Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for the Differential Diagnosis of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and Alzheimers Disease
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Differential diagnosis of Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) is complicated by symptomatic overlap with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimers Disease (AD). Efforts to improve diagnosis through the use of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have led to the identification of more than a dozen potential diagnostic markers for NPH. However, no single biomarker has proven sufficient for differential diagnosis in clinical practice. The current study uses proteomic analysis of CSF to identify sets of protein markers that are expressed differentially in NPH and AD. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to analyze the CSF of 8 probable NPH and 8 probable AD patients. Gels were stained with SYPRO Ruby and the percentage volume of over 1339 spots was determined. The Random Forest statistical method was used to identify proteins that optimally segregated NPH cases from AD. Protein identification was achieved by the use of a previously published CSF map and mass spectrometry. Eleven protein spots were found to optimally distinguish the groups, correctly classifying 100% of all NPH and AD samples. Of the 11 proteins of interest, six were identified and include the following: beta-trace, serum albumin A, serum albumin B, apolipoprotein A-IV precursor, pigment epithelium-derived factor, and complement component 3 precursor. The current study identifies CSF biomarkers that differentiate between NPH and AD cases. The highly successful separation of cases obtained in this study suggests that multiplexed CSF markers have the potential to improve the differential diagnosis of NPH from one of its most common competing diagnoses.
INTERPERSONAL RHYTHMS DISRUPTED BY A HISTORY OF TRAUMA: AN IN-DEPTH CASE STUDY OF ANALYTICAL MUSIC THERAPY
Author:
Tanja Auf der Heyde
Year of Dissertation:
2012
Abstract
An Examination of Predictive Variables of Success in Mental Health Diversion Programs.
Author:
Virginia Barber Rioja
Year of Dissertation:
2009
Diversion programs were developed to ease the overrepresentation of individuals with psychiatric disorders in the criminal justice system. These programs divert individuals with mental illnesses out of jails into community treatment. Despite the increased popularity of these programs, little is known about the psychosocial, psychiatric and psychological characteristics of the diverted individuals. In addition, despite the importance of using standardized assessment instruments pre-diversion, no published study has attempted to evaluate the utility of risk assessment instruments or measures of malingering, personality or psychopathology in diverted offenders. This investigation attempted to address this gap in the literature through three different studies that (1) described a sample of 61 defendants released from jail in terms of demographical, clinical, and criminological characteristics; (2) determined the utility of the HCR-20 violence risk assessment scheme and the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) in the prediction of diversion non-compliance, and recidivism in a sample of 120 defendants, and (3) identified alternative factors that help defendants succeed in diversion through a multiple case-study design. Results revealed that this sample consisted primarily of minority male defendants with extensive histories of prior arrests, significant histories of physical abuse, homelessness and suicidality, and co-morbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. The findings provided preliminary validation of the predictive validity of the HCR-20 and PCL: SV with defendants diverted to community treatment. The HCR-20 was found to be superior to the PCL: SV in predicting both non-compliance and recidivism, and the PCL: SV proved to be more useful in predicting recidivism than non-compliance. Results of multiple case-studies found a pattern of characteristics shared by participants who failed diversion regardless of HCR-20 results. These variables included history of physical abuse, family history of substance abuse or criminal behavior, levels of social support, and level of responsibility taken for the instant offence.
Components of Emotional Experience and Reaction Time: A study of Normal Aging and Parkinson's Disease
Year of Dissertation:
2013
We examined whether valence or arousal levels affect decision and movement times in Parkinson's disease (PD) and in healthy aging. For both decision and movement time, we were interested in differences in the speed and variability in responding. We also studied whether emotional experience is altered as a result of the aging process and PD pathology.
THE IMPACT OF ATTACHMENT ON SEXUAL RISK TAKING, ATTITUDES AND TRAUMA IN ADOLESCENCE: A STUDY OF NEW YORK INNER CITY YOUTH
Year of Dissertation:
2012
The present study examines how attachment impacts sexual behavior, attitudes and sexual risk taking among Latino American and African American adolescents on the Lower East Side of New York City. This population was chosen because inner city teens are at particular risk of HIV/STD infection and because past research suggests a high prevalence of sexual risk among inner city youth.
Guided Tours: The Layered Dynamics of Self, Place and Image in Two American Neighborhoods
Author:
Gabrielle Bendiner-Viani
Year of Dissertation:
2009
This work complicates our understanding of the creation, knowledge and experience of
RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE FAMILY IN THE LIVES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ELDERLY MEN
Year of Dissertation:
2011
The purpose of this study was to provide information about the ways in which African American elderly men raised in the South in Mississippi, during the height of Segregation, managed to survive and live successful lives. The study seeks to illustrate how these men incorporated religion, spirituality and their families as sources of strength and psychological buffers against the many adversarial circumstances that they faced.
The Impact of Emotions on Stereotyping and Discrimination in Workplace Selection: The Role of Certainty Appraisals
Year of Dissertation:
2012
In the present studies, an appraisal tendency approach (e.g., Lerner & Keltner, 2000, 2001) was adopted to make predictions regarding the role of emotional certainty in the use of stereotypes in a workplace context. This approach suggests that emotional certainty increases reliance on heuristic processing strategies, as evidenced by greater use of stereotypes. The current research examined stereotypes associated with physical attractiveness (Studies 1 & 3) and age (Study 2). In Studies 1 and 2, participants completed an emotional memory task designed to induce one of four specific emotions representing two different levels of emotional certainty. They then reviewed interview footage, a résumé, and qualifying criteria before rating the hypothetical job candidate's personality and employability. In Study 3, participants completed four measures of dispositional emotion: anger, fear, happiness, and hope. All other features of the study were identical to Study 1. In Study 1, emotions high in certainty (compared to uncertainty) led to more favorable personality and employability ratings for attractive (compared to unattractive) candidates. In Study 2, the same pattern of results emerged for younger (compared to older) candidates. However, in Study 3, contrary to predictions, trait emotions characterized by high certainty (compared to uncertainty) did not lead to more favorable personality and employability ratings for attractive (compared to unattractive) candidates. Taken together, the findings contribute to a growing literature suggesting that certainty appraisals, when associated with temporary, incidental emotions, are a useful predictor of the likelihood that stereotypes will be applied in decision-making.
The Effects Of Certain And Uncertain Reinforcement Procedures On The Quiz Submission And Performance Of College Students
Year of Dissertation:
2011
College instructors often provide homework so that their students can review class material; however some students do not take advantage of these review opportunities. This study compared the effects of a certain reward and a lottery reward on the quiz submission rates and accuracy of 112 college students. In Baseline, quizzes were for practice only and had no programmed contingency; in the Certain condition, two extra credit points were available for submission of a perfect quiz; and in the Lottery condition, students who submitted a perfect quiz were entered into a lottery with one winner (actual probability varied) for two points of extra credit. Submission rates averaged 36.50% for Baseline, 62.00% for Certain and 51.67% for Lottery. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA, followed by Fisher's LSD, found the differences in submission rates between all conditions to be significant at the .0001 level. Accuracy rates averaged 82.82% for Baseline, 93.80% for Certain and 93.99% for Lottery. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA, followed by Fisher's LSD found the mean score for the Baseline condition to be significantly lower than the mean scores for the Certain and Lottery conditions (p < .01), but did not find a significant difference between the latter two conditions (p < .05). This study demonstrates that when all other factors (e.g. magnitude) are equal, certain rewards are more effective than lottery rewards at increasing quiz submissions. It is possible that the lottery was less effective than the certain reward, due to the uncertainty (indirect contingency) inherent in the Lottery condition. These results have implications for business settings that use lottery rewards in an attempt to motivate a large number of employees at low costs. Future research should examine the roles of magnitude, probability and contingency in predicting the relative effectiveness of a lottery reward.
Fructose-conditioned flavor preferences in the rat: dopaminergic and opioid substrates in the nucleus accumbens and amygdala
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Systemic dopamine (DA) D1 (SCH23390) and D2 (raclopride) receptor antagonists reduce acquisition and expression of fructose-conditioned flavor preferences (CFP) in rats. Given DA involvement in nucleus accumbens shell (NAcS) and amygdala (AMY) in learning of food reward, the first and second aims examined whether NAcS or AMY D1 or D2 antagonism altered acquisition and expression of fructose-CFP. In expression, food-restricted rats with bilateral NAcS or AMY cannulae were trained to drink a flavored fructose (8%) and saccharin (0.2%) solution or another flavored 0.2% saccharin solution. Two-bottle tests with both flavors in saccharin solutions occurred 10 min following NAcS or AMY doses of 0, 12, 24 or 48 nmol of SCH23390 or raclopride. CFP expression following vehicle (76-77%) was significantly reduced by SCH23390 (48 nmol: NAcS, 62%; AMY, 66%) and raclopride (NAcS: 24 nmol, 63%; 48 nmol, 68%). In acquisition, rats received 12 nmol of SCH23390 (D1) or raclopride (D2) in the NAcS or AMY 10 min prior to one-bottle training sessions. Yoked controls received vehicle with limited CS intakes, whereas untreated controls were not injected or limited. Two-bottle tests revealed initial CFP in all groups that remained stable in untreated and yoked controls, but were lost over six test sessions in the AMY D1 and NAcS D1 and D2 groups. Thus, D1 and D2 receptor blockade in the NAcS and AMY significantly attenuated expression, but not initial acquisition of fructose-CFP, and hastened extinction of fructose-CFP.