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The purpose of this research study provided observational techniques and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) prompts and fading procedures to analyze music therapist-child interaction for child with autism spectrum disorder. Impaired social interaction is the primary symptom of a child with autism spectrum disorder. However, social interaction exists everywhere and throughout human life. Therefore, to improve interaction is the primary and significant goal in music therapy treatment for a child with autism spectrum disorder. The music therapist designs a series of music therapy activity interventions in order to create a therapeutic environment, based on a child's interests and favorite activities. Additionally, the music therapist utilizes the music to build the quality of relationship and interaction with child and support child practicing interaction with the therapist. Then music therapist utilizes the process of interaction to improve child's social interaction. Once the child achieves at desired behavior, he/she has ability to apply the music therapy techniques independently in the real world situations, such as family and schools that the child has learned throughout the process of interaction with therapist. The participants were three children with autism spectrum disorder and two certified music therapists (MT-BC). The researcher calculated the number of prompts and cues which the therapists provided, and the number of appropriate responses by each child in each activity intervention. Then the researcher utilized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), prompt and fading procedure in order to analyze the progress of therapist-child interactions during the sessions. The result showed that the children had improvement in the interactions with their therapist.
ContributorsLiao, Yin-chun (Author) / Crowe, Barbara J. (Thesis advisor) / Rio, Robin (Committee member) / Dishion, Thomas J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
5-HT2A receptor (R) antagonists and 5-HT2CR agonists attenuate reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior (i.e., incentive motivation). 5-HT2Rs are distributed throughout the brain, primarily in regions involved in reward circuitry, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), caudate putamen (CPu), and basolateral (BlA) and central (CeA) amygdala. Using animal models, we tested our hypotheses that 5-HT2ARs in the medial (m) PFC mediate the incentive motivational effects of cocaine and cocaine-paired cues; 5-HT2ARs and 5-HT2CRs interact to attenuate cocaine hyperlocomotion and functional neuronal activation (i.e, Fos protein); and 5-HT2CRs in the BlA mediate the incentive motivational effects of cocaine-paired cues and anxiety-like behavior, while 5-HT2CRs in the CeA mediate the incentive motivational effects of cocaine. In chapter 2, we infused M100907, a selective 5-HT2AR antagonist, directly into the mPFC and examined its effects on reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior. We found that M100907 in the mPFC dose- dependently attenuated cue-primed reinstatement, without affecting cocaine-primed reinstatement, cue-primed reinstatement of sucrose-seeking behavior, or locomotor activity. In chapter 3, we used subthreshold doses of M100907 and MK212, a 5-HT2CR agonist, to investigate whether these compounds interact to attenuate cocaine hyperlocomotion and Fos protein expression. Only the drug combination attenuated cocaine hyperlocomotion and cocaine-induced Fos expression in the CPu, but had no effect on spontaneous locomotion. Finally, in chapter 4 we investigated the effects of a 5- HT2CR agonist in the BlA and CeA on cocaine-seeking behavior and anxiety-like behavior. We found that CP809101, a selective 5-HT2CR agonist, infused into the BlA increased anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze (EPM), but failed to alter cocaine-seeking behavior. CP809101 infused into the CeA attenuated cocaine-primed reinstatement and this effect was blocked by co-administration of a 5-HT2CR antagonist. Together, these results suggest that 5-HT2ARs in the mPFC are involved in cue-primed reinstatement, 5-HT2A and 5-HT2CRs may interact in the nigrostriatal pathway to attenuate cocaine hyperlocomotion and Fos expression, and 5-HT2CRs are involved in anxiety-like behavior in the BlA and cocaine-primed reinstatement in the CeA. Our findings add to the literature on the localization of 5-HT2AR antagonist and 5-HT2CR agonist effects, and suggest a potential treatment mechanism via concurrent 5-HT2AR antagonism and 5-HT2CR agonism.
ContributorsPockros, Lara Ann (Author) / Neisewander, Janet L (Thesis advisor) / Olive, Michael F (Committee member) / Conrad, Cheryl D. (Committee member) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Two groups of cochlear implant (CI) listeners were tested for sound source localization and for speech recognition in complex listening environments. One group (n=11) wore bilateral CIs and, potentially, had access to interaural level difference (ILD) cues, but not interaural timing difference (ITD) cues. The second group (n=12) wore a single CI and had low-frequency, acoustic hearing in both the ear contralateral to the CI and in the implanted ear. These `hearing preservation' listeners, potentially, had access to ITD cues but not to ILD cues. At issue in this dissertation was the value of the two types of information about sound sources, ITDs and ILDs, for localization and for speech perception when speech and noise sources were separated in space. For Experiment 1, normal hearing (NH) listeners and the two groups of CI listeners were tested for sound source localization using a 13 loudspeaker array. For the NH listeners, the mean RMS error for localization was 7 degrees, for the bilateral CI listeners, 20 degrees, and for the hearing preservation listeners, 23 degrees. The scores for the two CI groups did not differ significantly. Thus, both CI groups showed equivalent, but poorer than normal, localization. This outcome using the filtered noise bands for the normal hearing listeners, suggests ILD and ITD cues can support equivalent levels of localization. For Experiment 2, the two groups of CI listeners were tested for speech recognition in noise when the noise sources and targets were spatially separated in a simulated `restaurant' environment and in two versions of a `cocktail party' environment. At issue was whether either CI group would show benefits from binaural hearing, i.e., better performance when the noise and targets were separated in space. Neither of the CI groups showed spatial release from masking. However, both groups showed a significant binaural advantage (a combination of squelch and summation), which also maintained separation of the target and noise, indicating the presence of some binaural processing or `unmasking' of speech in noise. Finally, localization ability in Experiment 1 was not correlated with binaural advantage in Experiment 2.
ContributorsLoiselle, Louise (Author) / Dorman, Michael F. (Thesis advisor) / Yost, William A. (Thesis advisor) / Azuma, Tamiko (Committee member) / Liss, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
There are several visual dimensions of food that can affect food intake, example portion size, color, and variety. This dissertation elucidates the effect of number of pieces of food on preference and amount of food consumed in humans and motivation for food in animals. Chapter 2 Experiment 1 showed that rats preferred and also ran faster for multiple pieces (30, 10 mg pellets) than an equicaloric, single piece of food (300 mg) showing that multiple pieces of food are more rewarding than a single piece. Chapter 2 Experiment 2 showed that rats preferred a 30-pellet food portion clustered together rather than scattered. Preference and motivation for clustered food pieces may be interpreted based on the optimal foraging theory that animals prefer foods that can maximize energy gain and minimize the risk of predation. Chapter 3 Experiment 1 showed that college students preferred and ate less of a multiple-piece than a single-piece portion and also ate less in a test meal following the multiple-piece than single-piece portion. Chapter 3 Experiment 2 replicated the results in Experiment 1 and used a bagel instead of chicken. Chapter 4 showed that college students given a five-piece chicken portion scattered on a plate ate less in a meal and in a subsequent test meal than those given the same portion clustered together. This is consistent with the hypothesis that multiple pieces of food may appear like more food because they take up a larger surface area than a single-piece portion. All together, these studies show that number and surface area occupied by food pieces are important visual cues determining food choice in animals and both food choice and intake in humans.
ContributorsBajaj, Devina (Author) / Phillips, Elizabeth D. (Thesis advisor) / Cohen, Adam (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Cognitive function declines with normal age and disease states, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Loss of ovarian hormones at menopause has been shown to exacerbate age-related memory decline and may be related to the increased risk of AD in women versus men. Some studies show that hormone therapy (HT) can have beneficial effects on cognition in normal aging and AD, but increasing evidence suggests that the most commonly used HT formulation is not ideal. Work in this dissertation used the surgically menopausal rat to evaluate the cognitive effects and mechanisms of progestogens proscribed to women. I also translated these questions to the clinic, evaluating whether history of HT use impacts hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes assessed via imaging, and cognition, in menopausal women. Further, this dissertation investigates how sex impacts responsiveness to dietary interventions in a mouse model of AD. Results indicate that the most commonly used progestogen component of HT, medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), impairs cognition in the middle-aged and aged surgically menopausal rat. Further, MPA is the sole hormone component of the contraceptive Depo Provera, and my research indicates that MPA administered to young-adult rats leads to long lasting cognitive impairments, evident at middle age. Natural progesterone has been gaining increasing popularity as an alternate option to MPA for HT; however, my findings suggest that progesterone also impairs cognition in the middle-aged and aged surgically menopausal rat, and that the mechanism may be through increased GABAergic activation. This dissertation identified two less commonly used progestogens, norethindrone acetate and levonorgestrel, as potential HTs that could improve cognition in the surgically menopausal rat. Parameters guiding divergent effects on cognition were discovered. In women, prior HT use was associated with larger hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes, as well as a modest verbal memory enhancement. Finally, in a model of AD, sex impacts responsiveness to a dietary cognitive intervention, with benefits seen in male, but not female, transgenic mice. These findings have clinical implications, especially since women are at higher risk for AD diagnosis. Together, it is my hope that this information adds to the overarching goal of optimizing cognitive aging in women.
ContributorsBraden, Brittany Blair (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather A. (Thesis advisor) / Neisewander, Janet L (Committee member) / Conrad, Cheryl D. (Committee member) / Baxter, Leslie C (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Patients with schizophrenia have deficits in sensorimotor gating, the ability to gate out irrelevant stimuli in order to attend to relevant stimuli. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle response is a reliable and valid model of sensorimotor gating across species. Repeated D2-like agonist treatment alleviates prior PPI deficits in rats, termed a PPI recovery, and is observable 28 days after treatment. The aim of the current project is to illuminate the underlying mechanism for this persistent change of behavior and determine the clinical relevance of repeated D2-like agonist treatment. Our results revealed a significant increase in Delta FosB, a transcription factor, in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) 10 days after repeated D2-like agonist treatment. Additionally, we investigated if Delta FosB was necessary for long-lasting PPI recovery and discovered a bilateral infusion of dominant-negative Delta JunD prevented PPI recovery after repeated D2-like agonist treatment. To further develop the underlying mechanism of PPI recovery, we observed that dominant negative mutant cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response biding element protein (CREB) prevented repeated D2-like agonist-induced Delta FosB expression in the NAc. We then compared our previous behavioral and intracellular findings to the results of repeated aripiprazole, a novel D2-like partial agonist antipsychotic, to determine if repeated D2-like receptor agonist action is a clinically relevant pharmacological approach. As compared to previous PPI recovery and Delta FosB expression after repeated D2-like agonist treatment, we found similar PPI recovery and Delta FosB expression after repeated aripiprazole treatment in rats. We can conclude that repeated D2-like agonist treatment produces persistent PPI recovery through CREB phosphorylation and Delta FosB, which is necessary for PPI recovery. Furthermore, this pharmacological approach produces behavioral and intracellular changes similar to an effective novel antipsychotic. These findings suggest the underlying intracellular mechanism for sustained PPI recovery is clinically relevant and may be a potential target of therapeutic intervention to alleviate sensorimotor gating deficits, which are associated with cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.
ContributorsMaple, Amanda (Author) / Hammer, Ronald P. (Thesis advisor) / Olive, Michael F (Committee member) / Gallitano, Amelia L (Committee member) / Conrad, Cheryl D. (Committee member) / Nikulina, Ella M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Health knowledge alone does not appear to lead to sustained healthy behavior, suggesting the need for alternative methods for improving diet. Recent research shows a possible role of moral contexts of food production on diet related behaviors; however no studies have been conducted to specifically explore the relationship between moral constructs and food consumption. This study examined the relationship between fast food consumption and two measures of morality, Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ), specifically harm/care and purity/sanctity foundations, and the Ethical Concern in food choice (EC) questionnaire, which includes animal welfare, environment protection, political values, and religion subscales. The study also examined the association between the measures of morality. 739 participants, primarily female (71.4%) and non-Hispanic Whites (76.5%), completed an online survey that included the MFQ, the EC questionnaire, and a brief fast food screener. Participant's morality scores in relation to their fast food consumption were examined first using bivariate ANOVA analysis and then using logistic regression to control for covariates. The MFQ foundations were compared with the EC subscales using Pearson correlation coefficient. Significant bivariate relationships were seen between fast food consumption and the MFQ's purity/sanctity foundation and EC's religion subscales (p<0.05). However these significant bivariate relationships did not hold after controlling for gender, race, university education, and religion in the logistic regression analysis. The foundations of the MFQ were positively correlated with the subscales for the EC questionnaire (r values ranging from .233-.613 (p<0.01). MFQ's purity/sanctity foundation and EC's religion subscale were the two most highly correlated (r=.613, p<0.01) showing that moral intuitions may be associated with eating decision making. The study did not find significant associations between MFQ or EC scores and fast food consumption.
ContributorsMartinelli, Sarah (Author) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Thesis advisor) / Hekler, Eric B. (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Background: Previous research suggests a healthy eater schema (i.e., identifying yourself as a healthy eater) may be a useful concept to target in interventions. A "stealth" intervention that discussed the moral issues related to food worked better at promoting healthful eating than an intervention focused on the health benefits. No research has explored the relationship between moral foundations, a theoretical model focused on delineating core "foundations" for making a moral decision, and healthy eater self-identity or self-efficacy. Purpose: We explored the relationship between moral foundations (i.e., harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, & purity/sanctity) and health eater self-identity and fruit and vegetable self-efficacy (FVSE). Methods: 542 participants completed an online cross-sectional survey, which included moral foundations (i.e., MFQ), political views, healthy eater self-identity (i.e., HESS), and FVSE measures. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between moral foundations between healthy eater self-identity after controlling for age, gender, major, BMI, and political beliefs. OLS regression was used to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the moral foundations after controlling for the covariates. Results: 75.6% of the sample were college students, with a mean age of 25.27 (SD=8.61). 25.1% of students were nutrition majors. Harm/care, authority/respect, and ingroup/loyalty were significantly associated with healthy eater schema, (i.e., OR=1.7, p<.001, OR=1.5, p=.009, and OR=1.4, p=.027, respectively). Ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity were related to FVSE (p=.006, p=.002, p=.04, respectively). Conclusion: Among college students, harm/care and authority/respect were associated with a healthy eater schema. Future research should explore possible uses of these moral foundations in interventions (e.g., a plant-based diet based on reduced harm to animals or eating fewer processed views based on "traditional" values).
ContributorsKiser, Sarah (Author) / Hekler, Eric B. (Thesis advisor) / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam (Committee member) / Wharton, Christopher (Christopher Mack), 1977- (Committee member) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The brain is a fundamental target of the stress response that promotes adaptation and survival but the repeated activation of the stress response has the potential alter cognition, emotion, and motivation, key functions of the limbic system. Three structures of the limbic system in particular, the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and amygdala, are of special interest due to documented structural changes and their implication in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of many notable chronic stress-induced changes include dendritic arbor restructuring, which reflect plasticity patterns in parallel with the direction of alterations observed in functional imaging studies in PTSD patients. For instance, chronic stress produces dendritic retraction in the hippocampus and mPFC, but dendritic hypertrophy in the amygdala, consistent with functional imaging in patients with PTSD. Some have hypothesized that these limbic region's modifications contribute to one's susceptibility to develop PTSD following a traumatic event. Consequently, we used a familiar chronic stress procedure in a rat model to create a vulnerable brain that might develop traits consistent with PTSD when presented with a challenge. In adult male rats, chronic stress by wire mesh restraint (6h/d/21d) was followed by a variety of behavioral tasks including radial arm water maze (RAWM), fear conditioning and extinction, and fear memory reconsolidation to determine chronic stress effects on behaviors mediated by these limbic structures. In chapter 2, we corroborated past findings that chronic stress caused hippocampal CA3 dendritic retraction. Importantly, we present new findings that CA3 dendritic retraction corresponded with poor spatial memory in the RAWM and that these outcomes reversed after a recovery period. In chapter 3, we also showed that chronic stress impaired mPFC-mediated extinction memory, findings that others have reported. Using carefully assessed behavior, we present new findings that chronic stress impacted nonassociative fear by enhancing contextual fear during extinction that generalized to a new context. Moreover, the generalization behavior corresponded with enhanced functional activation in the hippocampus and amygdala during fear extinction memory retrieval. In chapter 5, we showed for the first time that chronic stress enhanced amygdala functional activation during fear memory retrieval, i.e., reactivation. Moreover, these enhanced fear memories were resistant to protein synthesis interference to disrupt a previously formed memory, called reconsolidation in a novel attempt to weaken chronic stress enhanced traumatic memory. Collectively, these studies demonstrated the plastic and dynamic effects of chronic stress on limbic neurocircuitry implicated in PTSD. We showed that chronic stress created a structural and functional imbalance across the hippocampus, mPFC, and amygdala, which lead to a PTSD-like phenotype with persistent and exaggerated fear following fear conditioning. These behavioral disruptions in conjunction with morphological and functional imaging data reflect a chronic stress-induced imbalance between hippocampal and mPFC regulation in favor of amygdala function overdrive, and supports a novel approach for traumatic memory processing in PTSD.
ContributorsHoffman, Ann (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl D. (Thesis advisor) / Olive, M. Foster (Committee member) / Hammer, Jr., Ronald P. (Committee member) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
A variety of studies have shown that the tendency toward nicotine dependence has a genetic component. The work described in this thesis addresses three separate questions: i) are there unidentified SNPs in the nicotinic receptors or other genes that contribute to the risk for nicotine dependence; ii) is there evidence of ongoing selection at nicotinic receptor loci; and, iii) since nicotine dependence is unlikely to be the phenotype undergoing selection, is a positive effect on memory or cognition the selected phenotype. I first undertook a genome –wide association scan of imputed data using samples from the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Nicotine Dependence (COGEND). A novel association was found between nicotine dependence and SNPs at 13q31. The genes at this newly associated locus on chromosome 13 encode a group of micro-RNAs and a member of the glypican gene family. These are among the first findings to implicate a non-candidate gene in risk for nicotine dependence. I applied several complimentary methods to sequence data from the 1000 Genomes Project to test for evidence of selection at the nicotinic receptor loci. I found strong evidence for selection for alleles in the nicotinic receptor cluster on chromosome 8 that confer risk of nicotine dependence. I then used the dataset from the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) and looked for an association between neuropsychological phenotypes and SNPs conferring risk of nicotine dependence. One SNP passed multiple test correction for association with WAIS digit symbol score. This SNP is not itself associated with nicotine dependence but is in reasonable (r 2 = 0.75) LD with SNPs that are associated with nicotine dependence. These data suggest at best, a weak correlation between nicotine dependence and any of the tested cognitive phenotypes. Given the reproducible finding of an inverse relationship between SNPs associated with risk for nicotine dependence and cocaine dependence, I hypothesize that the apparently detrimental phenotype of nicotine dependence may confer decreased risk for cocaine dependence. As cocaine use impairs the positive rewards associated with social interactions, reducing the risk of cocaine addiction may be beneficial to both the individual and the group.
ContributorsSadler, Brooke (Author) / Hurtado, Ana Magdalena (Thesis advisor) / Goate, Alison (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Kim (Committee member) / Nagoshi, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014