Nearman, Christina. "Examining the relationship between information processing strategies and disordered eating behaviour." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49926/.
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Many cognitive theories point to key factors underlying the development and maintenance of eating disorders, such as: unhealthy food-related cognitive biases, negative body attitude, and perfectionism. The present research utilised eye-tracking during reading as a novel implicit measure of how these factors may relate to eating disorder tendencies in females and males, followed by the development of two new male body dissatisfaction scales. In four experiments female and male (N = 360) participants’ eye movements were monitored while they read third- and second-person perspective texts in which the characters’ emotional responses to food-, body image-, and perfectionism-related scenarios were described. Overall, results from these studies suggest that on-line processing of characters’ emotional responses to perfectionism-, and to a lesser extent, body image-related information is predictive of participants’ disordered eating tendencies, thus supporting theories in which these two underlying factors are key to developing and maintaining eating disorders. Interestingly, the on-line processing of characters’ emotional responses to food-related scenarios did not predict eating disorder tendencies, as participants read food-related scenarios similarly, regardless of having a higher eating disorder level. In Chapter V, two new male body dissatisfaction scales: The Male Body Scale (MBS; consisting of emaciated to obese figures) and the Male Fit Body Scale (MFBS; consisting of emaciated to muscular figures) were developed, tested, and re-tested. Male participants (N = 103) rated which of nine body figures on each scale most represented their current- and ideal- body figure, followed by the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS), the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0), and the calculation of their actual body mass index (BMI), fat-, and muscularity-percentage. This was followed by a re-test and manipulation check two to six weeks later. Results found both new scales were consistently valid and reliable between test and re-test, and importantly, each scale was sensitive to different types of body dissatisfaction within males. Specifically, the MBS revealed that males’ desire for the thin-ideal significantly corresponded to higher eating disorder tendencies as shown by EDE-Q 6.0 scores, whilst the MFBS revealed much higher body dissatisfaction toward the larger, muscularity-ideal, predicting higher drive for muscularity as shown by DMS scores. Altogether, the present research findings provide novel insights into cognitive processes underlying disordered eating behaviour, demonstrate the utility of eye-tracking as a more natural implicit measure, provide tools to assess and predict eating disorder tendencies in females and males, and inform eating disorder related research.
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Kanso, Riam. "The effect of interpersonal power on cognitive processing : a behavioural and neural perspective." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cdde1f31-890a-444e-85fe-09b09348fcf1.
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Interpersonal power, defined as the asymmetrical control over valued outcomes, has important effects on the way cognitive processing unfolds. This work explores the effect of power on basic cognitive processes, in addition to broader processes that appear at the level of social behaviour. I begin this thesis with an introductory chapter, followed by a chapter describing the theory and practice behind electro-encephalogram recordings. In Chapter 3, I explore the effect of power on attention selection using a task that requires the ability to focus or divide attention in space, while varying the amount of distractors. The results suggest that low-power participants (subordinates) are more susceptible to the presence of distractors, regardless of whether the task necessitates focused or divided attention. In this context, inhibition accounts for the results to a greater extent than spatial orienting. In Chapter 4, I explore the effect of power on early inhibition processes in the context of executive control, in a task which allows participants to allegedly observe each others’ performance and receive feedback. The results show that high power is associated with reduced behavioural accuracy on trials that require executive control. Event-related potential analyses show that power-holders devote reduced motivational resources to their targets compared to subordinates, but do not differ at the level of early conflict detection. Their feedback potential results show a greater expectation of rewards, but reduced subjective magnitude attributed to losses. Subordinates, on the other hand, are asymmetrically sensitive to power-holders’ targets. They expect fewer rewards, but attribute greater significance to losses. In Chapter 5, I show that subordinates are asymmetrically competent at remembering diagnostic choices made by power-holders. In a final general discussion chapter, I integrate the findings of the experiments, which point to multi-layered effects of power, conferring those who possess it and those who lack it with distinct cognitive processing styles that suit their adaptive needs. The results are consistent with a hypothesized link between subordination and up-regulation of vigilance and environmental sensitivity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
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Chang, Luke Joseph. "Deconstructing the Role of Expectations in Cooperative Behavior with Decision Neuroscience." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/223343.
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This project attempts to understand the role of expectations in cooperative behavior using the interdisciplinary approach of Decision Neuroscience. While cooperation provides the foundation for a successful society, the underlying bio-psycho-social mechanisms remain surprisingly poorly understood. This investigation deconstructs cooperation into the specific behaviors of trust, reciprocation, and norm enforcement using the Trust and Ultimatum Games from behavioral economics and combines formal modeling and functional magnetic resonance imaging to understand the neurocomputational role of expectations in these behaviors. The results indicate that people appear to use context specific shared expectations when making social decisions. These beliefs are malleable and appear to be dynamically updated after an interaction. Emotions such as guilt and anger can be formally operationalized in terms of others' expectations and appear to be processed by a specific neural system involving the anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and supplemental motor cortex. Importantly, these neural signals appear to motivate people to not only behave consistent with these expectations, but also to help others update their beliefs when these expectations are violated. Further, violations of social expectations appear to promote enhanced memory for norm violators. This work demonstrates the neural and computational basis of moral sentiments.
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Rafter, M. D. "Understanding compulsive behaviour in psychiatric disorders with a touchscreen rodent model of reversal learning." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41249/.
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Behaviour is considered to be compulsive when it is performed automatically regardless of whether it results in deleterious consequences. Although most prominently associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder, compulsivity is also present in a host of other psychiatric disorders and likely represents a trans-diagnostic trait with shared dysfunctional circuitry (Gillan et al., 2016a). Despite this, no single treatment shows anticompulsive efficacy across disorders, and disorder-specific treatments are not particularly efficacious either (Grant et al., 2016). This may be because different circuitry parameters are disrupted in different disorders, but result in similar behavioural outcomes, therefore a treatment targeting one parameter will not alleviate dysfunction caused by alterations in a different parameter. This thesis investigates the circuitry of compulsivity by administering drugs that differentially target these parameters to rats undergoing associative learning tasks shown to be dependent on this neural circuitry. We found that the acute administration of phencyclidine – a drug which models the psychotic state (by blocking NMDA receptors; Rafter et al., 2016) – promoted compulsive approach towards a formerly rewarded stimulus but not compulsive avoidance to a formerly unrewarded stimulus. We also found that administration of this drug to neonatal pups in combination with adolescent social isolation led to the opposite effect, that is, reduced compulsive approach towards a formerly rewarded stimulus once it became unrewarded. Administration of a serotonin 5-HT2C receptor antagonist (a putative anti-compulsive agent) had no effect on choices but accelerated the speed of responding. Meanwhile intra-orbitofrontal cortex infusion of the dopamine neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine or the serotonin neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine failed to reliably induce neurotransmitter depletion, and subsequently had no effect on any behavioural measure. These findings suggest that targeting glutamate systems upstream of dopamine and serotonin systems may result in better treatment outcomes for compulsivity driven by formerly reinforced associations, e.g. in delusions, behavioural addictions, and drug addiction.
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Vossen, Alexandra Yvonne. "Modulation of neural oscillations and associated behaviour by transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS)." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2017. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7958/.
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Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method that involves the application of weak electric currents to the scalp. tACS has the potential to be an inexpensive, easily administrable, and well-tolerated multi-purpose tool for cognitive and clinical neuroscience as it could be applied to establish the functional role of rhythmic brain activity, and to treat neural disorders, in particular those where these rhythms have gone awry. However, the mechanisms by which tACS produces both "online" and "offline" effects (that is, those that manifest during stimulation and those that last beyond stimulation offset) are to date still poorly understood. If the potential of tACS is to be harnessed effectively to alter brain activity in a controlled manner, it is fundamental to have a good understanding of how tACS interacts with neuronal dynamics, and of the conditions that promote its effect. This thesis describes three experiments that were conducted to elucidate the mechanisms by which tACS interacts with underlying neural network activity. Experiments 1 and 2 investigated the mechanism by which tACS at alpha frequencies (8 12 Hz, α-tACS) over occipital cortex induces the lasting aftereffects on posterior α power that were previously described in the literature. Two mechanisms have been suggested to underlie alpha power enhancement after α tACS: entrainment of endogenous brain oscillations and/or changes in oscillatory neural networks through spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). In Experiment 1, we tested to what extent plasticity can account for tACS-aftereffects when controlling for entrainment characteristics. To this end, we used a novel, intermittent α-tACS protocol and investigated the strength of the aftereffect as a function of phase continuity between successive tACS episodes, as well as the match between stimulation frequency and individual alpha frequency (IAF). Alpha aftereffects were successfully replicated with enhanced α power after intermittent stimulation compared to sham. These aftereffects did not exhibit any of the expected characteristics of prolonged entrainment in that they were independent of tACS phase-continuity and did not show stable phase alignment or synchronisation to the stimulation frequency. These results indicate that prolonged entrainment is insufficient to explain the aftereffects and suggest that the latter emerge through some form of network plasticity. To clarify the nature of these plasticity mechanisms, we then aimed to assess whether STDP could explain the α power increase. We developed a conceptual STDP model that predicted bi-directional changes in α power depending on the relative mismatch between the tACS frequency and IAF. After observing in Experiment 1 that tACS at frequencies slightly lower than the IAF produced α enhancement, Experiment 2 used a similar intermittent protocol that manipulated tACS frequency to be either slightly lower or higher than IAF to respectively enhance or suppress α activity. In addition, a control condition with continuous stimulation aimed to replicate previous results from other groups. However, we did not observe a systematic α power change in any of the active conditions. The lack of consistency between the two experiments raises concerns regarding the reproducibility and effect size of tACS aftereffects. The third experiment investigated the mechanism of online effects and tested predictions that were based on the assumption that entrainment is the underlying process mediating behavioural changes during tACS. We capitalised on two well-described phenomena: firstly, the association between α power lateralisation and visuospatial attention, and secondly, the fluctuation of perceptual performance with α phase. Specifically, the experiment tested whether event-related α-tACS applied over right parieto-occipital cortex can induce a visuospatial bias in a peripheral dot detection task that would reflect α power lateralisation, and whether detection performance depends on the phase of the tACS waveform. In control trials either no tACS or 40 Hz-tACS (gamma) was applied to make use of the putative opposing roles of alpha and gamma oscillations in visual processing. As expected from lateralised enhancement of alpha oscillations, visual detection accuracy was weakly impaired for targets presented in the left visual field, contralateral to tACS. However, this effect was neither frequency specific nor waveform phase-dependent. Therefore, it is unlikely that the negative effect of tACS on visuospatial performance reflects entrainment. Overall, the results of these experiments only partially met our hypotheses. Experiment 1 produced the α enhancement that was expected based on the literature while the follow-up experiment failed to reproduce these results under similar conditions. This outcome demonstrates at best that tACS aftereffects on α activity are not robust, may vary widely across individuals, and might be extremely sensitive to small changes in experimental parameters and state variables. The results of the third experiment call into question the assumption of online entrainment as basis for the observed behavioural effect. These findings point to the need for improved methodology, for more systematic and exhaustive exploration of the relative effects of tACS across different parameter settings, tasks, and individuals; and for the replication of promising but thus far often anecdotal results. They also inspire guidelines for more informative experimental designs.
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Graham, Katharine Anne. "Social processing, frontal asymmetries and the effect of emotion based disorders upon brain functioning and behaviour in infancy." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2014. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5475/.
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This thesis had three main aims, firstly to explore the experience of auditory social and non-social stimuli upon infants brain functioning. Secondly to explore the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in social and non-social visual processing and anxiety. Lastly, to investigate the effect of a mother's depression upon infant behaviour. Chapter 1 explored the literature surrounding social and non-social processing in infancy, the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the effect of depression upon mother-infant interactions and brain functioning. Chapter 2 described the methods used within this thesis. Chapter 3 investigated the impact of speech and non-speech processing upon infant brain functioning. Social and non-social processing in the PFC in infancy was explored in chapter 4. Chapter 5 looked at the impact of a mothers anxiety upon infant frontal asymmetries. Meta-analyses were conducted in Chapter 6 to investigate differences in behaviour in the still-face paradigm between infants of depressed and infants of non-depressed mothers. Chapter 7 summarised the results of the thesis in terms of findings, implications of the results, directions for future work and limitations of the current thesis.
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Wiltschko, Alexander Bame. "The Structure of Mouse Behavior." Thesis, Harvard University, 2016. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:33493569.
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Complex animal behaviors are likely built from simpler modules, but their systematic identification in mammals remains a significant challenge. Here we use depth imaging to show that three-dimensional (3D) mouse pose dynamics are structured at the sub-second timescale by using a newly developed 3D imaging and machine learning-based automated phenotyping system, which we term Motion Sequencing (MoSeq). Computational modeling of these fast postural dynamics effectively describes mouse behavior as a series of reused and stereotyped modules with defined transition probabilities, which collectively encapsulate the underlying structure of mouse behavior within a given experiment.
By deploying MoSeq in a variety of experimental contexts, we show that it unmasks strategies employed by the brain to generate specific adaptations to changes in the environment, and captures both predicted and previously-hidden phenotypes induced by genetic, neural, and pharmacological manipulations. We directly compare the predictive power of behavioral representations built by MoSeq against traditional measurements of behavior, including speed, length, and allocentric position, and demonstrate MoSeq is able to discriminate between subtle pharmacological manipulations of behavior, while traditional methods are not. This work demonstrates that mouse body language is built from identifiable components and is organized in a predictable fashion; deciphering this language establishes a framework for characterizing the influence of environmental cues, genes, neural activity and pharmacology on behavior.Medical Sciences
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Berntsen, Monica. "Transcranial alternating current stimulation to areas associated with the human mirror neuron system reveals modulation to mu-suppression and corresponding behaviour." Thesis, University of Essex, 2016. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/17734/.
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This study was carried out in order to validate the use of EEG mu (μ) suppression as an index of human mirror neuron system (hMNS) related activity. The hMNS is characterized by neuronal activity that responds to both action observation and execution of the same movement. This activity has been directly observed in both macaque monkeys and in humans. There is an abundance of studies using indirect measures of neuronal activity to indicate hMNS-related activity such as TMS, fMRI/PET and EEG/MEG. However, relating indirect indices of neuronal activity to a conceptual group of neurons is controversial because the activity observed could also reflect other neuronal processes. Therefore, the current thesis was designed to establish more direct and causal evidence for the use of EEG in indicating hMNS-related activity through the use of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). This was achieved in six experiments; the first three established an efficient protocol to induce μ-suppression during action observation, and the last three demonstrated by means of tACS that activity in hMNS-related areas is directly related to μ-reactivity during observation of motor movements and in relation to imitation of the movement observed. To this extent, μ-suppression was related to both action observation, and the ability to perform the movement observed. This is interpreted as evidence that EEG μ-suppression is a valid indicator of hMNS-related activity.
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Barkus, Christopher. "Studies of emotionality in genetic mouse models of altered glutamate or 5-HT function." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c144d0d0-ba1f-4127-b07a-372e6abf569b.
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Rowe, Wayne 1961. "Neurotensin as a key regulator of stress-related hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocorticoid activity and behavior." Thesis, McGill University, 1999. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=35481.
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Central administration of pmol and low nmol doses of neurotensin (NT), rapidly stimulated hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) activity, increasing adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (B) release for several hours. This suggests potent effects of centrally administered NT and a role for this neuropeptide in HPA regulation. Of several brain areas thought to be involved in mediating NT-induced effects, one site of particular interest is the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVNh). Chronic implants of the NT antagonist, SR 48692 (powdered form), into the PVNh area decreased HPA activity under both basal and stress-induced conditions. These findings suggest an endogenous role for NT in mediating hypophysiotropic HPA signalling. Decreases in immunoreactive (ir) corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) expression was also seen following chronic SR 48692 exposure (day 7). This decrease in irCRH levels paralleled the SR 48692-induced inhibition in ACTH and B release, suggesting that CRH is involved in mediating SR 48692-induced effects on HPA activity.Chronic intracerebroventricular (icv) delivery of NT (1 pmol/h for 14 days) into the rat brain had an opposing effect than that of SR 48692.
Chronic NT treated animals demonstrated increased fear/anxiety-related behavior. Decreased mean locomotor activity was observed in the chronic NT-treated (1 pmol/h for 14 days) animals upon exposure to a novel environment. Thus, a NT-CRH mechanism of action appears to be involved in mediating behavioral responses to stress. In addition to a proposed role for CRH mediating NT-induced HPA regulation, it also appears to be mediating fear/anxiety-related behavior.
Finally, we examined the status of NT receptors in animals with known deficits in HPA function. Aged, 24 month old Long-Evans rats, were identified as either aged, cognitively impaired (AI) or aged, cognitively unimpaired (AU) compared to young adult control rats. The AI animal showed decreased levels of [125I]NT binding sites in areas such as CA3 (42%) and DG (55%) of the hippocampus and the PVNh (72%) compared to the young controls. The fact that this is occurring in the animal known to exhibit HPA hyperactivity lends further support for a NT role in regulating HPA function. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Cortright, James J. "Role of the subthalamic nucleus in the circuitry mediating food- and cocaine-seeking behavior." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3274244.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 2007.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: B, page: 4881. Adviser: George V. Rebec. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 15, 2008).
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Vogel, Richard W. "Pharmacological perturbations of the cerebellum during eye-blink classical conditioning effects on behavior and electrophysiology /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2009. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3380136.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Program in Neural Science, 2009.Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 20, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-12, Section: B, page: 7404. Adviser: Joseph E. Steinmetz.
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Tsoi, Lily. "Investigating the role of theory of mind in cooperative and competitive behaviors using approaches from cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychology." Thesis, Boston College, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108107.
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Thesis advisor: Liane YoungPeople are often quite attuned to the minds around them, but it’s unclear whether the tendency to consider the minds of others differs depending on the context. Research on intergroup processes and interpersonal relations reveal that the tendency to consider the minds of others depend on factors like group membership; however, interactions with ingroup members and outgroup members tend to conflate with cooperative interactions and competitive interactions, respectively. Cooperation and competition are two categories of interactions that encompass most of collective human behavior and thus provide natural categories for grouping social behaviors. We test the idea that people’s tendencies to consider the minds of others depend on the type of social interaction by primarily focusing on cooperation and competition. Papers 1 and 2 directly compare theory of mind across cooperative and competitive contexts, whereas Paper 3 aims to understand the role of theory of mind in supporting one important aspect of cooperation—a sense of fairness—by studying responses to different forms of unfairness across a spectrum of ages in children. Altogether, these results show an influence of theory of mind on social evaluations and social behaviors and support the idea that sensitivity to context may emerge early in life but becomes more difficult to detect over time
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Psychology
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Leather, Amanda. "Borderline personality disorder in adolescence : exploring gender differences and effectiveness of dialectical behaviour therapy." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2014. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5416/.
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This thesis considers Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), its diagnosis in adolescence and apparent gender differences in diagnosis and treatment. Although often considered within a clinical mental health context, the gap between clinical and forensic practice is rarely closer than when considering BPD and its close association with an increased risk of criminal behaviour and the forensic population. This coupled with Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as a treatment of choice for BPD and its development in a variety of settings including the forensic population means that BPD, adolescence and DBT research is at an interesting juncture. In this controversial area fraught with complications from diagnosis to treatment, it is argued that this thesis could provide a useful collaboration between the available research to date and an exploration of future research developments, which are desperately needed.
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Kolodziejski, Johanna A. "Signal production and function in weakly electric fish a comparative investigation of sexually dimorphic communication behavior in Apteronotus /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3277965.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Biology, 2007.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: B, page: 5788. Adviser: G. Troy Smith. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 8, 2008).
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Levine, Yonina C. "Behavioural consequences of birth hypoxia in the rat." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=101600.
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The rat model of global anoxia at birth has been used extensively to investigate effects of perinatal hypoxia on central nervous system function. Less research has characterized behavioural phenotypes resulting from birth hypoxia. Experiment 1 examined maternal behaviour (licking/grooming, retrieval) directed toward pups born vaginally (Vag), by caesarean section (CS) or by caesarean section with anoxia (CS+anox). Similar levels of maternal care were observed across all birth groups indicating that the sequelae of birth hypoxia in the rat are not mediated by differential postnatal maternal care. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of birth hypoxia on prepulse inhibition (PPI) and latent inhibition (LI), behaviours with clinical correlates in neurodevelopmental disorders. No differences were found in PPI or LI between Vag, CS or CS+anox groups at adulthood. Intriguingly, however, decreased freezing to the context was observed in CS and CS+anox rats suggesting that caesarean section birth may produce deficits in contextual learning.
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Eckert, Nathanial R. "The organization and behavior of cutaneous inhibitory reflexes in the upper limb." Thesis, Indiana University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3634526.
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The inhibitory reflex, also known as the cutaneous silent period (CSP), is a spinal reflex mediated by small diameter A-δ fibers, serving to protect the body from harmful stimuli (Leis et al., 1992; Kofler, 2003). Previous investigations have suggested that the inhibitory effects of this reflex only occur within extensor muscles. The present study sought to determine the influence of the inhibitory reflex within both flexor and extensor muscles of the upper limb thereby providing further insight into the spinal organization of this reflex. Two subsets of data were collected. 22 subjects had the inhibitory reflex evoked with three different stimulation conditions (digit II, V and II+III stimulation at 10x perceptual threshold). 14 subjects returned to have transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paired with digit II stimulation. Within both datasets subjects performed isometric contractions with each of the following upper limb muscles: abductor pollicis brevis (APB), flexor carpi radialis (FCR), extensor carpi radialis (ECR), biceps brachii long head (BIC), triceps brachii lateral head (TRI), anterior deltoid (AD), and posterior deltoid (PD). All stimulations were applied randomly during the isometric contractions. The first dataset included 20 stimulations in each condition within each muscle of the right arm. The second dataset included 10 stimulations of digit II only (CSP), TMS only (TMS), and a inhibitory reflex conditioned TMS (TMS+) within each muscle of the right arm. Distal muscle demonstrated the greatest influence for both the inhibitory reflex response and motor evoked potentials. A distal to proximal relationship was determined for the inhibitory response with a level of differential control occurring between the distal and proximal muscles. These results demonstrate evidence of the CSP in both flexor and extensor muscles of the upper limb, with the greatest effect taking place within the distal muscles. I hypothesize that this distal--proximal organization of cutaneous inhibitory reflexes may be influenced by the number of direct cortico-motoneuronal connections within the corticospinal tract. Thus, the cutaneous feedback plays a larger role in modulating direct descending input in distal muscles involved in grasping and manipulation, versus proximal muscles coordinating reaching.
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Prinsloo, Kevin Damian. "Electrophysiological and behavioural consequences of cross-modal phase resetting." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2017. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8269/.
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Majors, Chloe T., Dustin C. Harryman, Amanda L. Smith, Taylor C. Day, Merlyn Pham, Madison M. Kosky, Emily Stillwell, and Matthew Palmatier. "Nicotine-enhanced sign tracking results in greater cocaine demand in rats using a behavior economic analysis approach." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/asrf/2019/schedule/119.
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Rationale. Nicotine is often considered a ‘gateway’ drug because people typically experiment with tobacco before illicit drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine. We have shown that nicotine increases approach to reward-associated stimuli, this is referred to as ‘sign-tracking’, and that this effect persists after nicotine is discontinued. Individuals who are high in sign-tracking also show increased cocaine self-administration.
Objectives. The goal of this experiment was to determine whether nicotine enhanced sign tracking could result in greater cocaine self-administration.
Method. Rats were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups (NIC or SAL), and injected with their assigned solution (0.4 mg/kg base or placebo, respectively) 15 min before conditioning sessions. During conditioning sessions, a lever/light stimulus was inserted into the chamber for 15 s and immediately followed by sucrose delivery. Approach to the sucrose receptacle was recorded by monitoring head entries and defined as goal tracking. Contact with the lever was recorded and defined as ‘sign-tracking’. After 29 conditioning sessions, the rats were instrumented for cocaine self-administration and were shaped to respond for cocaine on the same lever that served as the CS. After 10 days of acquisition of cocaine self-administration (0.16 mg/inf), demand for cocaine was tested over 6 days using a within session procedure that increased cocaine price every 10 min.
Results. We showed increased sign-tracking, but not goal tracking in the NIC group relative to the SAL group. The NIC group also showed increased demand for cocaine during the price manipulation, but the essential value of cocaine did not differ, relative to the SAL group.
Conclusion. Our results support a gateway interpretation of substance use – when both the gateway drug (nicotine) and drug-associated rewards (the lever/light) occur together, they can promote future self-administration of illicit drugs such as cocaine.
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Chukwu, ObioRam Chakra-Boom. "Analysis of Teacher Ratings on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions (BRIEF) at the Item Level for Urban Middle School Students Included in a Study of the Effectiveness of a Mindfulness Awareness Program." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3681977.
Full textAbstract:
Previous research suggests that executive functions (EF), including self-regulation skills, are essential for children's academic readiness and educational production, particularly middle school students, who are identified with learning disabilities (Desmond & Hanich, 2014; Hartman, 2012). Decline in the educational outcomes of middle school students remains an alarming concern for educators and researchers (Anderman, Anderman, & Greisinger, 1999; Bobik, 2010; Jimerson, 2001; Roderick, 1994; Rumberger, 1995). For special education students, who fall short on the "producing" end, academic goals do not address the EF deficits, which are more likely to be addressed by EF development geared for academic production in reading, writing, and mathematics (Denckla, 2002; Hartman, 2012; McCloskey, Perkins, & Van Diviner, 2009).
Furthermore, the wide-range of changes experienced by the early adolescent during the critical development stage is supported by research on the brain—development of adolescent and related cognitive processes, particularly EFs (Sylvan & Christodoulou, 2010; Jensen, 2008; Kellough & Kellough, 2008; Caskey & Ruben, 2007; Manning, 2002; Dorman, Lipsitz, & Verner, 1985). Findings from these researchers have supported a variety of school-based interventions designed to support children's EF development. Limited research has investigated interventions utilizing mindfulness to improve EFs and academic production in middle school. To address the gaps in literature, the study design is a secondary analysis of an existing data set at the item level.
Five questions were investigated in this analysis of a prior study; Desmond and Hanich (2014) conducted a randomized control experiment using a quasi-experimental design, including repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) and multiple regression analyses. Additional procedures were used for accounting for and handling missing data arising from attrition (Enders, 2013; Little & Rubin, 2002).
The results suggested the following: a refinement of the item pool to produce more valid sub-sets of indicators of positive change in order to create a Scale based on the findings; establishing a basis for a more sound methodology for assessing change in studies of mindfulness; and supporting the research on the continuing plasticity of the early adolescent brain and on school-based interventions for brain development. The recommendations for practice, policy, and research are presented.
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Costanza, Rino Michelangelo. "Dopamine receptor subtype involvement in the behavioural effects of cocaine." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2000. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5890/.
Full textAbstract:
The relationship between the behavioural effects of cocaine and the increase in dopamine caused by its blockade of dopamine re-uptake has been a major focus of research interest. However, little is known regarding the involvement of recently cloned dopamine D2-like receptor subtypes (D2, D3 and D4) in different cocaine induced behaviours. The purpose of the work described in this thesis was to use a series of behavioural tests to assess dopamine receptor subtype involvement in cocaine's effects. In the first series of experiments, we tested the effects of antagonists selective for receptors within the D2-like subfamily on the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine (10 mg/kg), and compared them with the effects of a Dl-like receptor antagonist. A separate group of rats were trained to discriminate a low dose of cocaine (3 mg/kg). Neither U-99194A (a D3 antagonist) nor L-745,870 (a D4 antagonist) substituted for cocaine, and neither drug shifted the dose-response function for cocaine at the higher training dose. On the other hand, pre-treatment with SCH 39166 (a selective Dl-like antagonist) produced significant dose-related rightward shifts in the cocaine generalisation curve, indicating effective antagonism. Three other centrally-acting D2-like antagonists (L-741,626; haloperidol and raclopride) produced rightward shifts in the dose-response function for cocaine at both training doses. The D2-like antagonists, however, produced dissimilar effects on cocaine-induced hypophagia and hyperactivity in the rat. The D3 and D4 antagonists (which produced minimal effects on feeding and motor behaviours on their own) failed to alter any of the behavioural effects induced by cocaine. The D21D3 antagonist, raclopride, produced only a marginal attenuation of cocaine-induced hyperactivity and rearing, but a marked attenuation of cocaine-induced decreases in grooming. On the other-hand, a Dl-like antagonist potently reversed cocaine-induced hypophagia, hyperactivity and rearing, but failed to affect grooming behaviour. While drug discrimination studies suggests negligible involvement of D3 and D4 receptors in cocaine's effects, an important role for Dl-like and D2 receptors was observed. In contrast, it seems that the Dl-like subfamily may play a more prominent role than the D2-like subfamily in cocaine-induced hypophagia and motor hyperactivity, although cocaine-induced inhibition of grooming appears to be specifically a D2-mediated effect.
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Maloney, Karen J. "High frequency gamma EEG activity in association with sleep-wake states and spontaneous behaviors in the rat." Thesis, McGill University, 1996. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23918.
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The occurrence of high frequency, gamma EEG activity (30-60 Hz) was bands and in investigated by spectral analysis in relationship to other frequency association with the natural sleep-waking cycle and spontaneous behaviors of the rat. High frequency, gamma waves are present and occur intermittently on the filtered and unfiltered EEG across the sleep-waking cycle. Gamma activity is distinctive from other high frequency bands, in that the amplitude varies systematically in association with (1) state, having the highest amplitude in Waking and Paradoxical Sleep (PS) as compared to Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) and, (2) behavior, having the highest amplitude in attentive and active waking behaviors and 'active' sleep with twitches indicative of PS, as compared to quiet waking and 'quiet' sleep. Coherence in gamma activity also varies as a function of state-behavior, having the highest values in Waking moving and PS. Gamma activity varies positively with theta and inversely with delta activity over the sleep-waking cycle. Gamma activity is thus shown to reflect the degree of behavioral and cortical arousal.
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Bibbey, Adam. "Constitutional and behavioural correlates of individual differences in biological stress reactivity." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/5736/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examined potential corollaries of individual differences in cardiovascular and/or cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress, with specific focus upon personality and behavioural characteristics. Chapter 2 reported that a negative constellation of the Big 5 personality traits, higher neuroticism and lower openness and agreeableness, was associated with blunted physiological reactivity. Chapter 3 demonstrated that, in comparison to individuals without Type D personality, Type Ds had greater physiological reactivity during social stress, but lower reactivity when exposed to largely asocial stress. Both these studies also reported dissociation between subjective and physiological stress responses. Chapter 4 reported that individuals with problematic Internet use and/or excessive alcohol consumption did not differ in physiological stress reactivity in comparison to non-dependent controls. Finally, Chapter 5 demonstrated that, compared to exaggerated cardiovascular stress responders, blunted reactors had greater levels of behavioural impulsivity. Overall, the research reported provides evidence that there is dissociation between affective and physiological stress responses, the context in which the stressful situation is experienced is important, and finally, blunted reactivity appears to be related to adverse outcomes which are stable rather than transient, suggesting that it may be a peripheral marker of dysfunction in the brain systems that support motivated behaviour.
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Christou, Antonios I. "Neurophysiological, behavioural and genetic markers of behavioural problems in early childhood." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2016. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/6636/.
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The work presented in the present thesis investigated the neural, behavioural and genetic markers that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems during the early years of life. Across four different empirical studies, and by incorporating, behavioural, neurophysiological and genetic investigations, it was demonstrated that: (1) there are neurophysiological signatures that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems early in life; (2) common genetic variations that determine serotonin variability are strongly associated with affectivity-related patterns of frontal brain activation; and that (3) normal genetic variations that modulate serotonin availability and neuroplasticity are each associated with affectivity-related patterns of visual scanning behaviours in response to faces and aversive scenes. Taken together, the results illustrate the existence of robust neural, genetic and behavioural markers that may be associated with the manifestation of behavioural problems in early childhood and prompt further investigation of the area by generating novel hypotheses. Together, the empirical findings of the thesis provide a first stage contribution to the complex mechanisms that may yield risk and resilience for behavioural problems during the early years of life by generating a more comprehensive insight on the field of affectivity.
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McKay, Lawrie S. "Biological motion processing in autism spectrum disorders : a behavioural and fMRI investigation." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2010. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1784/.
Full textAbstract:
There has been much controversy as to whether people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have a specific impairment in processing biological motion, with some studies suggesting there is an impairment (Blake, et. al. 2003; Klin et. al. 2003, Klin & Jones, 2008, Klin et. al. 2009) and others finding that people with ASDs show intact abilities to detect biological motion and categorise actions, but are impaired in emotion categorisation (Moore et. al. 1997; Hubert et. al. 2007, Parron et. al. 2008). Recent studies have found that although behavioural measures of biological motion processing show no differences, adults with ASDs show different patterns of brain activation to controls in response to intact point-light displays (PLDs), with the STS, MT+ and ITG regions showing reduced activity in this population (Herrington et. al. 2007; Parron et. al. 2009). The current thesis aimed to clarify the nature of these difficulties and to try to elucidate the brain regions used to process configural information from PLDs using novel techniques and stimuli. The first set of experiments were designed to behaviourally test people with ASDs ability to detect biological motion in noise, to categorise actions and to categorise affect from PLDs. Despite finding differences in the two groups in detection of biological motion and affect categorisation in pilot experiments, there were no significant differences between the groups in the main experiments. However, the ASD group showed slightly poorer performance at detecting biological motion and significantly more variability in the action categorisation tasks, suggesting that there may have been an underlying difference between the two groups. Furthermore, an analysis of the pattern of errors tentatively suggested that the ASD group may be using different strategies to categorise affect than controls, particularly for negative affects. We then devised a novel technique for manipulating the amount of configural information available in a PLD without the need to add different degrees of background noise and used this technique to assess the contribution of configural cues in a direction discrimination task behaviourally and neurally. The results confirmed that in typically developed individuals configural cues significantly improved the participants’ ability to correctly determine the direction of locomotion of a point light walker. Furthermore, the fMRI task found that regions of the inferotemporal, parietal and frontal regions were sensitive to the amount of configural information present in the displays that corresponded to increases in individual participants’ behavioural performance. Lastly, we used the same technique, though with a more powerful fMRI design, to assess the behavioural and neural differences between people with ASDs and controls in response to displays containing different degrees of configural information. We found that both groups were comparable in their ability to discriminate the direction of locomotion from PLDs. However, the brain regions used to process this information were found to be substantially different. In displays in which the configural information enabled participants to accurately judge the direction of locomotion, the control group utilised a similar group of regions as found in the previous experiment. The ASD group showed a pattern of activation suggesting that they predominantly used regions in the temporal and occipital cortex, and more specifically a region in the fusiform gyrus. The results of Granger Causality Mapping analysis, which allows for the mapping of directional to and from seeded regions, confirmed that whereas the control group utilised a network of regions starting from the ITG and connecting to parietal and occipital regions, the ASD group seemed to utilise two separate networks, processing form information in the fusiform gyrus and motion information separately in middle-temporal regions. The results are discussed in terms of a potential dysfunction of the ITG region in early childhood and two different models of biological motion processing that have been proposed in the recent literature. In TD individuals the model of Giese & Poggio (2003) may be more applicable, in that it proposes the integration of static form cues with motion signals in areas such as the STS. However, a dysfunctional ITG or dysfunctional connections from the ITG to more dorsal regions would disrupt the integration of form and motion processing and force the brain to place additional processing demands on form processing regions in the fusiform gyrus. This would be more in line with the model proposed by Lange and Lappe (2006) in which information can be derived from biological motion in noise without recourse to the actual motion information, through a process of temporal analysis of static postures. Both systems though, may be intact in TD individuals and may share processing requirements depending on the task. Furthermore, it is hypothesised that a dysfunctional ITG may force the brain to place additional demands on regions in the fusiform gyrus and this neural rewiring may be the cause of the developmental delay seen in processing biological motion in people with ASDs (Annaz et. al. 2009). Future studies should examine the roles of the ITG and fusiform area in more detail, both in TD people and in people with ASDs, and determine the specific nature of these neural differences and there behavioural implications for both groups.
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James, Richard J. E. "A psychometric and behavioural analysis of mobile gambling." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2017. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41063/.
Full textAbstract:
The British population are increasingly using mobile devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets) to gamble. The empirical work in this thesis looks at how the interaction of gambling’s schedule of reinforcement and mobile device behaviours accelerate the acquisition of learned maladaptive behaviours. The first four chapters report psychometric modelling of gambling prevalence data to understand problem gambling further and identify key indicators relevant to associative processes in gambling behaviour. Chapter 2 reports a taxometric analysis of problem gambling assessment data to test whether these screens measure a dimensional or latent class model, finding stronger support for the latter. However, this only identified a small taxon consisting of around 5% of gamblers endorsing more than one problem gambling symptom. Chapter 3 reports the use of latent class analysis to examine distinct subtypes of responding to different screens, findings a common three-class model that showed signs of a mixed latent structure: the same taxon as Chapter 2 was observed, but the three classes showed little overlap in symptom count. Chapter 4 reports further work modelling the sociodemographic characteristics of these different subgroups. Together the data from these chapters were used help to identify indicators of those most likely to a) be most susceptible to gambling harm and b) common to all problem gamblers. In Chapter 5 a Monte Carlo analysis was conducted to understand the efficacy of taxometric procedures on binary variables, before replicating the taxometric analysis reported in Chapter 2 using dichotomous variables and extending the work to the South Oaks Gambling Screen. The indicators derived from these chapters were then used in laboratory and field studies to study mobile gambling behaviour. The laboratory study in Chapter 6 manipulated two behavioural processes, trial spacing and partial reinforcement, that are relevant to mobile gambling behaviour, showing how a mobile-like schedule is related to increased perseverance and loss-chasing. The same paradigm was used to deliver an experiment on participants’ mobile phones in a field environment in Chapter 7. They further demonstrate that a mobile style schedule of reinforcement is associated with considerable persistence in the face of mounting losses, as participants continued to persevere in the face of losses despite a free choice to cease playing. Finally in the discussion I apply the key themes of the thesis to in-play betting, a form of play that has been heavily promoted alongside mobile gambling, and to an understanding of behavioural addictions.
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Kwok, Sze Chai. "Mnemonic functions in the macaque monkey : further insight into the role of the fornix." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a66d1d30-149d-4e12-801e-3944b08f4b1a.
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The fornical tract, a major input-output pathway of the hippocampus, of the primate brain makes crucial contributions to visual memory, as effects after surgical or aetiological lesions of this tract are widely documented in the monkey and human literature. Here, a series of experiments sought to further elucidate the functions of this structure with a battery of novel tasks in macaque monkeys, conducted either on a touchscreen or in an ambulatory chamber, so as to offer a more global view of the mnemonic role accomplished by it. After receiving bilateral transection of the fornix, monkeys are impeded in the 'fast learning' phase of a large number of new visuospatial conditional problems, with major impairments seen in eliminating non-perseverative errors. These fornix transected monkeys are however facilitated in the initial acquisition of a visuovisual conditional task, with facilitation seen in their improved ability in eliminating perseverative errors. It is also demonstrated in an ambulatory apparatus, in comparison to control monkeys, these monkeys are impaired in the new learning of visuospatial context of environments, albeit still displaying intact locomotor and exploratory behaviour patterns. Contrary to the relatively clear role in new learning, the involvement of the fornix in memory retention over the very long-term is unknown. It is shown here that once some visuospatial information is learnt; the fornix is no longer implicated in the retention of the material. The effects of fornix transection are also found to be detrimental on a spatial recognition task, with impairments observed in acquisition of the more demanding stages of the task. The overall results covered in this thesis support previous work suggesting that the fornix mediates the new learning of visual information, and I further propose that this fornical involvement lies primarily in the learning of spatio-temporal contexts, particularly during 'fast learning', as well as in task-sets acquisition. I also argue for dissociation in the contributions of the fornix and hippocampus to some memory processes in the macaque.
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Bryck, Richard Lee. "Flexible behavior under control? neural and behavioral evidence in favor of a two-component model of task-switching /." Connect to title online (Scholars' Bank) Connect to title online (ProQuest), 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/7488.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-163). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.
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Shipman, Megan Laura. "The Role Of The Prelimbic, Infralimbic, And Cerebellar Cortices In Operant Behavior." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2019. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/1073.
Full textAbstract:
Operant (instrumental) conditioning is a laboratory method for investigating voluntary behavior and involves training a particular response, such as pressing a lever, to earn a reinforcer. Operant behavior is generally divided into two categories: actions and habits. Actions are goal-directed and controlled by response-outcome (R-O) associations. Habits are stimulus-driven and controlled by stimulus-response associations (S-R). Behavior is determined to be goal-directed or habitual by whether or not it is sensitive (action) or insensitive (habit) to reinforcer/outcome devaluation. Many brain regions have been linked to the learning and/or expression of actions and/or habits. This dissertation investigates a few different brain regions in goal-directed and habitual behavior, and determines more specific roles for the prelimbic cortex, infralimbic cortex, prelimbic cortex to dorsomedial striatum pathway, and Crus I/II of the cerebellum.
Chapter two investigates the prelimbic and infralimbic cortices in goal-directed behavior. We trained rats on a two-response paradigm, where one response was extensively-trained, and a second response was minimally-trained in a separate context. This maintained both responses as goal-directed. In experiment 1, inactivation of the prelimbic cortex at time of test resulted in an attenuation of responding, but only for the minimally-trained response. This implicates the prelimbic cortex in the expression of goal-directed behavior, but only when that goal-directed behavior is minimally-trained. In experiment 2, we repeated the procedure with infralimbic cortex inactivation and found an attenuation of the extensively-trained response. This implicates the infralimbic cortex in the expression of extensively-trained behavior that is goal-directed.
The third chapter examines the role of the prelimbic cortex-to-dorsomedial striatal pathway in minimally-trained operant behavior. Both regions have been implicated in operant behaviors and have strong anatomical connections, but few studies have directly linked them together in the mediation of operant behaviors. After minimal instrumental conditioning, we silenced projections from the prelimbic cortex to the dorsomedial striatum and found that instrumental behavior was reduced, implicating this PL-DMS pathway in the expression of minimally-trained operant responding.
The final chapter examines the role of Crus I/II of the cerebellar cortex in the expression of goal-directed and habitual behavior. The cerebellum is well-characterized as a mediator of motor coordination via its connections with the motor cortex. There is also evidence of connections between Crus I/II and non-motor regions of the prefrontal cortex. Additionally, recent studies have pointed towards a role for Crus I/II in non-motor function. In experiment 1, rats learned one minimally-trained and one extensively-trained response, and both responses were goal-directed. Inactivation of Crus I/II attenuated responding only in rats that had undergone reinforcer devaluation. Residual responding in rats that have undergone reinforcer devaluation is attributed to habit, suggesting that Crus I/II may be involved in habit expression. In a follow-up experiment, we extensively-trained a single response and verified that it was expressed as a habit. This time, Crus I/II inactivation at time of test had no effect. Overall, this complex pattern of results suggests the possibility that Crus I/II of the cerebellar cortex is only engaged in habit expression when two responses are trained, but further experiments will be necessary to verify this.
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Richter, Franziska Rebekka. "The control of task sets and long-term memory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6537ad2c-107b-4517-8b37-7d5d59edbe3b.
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The current thesis explores the complex relationship between cognitive control and memory. A series of experiments combined task-switching paradigms with recognition memory tests to measure how switching between tasks influences effective control over long-term memory. In these experiments, participants were presented with compound stimuli consisting of a picture and an overlaid word, and were cued in each trial whether the word or the picture was relevant (attended) or irrelevant (unattended). Participants were then tested for their memory of items presented during task switching. Experiments 1-2 indicated that switching between tasks reduces the selectivity of processing: Switching was associated with impaired task performance as well as more similar memory ratings for attended and unattended items. Experiments 3-5 extended these findings by showing that enhanced top-down control positively affected task-performance as well as memory, in both cases by increasing the selectivity of processing toward task-relevant information. Experiments 6-7 replicated key effects with simple switches of visual attention, and explored the neural correlates of successful task performance and encoding using EEG. The key finding here was that previously observed ―subsequent memory‖ effects reflect, at least in part, selective encoding processes. The last chapter extended the focus of the investigation to explore the role of control in long-term memory retrieval. FMRI meta- analyses indicated considerable overlap in neural activation found during task switching and during the adoption of different retrieval sets. The results of Experiment 8 indicated that switching during task performance and later memory retrieval were both associated with decreased selectivity of processing. Collectively, the results of this thesis suggest that selectivity of processing is a critical factor in effective task performance and successful memory, with potentially very similar mechanisms underlying the two. This work demonstrates the fruitfulness of combining research on cognitive control and memory to study questions relevant for both fields.
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Martelli, Alexandra M. "The Role of Mindfulness in the Regulation of Behavior Among Those Prone to Negative Urgency." VCU Scholars Compass, 2017. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/4838.
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Negative emotions can be challenging to regulate, and for some individuals can lead to failures of behavior regulation. The present study is an initial effort to explore the role that mindfulness may play in fostering effective behavior regulation among those prone to high negative urgency (NU). Eighty undergraduate students were recruited based on their high or low scores of NU. First, participants completed a self-report measure of mindfulness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale; MAAS), an Emotional Go/No Go task in an fMRI scanner, and then reported alcohol consumption. Results showed that those with high in NU had low levels of mindfulness compared to those low in NU. Mindfulness predicted substance use at the one- month follow-up after controlling for the predictive roles of NU and gender. Further exploration of the underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness is needed to better understand its impact on emotion- and self-regulatory processes, especially during difficult emotional experience.
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Boldt, Annika. "Metacognition in decision making." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5d9b2036-cc42-4515-b40e-97bb3ddb1d78.
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Humans effortlessly and accurately judge their subjective probability of being correct in a given decision, leading to the view that metacognition is integral to decision making. This thesis reports a series of experiments assessing people’s confidence and error-detection judgements. These different types of metacognitive judgements are highly similar with regard to their methodology, but have been studied largely separately. I provide data indicating that these judgements are fundamentally linked and that they rely on shared cognitive and neural mechanisms. As a first step towards such a joint account of confidence and error detection, I present simulations from a computational model that is based on the notion these judgements are based on the same underlying processes. I next focus on how metacognitive signals are utilised to enhance cognitive control by means of a modulation of information seeking. I report data from a study in which participants received performance feedback, testing the hypothesis that participants will focus more on feedback when they are uncertain whether they were correct in the current trial, whilst ignoring feedback when they are certain regarding their accuracy. A final question addressed in this thesis asks which information contributes internally to the formation of metacognitive judgements, given that it remains a challenge for most models of confidence to explain the precise mechanisms by which confidence reflects accuracy, under which circumstances this correlation is reduced, and the role other influences might have, such as the inherent reliability of a source of evidence. The results reported here suggest that multiple variables – such as response time and reliability of evidence – play a role in the generation of metacognitive judgements. Inter-individual differences with regard to the utilisation of these cues to confidence are tested. Taken together, my results suggest that metacognition is crucially involved in decision making and cognitive control.
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Jones, John Alexander. "Neural correlates of tactile attention: behavioural measures and event-related brain potentials of inhibition of return, exogenous and endogenous attention in touch." Thesis, City University London, 2011. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1078/.
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The studies presented in this thesis investigated the neural correlates of attention in touch. In particular, the electrophysiology of exogenous tactile processing and inhibition of return (IOR) - an area previously unexplored. In all studies a variation of the Posner cue-target paradigm was used. Typically, a cue was presented to the left or right hand. Following a stimulus onset asynchrony of 800 ms, a target would appear at the same or opposite hand. Behavioural results consistently demonstrated IOR when employing a simple target detection task, showing that IOR is a reliable phenomenon in touch. The concurrently recorded event related potentials (ERPs) demonstrated an early attention modulation of the N80 in all studies presented in this thesis, regardless of the presence or absence of IOR. This early component likely reflects processing of the exogenous lateralized cues. Following the N80, the attention modulations varied across studies. The conclusion to be drawn from this thesis is that not one particular ERP component is directly associated with IOR. Analysis of endogenous tactile attention (Chapter V) demonstrated modulations at the N140 and Nd components. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that larger ERP attention modulation was associated with a larger behavioural effect, demonstrating a novel relationship between ERP modulations and response time effects. Analysis of the cue-target interval has previously only been investigated during endogenous orienting. Here, and for the first time, an anterior directing attention negativity (ADAN) was demonstrated during exogenous orienting. This ADAN was unaffected by varying posture suggesting exogenous tactile attention and IOR are somatotopically coded. Indications of an external frame of reference were only demonstrated during shifts of endogenous attention, as indicated by the presence of a late directing attention positivity (LDAP) (endogenous counter-predictive task presented in Chapter V). The final study of this thesis (Chapter VI) demonstrated that varying visual perceptual load influenced tactile processing. Specifically, high perceptual load led to elimination of IOR. Moreover, the P100 for irrelevant tactile stimuli was significantly reduced in high versus low load condition. This suggests perceptual load may suppress irrelevant tactile stimuli relatively early (around 100 ms post stimuli onset) during tactile processing. Taken together, this thesis presents a series of experiments which map out effects of endogenous and exogenous attention and how these mechanisms interact, both through behaviour and underlying neural correlates.
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Bauerle, Harold. "The Influence Of Prenatal Stress On Behaviors Associated With Schizophrenia And Autism Spectrum Disorder." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2015. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/395.
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Disorders such as schizophrenia (SCZ) and austism spectrum disorder (ASD) have long been associated with prenatal stress. In these three experiments, we attempted to correlate stress during gestation with behaviors considered to have good facial validity with SCZ and ASD in both juvenile and adult animals. To differentiate the effects of prenatal stress (PS) from the effects of early life stress due to a dam's behavior (MS), half of offspring animals were cross fostered to dams treated in the alternative condition as the offspring during pregnancy in experiments 2 and 3. In experiment 1, but not in 2 or 3, maternal animals that did not receive stress during pregnancy retrieved pups later than those that did. Our results in experiment 1 indicate that movement in a novel open field is dependent upon PS in a manner influenced by animal sex. In experiment 2, where cross fostering was considered, PS was a significant influence in females, while MS had considerable effect in males. Additionally, in males, animals treated by both PS and MS moved more than other male animals. Experiment 3 showed distinctions in male animals due to MS, but in startle amplitude, not open field movement. Overall, these experiments show the influence of PS and MS upon animals in juveniles and adults, but effects may be somewhat occluded due to litter effects.
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Coulson, Louisa Katie. "The influence of emotional stimuli on cognitive processing during transient induced mood states." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b8fc9fab-e9e0-4b3f-b78e-c76e25224972.
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Selective attention is a mechanism used to allocate resources to information processing. Both mood states and emotionally salient stimuli can influence which information is selectively attended. This information is subsequently processed in a more elaborative manner and affects task performance. The experiments presented in this thesis explore the influence of mood and emotional stimuli on selective attention and consequently task performance. Mood induction procedures were used to induce transient neutral, sad, and happy mood states in healthy volunteers. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 41 studies using sad mood induction procedures showed cognitive impairments in performance in the context of task neutral stimuli. In contrast biases in attention towards mood-congruent negative stimuli led to improved task performance. A series of three behavioural experiments with 197 participants demonstrated that participants made decisions on the basis of less information when that information was preceded by emotional but not neutral stimuli. Induced mood state did not affect performance. The behavioural and neural correlates of visual attentional processing to emotional stimuli were explored using magnetoencephalography in 24 healthy participants following sad, happy, and neutral mood induction procedures. The M300, a component associated with selective attention, had greater amplitude following presentation of negative compared with positive stimuli, which was associated with improved task performance. Reduced M300 amplitude and impairments in performance occurred following sad mood induction procedures. The experiments presented in this thesis demonstrate prioritized processing of emotional information and provide some evidence for impaired performance following sad mood induction procedures.
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Parise, Cesare Valerio. "Signal compatibility as a modulatory factor for audiovisual multisensory integration." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ec36fab1-9209-4579-a043-6f990b7ec553.
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The physical properties of the distal stimuli activating our senses are often correlated in nature; it would therefore be advantageous to exploit such correlations to better process sensory information. Stimulus correlations can be contingent and readily available to the senses (like the temporal correlation between mouth movements and vocal sounds in speech), or can be the results of the statistical co-occurrence of certain stimulus properties that can be learnt over time (like the relation between the frequency of acoustic resonance and the size of the resonator). Over the last century, a large body of research on multisensory processing has demonstrated the existence of compatibility effects between individual features of stimuli from different sensory modalities. Such compatibility effects, termed crossmodal correspondences, possibly reflect the internalization of the natural correlation between stimulus properties. The present dissertation assesses the effects of crossmodal correspondences on multisensory processing and reports a series of experiments demonstrating that crossmodal correspondences influence the processing rate of sensory information, distort perceptual experiences and lead to stronger multisensory integration. Moreover, a final experiment investigating the effects of contingent signals’ correlation on multisensory processing demonstrates the key role of temporal correlation in inferring whether two signals have a common physical cause or not (i.e., the correspondence problem). A Bayesian framework is proposed to interpret the present results whereby stimulus correlations, represented on the prior distribution of expected crossmodal co-occurrence, operate as cues to solve the correspondence problem.
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Brandaro, Nicola. "How do people with autistic spectrum disorder experience their relationships with others? ; and, Can adults with Asperger's syndrome learn about positive attachment behavious between parents and young babies through the use of a DVD?" Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2015. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/6187/.
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Volume 1 contains a literature review, an empirical paper, and a public dissemination document. The literature review explores how people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience their relationships with others. The results showed that compared with the general population, children and adolescents perceive their friendship quality to be lower and adults with ASD perceive their marital and parent-child relationships to be the same. A number of strategies are used by people with ASD to facilitate the development of relationships and other people also use strategies for this reason. Furthermore, people with ASD report a number of personal qualities that serve to either facilitate or inhibit the development of relationships. The empirical paper explores how much people with Asperger's syndrome understand about positive attachment behaviours between parents and young babies and whether this knowledge can be increased through the use of a DVD. Trait emotional intelligence, IQ and level of autistic symptomatology are explored as predicting factors. A significant increase in knowledge of positive attachment behaviours was observed at post intervention. This was maintained at follow-up. This significant increase in knowledge occurred for the total knowledge score as well as for four out of the seven attachment questions. Trait emotional intelligence, IQ and autistic symptomatology did not predict pre-intervention knowledge or increase in knowledge. The results of both papers are discussed within the context of previous research and clinical implications are considered. Volume 2 contains five clinical practice reports; Psychological Models, Service Evaluation, Single Case Experimental Design and two Case Studies.
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Witek, Maria. "'... and I feel good!' : the relationship between body-movement, pleasure and groove in music." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:a4036764-bc54-44ad-8015-f635ab6dca97.
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In many musical cultures, people synchronise their bodies to the rhythmic patterns of the music, and such embodied engagements are one of the most overtly enjoyable forms of musical appreciation. However, the ways in which rhythmic structure, body-movement and pleasure are related remains unclear. The present thesis directs a broadly psychological, yet multi-methodological and interdisciplinary, approach towards this relationship, centring on the rhythmic structure of syncopation in groove-based funk music. Through perceptual experiments, computational modelling, rating surveys, neuroimaging and motion-capture recording, syncopation was found to relate, in primarily negatively linear and inverted U-shaped ways, to finger-tapping performance, perceptions of stability, subjective desire to move and feelings of pleasure, neural activity in motor and reward areas, and force, synchrony and periodicity in body-movements. These relationships also depended on individuals’ musical training, dancing experience and groove familiarity. Ecological and embodied theories of perception and a phenomenology of groove provide a backdrop to the empirical findings, on the basis of which it is suggested that the different relationships between syncopation in groove and perceptual, subjective, neural and corporeal attributes interact in reciprocal ways. It is proposed that syncopation invites the body to physically enact the musical structure and directly participate in the rhythms of groove, due to the perceptual tension and ‘open spaces’ afforded by the perception of metric events in syncopation. In groove, body, mind and music extend into each other and this distributed musical process has affective significance. Since the physical pleasures of dancing to music are such a historically and culturally ubiquitous phenomenon, the empirical findings and theoretical proposals of this thesis make significant contributions towards a much-needed coupling of affective and embodied theories of music.
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Hyland, Sarah Louise. "Toward a behavioural phenotype for Sotos syndrome." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/2988/.
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This thesis comprises two volumes, representing the research and clinical elements submitted to the University of Birmingham in partial fulfillment of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy). The first volume is the research component and contains three papers. The first paper is a review of the literature from 1980 to the present day, which has examined intellectual, behavioural and psychological characteristics in participants with Sotos syndrome. The second paper is an empirical study which examines the behavioural phenotype of participants with Sotos syndrome in comparison to 3 other genetic syndromes using standardised, well validated questionnaires. The third paper summarises these in language accessible to the general public. The second volume is the clinical component containing four Clinical Practice Reports and the abstract for an oral examination. These papers represent different aspects of work conducted during clinical placements. They include a paper which formulates from two different psychological perspectives, a service evaluation, a single case experimental design and a case study.
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Bourne, Corin. "Trauma and the peri-traumatic cognitive mechanisms involved in flashback formation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1d42715a-7eef-4b16-9f5b-14aca89f11ed.
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is classified as an anxiety disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV of the American Psychiatric Association. It is characterised by three main symptom clusters: re-experiencing (of which flashbacks are the hallmark symptom); hyperarousal; and avoidance. Diagnosis requires not only the occurrence of a traumatic event but also an intense emotional (fear, horror, or helplessness) reaction to it. Epidemiological data suggest that 80% of people will experience at least one qualifying event in their lifetime. However, prevalence rates of PTSD are much lower. Additionally, individuals with PTSD tend to experience flashbacks of only two or three particular ‘hot-spots’ of the entire trauma. Therefore, the question arises: why do some moments of trauma flash back and not others? Clinical-cognitive theories of PTSD suggest that shifts in information processing at the time of the trauma (i.e. peri-traumatically) are the mechanism whereby flashbacks are created. However, for ethical and practical reasons peri-traumatic processes in real trauma are seldom studied. An analogue traumatic event has been developed to help study peri-traumatic processes – the trauma film paradigm. This paradigm is used through-out this thesis with the goal of investigating peri-traumatic cognitive mechanisms in flashback formation. Studies 1 and 2 extend previous work using dual tasks to manipulate intrusions in-line with clinical-cognitive theories. Studies 3 and 4 use neuroimaging techniques to investigate brain regions involved in real-time peri-traumatic encoding of analogue flashbacks. Chapter 9 presents heart rate data relating to peri-traumatic physiological response to flashback encoding. All of these studies support the notion that peri-traumatic shifts in processing are involved in flashback formation. In particular, Study 3 suggests that there may be a particular neural signature associated with the formation of flashbacks. Investigation of these brain areas may help solve the questions of why some individuals are more vulnerable to PTSD and why only a few specific moments of a trauma subsequently flashback. Furthermore, an improved understanding of the cognitive mechanisms involved in flashback formation may allow theory and evidence led improvements in PTSD treatments.
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Hoon, A. C. "The effect of manipulating the expression of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor on learning and memory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:eae324a3-873f-4b50-9bcc-8c43b72866a3.
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Overexpression of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor in the forebrain has been shown to improve learning and memory in mice (Tang et al 1999), which provides exciting implications for the enhancement of human cognition. However, it was first essential to establish replicability, and since the Tang et al (1999) study used only male mice we wished to investigate possible sex differences. On the hidden platform watermaze, we found a trend for male NR2BOE mice to learn the task more quickly than male wildtype mice (as observed by Tang et al. 1999), but the opposite trend in female mice; female NR2BOE mice were slower to reach the hidden platform than female wildtype mice. This pattern of results was also observed on the spatial reference Y memory task and open field task (for anxiety), although not on the spatial working memory T maze task (despite a sex difference). However, wildtype and NR2BOE mice performed at similar levels on the novel object recognition task, the spatial novelty preference task, visible platform watermaze and visual discrimination task. A battery of tests considering some species typical behaviours of mice demonstrated that wildtype and NR2BOE mice were comparable on tests of motor ability, strength, co-ordination, anxiety, burrowing and nesting. This suggests that our behavioural results are not due to a general impairment or enhancement of species typical behaviours. We considered the possibility that the difference between the results of Tang et al (1999) and those we observed may be caused by age differences; hence we attempted to replicate our results on the hidden platform watermaze, spatial reference Y maze and open field test in age matched mice. However, the second cohort of NR2BOE mice performed at similar levels to wildtype mice, and at significantly improved levels compared to the mice of the first cohort. We also considered the effects of knocking out the NR2B subunit on learning and memory, and NR1 subunit deletion within the hippocampus. On the spatial working memory T maze, these mouse strains performed similarly to their respective wildtype strains. Similarly, on a two beacon watermaze (with one indicating the platform position), mice lacking the NR2B subunit were able to locate the platform in a similar length of time. To ensure that the null results we had observed in the second cohort were not due to loss of the NR2B protein overexpression in the forebrain, we performed polymerase chain reactions (PCR), quantitative real-time PCR, and Western blots. We ascertained that the transgene was indeed present and that NR2B mRNA and protein levels were elevated in the hippocampi of the NR2BOE mice. In conclusion, it is unclear why the behaviours we observed in the NR2BOE mice are different to those published in the literature. It is possible that they may be due to differences in environmental enrichment, but the cause of the genotype by sex differences observed in the mice of cohort 1 is unclear. Nonetheless, we have advanced our knowledge of the effects of modifications in the levels of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA receptor on learning and behaviour.
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Kaufmann, Celia Regina Justo. "\"O Brasil precisa de você\": uma leitura da propaganda produzida pelo IPES a partir das bases biológicas do comportamento humano (1962 - 1964)." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/8/8138/tde-18012018-115054/.
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O presente trabalho propõe considerar no conjunto de modelos interpretativos da História os estudos realizados em neurociência e psicologia sobre as bases biológicas e psicossociais do comportamento humano. A psicologia cognitiva revolucionou o entendimento do comportamento humano ao reconsiderar a mente, até então menosprezada pelos behavioristas, em seus estudos. Os psicólogos e neurocientistas que adotam o princípio da seleção natural de Charles Darwin para compreender as raízes do comportamento e dos processos mentais, consideram que os genes e as experiências juntos estabelecem as conexões no cérebro humano, dotando a espécie de uma maior capacidade de aprendizagem e adaptação. Eles asseveram que existem mais semelhanças de comportamento em nossa espécie do que se possa imaginar. Os mecanismos neurais desencadeados por uma emoção, como o medo, são os mesmos em todos os humanos, de onde argumenta-se que as reações tendem a ser parecidas, dado o instinto de preservação da espécie. Os estudos em psicologia e neurociência sobre o comportamento humano foram aplicados a um conjunto de filmes do Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais (IPES), produzidos no período de 1962 a 1964 dentro de uma campanha ideológica que, segundo o cientista social e historiador René Armand Dreifuss, culminou na desestabilização e derrocada do então presidente João Goulart.The present work proposes to consider in the set of interpretative models of History the studies carried out in neuroscience and psychology on the biological and psychosocial bases of human behavior. Cognitive psychology has revolutionized the understanding of human behavior by reconsidering the mind, until then disregarded by behaviorists, in their studies. Psychologists and neuroscientists who adopt Charles Darwin\'s principle of natural selection to understand the roots of behavior and mental processes, consider that genes and experiences together establish connections in the human brain, giving the species a greater capacity for learning and adaptation. They assert that there are more similarities in behavior in our species than one can imagine. The neural mechanisms triggered by an emotion, such as fear, are the same in all humans, from which it is argued that reactions tend to be similar, given the instinct for the preservation of the species. The studies in psychology and neuroscience on human behavior were applied to a set of films of the Brazilian Institute of Research and Social Studies (IPES), produced between 1962 and 1964 within an ideological campaign that, according to the social scientist and historian René Armand Dreifuss, culminated in the destabilization and overthrow of then-President João Goulart.
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Kralj, Andrea. "The neurobiology underlying personality traits and conflict behavior : Examining the similarities in brain regions between agreeableness, aggression and dominating conflict style." Thesis, Högskolan i Skövde, Institutionen för biovetenskap, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-15969.
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Conflicts are part of our everyday life and the field of psychology describes how specific personality traits relate to specific conflict styles. However, the question remaining is why these relations exist? Recently, personality neuroscience has begun pinning down the neurobiology of personality traits, providing a deeper understanding of the human behavior. The present thesis utilizes the Five Factor Model (FFM; Costa & McCrae, 1990) of personality to investigate the neurobiology underlying the inverse relation between the specific personality trait of Agreeableness and dominating conflict style (a conflict management style characterized by aggressiveness, authoritarianism and/or need for dominance). Agreeableness overlaps both empathy and aggression which can work as each other’s opposites in explaining conflict behaviors. The goal of the thesis was to investigate whether the inverse relation between Agreeableness and dominating conflict style can be explained by brain regions. Brain regions such as the medial prefrontal cortex and regions involving anterior cingulate appear to be the most prominent neurobiology describing the relation. Serotonin is the neural substance involved in most cortical and subcortical brain structures and it also regulates the suppression of aggression, making it an important substance both within Agreeableness and the preference for dominating conflict style. The thesis will sum up with a discussion including some limitations within the research and further aspects such the consequences of the findings will be discussed.
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Young, Katherine S. "Adults' responses to infant vocalisations : a neurobehavioural investigation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6f91f1ae-0948-4b34-b45f-ee65ae421934.
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Infant vocalisations are uniquely salient sounds in the environment. They universally attract attention and compel the listener to respond with speed and care. They provide a wealth of information to parents about their infant’s needs and affective state. There is a scientific consensus that early parenting has a profound impact on child development. In particular, the sensitivity with which parents respond to their infant’s communicative cues has been shown to affect cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes. The mechanisms underlying such sensitivity are not well understood. In this thesis, adults’ sensitivity to infant cues will be considered in terms of two components, the ‘promptness’ and ‘appropriateness’ of responses, as originally conceptualised by Bell and Ainsworth (1972). Promptness of responses is considered in terms of adults’ ability to move with speed and effort after listening to infant vocalisations. Appropriateness, on the other hand, is considered in terms of adults’ ability to differentiate between functionally significant parameters in infant vocalisations. The effect of modifiable environmental factors on the promptness and appropriateness of responses is also investigated. Finally, a focused investigation of the brain basis of responses to infant vocalisations is presented. Overall, findings demonstrated that infant vocalisations undergo privileged, specialised processing in the adult brain. After hearing an infant cry, adults with and without depression were found to move with greater coordination and effort. Adults were also found to be attuned to subtle parameters in infant cries. This sensitivity was shown to be affected by two participant-level factors, depression and previous musical training. Furthermore, this sensitivity could be enhanced through intervention, as evidenced by findings from short-term, perceptual discrimination training. The notion of privileged processing of infant vocalisations is further supported by evidence of early discrimination of infant sounds in a survival-related subcortical brain structure. Future directions for this work include directly relating current experimental measures of adults’ responses to infant cues with parental sensitivity to infant communication during dynamic interactions. Translating current findings into applied settings would require an investigation of the effects of factors such as musical and perceptual training on sensitivity to infant cues in at-risk populations, such as mothers and fathers with depression. Lastly, an increased understanding of the brain basis of adults’ sensitivity to infant cues will provide insight into our greatest challenge: parenting our young.
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Hunt, Laurence T. "Modelling human decision under risk and uncertainty." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:244ce799-7397-4698-8dac-c8ca5d0b3e28.
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Humans are unique in their ability to flexibly and rapidly adapt their behaviour and select courses of action that lead to future reward. Several ‘component processes’ must be implemented by the human brain in order to facilitate this behaviour. This thesis examines two such components; (i) the neural substrates supporting action selection during value- guided choice using magnetoencephalography (MEG), and (ii) learning the value of environmental stimuli and other people’s actions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In both situations, it is helpful to formally model the underlying component process, as this generates predictions of trial-to-trial variability in the signal from a brain region involved in its implementation. In the case of value-guided action selection, a biophysically realistic implementation of a drift diffusion model is used. Using this model, it is predicted that there are specific times and frequency bands at which correlates of value are seen. Firstly, there are correlates of the overall value of the two presented options, and secondly the difference in value between the options. Both correlates should be observed in the local field potential, which is closely related to the signal measured using MEG. Importantly, the content of these predictions is quite distinct from the function of the model circuit, which is to transform inputs relating to the value of each option into a categorical decision. In the case of social learning, the same reinforcement learning model is used to track both the value of two stimuli that the subject can choose between, and the advice of a confederate who is playing alongside them. As the confederate advice is actually delivered by a computer, it is possible to keep prediction error and learning rate terms for stimuli and advice orthogonal to one another, and so look for neural correlates of both social and non-social learning in the same fMRI data. Correlates of intentional inference are found in a network of brain regions previously implicated in social cognition, notably the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, the right temporoparietal junction, and the anterior cingulate gyrus.
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Ginty, Annie T. "The behavioural, cognitive, and neural correlates of blunted physiological reactions to acute psychological stress." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3618/.
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The overarching aim of this thesis was to better understand the behavioural, cognitive, and neural corollaries of blunted cardiovascular and/or cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress. As such, it was also concerned to further test the proposition that blunted cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to acute psychological stress are markers of an unconscious dysfunction in the motivational areas of the brain. These aims were achieved by using a mixed methods interdisciplinary approach encompassing both laboratory stress studies and secondary analyses of epidemiological datasets. Chapter 2 adduced evidence that blunted cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity was associated with a non-substance addiction, namely exercise dependence. Chapter 3 demonstrated that blunted cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity was related to disordered eating behaviour. Differences in stress reactivity between healthy controls and exercise dependent individuals or disordered eaters could not be explained by actual stress task performance, how engaged or how stressful participants found the stress task, cardio-respiratory fitness, and a number of other potential confounders. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 demonstrated that poor cognitive ability was associated with blunted stress reactivity retrospectively, cross-sectionally, and prospectively. Additionally, Chapter 6 demonstrated that blunted cardiac reactivity predicted cognitive decline over a 7 year period. Chapter 7 revealed brain activation differences between pre-determined exaggerated and blunted cardiac stress reactors during an acute stress exposure in a fMRI paradigm. Blunted cardiac reactors showed hypo-activation in the areas of the brain associated with motivation and emotion compared to exaggerated reactors. There were no reactivity group differences in subjective measures of the stressfulness and difficulty of and engagement with the stress task. Overall, the research reported in this thesis provides further evidence that blunted cardiovascular and cortisol reactions to stress are associated with a number of adverse health and behavioural outcomes and may be a peripheral marker of some form of disengagement in those areas of the brain that support motivated behaviour.
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Dunne, Nivek. "Evaluation of psychology clinicians' attitudes towards computerised cognitive behaviour therapy, for use in their future clinical practice, with regard to treating those suffering from anxiety and depression." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1503328670275243.
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