Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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The Neurochemical Consequences of Music Therapy on Dementia Patients

Description
As the incidence of dementia continues to rise, the need for an effective and non-invasive method of intervention has become increasingly imperative. Music therapy has exhibited these qualities in addition to relatively low implementation costs, therefore establishing itself as a promising means of therapeutic intervention. In this review, current research…

As the incidence of dementia continues to rise, the need for an effective and non-invasive method of intervention has become increasingly imperative. Music therapy has exhibited these qualities in addition to relatively low implementation costs, therefore establishing itself as a promising means of therapeutic intervention. In this review, current research was investigated in order to determine its effectiveness and uncover the neurochemical mechanisms that lead to positive manifestations such as improved memory recall, increased social affiliation, increased motivation, and decreased anxiety. Music therapy has been found to improve several aspects of memory recall. One proposed mechanism involves temporal entrainment, during which the melodic structures present in music provide a framework for chunking information. Although entrainment's role in the treatment of motor defects has been thoroughly studied, its role in treating cognitive disorders is still relatively new. Musicians have also been shown to demonstrate extensive plastic changes; therefore, it is hypothesized that non-musicians may also glean some benefits from engaging in music. Social affiliation has been found to increase due to increases in endogenous oxytocin. Oxytocin has also been shown to strengthen hippocampal spike transmission, a promising outcome for Alzheimer's patients. An increase in motivation has also been found to occur due to music's ability to tap into the reward center of the brain. Dopaminergic transmission between the VTA, NAc and higher functioning regions such as the OFC and hypothalamus has been revealed. Additionally, relaxing music decreases stress levels and modifies associated autonomic processes, i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate. On the contrary, stimulating music has been found to initiate sympathetic nervous system activity. This is thought to occur by either a reflexive brainstem response or stimulus interpretation by the amygdala.
ContributorsFlores, Catalina Nicole (Author) / Redding, Kevin (Thesis director) / Hoffer, Julie (Committee member) / Neisewander, Janet (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05

Neuroaesthetics: A Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of the Relationship Between Beauty and Addiction

Description

This paper provides a multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between beauty and addiction, with a focus on the emerging field of neuroaesthetics. Neuroaesthetics investigates the neural mechanisms that underlie aesthetic experiences and how the brain cognitively processes beauty. Since there is a biological foundation of this report, I will predominantly…

This paper provides a multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between beauty and addiction, with a focus on the emerging field of neuroaesthetics. Neuroaesthetics investigates the neural mechanisms that underlie aesthetic experiences and how the brain cognitively processes beauty. Since there is a biological foundation of this report, I will predominantly discuss neuroanatomy, neurological studies, and the overlap in neural circuitry between beauty and addiction. In addition, I will discuss the philosophical roots of beauty, as well as the environmental elements involved. Chapter 1 begins by explaining the history of beauty and its importance. I discuss the main constituents of beauty and differentiate between key terms involved in the beauty experience. In order to understand the link between beauty and addiction, it is essential to have a knowledgeable background on what beauty is. Next, I discuss the neurobiology of addiction. The main component of this chapter involves the mesolimbic and mesocortical reward pathways. I also describe neuroanatomical terms involved in addiction. The last chapter considers the implications of neuroaesthetics in various studies, which primarily involve the use of fMRIs. I discuss the sensory evaluations of beauty and the brain regions involved in the beauty experience. From this, I found that the experience of beauty activates these main brain regions: PFC, amygdala, striatum, NAcc, cingulate, VTA, and most remarkably, field A1 of the mOFC. By combining the neurological studies with studies of aesthetics, I reached the conclusion that there is an overlap in the neural pathways during the experience of beauty and during addiction. Although it is necessary for further research to be conducted to properly declare this, I discovered that the pursuit of beauty can lead to addictive behaviors, as the reward centers of the brain are activated by aesthetic experiences.
ContributorsFarrell, Natalie (Author) / de Alcantara, Christiane Fontinha (Thesis director) / Conrad, Cheryl (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2023-05