Matching Items (53)
Description
Research suggests that the more positive the first drug experience, the more likely addiction will develop. Since smoking is initiated in a social setting, it is surprising how little is known about social context effects on acquisition of nicotine self-administration. We investigated this issue in rats during late adolescence using conjoined self-administration chambers that had a removable shared wall. Rats were assigned to training conditions with either a solid black plexiglass or wire mesh partition in place throughout 22 subsequent 2-hour daily training sessions. Initially, 58 day-old (late-adolescent) male and female rats received 2, 30-min habituation sessions/day over 2 consecutive days, with only an inactive lever present. Sessions began with presentation of a retractable lever and thereafter each response on that lever resulted in simultaneous delivery of saline or 1 of 2 doses of nicotine (0.015 or 0.030 mg/kg, IV) and lever retraction for a 20-second time out. The findings indicate that the social context inhibits nicotine self-administration in female rats during the development of addiction, but has little effect on the initial stages of drug acquisition. Furthermore, the data suggest that in male rats the social context enhances responding independent of nicotine, but has few effects on nicotine self-administration during the development of addiction. The findings have important implications for substance use disorders.
ContributorsDufwenberg, Martin (Author) / Neisewander, Janet (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Peartree, Natalie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
There has been an alarming rise in the prevalence of obesity which has been attributed to the paralleled rise in consumption of high-fat foods. It’s commonly accepted that high-fat diets can lead to increased weight gain, however not all fats have the same physiological action. This study primarily focuses on the effect of canola oil, a monounsaturated fat, on energy homeostasis and body composition when it’s given as a supplement to a high-fat diet composed of saturated fatty acid. Rodent models were divided into three dietary groups: 1) low-fat diet (LFD), 2) high-fat diet (HFD) and 3) canola oils supplemented HFD (HF+CAN). After 4 weeks of dietary intervention, samples of epididymal fat, perinephric fat, and liver were analyzed across the three groups to see if the changes in energy homeostasis could be explained by the cellular behavior and composition of these tissues. Interestingly, the supplement of canola oil appeared to reverse the deleterious effects of a saturated fat diet, reverting energy intake, body weight gain and adipose tissue sizes to that (if not lower than that) of the LFD group. The only exception to this effect was the liver: the livers remained larger and fattier than those of the HFD. This occurrence is possibly due to a decrease in free fatty acid uptake in the adipose tissues—resulting in smaller adipose tissue sizes—and increased fatty acid uptake in the liver. The mechanism by which this occurs has yet to be elucidated and will be the primary focus of upcoming studies on the effect of monounsaturated fat on other diets.
ContributorsZuo, Connie Wanda (Author) / Washo-Krupps, Delon (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Herman, Richard (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Birds have unusually high plasma glucose concentrations compared to mammals of similar size despite their high metabolic rate. While birds use lipids as their main source of energy, it is still unclear how and why they maintain high plasma glucose concentrations. To investigate a potential underlying mechanism, this study looks at the role of lipolysis in glucose homeostasis. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of decreased glycerol availability (through inhibition of lipolysis) on plasma glucose concentrations in mourning doves. The hypothesis is that decreased availability of glycerol will result in decreased production of glucose through gluconeogenesis leading to reduced plasma glucose concentrations. In the morning of each experiment, mourning doves were collected at the Arizona State University Tempe campus, and randomized into either a control group (0.9% saline) or experimental group (acipimox, 50mg/kg BM). Blood samples were collected prior to treatment, and at 1, 2, and 3 hours post-treatment. At 3 hours, doves were euthanized, and tissue samples were collected for analysis. Acipimox treatment resulted in significant increases in blood glucose concentrations at 1 and 2 hours post- treatment as well as renal triglyceride concentrations at 3 hours post-treatment. Change in plasma free glycerol between 0h and 3h followed an increasing trend for the acipimox treated animals, and a decreasing trend in the saline treated animals. These results do not support the hypothesis that inhibition of lipolysis should decrease blood glycerol and blood glucose levels. Rather, the effects of acipimox in glucose homeostasis appear to differ significantly between birds and mammals suggesting differing mechanisms for glucose homeostasis.
ContributorsKouteib, Soukaina (Author) / Sweazea, Karen (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Chandler, Douglas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The transition from high school to college is, for many, a drastic change in lifestyle, social networks, and dietary choices. The prevalence of obesity in college students has been steadily increasing. Freshmen weight gains have been associated with a decrease in fruits and vegetables and an increase in unhealthy items such as desserts, alcohol, and late night snacking after dinner. A survey of college students was constructed to gauge students' perceptions of nutrition how these perceptions influenced dietary practices and behaviors. Survey results indicated that awareness of nutrition and health does not translate to dietary practices, aligning with results from previous studies. Several sex differences were noted in regards to dietary choices and perceptions, knowledge seeking behavior, and sources of information. While there were some similarities, it is clear from the results obtained that men and women have different approaches and thoughts with regard to nutrition. The results showed that college students who actively seek our nutritional information are more likely to do so in the form of social media or Internet sources. This study could be useful for those planning on conducting college-based nutritional programs in that the results indicate patterns and trends that should be taken into consideration in order for a successful nutrition intervention
ContributorsKeahon, Gabriela Estrada (Author) / Jehn, Megan (Thesis director) / Williams, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis discusses the experiences of starting and building a support group for teenagers who have a loved one with Parkinson's Disease. One of the goals of this thesis was to share our experiences with the staff at the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Center, and the teenagers who will be taking over this group in the future. We discuss why we wanted to start the group, how it's foundation was built, and the challenges we faced and overcame. This is done by highlighting three significant group meetings, and various implications. Transportation, funding, and other issues are discussed.
ContributorsVilla, Roberto (Co-author) / Kisana, Haroon (Co-author) / Montesano, Mark (Thesis director) / Abbaszadegan, Hamed (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
By studying organismal performance, one can gain insight regarding the evolutionary and developmental processes that shape the adult organism. Bite force is an important trait that can be linked to performance, and therefore survival, of the entire organism. In order for an animal to successfully feed upon its prey, the components of the jaw, such as the skeleton and attached muscles, must be strong enough to withstand the forces required for capturing and then processing (masticating) the prey. Because sharks and skates have a fully cartilaginous skeleton, they theoretically bite off more than deemed biologically possible, these organisms, therefore, are excellent models for study when trying to understand bite performance. The goal was to measure the bite force of Leucoraja erinacea. Dissections were completed for 14 individuals, in order to expose the muscles beneath the skin. The muscles were then removed, and the mass was recorded. Calculations derived from the literature were used to determine total bite force. Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between bite force and size of the organism. The average maximum bite force of Leucoraja erinacea was determined to be roughly 23.3 Newtons (N). There was a positive relationship between bite force and size. This skate produces a much smaller bite force than many other organisms, providing insight into its ecological role in food webs. Many of the shells of commercially important prey were also much stronger than the bite forces estimated for these skates, suggesting that either the skates were not mature or large enough to feed on these prey, or, perhaps this species is unable to feed on these organisms entirely.
ContributorsBurke, Samantha Elaine (Author) / Ferry, Lara (Thesis director) / Wagner, Carl (Committee member) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The goal of my study is to test the overarching hypothesis that art therapy is effective because it targets emotional dysregulation that often accompanies significant health stressors. By reducing the salience of illness-related stressors, art therapy may improve overall mood and recovery, particularly in patients with cancer. After consulting the primary literature and review papers to develop psychological and neural mechanisms at work in art therapy, I created a hypothetical experimental procedure to test these hypotheses to explain why art therapy is helpful to patients with chronic illness. Studies found that art therapy stimulates activity of multiple brain regions involved in memory retrieval and the arousal of emotions. I hypothesize that patients with chronic illness have a reduced capacity for emotion regulation, or difficulty recognizing, expressing or altering illness-related emotions (Gross & Barrett, 2011). Further I hypothesize that art therapy improves mood and therapeutic outcomes by acting on the emotion-processing regions of the limbic system, and thereby facilitating the healthy expression of emotion, emotional processing, and reappraisal. More mechanistically, I propose art therapy reduces the perception or salience of stressors by reducing amygdala activity leading to decreased activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The art therapy literature and my hypothesis about its mechanisms of action became the basis of my proposed study. To assess the effectiveness of art therapy in alleviating symptoms of chronic disease, I am specifically targeting patients with cancer who exhibit a lack of emotional regulation. Saliva is collected 3 times a week on the day of intervention: morning after waking, afternoon, and evening. Stress levels are tested using one-hour art therapy sessions over the course of 3 months. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) assesses an individual's perceived stress and feelings in past and present situations, for the control and intervention group. To measure improvement in overall mood, 10 one-hour art sessions are performed on patients over 10 weeks. A one-hour discussion analyzing the participants' artwork follows each art session. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assesses overall mood for the intervention and control groups. I created rationale and predictions based on the intended results of each experiment.
ContributorsAluri, Bineetha C. (Author) / Orchinik, Miles (Thesis director) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Essary, Alison (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Testosterone (T) is a steroid hormone that affects behavior and reproductive traits (e.g. spermatogenesis and ornamentation) in vertebrates. In addition to long-term influences, T can rapidly increase in males following aggressive male-male encounters. Less is known how females directly influence male T and behavior, though research with humans suggests that sexually attractive females elicit a greater increase in male T and reproductive behavior than unattractive females. In birds, the influence of female attractiveness on male T and behavior is currently untested. We hypothesized that T and courtship behavior in male zebra finches would correlate with female attractiveness. We used red leg bands to make females "attractive" and green bands to make them "unattractive" (unbanded females were controls) as previous research suggests that zebra finches prefer red colors over green in mating contexts. We collected blood from males before and after "speed-dating" trials to measure changes in plasma T and analyzed male courtship behaviors from trial video recordings. The likelihood of plasma T increasing after a trial was significantly greater in males who were with red-banded females compared to control females, suggesting males may find them more attractive than green or control females. Additionally, independent of band color, males who exhibited greater T differences initiated courtship sooner and spent more time closest to females. However, courtship initiation and time spent near females were not correlated with band color. Overall, our results suggest that female attractiveness can influence male reproductive physiology, but the presence of a female may trigger male courtship behavior.
ContributorsBero-Buell, Brianna Danielle (Author) / McGraw, Kevin (Thesis director) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Ligon, Russell (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In a world in which technologies proliferate at a rapid rate, it is no surprise that the medical device industry has grown in leaps and bounds. This surge in medical technology, especially implantable medical technology, has altered the modern operating room, transforming surgery from a technique-driven activity into a technology-driven profession. This reliance upon technologies has fostered close ties between physicians and the medical device industry and within this relationship, medical device representatives play an integral role. This paper will investigate the relationship that exists between physicians and the medical device industry along with the potential conflicts of interest that may result due to this relationship. I will focus in particular on orthopedic medical devices due to media attention as a result of a 2007 Department of Justice settlement involving the leading orthopedic companies. This case proved instrumental in highlighting previously unknown instances in which conflicts of interest were occurring in the medical device industry.
ContributorsLove, Kailey (Author) / Robert, Jason (Thesis director) / Marchant, Gary (Committee member) / Buchholtz, Stephanie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Menopause is reproductive senescence characterized by a loss of ovarian estrogen and progesterone. Women can experience cognitive decline and other negative symptoms with the loss of ovarian hormones (Sherwin, 2006). While hormone therapies (HT) can treat symptoms of menopause and may have neuroprotective properties, such as the potential to decrease the risk of Alzheimer's Disease (Behl & Manthey, 2000), there are many effects of current HTs that are not ideal. Indeed, optimizing conventional HTs has proven complex, indicating a need for alternative therapies. Phytoestrogens are estrogenic compounds found naturally in plants such as soybeans, that could provide new treatment options. Dietary phytoestrogens can benefit memory in the rodent model (Luine, 2006), although the mechanism underlying these effects is unclear. Basal forebrain cholinergic projections have been shown to mediate the cognitive benefits of estrogen (Gibbs, 2010); we hypothesize that phytoestrogens act similarly, via the cholinergic system, to impact memory. We administered varying doses of phytoestrogen-containing diets to ovariectomized female rats, and used the place recognition task to evaluate spatial memory. Brains were then analyzed for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the synthesizing enzyme for acetylcholine, in the vertical-diagonal bands (VDB) and the medial septum (MS) of the basal forebrain. Results showed that ChAT cell counts in the VDB were marginally higher with dietary phytoestrogen treatment. Further, VDB ChAT cell counts positively correlated with place recognition performance, indicating that animals with more VDB ChAT neurons exhibited better spatial memory performance. These results suggest that phytoestrogens might act similarly to natural, endogenously circulating estrogens, and identify phytoestrogens as a direction for investigation as a HT.
ContributorsMousa, Abeer Abdul (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Olive, Foster (Committee member) / Deviche, Pierre (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor)
Created2014-05