Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Filtering by

Clear all filters

133094-Thumbnail Image.png

Accounting for BOLD Signal Latencies Using Temporal Derivative

Description
The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been increasing in popularity due to its ability to measure brain activity during presentation of stimuli. Blood flow responses in the brain occur when a stimulus is presented and can be measured using fMRI. The delay of onset of this blood…

The use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been increasing in popularity due to its ability to measure brain activity during presentation of stimuli. Blood flow responses in the brain occur when a stimulus is presented and can be measured using fMRI. The delay of onset of this blood flow response can vary due to distances from the heart to the brain blood vessels. This variability causes differences in onset and time to peak blood flow response across the brain that is not currently predictable. To account for this, statistical analyses add the response's temporal derivative to regression models. Derived from the Taylor series expansion, the temporal derivative corrects for small variations in the time delay for the blood flow response (i.e. less than 1 second or so). However, I show that inclusion of the temporal derivative in analyses increases false positive rates. I conducted fMRI analyses on data collected as participants complete motor responses and on resting state data. Analyses were repeated both with and without inclusion of the temporal derivative. More significant responses were found with inclusion of the temporal derivative in both cases, suggesting possible increases in false positive rates. The goal of the present study is to increase awareness of the current fMRI data analysis practices and their potential flaws.
ContributorsTemporini, Victoria (Author) / McClure, Samuel (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Elliott, Blake (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
135098-Thumbnail Image.png

The Relation Between Social and Physical Pain in Individuals with Fibromyalgia

Description
Accruing evidence suggests that the neural underpinnings of the social and physical pain systems overlap. The preponderance of the data are based on experimental manipulations of healthy individuals. Those data suggest that the experience of social pain, in the form of rejection, influences the experience of physical pain. The current…

Accruing evidence suggests that the neural underpinnings of the social and physical pain systems overlap. The preponderance of the data are based on experimental manipulations of healthy individuals. Those data suggest that the experience of social pain, in the form of rejection, influences the experience of physical pain. The current study sought to extend this literature in four ways: first it examined whether the relation between social pain and physical pain holds in individuals with chronic pain. Second, it evaluated the rejection-pain relation in everyday life though use of daily diary repots. Third, it evaluated whether aversive social events other than rejection (i.e., conflict) are also related to daily pain, to determine, if the relation to pain is specific to rejection. Finally, it tested whether the relational context (i.e., chronic level of rejection or conflict) predicted pain levels. The sample for the current study is comprised of 123 partnered individuals with fibromyalgia (FM) who completed 21 daily diaries that assessed their experience of spousal rejection, spousal conflict, and daily physical pain. Multilevel modeling was used to examine 1) the within person relations between daily increases in negative spousal events, and reports of chronic physical pain; and 2) The moderating effect of chronic spousal discord on the daily negative event pain relations. Results showed a marginally significant relation between daily rejection events and increased levels of pain, and a significant relation between daily conflict events and increased levels of pain. Keywords: chronic pain, social pain, rejection, conflict, Fibromyalgia
ContributorsBernal, Josi Ann (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12