While professionals in the Information Technology (IT) industry are able to read and understand new terms by associating them with previous knowledge and current context, professionals outside of the industry struggle with unfamiliar words and acronyms in dense technical documents. In these circumstances, many people turn to online resources such as Wikipedia to define or explain terms they don’t understand. Yet, switching attention between reading an article and searching for information using various resources can increase cognitive load, thereby increasing perceived stress level and potentially reducing the effectiveness of both tasks. To address this problem, we propose the D-Jargonizer: a web-based tool that assists non-technical professionals as they read complex technical documents by allowing users to select and define technical terms with minimal distraction. We hypothesize that this tool will reduce cognitive load, perceived stress and make it more enjoyable for professionals outside of the IT field to read and comprehend technical documents. First, using a diagramming application, we will create a static prototype that imitates the proposed functionality of the D-Jargonizer. Students at the University of Washington who are unfamiliar with technical documents will be recruited to test perceived stress and enjoyment while using the prototype, as well as provide feedback about the overall user experience. Based on our initial user testing, we will develop a Google Chrome extension that allows users to select a term on a web page, searches for the term in an ontology based on Wikipedia entries and displays the definition in a text box on the page itself. Our tool will be tested again to confirm our hypothesis and verify usability. While the D-Jargonizer currently focuses on helping people understand technical documents, the basic concept could be applicable to medical or legal documents in the future.

In her letters to Descartes, Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia asks a question that many modern philosophers have tried to answer: "Given that the soul of a human being is only a thinking substance, how can it affect the bodily spirits, in order to bring about voluntary action?" Here Elizabeth questions the very nature of the relationship between mind and body. It is not easily understood or explained how a nonphysical substance can affect or be affected by a physical substance in order to create both sensations and voluntary movement. Through the attempts to find solutions to this problem, it becomes clear that the true problem lies in Descartes' separation of the nonphysical mind and the physical body within the idea of a person. Drawing from Spinoza, Locke, and Hobbes, I argue that mind and body are simply two ways of understanding a single, indivisible human being.

College students (usually between the ages of 18 and 24) are in a transitional period in their lives in which they are expected to adapt to many overwhelming and sudden changes. Mental health problems that college students experience most commonly arise from extreme academic, relationship, financial, and psychosocial strains. Despite these high rates of stressors and mental health problems, these same college students demonstrate a persistently low level of perceived need for help and actual service utilization which leads to non-treatment seeking behaviors. This study examined common barriers that prevent college students from seeking mental health treatment by using standardized measures. Two hundred and fifty college students in the Psychology Subject Pool (PSP) at the University of Washington volunteered to participate in the study which was conducted by using online survey software. Information collected included past/current mental disorder diagnoses and mental health treatment, duration of the treatment, and knowledge of on-campus resources (e.g., Counseling Center, Hall Health). Further, participants answered seven questionnaires about attitudes toward, barriers to, and fear of treatment, in addition to participants’ ambivalence concerning emotional expressiveness. The results are primarily descriptive in nature and focused on exploring common barriers, attitudes, and issues that interfere with reaching out to and receiving mental health treatment. By identifying the barriers we hope to bring the target consumer audience closer to effective treatments via distributing our findings to local counseling centers. We also examined how demographic variables relate to college students’ attitudes toward mental health treatment which will help local universities and colleges to tailor advertising efforts with greater specificity to ensure that college students in need of mental health services are aware of and engaged in available services.

Ethosuximide is a succinimide anticonvulsant used in the clinical treatment of petit mal epileptic seizures in humans. Although its exact mechanism is not fully elucidated, it is believed to inhibit T-type calcium channels. In addition to its medical use, ethosuximide has been found to increase lifespan in the model organism, the nematode C. elegans. Nematodes exhibit lifespan extension when treated with ethosuximide at concentrations below a toxic threshold. While the published experimental results on ethosuximide-treated nematodes are promising, we have discovered that ethosuximide breaks down in the presence of 254 nm ultra-violet (UV) light, forming a toxic by-product. This change in ethosuximide that results in toxicity is specifically caused by irradiation, not heat. Acute exposure of C. elegans to ethosuximide treated with UV light results in death at lower dosages compared to nematodes treated with the control, native compound. UV-treated ethosuximide toxicity is independent of chemosensation (i.e. the sensing of chemical stimuli) as evidenced by the fact that chemosensory mutants do not show enhanced resistance to the UV-treated drug. Some human patients taking ethosuximide experience a butterfly rash under the eyes following exposure to sunlight. We speculate that this rash may be indicative of a similar mechanism of UV-induced cytotoxicity occurring in these patients. Taken together, these studies will help explicate the mechanism of toxicity resulting from exposure of ethosuximide to UV light, as well as the mechanism of action of native ethosuximide.

A performing art form originally from Japan, Taiko drumming has been embraced by Japanese Americans as a way to pass down cultural values. In the Seattle area alone, there are nine Taiko groups that perform regularly and two youth Taiko groups. Although research has examined the role of Taiko in the Canadian Japanese community, little research has looked at Taiko in the Japanese American context. My research looks at the role of Seattle Taiko groups in passing down the tradition of Taiko to future generations. My methodology involved participating in a beginning class held by Seattle Kokon Taiko and observing how the teacher introduced the cultural context for Taiko. In addition, other students in the class were interviewed about why they decided to take the Taiko class. For students of Japanese ancestry, the desire to connect back to Japanese culture is likely a prominent reason for taking the Taiko class. The results of this reserach will contribute to understanding of how cultural dances are transmitted in a context that is different from the dance's origin.

It may be uncommon to associate Christianity with spoken word poetry (poetry that is recited aloud, usually involving a dynamic, theatrical, and urban feel) and dance (esp. street dance). However, several young artists are using urban art forms as a means of cultivating and sharing their faith. This project explored the relationship between the Christian faith and spoken word poetry and dance via the ethnographic research process. Questions that guided my research included: How can the faith and art forms be used together as impactful forms of outreach? Why is poetry and dance valuable to the church? How can Christian poets and dancers successfully engage their audience? The ethnography consisted of interviews and public observations of eight Christian spoken word poets and dancers in addition to reflections on the researcher’s own performance practice. As ethnography is described to be an “encounter of differences”, I have come across new findings that revealed my own biases about how Christianity and the two art forms intersect. Even as an insider to Christian spoken word poetry/dance, my views have been challenged, deepened, and broadened by this work. For instance, I have gained a greater understanding for certain ways a Christian performing artist can be successful in outreach by: 1) clearly conveying how the faith has enabled their own life changes 2) "being real" in sharing important, yet difficult aspects of one's life to others 3) performing with excellence and 4) reaching out to the audience offstage. In this presentation, I will strive to acknowledge and represent the many different findings I have come across in seeking to develop a more comprehensive and evolving understanding of the relationship between the Christian faith and spoken word poetry/dance.

Autism is a developmental disability characterized by social deficits, communication deficits, and repetitive behaviors. Previous research has shown that having an older sibling with autism is a significant risk marker for a younger infant sibling developing ASD. The Early Connections study investigated the developmental trajectory of infants, looking for early markers that may predict whether or not ASD will be developed later on in toddlerhood. The two subject groups were identified as follows: high-risk (infants with an older sibling with ASD) and low-risk (infants that do not have any family history with ASD). Both groups were tracked longitudinally from 6 to 24 months at 6-month intervals. The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS DP), an assessment tool for early communication in infants and toddlers, was administered to both groups at 12 and 18 months. Each infant was videotaped during the CSBS DP administration and those videos were coded offline by trained undergraduate coders. Coding is still in progress. Using the CSBS DP, previous studies have shown that delayed word, sound, and language development are consistent markers for ASD. Therefore, we expect infants from the high-risk group to have lower CSBS DP scores in word and sound acquisition domains when compared to the low risk-group. A better understanding of early deficits in the core elements of language development will provide researchers with clearer insight on early identifiable signs of ASD. Targeted intervention in language acquisition may help children at high risk for ASD overcome potential communication deficits earlier on in development, thereby improving future prognosis.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in communication, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. Understanding the risk factors in early childhood that lead to the diagnosis of autism is an important area of research. Specifically, researchers are trying to understand how communication development differs in children who go on to develop autism in comparison to those that do not. Previous research has shown that 18.7% of infants, who have at least one older sibling with ASD, develop autism. In this current study, two groups of infants between the ages of six and twenty-four months were tracked longitudinally: high-risk infants who have an older sibling with ASD and low risk infants who have no family history of ASD. The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) protocol was used to identify various communication modes used by each infant at 12 and 18 months of age. The videotaped interactions between the infant, clinician, and parent were coded offline by a group of trained undergraduates. The following communicative acts were defined and coded: (1) behavior regulation: the infant’s attempt to control some behavior of an individual around him/her; (2): social interaction: the infant’s ability to bring attention to him/herself; and (3) joint attention: the infant’s ability to bring attention to an object. Our aim is to explore differences between rates of communicative acts in high risk and low risk infants at 12 months of age. Previous research suggests that children with ASD are less likely to draw the attention of others to objects or events. We hypothesize that high risk infants will display significantly lower rates of communication acts in all three domains when compared to their low risk peers. This study will contribute to a better understanding of possible deficits in early communication in this high-risk population, leading to earlier intervention opportunities.

The amygdala, specifically the basolateral amygdala (BLA), has been implicated in fear-related processing and learning and is known to receive domaminergic input from the midbrain, although the specific nature of these connections is unclear. Mutations in functional glutamatergic NMDA receptors have previously been shown to impair phasic dopamine activity, leading to hindered fear-related learning and an onset of anxiety-like phenotypes following fear conditioning. To investigate how phasic dopamine activity modulates neuronal signaling in the BLA , I implanted mice with (controls) and without (KOs) a functional NMDA receptors in dopamine neurons with electrode microdrives bilaterally targeting the BLA and used in vivo electrophysiology to record neuronal activity during fear conditioning. The fear conditioning paradigm consists of 10 CS+ trials with a 10 second cue associated with a 0.3mA, 0.5 second foot shock and 10 CS- trials with a pulsed cue predicting the absence of a foot shock for a total of 20 trials in each session. Preliminary results show that the magnitude of the neuronal response to the unconditioned stimulus changes across days in the controls, while remaining constant in the KOs and that the KOs seem to show differences in tonic levels of activation during the trials compared to the controls. These results suggest that dopamine plays a role in modulating tonic activity in the BLA which may be implicated in influencing fear and anxiety related states. 

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by atypical social development, decreased verbal and non-verbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. Retrospective studies of children with autism suggest an association between pregnant mothers’ use of certain medications and the occurrence of ASD diagnoses in their children. Other findings have also determined a relationship between an infant’s cognitive development and maternal mental health. In addition to maternal variables influencing development, infants may be at genetic risk based on sibling status: specifically, infants with siblings who have been diagnosed with ASD are at high-risk for also developing ASD. Using data from the Early Connections study – a longitudinal study of high-risk infant siblings compared to low-risk infants, we examined whether maternal variables resulted in added risk for poor child outcomes in the high-risk group. Information about family history of medical and psychiatric diagnoses, mother’s medication use during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and other details pertaining to the mother’s delivery history were compiled for three groups: infants who develop autism (high risk, n=13, low risk, n=1); high risk infants who do not develop autism (n=32); and low risk infants who do not develop autism (n=42). Data analysis is ongoing. This study will examine the role of prenatal and postnatal effects in infant development in a high-risk sample. It is expected that mothers of high-risk infants will exhibit more medical and psychiatric conditions.The results of this study could aid in medical care for families who have a child with autism and are considering care options during a later pregnancy.

 Vesicular Glutamate Transporters (vGluts) are proteins that package glutamate into vesicles prior to synaptic transmission. Three isoforms have been identified in mammals (vGlut-1-3), with 1 and 2 showing a mostly complementary pattern of expression, and 3 co-localizing in a small number of cells with both 1 and 2. Knockout mice for the vGlut1 gene die shortly after weaning, indicating a crucial role for vGlut1 in development. Intriguingly, avian genomes contain no vGlut-1 orthologs, despite the fact that lizards, a common ancestor of both mammals and birds, have orthologs of both vGlut-1 and -2. The fact that birds function without vGlut1 suggests there may be an increased functional role for vGlut2 in the avian brain. To further demonstrate the presence and potential role of vGlut2 in avian pallial circuitry, we used immunocytochemical methods to study the brain distribution of vGlut2 protein in zebra finch. To confirm the specificity of antibodies to vglut2, we first performed co-localization of anterograde tracer with vGlut-2 in known glutamatergic terminals in RA that originated from pallial song nucleus HVC. Electron microscopy further confirmed that labeling was restricted to synaptic terminals containing vesicles, and in situ hybridization was used to confirm the presence of mRNA in somata. We found that a large number of vGlut2-positive cells are present throughout the zebra finch pallium, and also found evidence for vGlut-2 positive synapses in three different song nuclei (nucleus HVC, Area X, and robust nucleus of the arcopallium), which were imaged and analyzed for size, and the potential identity of post-synaptic elements. Our results are consistent with the notion that avian vGlut2 has largely taken over vGlut1 functions. We believe our study contributes important facts to the long disputed evolutionary relationship between the avian pallium and the mammalian cortex.

Being the target of a positive stereotype (e.g., “women are nurturing”) can elicit many negative effects. The current study investigates the influence of positive stereotypes on women’s math performance and their identification with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. In the present study, some women were the target of a positive stereotype before being asked to take a math test. Women who were positively stereotyped did not differ in their math performance compared to women who were not the target of a positive stereotype. However, positively stereotyped women felt that it was less important for them to do well in math than women who were not the target of a positive stereotype. These results suggest that positive stereotypes may lead women to identify less with STEM fields, an important predictor of success or retention in a field, and may be a factor in perpetuating gender disparities.

Superior spatial abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are popularly associated with savant behaviors, and have been demonstrated in previous studies including tests of spatial intelligence. Our study examines participant's performance on a classical mental rotation task, which provides an objective measure of spatial ability. We seek to demonstrate how differences in reaction time (RT) and brain responses of adults with ASD differ from controls in this task. Previous research in typical individuals demonstrates that as the degree of rotation increases, participants are slower to make orientation decisions. These RT measures suggest individuals mentally rotate a second image to a reference image in order to make a decision. Our study tested age and IQ matched ASD and typical controls in a task that required a decision about the orientation of images of block alphabet letters. Participants were asked to decide whether the second of two images was identical to or a mirror of the first image. Images were presented at one of four angles. Dense array electroencephalography (EEG) and RT were recorded. Thirty-five male adults (17 in ASD, 18 in control) participated. RT, IQ, angle of images, and accuracy were variables for behavioral analysis. EEG data was analyzed in the time/frequency domain using open source and in-house software. EEG and RT measures from each trial of the task were compared based on subject group, types of images (normal or mirrored), and angle of images. Our analysis extends to include investigating brain activity prior to the pressing of the response key (the time that participants are making a decision). No general advantage in mean RT was seen in ASD group, however, high performance IQ (PIQ) participants in ASD group performed faster over the course of the experiment. This suggests high PIQ autistics may learn faster in this particular task.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the United States; however, due to the apoptotic death of neuronal cells from lack of oxygenated blood, prognosis and recovery is not always favorable even if the event is survived. Our laboratory focuses on finding therapeutic agents that show neuroprotective qualities in cerebral ischemic events. The compounds we have focused on in this study are progesterone and its metabolite allopregnanolone. Previous studies have shown that both compounds have neuroprotective qualities in vitro and that progesterone administration in vivo suppresses inflammatory response and subsequent edema. Our hypothesis is that both progesterone and allopregnanolone would show neuroprotective, as well as neurogenic, qualities in vivo. This is tested through a mouse stroke model using progesterone receptor knockout mice and wild type mice, both being subjected to a middle cerebral artery occlusion. Groups are treated with different compounds or control. The brains are then perfused after 11 or 28 days, fixed, and sliced to be put through immunohistochemistry, where cells are identified by certain neurogenic markers (bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and doublecortin labeling). Slides are finally analyzed through confocal microscopy to look for these markers in certain areas such as the hippocampus, striatum, and lateral cortex. Finally, positively labeled cells are counted in both the ipsilateral (stroked) and contralateral hemispheres. Data are currently being analyzed for 11 day post-ischemic mice. We anticipate an increase in the number of bromodeoxyuridine and doublecortin labeled cells in mice subjected to progesterone and allopregnanolone, and we also expect this to be more dramatic in the ipsilateral side due to new cell migration to the injury site. Hopefully, these results will allow for a greater push in implementing progesterone and allopregnanolone in clinical use for the recovery of ischemic stroke.

Early medical philosophers describe psychiatric illnesses as natural, biologically bound entities with clear definitions. However, other thinkers have begun to trace the source of these definitions to a more political root. I argue that the very language we use to diagnosis, define, and treat mental illnesses is influenced by the social and political climate, and that this language has been creating an increasing number of borders within the spectrum of human experience since the introduction of the DSM (the primary mental health diagnostic tool in the U.S.) in 1952. Using discourse analysis as a tool to examine the four editions of the DSM, I will discuss how the change in language of the last 60 years has followed political and social movements of the times. In particular, an investigation into the changing language describing and defining gender and sexuality disorders will uncover these changes. Psychiatry has been using particular language to create and negotiate the line between “normal” and “abnormal” since the origin of the field. Individuals labeled using this fluctuating language have to negotiate all the legal, social, political and cultural consequences of this line, and understanding the origins of these borders will shed some light on the human experience behind them.

It is well-established that women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; however, the variability in women’s participation among STEM fields is often underreported. Women received 60% of bachelor’s degrees in biology but only 18% of computer science degrees in 2009. One explanation for this variation may be the differing social stereotypes of the fields. Male-dominated STEM fields are typically stereotyped as asocial, which may lead women to think that these fields will not fulfill their communal goals; that is, these fields will not give them opportunities to work with and help others. Three studies examined how communal goals relate to interest in six STEM fields. Study 1 (N = 120) found that women were more likely than men to endorse communal goals. Additionally, women were more interested in STEM classes they thought would fulfill their communal goals. Participants’ personal communal goal endorsement was negatively correlated with their interest in male-dominated STEM fields like computer science. Study 2 (N = 296) examined group work as a potential factor that could affect perceptions of communal fulfillment in science classes. We found that classes with group work were perceived to be higher in communal fulfillment. Classes low in female representation, engineering and computer science, were perceived to have less group work than classes with higher female representation, biology and psychology. Additionally, preference for group work was positively correlated with communal goals. In Study 3 (ongoing) we experimentally manipulated group work in an introductory computer science syllabus, to see whether adding group work to a class would increase women’s interest by appealing to their communal goals. These findings suggest that emphasizing the potential for communal interactions may be effective in recruiting women into STEM fields where they are currently underrepresented.

Asian Americans respond negatively to being the target of a positive stereotype (e.g., Asians are smart) even though these stereotypes are often attempts at praising their group. The current work focuses on how targets’ responses to positive stereotypes depend on the race of the stereotyper. Asian and Asian American participants imagined an interaction with a White classmate or an Asian classmate who stated a positive stereotype of their group or stated no stereotype. Results showed that participants responded more positively when the stereotyper was Asian compared to when the stereotype was White. Participants did not respond differently to White and Asian classmates who stated no stereotype, suggesting that it is positive stereotypes which lead to different responses based on who says them. These results show that group membership is an important consideration when thinking about stereotypes.

Institutions employ various diversity efforts to promote inclusion of diverse members of society. Two dominant strategies for promoting diversity come in the form of multiculturalism (i.e., celebrating group differences) and colorblindness (i.e., ignoring group differences). The present research examines how multiculturalism's focus on group identities may ironically lead racial minorities to see themselves through the lens of group stereotypes. In two studies, racial minority participants read a multicultural or colorblind company recruitment brochure and then completed measures of self-stereotyping (i.e., describing stereotypes of one's group as self-descriptive) and racial identity (i.e., importance of racial group membership to one's sense of self). Weakly racially identified Black participants indicated that stereotypically Black traits were more self-descriptive when reading the multicultural brochure than when reading the colorblind brochure (Study 1). Strongly racially identified participants did not change their level of self-stereotyping. Likewise, we predict that weakly identified Asian American participants reading about multiculturalism will self-stereotype more than those reading about colorblindness or reading a control statement (Study 2). Despite its attempts to promote inclusion, multiculturalism may be limiting for minorities if it leads some to see themselves in terms of stereotypical expectations of their group. Because both positive and negative stereotypes can be threatening, this may further lead to decrements in minorities' performance in stereotype-related domains (i.e., stereotype threat).

This study explores mass media as a means of reducing intergroup prejudice. The theoretical impetus for this study was contact theory, the idea that interaction with individual members of outgroups can reduce prejudice toward the group as a whole. The field has recently expanded to include non-interpersonal types of contact, including parasocial contact, and contemporary research points to parasocial effects comparable to and even wider reaching than those from interpersonal contact. Evidence of prejudice reduction through use of imagined contact scenarios and stories about ingroup members in contact situations sparked my interesting in entertainment as a potential vehicle for prejudice reduction through mediated contact, a topic which surprisingly little research has examined. Synthesizing the literature on mass media cultivation effects in the field of communication, and perspectives in social psychological research, I examine mediated parasocial contact’s potential application in situations in which geographic limitations or active cognitive filtering in prejudiced individuals act as a barrier to contact. I theorize that parasocial contact via mass media can be a viable alternative to interpersonal contact in these situations because it affords ease of exposure with one media artifact potentially viewed by millions, and it has the potential to subvert cognitive resistance to contact if put in the format of entertainment: viewers don’t expect the message to be strategically crafted to influence them. Parasocial contact appears to be mediated by cognitive change (stereotype alteration) which could have a far more lasting effect on prejudiced behavior and beliefs than the affective change observed from interpersonal contact. This might prove an advantage of parasocial contact over even feasible interpersonal contact. The focus of the present study is theoretical understanding, with the ultimate goal of designing an experiment to explore the impact and potential mediators of parasocial contact via entertainment media on prejudice reduction.

Inspired by the “It Gets Better” project whose mission is to prevent LGBT teen suicide through personal stories of transcending similar adversity, this study seeks to understand the relationships between happiness and social factors for LGBT individuals. The data was gathered through a survey method of 50 questions and 2 open ended interview questions. Participants were be able to report on their sense of personal well being and the presence of social factors (familial support, media influence, workplace environment etc.) both before the participants “came out” and present day. The expectation was that as positive social factors increase, so would levels of perceived happiness. The results showed that LGBT individual’s perceived happiness increased after “coming out”. Also, surprising and unexpected results indicated that social influence as a predictor for happiness after participants “came out” was significantly less than social influence as a predictor for happiness before participants “came out”. Given these findings a hypothesis could be considered that LGBT individuals depend on social factors and lifestyle for perceived happiness more before they “come out” than after, however, more research would be needed.

Organizations are increasingly expected to publish policies communicating their perspectives on diversity, but how do these diversity messages affect the racial minorities who work there? The current research examines whether the two most common ideologies in diversity messages, colorblindness, which focuses on individual qualities and minimizes the importance of group differences, and multiculturalism, which emphasizes acknowledging and appreciating group differences, influence whether racial minorities interpret their experiences as due to discrimination. Asian American participants will imagine a scenario in which they work at a company that endorses either a colorblind or a multicultural ideology and are passed over for a promotion in favor of a less qualified White candidate. We expect that participants who are passed over for a promotion in an organization that promotes colorblindness, and therefore deemphasizes the importance of group memberships, will be less likely to interpret this treatment as discrimination those who are passed over in an organization that promotes multiculturalism, and therefore emphasizes the importance of group membership. This research demonstrates that the perspectives organizations take on diversity have implications beyond recruiting minorities and reducing bias; they can actually shape whether racial minorities perceive the same treatment as discriminatory.

Alcohol use consistently correlates with negative physical and psychological consequences like dependence, memory loss, impaired judgment, etc. Studies also link the use of sleep medications with similar negative consequences. Yet, no study examines the interaction of sleep medication and alcohol use onto these negative consequences. Therefore the present study investigated the relationship between peak blood alcohol content (BAC) in the past 6 months, negative consequences of alcohol use in the last 12 months as measured by the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index, and lifetime, 3- and 12-month non-prescribed sleep medication use in Washington state and Swedish high school seniors participating in a larger study (N = 3,352, 56.6% Female). Regression analyses revealed a significant main effect of BAC and lifetime use of sleep medication onto negative consequences (β = 18.69, F (3, 2875) = 115.86, p < .05) such that individuals with a higher BAC and who had a lifetime incidence of sleep medication usage experienced significantly greater negative consequences than those who only drank or used sleep medications. There was no significant moderating effect of frequency of sleep medication use in the last 3 or 12 months onto BAC and negative consequences (p >.05). While these results suggest that use of sleep medication and alcohol interact to contribute to increased risk for negative consequences, there are limitations. Lifetime use of sleep medication may reflect a tendency to act impulsively or self-medicate (e.g. for sleep/depression/anxiety), not a direct effect of the medication per se. Additionally, analyses did not control for other drug usage or mood disturbances, and all sleep medication drugs were grouped under one survey item. Given our observations, additional research testing combined effect of sleep mediation and alcohol use as related to negative consequences is warranted.

Gamma activity refers to high-frequency neural activity (30-100 Hz) typically measured by electroencephalography (EEG). Evoked gamma activity is time-locked to stimulus onset which often reflects processing of stimulus properties such as the presence of edges and local luminance contrast. However, induced gamma activity is not time-locked to stimulus onset and evidence suggests it may reflect activation of the perceptual representation of the object presented. Here, we investigated whether induced gamma was altered by in-depth rotations of objects to elucidate the role of such activity in object perception. If induced gamma reflects a high-level object representation then it should not differ with rotation. However, if induced gamma reflects a representation of object features then induced should be modulated by in-depth rotation. We presented pairs of stimuli: an initial adapting stimulus followed by a test stimulus. Stimulus pairs were images of the same or different cars with the test stimulus rotated 0°, 90°, or 180° from the initial adapting stimulus. EEG gamma activity was measured using a 32-channel active electrode Biosemi, Active Two system. We analyzed gamma activity using Morlet wavelet decomposition that allows the measurement of induced gamma activity. The results revealed that induced gamma activity was related to the amount of rotation, with the lowest induced gamma activity during trials with no rotation and highest for trials with 180° rotation. This pattern suggests that induced gamma activity is related to processing of object features below the representation of the whole object. Moreover, the results suggest the cortical generator for the gamma oscillations may be lateral occipital object-selective regions that have similar sensitivity to in-depth rotation across similar paradigms and stimuli using fMRI. The results suggest a link between EEG induced gamma activity and object-selective visual cortex, and provide important information on the temporal dynamics of object-processing brain regions.

In recent years, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have made strides towards reducing gender disparities. However, in the field of computer science, women continue to receive less than 20% of bachelor’s degrees awarded. In the current research we explore if this continuing disparity is partly due to a perceived lack of group work in computer science. Previous research has shown that women tend to endorse communal goals (e.g., working with and helping others) more than men do, and that the perception that an academic field fulfills communal goals predicts women’s interest in those fields. In the current research, 293 undergraduate students (184 female, 109 male) answered questions measuring preference for group work, perceptions of goal fulfillment in classes where students work individually and classes where students work in groups, perceptions of group work in different science classes, and personal goal endorsement. Consistent with our prediction, results indicated that classes with group work were perceived as having more communal goal fulfillment than classes with individual work, and male-dominated STEM fields (i.e., computer science and engineering) were perceived as having less group work than female-dominated STEM fields (i.e., biology and psychology). These results show that group work is related to communal goal fulfillment. Because communal goal fulfillment predicts women’s interest in academic fields, we expect that women would be less interested in academic fields that are perceived to have less group work, such as male-dominated STEM fields. Based on our results, we predict that increasing perceptions of group work in computer science may increase women’s interest by boosting perceptions that computer science is able to fulfill communal goals.

Promiscuity and casual sex are points of contention within many societies, especially when discussing the concept that men are allowed to engage in casual sex while women are not (the sexual double standard). Although the media may be showing that perhaps this stigma against women is diminishing, there is evidence that people hold biases against women who engage in promiscuity. Our objective was to study the relationship between promiscuity and likability in a social, platonic context. We used the Reyson Likability Scale to measure perception of one of 6 profiles, one male and one female, each with 3 levels of promiscuity (high, low, or none). In the online survey, a link randomizer directed the participant to one of the profiles. We also asked for the gender and age of the participant. We collected 103 responses and found that although there is not a statistically significant difference between the promiscuous profiles and the non-promiscuous profiles (p=0.688), there is a significant difference in reported likability between the two genders (p=0.039) in favor of men. Men received a mean likability score of 51.28 (SD=8.45), while women averaged a score of 45.39 (SD=13.56). Because both profiles were identical in information and presentation, and all mentioned "hooking up" as the promiscuity indicator, women may have received lower scores because the mere mentioning of hooking up is negative in the social perception of women. Upon investigation of respondents' open-ended feedback on the good and bad characteristics of the profiles, many people mentioned hooking up as unfavorable. Theories of biological anthropology can provide a possible explanation of this behavior through the evolution of the different reproductive goals of men and women. Further research could use a similar method but conducted with the addition of another profile without any mention of hooking up at all.

Studies using electroencephalography (EEG) have supported the theory that mu rhythms, oscillating bands in the 8-13 Hz range, are related to sensorimotor processing. At rest, EEG mu rhythms are continuous but become suppressed during the observation and execution of biological motion. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, display atypical mu activity. Individuals with ASD exhibit typical mu suppression when executing self-made movements but significantly less suppression when observing the same movements. Individuals with ASD also show consistent impairments in imitative ability. One theory is that dysfunction in the observation/execution system contributes to this impaired imitation ability. To this point, studies have primarily focused on mu attenuation during the observation of hand or body movements, but few have focused on mu in response to facial movement. Since facial processing is integral to social learning, understanding perception deficits for facial movements may be important for understanding social impairment in individuals with ASD. This study will investigate whether sensorimotor processing of faces correlates to imitative ability by analyzing the relationship between mu attenuation of facial movement and facial imitation in children with ASD. For our study EEG was recorded while children and adolescents with and without ASD observed computer generated faces performing biologically possible and impossible movements. Participants then completed a battery of imitation tasks which included imitation of facial gestures using the mouth, eyes, or tongue. We hypothesize that the level of mu attenuation during observation of biologically possible facial movements will correlate with facial imitation ability in children with autism. Furthermore, decreased mu attenuation to biologically possible faces will be related to an increased number of imitation errors. Results of this study may help to improve understanding of social impairments of ASD children as related to deficits in sensorimotor perception of biological motion.

Signals from rod photoreceptors shift the hues determined by cone photoreceptors for extrafoveal mesopic stimuli, creating green, blue, and red rod hue biases at long, middle, and short wavelengths, respectively. The fovea contains far fewer rods and S-cones but may not be immune to rod hue biases. Here, we determine which biases are found for foveal stimuli presented on a CRT display. A 1-s duration test disk of 0.5°, 1.0°, or 2.0° diameter alternated with a 3-s duration array of 0.25° fixation dots placed 4° from fixation, all on a black background. Seven observers adjusted the hue of the test disk around the RGB phosphor triangle, to yield each of the 4 unique hues, Ured, Ugreen, Ublue, and Uyellow. Light levels ranged from 0.05 - 0.17 (CIE2°) or 0.08 - 0.03 (CIE10°) cd/m2. 1°-2°-diameter foveal test disks (a) produced rod green bias at Uyellow for most observers, (b) favored rod green bias at Ublue over the rod red biases shown in prior extrafoveal studies, and (c) produced less consistent rod hue biases at Ured and Ugreen. 0.5°-diameter foveal test disks produced no consistent rod hue biases across observers. 1°-2°-diameter foveal disks on a CRT display produced relatively strong rod green bias, mediated by rod interaction with L&M cones, presumably in midget/parvo pathways. In contrast, these foveal stimuli disadvantaged rod influence mediated by S-cones, presumably in small-bistratified/konio pathways, producing only weak/inconsistent rod red bias at Ublue and rod blue bias at Ured and Ugreen. 0.5° diameter disks disadvantaged all rod hue biases, but with individually idiosyncratic exceptions for some observers. Color is increasingly used to convey information in visual displays and this research helps understand how those colors are altered in low-light-level situations. This research may also contribute to models of neural physiology and ultimately to diagnosis/cures for visual disorders.

This research examines the relationship between an individual’s beliefs about authority and purity when making moral decisions and an individual’s alcohol consumption, specifically whether those who strongly identify with purity or authority consume more or less alcohol than those who do not. This is important to consider because few studies have looked at the relationship between moral considerations and alcohol consumption. We hypothesized that those who place comparatively less emphasis on authority and purity when making decisions about what is morally right would report higher levels of alcohol consumption. Participants (N=860; 41% male, 59% female) completed an online screening as a part of a larger study. Primarily, we focused on the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (Graham et al., 2011), in particular the authority and purity subscales. In addition, we considered the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (Collins, Parks, & Marlatt, 1985), Quantity/Frequency Measure (Marlatt, Baer, & Larimer, 1995), and whether participants met criteria for heavy episodic drinking (NIAAA, 2004). Preliminary analyses indicated that there is statistically significant negative correlation between alcohol consumption and authority as well as purity. These findings may extend our understanding of how treatment and prevention programs can target individuals that place relatively less importance on purity or authority. Future research is necessary to determine how authority and purity considerations with moral decisions can be used to better understand college students’ risky alcohol consumption.

Proteins typically adopt a three dimensional (3D) structure that allows for their specific activity and function. While proteins’ 3D structures are usually stable, they can be damaged by physical and/or chemical stresses. Such damage results in loss of structure, more commonly known as misfolding, which is often accompanied by exposure of hydrophobic residues normally buried in the interior of the protein. Exposed hydrophobicity can lead to the aggregation of misfolded proteins, and protein aggregation is associated with many prominent neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. To avoid these deleterious consequences, cells have evolved protein quality control (PQC) systems that degrade misfolded proteins. In eukaryotes, PQC utilizes ubiquitin ligases to flag proteins for proteosome degradation. How these PQC ligases recognize their misfolded substrates remains an open question. We have been addressing this question by studying the yeast PQC ubiquitin San1, which destroys misfolded proteins in the nucleus. We discovered that San1 recognizes exposed hydrophobicity minimally equal to 5 contiguous hydrophobic residues. Interestingly, we found that there is another PQC degradation system that recognizes exposed hydrophobicity at a lower threshold than San1. In this study we are trying to understand the mechanism by which this new pathway functions. By using degradation assays and western blots, we will take multiple constructs of varying degrees of hydrophocity to define how broad the pathway is. This allows us to determine whether the constructs are San1 dependent or independent, and if the San1-independent pathway is in fact a ubiquitin ligase. We know that a couple of the constructs are San1 independent, although they possess the hydrophibicity threshold required for San1 degradation. By exploring the mechanisms that ensure misfolded protein degradation, we hope to gain a better understanding of the PQC degradation systems within the cell and how they prevent severe pathologies caused by protein aggregation.

Asian Americans are not only seen as less American than White Americans, but are also subject to the pervasive ‘perpetual foreigner’ stereotype. Is weight a factor that affects how American Asian Americans are perceived to be? In study 1, participants were randomly assigned to evaluate one of three pictures of Asian American women on perceptions of American identity. Between conditions, the photos were edited to create a heavier and a lower weight version of each woman, thereby controlling for other cues to American identity, such as hair and clothing. Results showed that heavier Asian American women were perceived as more American than their lower weight counterparts. In study 2, using the same methods, we tested whether weight would affect perceptions of the legal status of Asian American men. Results revealed that the heavier versions of the Asian American men were perceived as more American and as less likely to be in the US illegally than the lower weight versions of the same men. Taken together, these studies provide evidence that being overweight can increase recognition of Asian Americans’ American identity and may help protect against discrimination based on racial stereotypes.

The purpose of this study was to describe and compare sleep quality and emotional behavioral functioning in children with and without Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). JIA is an inflammatory disease with unknown cause and one of the most common rheumatologic chronic conditions in children. Common disease symptoms include joint pain, inflammation, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. In a previous study, we found poor sleep quality (difficulty falling asleep, daytime sleepiness, sleep disordered breathing (SDB)) associated with JIA. Forty-six children (6-to-11 years) participated in the study, 23 were diagnosed with JIA and 23 were age-matched controls. Parents completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), a 45-item measure of their child’s sleep habits and quality over the previous week. The CSHQ yields a total sleep disturbance score (higher scores indicative of more disturbed sleep) and eight subscales: bedtime resistance, sleep-onset delay, sleep duration, sleep anxiety, night awakenings, parasomnias, SDB, and daytime sleepiness. Parents completed the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL), a 113-item retrospective report of their child’s behavior. CBCL yields scores for internalizing problem (i.e. somatic complaints) and externalizing problem (i.e. hyperactivity). Scores were summed and converted to age and gender adjusted T-scores (M = 50, SD = 10), higher scores suggesting greater behavior problems. Descriptive analyses were calculated on demographics, clinical characteristics, sleep disturbances, and behavior. T-test and X² procedures were used to examine study group differences (JIA and controls). We compared the proportion of children above the CSHQ clinical cutoff score (>41) to those below (<41) for overall sleep disturbance. Bivariate correlations and linear regressions were used to examine relations among age, medication, sleep variables, and CBCL behavior problems. Behavioral problems may stem from poor sleep quality in children with JIA. Findings from this study may heighten clinician awareness to assess sleep in children with JIA.

Gaze-following allows infants to identify social and cultural information. Ongoing research examines what experiences help infants learn about the gaze of others. This research finds that particular experiences help infants learn about visual perception and affects their gaze-following. 18-month-olds watched an adult’s goal-directed actions while wearing a trick blindfold that looked opaque but was see-through. When infants observed the blindfolded adult successfully perform visually guided behaviors (grabbing a toy), they later gaze-followed as though the adult could see through the blindfold. However, when they watched the blindfolded adult’s unsuccessful behaviors (missing a toy), they treated her as though the blindfold blocked her view. These results show that infants are able to use their observation of others’ motor behaviors to learn about their perceptions. The present research examines whether infants’ gaze patterns during the observational experience affect infant learning about perception. Infants’ looking will be coded during the observational experience to identify the number of gaze shifts from the adult’s action pattern (grabbing or missing) to the adult’s face, called action-to-face looking (A-F looking). We hypothesize that infants who frequently perform A-F looking will be more likely to learn whether or not the blindfolded adult can see through the occluder. We will analyze gaze-following scores as a function of high versus low frequency A-F lookers (median split) and observational experience group. We expect that a 2 (high vs. low A-F looks) x 2 (grab vs. miss) ANOVA will reveal a significant interaction. We expect infants who more frequently shift their gaze during observation will be more likely to learn about perceptual status and thus gaze-follow more frequently. Infants’ gaze-shift patterns have implications for how infants’ attention and looking patterns support their nonverbal learning and development.

Impulsivity is often found to be related to alcohol use (Pearson and Henson, 2012; Simons, 2003). Additionally, a correlate of alcohol expectancies is increased alcohol use (Hull and Bond, 1986). However, no research to date has looked directly into the association of impulsivity, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use. Therefore, the present study looks into impulsivity, alcohol use, and alcohol expectancies in high school seniors (N = 3,352, 56.6% Female) from Washington and Sweden. Participants completed a baseline online survey as part of a larger trial that assessed peak blood alcohol content (BAC) in the past 12 months, impulsivity as measured by the sensation seeking scale (Zuckerman, 1964), and alcohol expectancies as measured by the brief Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol questionnaire which consists of positive (sociability, tension-reduction, liquid courage, and sexuality) and negative (cognitive/behavioral impairment, risk/aggression, and self-perception) classifications (CEOA; Fromme, 1993). Regression analyses revealed a significant main effect of impulsivity, cognitive/behavioral impairment, sociability, risk/aggression, and self-perception onto peak BAC (p < .05). However, significant interactions were only found for impulsivity onto risk/aggression and self-perception. A significant moderating effect of risk/aggression onto the relationship between impulsivity and peak BAC (β = .002, F (3, 2913) = 114.71, p < .05) was found such that those with lower impulsivity and lower risk aggression scores (alcohol seen positively) have higher peak BAC. A significant moderating effect of self-perception onto the relationship between impulsivity and peak BAC was also found (β = .001, F (3, 2908) = 132.04, p < .05) suggesting that individuals with lower self-perception scores (alcohol seen positively) and higher impulsivity have higher peak BAC. These results suggest that individuals who are both highly impulsive and have higher positive expectancies for alcohol drink more. Future research should continue to investigate the relationship between alcohol expectancies and impulsivity in vivo.

Most of the questionnaires used to assess college students’ thoughts about their drinking are developed by researchers and are passively responded to by participants. Such researcher-generated measures, however, may not accurately reflect college students’ thoughts about their drinking. In contrast, the current study used participants’ own words in response to an open-ended measure to evaluate advantages and disadvantages college students perceive in maintaining their current drinking behaviors. Participants were college students (N=760) at the University of Washington who reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past thirty days. The Decisional Balance Worksheet (DBW), an open-ended measure of motivation to change, was used to record the pros and cons of current drinking behaviors. Conventional content analysis methods were used to extract common themes. Findings indicated that social, “fun,” and psychological effects of drinking were the most commonly mentioned advantages of drinking, whereas physical side effects, money, and calories/weight gain were the most commonly mentioned disadvantages of drinking. These findings show that college students use alcohol to achieve certain kinds of psychological states, enhance social interactions, and ease day-to-day stress. Further, many college students report experiencing physical side effects of drinking as well as more minor inconveniences, such as concerns about calories. In contrast, previous researcher-generated decisional balance measures have emphasized very different categories for advantages (e.g., coping, social, and excitement) and disadvantages (e.g., health effects, lack of control, and legal problems) (Migneault et al., 1997). Our findings therefore suggest that using open-ended questionnaires may result in a more accurate representation of what college students perceive as advantages and disadvantages to drinking.

This study used the Hamilton Search and Set Breaking tasks to assess working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition control of a variety of domestic dog breeds. This memory task has been tested on pigtail macaque monkeys, as well as, other species. The Hamilton Search task consisted of 4 containers which the dog was allowed to search to find a randomly placed food reward. The latency and search patterns were recorded to determine performance of the task. After 5 sessions of Hamilton Search testing, the dogs moved on to the Set Breaking protocol. Set Breaking consisted of placing the reward in the same container every trial until the dog reached criterion by searching the correct location first 5 times consecutively. The container that the food reward was placed in was determined by calculating the container which was visited the least often during the pervious Hamilton Search trials. The results from this study will be compared across species and within the species of domestic dogs. Enough dogs of very diverse breeds were tested to allow us to analyze for similarities and differences between breeds. The results showed that dogs approached this task much differently than the pigtailed macaque monkeys. Current data suggests that the dogs, not dependent on breed, are approaching this task in a very systematic manner starting a search pattern at one end and working towards the other end. With this approach, rechecking a container is very rare, demonstrating perfect memory, but in fact the dogs are using a systematic approach that is less flexible, but efficient alternative to the use of memory. Results of this study can be applied to help refine training techniques and to establish the validity of these tasks for studying canine spatial learning and memory.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, with symptoms related to social communication and repetitive behavior. In addition to these symptoms, a significant number of children with autism exhibit anxiety. One way to understand the biological underpinnings of anxiety is to measure responses of the automonic nervous system. Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have shown hyper sympathetic responses to some tasks, while showing hypo sympathetic responses to others. In this study we examine two questions. The first objective of our study is to compare the behavior and skin conductance of typically developing children and children with ASD during a working memory task. Our second objective is to test whether individual differences in skin conductance within the group with ASD correlate to internalizing behaviors. Twenty-one 6 and 7 year old children with idiopathic ASD and 21 typically developing children participated. There were no group differences in age, IQ, or sex ratio. Continuous recordings of the skin conductance response (SCR) signals were collected during the digit span task for both groups of children. Internalizing behaviors were assessed via the Behavior Assessment System for Children, second edition. We expect to find higher level of SCR for the group of children with ASD, given previous reports of increased SCR among children with ASD in tasks that were cognitively or socially demanding. For the second part of the study we predict that there will be a positive correlation between the level of SCR and internalizing behaviors. Our results may illuminate what biological features correlate with these challenging internalizing behaviors. This could identify a subgroup of children with higher levels of anxiety and increase our understanding and treatment of anxiety in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

Aging in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be measured by its replicative life span, which is defined by the finite number of mitotic divisions of mother cells. The Kaeberlein lab measures the replicative life span of S. cerevisiae through the microdissection of dividing mother cells. This laborious process separates daughter cells from their mothers, which quantifies the replicative life span. We are assessing how various environmental factors affect the replicative life span of the cells. Our research project involves paraquat, a commonly used pesticide that produces reactive oxygen species within cells. This substance is normally considered to be toxic, and as expected, we have observed that the replicative lifespan of yeast is decreased in the presence of high concentrations of paraquat. However, we have also found that low concentrations of paraquat increased the replicative life span of the yeast. This observation is an example of hormesis- a phenomenon where beneficial effects are obtained at low doses of an agent that is otherwise toxic when given at higher doses. These findings are significant because a similar effect has been published with the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans and S. cerevisiae are evolutionarily separated by approximately one billion years, suggesting that there is a conserved mechanism of life span extension influenced by paraquat. We are currently characterizing the effect of paraquat and other environmental conditions that will help us to find conserved pathways that modulate longevity.

Exposure to vocalizations from members of their own species can influence how infants learn to hear and communicate. Eptesicus fuscus is a social mammal that lives in large colonies and uses many types of vocalizations for both communication and echolocation. We hypothesize that due to the fact that they live in large, well organized social groups, big brown bats should be social learners. In order to test this, we presented altered calls that have been raised or lowered in frequency and bandwidth to bats as they developed from infancy to adulthood. In order to limit exposure to natural maternal vocalizations, pups were reversibly deafened with silicon earplugs whenever they were in the presence of other bats. Every other day, we isolated the pups, removed the earplugs, presented altered calls and recorded the pups’ response. At the end of the study, we tested changes in the organization of the auditory nuclei by measuring frequencies of neurons in several layers the inferior colliculus (IC), a central nucleus in the auditory system in response to auditory stimulation. We compared these results to each infant's twin, as Eptesicus fuscus is usually born in pairs. This gives us a genetically similar control raised in identical conditions. Our results suggest a divergence in call frequency beginning in week two, related to the exposure to lowered artificial stimuli. There is also a shift in the organization of the bands of the IC, with larger low frequency bands and smaller high frequency bands. This suggests that the pups not only altered their vocalizations in response to altered stimuli, but that the frequency organization in auditory structures of the brain remains plastic beyond birth. Humans, like bats, are social mammals, and research into mechanisms of IC plasticity may provide some insight into the development of human hearing.

Multiculturalism has been a progressively addressed topic in psychology. While there has been a collection of empirical literatures on bicultural conflict relying on explicit measures, not much has been done to explore the topic of bicultural conflict with implicit measures. Although self-report measures, such as Bicultural Identity Integration Scale-2, are effective in measuring bicultural conflict, there are always limitations when subjects fail to report accurately. This research answers 1) whether it is possible to measure bicultural conflict implicitly, and if so, then 2) how explicit and implicit measures of bicultural conflict correlate. We took advantage of the large size of Chinese American and Chinese international student body at the University of Washington to test our theories. This research uses a balanced identity design that includes three Implicit Association Tests (IATs). The three pairs of concepts in our balanced identity design are “self” and “other,” “China” and “U.S.,” and “family” and “college life.” Our hypothesis was that a more unbalanced identity is associated with a higher level of bicultural conflict. The balanced-ness of an identity is calculated with mathematical algorithms from the three IAT scores. The level of bicultural conflict was scored based on several explicit measures—Bicultural Identity Integration Scale-2, Vancouver Index Acculturation, Multi-Item Identification, and a cultural value ranking survey. This research tests a new method to implicitly measure people’s bicultural conflict by correlating the balanced-ness of one’s identity and the level of one’s bicultural conflict. This research calls for future studies to examine the effect(s) of bicultural conflict by making correlations between people’s implicit bicultural conflict and other aspects of their lives. Since implicit measures are powerful in detecting things people are not aware about themselves, these studies are helpful in developing coping mechanisms to help foreigners and immigrants.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) frequently co-occur and are each associated with an increased risk of suicide. However, little research has been conducted comparing individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs to individuals with BPD only. The present study sought to determine whether individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs exhibit more non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal behaviors, and emotion dysregulation than individuals with BPD and no history of AUDs. Data from previously conducted research studies were analyzed via multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). It was expected that the group with comorbid BPD and AUDs would more frequently engage in NSSI and suicidal behaviors, and would have more emotion dysregulation, on average, than the group with BPD and no AUDs. The results of this study have implications for the treatment of individuals with comorbid BPD and AUDs. In addition, results may provide evidence for increasing AUD prevention efforts among those with BPD in order to improve the likelihood of positive future outcomes for these individuals.

 The Washington State TF-CBT and CBT+ Initiative offers training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for clinicians working in public mental health across Washington State. While CBT has been shown in previous studies to be an effective therapy for anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, its use is limited in public mental health because of the lack of available training. The purpose of the study is to examine whether clinician orientation affects clinician learning of CBT for anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and PTSD. Our first hypothesis is that clinicians with a cognitive behavioral orientation will have a higher skill level before training in comparison to clinician of other orientations. The second hypothesis is that clinicians of other orientations will have a higher skill level after the training than those clinicians with a cognitive behavioral orientation due to a higher rate of improvement. Clinician self-reported efficacy in elements of CBT for anxiety, depression, behavior problems, and PTSD, was assessed before the three-day training, after training, and after 6 months of bi-weekly phone consultations with a CBT expert, and will be compared for each theoretical orientation. The participating clinicians in this study vary in theoretical orientation, including integrative/eclectic, biological, interpersonal, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic/analytic, systems, humanistic/existential and others. We plan to integrate the results of the study implications for future clinician training of CBT. If our hypotheses are supported, it will suggest that clinicians with a cognitive behavioral orientation may need specialized training in CBT that takes into account their previous knowledge and offers more advanced training options for those with past experience in CBT.

It is important that animals be able to modulate the rate at which they learn. Without such a capacity animals might form habits based on single events, or fail to respond to changing circumstances. Previous work suggests that two populations of inhibitory striatal neurons may play antagonistic roles in modulating learning rates. Inactivation of D1 receptor expressing striatonigral neurons slows that rate at which animals learn operant tasks, while inactivation of D2 receptor expressing striatopallidal neurons speeds the rate at which animals learn. This suggests that the normal activity of striatonigral neurons supports learning while the normal activity of striatopallidal neurons suppresses learning. We assessed a maze-based operant learning task that may be useful for examining the roles of these neuronal populations in modulating learning rate. In this task, animals are repeatedly faced with the choice of a right or left turn. One of these turns consistently results in the animal receiving a large reward, while the other results in a small reward. The animal performs twenty trials per day. If after the first ten trials in a day the animal selects the large reward for at least nine trials, saline vehicle or a D1 or D2 receptor specific antagonist is infused into the nucleus accumbens of the animal and the rewarded turn is switched. This allows the assessment of learning rates under conditions of D1 and D2 receptor antagonism within individual animals. Preliminary results are not yet sufficiently extreme to establish a difference between D1 antagonism, D2 antagonism, and vehicle administration. This may result from insufficiently distinct reward magnitudes, an insufficient number of subjects, or from an insufficiently difficult task. Alternatively, it may be that while D1 and D2 receptor expressing neurons contribute antagonistically to learning rate, the activity of D1 and D2 receptors on these neurons does not.

Does a genetic predisposition towards excessive alcohol consumption influence the acquisition of habits? The study of alcohol dependency and its effects on learning and behavior continues to be a subject of growing importance. With an animal model of alcoholism, we sought to uncover some of these potential behavioral consequences. We focused on the development of both flexible and habitual spatial behaviors in rats selectively bred for High Alcohol Drinking (HAD) and Low Alcohol Drinking (LAD). Using a standard plus-maze task, rats were trained to run to an unchanging reward arm. We hypothesized that HAD rats would rely more on response learning strategies than spatial strategies, and would develop a habit more quickly than LAD rats. Initially, visual cues were placed around the room, and two probes were conducted to assess the progress of habitual behaviors in each animal. Later, cues were removed and one last probe was conducted. Preliminary data analysis revealed some unexpected findings, the most striking of which was seen in the LAD rats’ behavior. We expected both groups of animals to form a habitual response by the end of testing, however the percentage of LAD rats using spatial strategies increased with each successive probe. HAD rats, on the other hand, did appear to increasingly rely on response strategies over time, suggesting that they may be more prone towards developing a habitual behavior under these conditions. Additionally, a large number of HAD rats consistently omitted trials and demonstrated increased latencies when compared to LAD rats, possibly indicating that receiving a reward was not enough of an incentive to run the task. These preliminary findings may suggest that genetic preferences for alcohol consumption could influence the learning strategies employed in solving simple behavioral tasks.

Evaluative priming (EP) is an unobtrusive measure of attitude.  Participants' responses to a target stimulus (a face) are either facilitated or slowed by immediate prior exposure to a prime (pleasant or unpleasant word). If pleasant primes ellicit speedy responses to faces of one social category more so than faces of another, this is interpreted as preference for the first category. Unfortunately, EP has been plagued by low internal consistency, reliability and convergent validity with other measures. The present project proposes a modification to EP procedure, known as homogeneous blocks priming (HBP). In HBP, prime-target pairs consistent with prevailing attitudes (such as pleasant+young and unpleasant+old) are presented in one block, while prime-target pairs that are inconsistent with prevailing attitudes (pleasant+old and unpleasant+young) are presented in a different block. Previous research has hinted that HBP will outperform traditional EP procedures, but they have never been compared within the same experiment. The present experiment tests age attitudes using a traditional EP measure, the new HBP measure, and an Implicit Association Test (IAT), a much more widely used implicit measure of attitude. HBP and traditional EP will be compared on the basis of internal consistency, reliability, and correlation with the IAT. The study is ongoing now, but pilot data reveal that the HBP task correlates more strongly with the IAT than EP does, and the HBP effect size is especially strong for participants who respond very rapidly.

Estrogen has been shown to directly influence auditory function, with high levels of estrogen receptor expression in the central auditory system of mice correlated with elevated high-frequency auditory thresholds. These findings and others raise the possibility that hormonal modulation might be used to treat some hearing deficiencies. The big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, provides a unique opportunity to study an easily accessible, complex auditory pathway in a highly social mammalian species. Bats experience large seasonal differences in both estrogen levels and behavior. During fall mating season, males produce “song” calls to attract females. During winter torpor, a state of decreased physiological activity, the need for hearing is greatly reduced. During spring gestation, estrogen levels are high to support a healthy pregnancy and, after giving birth, females are sensitive to the call frequency of their pups. We hypothesized that seasonally fluctuating estrogen levels in the bat brain have a direct effect on auditory processing which varies throughout the year. We measured blood estrogen levels of male and female bats over the course of the year, and recorded sound-evoked responses of single neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (IC), the midbrain auditory center. We specifically measured changes in basic response properties such as call selectivity, frequency tuning, and threshold changes. Afterwards, we perfused the bat, sliced the brain into 40µ sections, and stained for estrogen receptors. These measurements enabled us to correlate blood estrogen levels with both estrogen receptor expression throughout the central auditory system of the brain and functional measurements of neural sensitivity and selectivity across the audible frequency range.

Learning to effectively cope with stress is an important protective factor against the development of psychopathology. Developmental factors, such as the parenting environment, and immediate factors, such as self-regulation resources, have been suggested to influence individuals’ use of specific coping strategies in the face of stress. The goal of these linked studies was to understand what factors influence how people respond to stress, and particularly what factors predict using maladaptive coping strategies, such as drug and alcohol use. The first study tested how self-regulation depletion affected coping in an experimental paradigm, while the second study used an online survey to explore the links between parenting styles and coping styles. For study one, 80 college students were recruited from the Online Psychology Subject Pool (OSPP) at the University of Washington, and randomly assigned to a self-regulation depletion group or a control group. Self-regulation is a personality trait that controls decision-making, and it can be exhausted, resulting in unhealthy decisions. After the depletion task, participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test, where they were given a speech in front of confederate judges and provided with negative feedback. Following the stress task, coping was coded using behavioral observations. We hypothesized that individuals in the depletion condition will be more likely to utilize avoidant coping than those in the control condition. In study two, 400 participants from the OSPP completed an online survey on the environment of their family of origin and their coping styles. We expected that individuals from high conflict and chaotic households tend to report greater use of maladaptive coping strategies. Results of the study will attempt to provide further evidence that family factors can predict preferred coping styles. Overall, these studies will help us to better understand the risk pathways associated with psychopathology.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. The adverse health effects from tobacco use account for about one of every five deaths each year in the United States. Moreover, smokers with depressive symptoms have lower cessation rates and more difficulties while quitting than the general population of smokers. Treating smokers with depressive symptoms effectively is challenging and new smoking cessation interventions are always needed. In order to determine how recent smoking cessation treatments are benefiting smokers with depressive symptoms, the present study examines an existing web-based treatment using the innovative Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT provides mindfulness-based techniques that help smokers dealing with the urges, thoughts and negative feelings associated with smoking while quitting. The study aimed to determine the users: (1) willingness to experience smoking cues, and (2) 3-months post randomization smoking status. Adult participants were recruited nationally into the double-blind randomized controlled pilot trial which compared web-based ACT for smoking cessation (webquit.org) with smokefree.gov—the national standard for web-based smoking cessation interventions. The present study will report the outcomes for smokers with depressive symptoms. Data analysis is ongoing. Based on previous research, we expect the web-based ACT intervention to be more effective than the standard treatment (smokefree.gov). This trial will provide insights for ongoing research in smoking cessation interventions to help smokers with depressive symptoms to quit smoking.

 Among individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a delay or diminishment of the development of language and communication is found to be a core feature of the disorder. Children with ASD are also found to have more difficulty with verbal working memory tasks when compared to typically developing individuals, although findings have been mixed. In other clinical populations in which communication is impaired, one aspect of language that has been found to be related to verbal working memory is narrative ability, though this has not been thoroughly tested among children with ASD. Previous work has shown that verbal working memory relates to communication skills in children with ASD, albeit this study did not investigate narrative ability specifically. The current study had the goal of investigating the relation between verbal working memory and narrative ability in children with ASD. Data was collected from 21 participants. Participants were children from 6 to 11 years of age with autism spectrum disorder and average or above average IQ. Working memory was measured with the Children’s Memory Scale Numbers subtest, and narrative ability was coded from a speech sample obtained during the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. The planned analysis was a partial correlation between verbal working memory and narrative ability controlling for IQ. Our prediction was that better verbal working memory would be a predictor for stronger narrative ability above and beyond IQ.

Research has made tremendous gains in therapy efficacy for children and adolescents, yet the therapies have not effectively been implemented into usual care settings. The mental health field has recently initiated a huge drive to disseminate Evidence Supported Therapies, or ESTs, in order to better serve our children. Do clinicians trained in ESTs deliver the clinically relevant components to their clients and utilize important structural elements of EST such as agenda setting, assigning/reviewing homework? If clinicians are not utilizing the components and structure supported for the specific clinical target, then children may not be receiving efficacious therapy. Clinicians across Washington State were invited to participate in the Washington State Initiative and receive components based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT Plus. The training included components for Anxiety, Depression, Behavioral Problems and PTSD. Each clinician involved in the study entered assessment data on his/her cases as well as what components and structural elements were delivered. Research has shown that clinicians are reluctant to deliver exposure.  For instance, if a child has PTSD and has a panic attack each time he hears an ambulance, exposure to ambulances reduces the related anxiety.  It is predicted that clinicians delivering CBT Plus with a clinical target of anxiety or PTSD will be less likely to deliver the adequate components due to this exposure reluctance. The preliminary data shows that many clinicians did not consistently provide the necessary components and structure for their clients’ clinical presentations. If clinicians delivering EST are not utilizing the relevant components, then the children are not receiving the best care possible and the ESTs are not being effectively disseminated. Training for ESTs would thus need to focus more strongly on combating clinicians’ negative perceptions of exposure. This may be achieved through more thorough psychoeducation and theory explanation during EST training.

Ischemic Preconditioning (IPC) is a neuroprotective phenomenon in which a brief ischemic exposure increases resistance to serious injury from subsequent ischemia. Understanding the basic mechanisms of IPC and taking advantage of this knowledge may provide better treatment options for those at high risk for stroke. We hypothesize that ischemia induces brain tissue release of endogenous Toll-like receptor (TLRs) agonists (sometimes referred to as damage association molecular patterns (DAMPS)) that stimulate microglia Toll-like receptors, thus releasing interferon (IFN) α/β to trigger the transcription of neuroprotective interferon stimulated genes (ISG). Our objective was to culture mouse microglial cells and stimulate the various microglia TLR receptors with their respective agonists to identify the receptors that mediate ISG release. We also wanted to demonstrate TLR-agonist induced release of IFN α/β, especially because IFNs are already effective FDA-approved treatments for Multiple Sclerosis and could serve to increase ischemic tolerance for patients at high risk for strokes. Due to results from previous experimental paradigms strongly suggesting that IPC-mediated neuroprotection is TLR4-dependent, we proposed that stimulation of TLR4 generates release of IFNs that in turn induce transcription of ISGs. Our preliminary results revealed that activation of multiple TLRs (TLR 3, 4, and 9) could mediate the release of ISG chemokines, with notable ISG release following TLR3 and TLR4 activation. IFN release was not detected through TLR4 but instead TLR3. We are currently exploring the possibility of a synergistic relationship between TLR3 and TLR4 in regulating IPC-mediated neuroprotection.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) is an autoimmune disease with an unknown cause. Children experience joint inflammation, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances. Sleep disturbances such as sleep disordered breathing and insufficient amounts of sleep may contribute to lower quality of life and poor health outcomes in JIA. In a recent study from our laboratory 40% of a sample of children with JIA showed signs of sleep disordered breathing. The aim of this study is to describe and compare sleep disturbances in JIA and age, sex matched control children, and its relation to quality of life (QoL). Forty-six children (6-to-11 years) participated in the study. Of the 46 children, 23 were diagnosed with JIA and 23 were age-matched typically developing children. Parents completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaires (CSHQ), a 45-item measure of their child’s sleep habits and quality over the previous week. Children underwent 1 night of polysomnography in the UW School of Nursing sleep laboratory, and completed the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) questionnaire, a 23-item report that assesses health-related QoL (day-to-day activities) and disease specific symptoms. The specific domains include physical, emotional, social, and school function during the month prior to completion of the questionnaire. The PedsQL 4.0 yields a total score for overall health-related QoL, physical and psychosocial function and 4 subscales: physical, emotional, social, and school function. Data will be analyzed using SPSS for Windows version 18.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill). Data analyses will be blocked into conceptual categories and then analyzed for group differences. Findings from this study may provide new knowledge about sleep disturbances and QoL in JIA children. Missed days from school and lower QoL in JIA often are attributed to pain and fatigue, but untreated sleep disturbances and sleep disorders may be an important etiology that is unrecognized by both clinicians and parents.

Egalitarianism is a central value in the United States, with the strive for equal treatment for all individuals evident in law, policy, and education. In contrast, for East Asian cultures, which are deeply rooted in Confucianism, the existence of social hierarchy is seen as natural and justified, and more value is placed on harmoniously maintaining it than it is for achieving social equality. As biculturals, immigrants from East Asian cultures are socialized into both sets of norms, values, and behaviors, and can identify with both cultures. Given such incompatible values surrounding equality, how might experiencing discrimination affect feelings of conflict in an Asian immigrant's bicultural identity? In Study 1, first-generation Asian females completed scales of perceived sexism in the United States as well as the Bicultural Identity Integration Scale, a measure assessing the degree of compatibility a bicultural finds between their two identities. Results showed that the more participants perceived personally being a victim of sexism in the United States, the more conflict they felt between their two identities, even after controlling for perceptions of immigrant-related discrimination. In Study 2, female Asian immigrants were exposed to a scenario in which they anticipated receiving a grade that did or did not stem from sexism. Consistent with hypotheses, participants who considered experiencing sexism reported more cultural conflict between their Asian and American identities compared to participants who did not consider sexism. Together, these studies raise the possibility that differing cultural values placed on egalitarianism can create feelings of identity conflict for immigrants when they face discrimination.

Different groups of smokers are commonly discussed in the research literature on tobacco use and nicotine dependence. Examples include heavy smokers, light smokers, intermittent smokers or social smokers. While forming such groupings may be scientifically useful, there are not standardized definitions for group membership, leading to a lack of clarity and comparability across studies. In tobacco research, groups are commonly formed via cutoff scores. That is, if one is below a certain score, one is in group A, otherwise one is in group B. However the lack of clear group definitions has lead to different researchers using different cutoff scores. For example, one researcher may use smoking five or fewer cigarettes a day as a cutoff to define the “light smoker” group, where another researcher may use smoking ten or fewer cigarettes a day to define the same group. A further potential weakness of the use of cutoff scores is that they enforce absolute distinctions and thereby ignore within group variability as well as measurement error. Rather than using cutoff scores to define groups, we can use statistical models, such as latent class analysis (LCA), to empirically group observations. LCA is a multivariate statistical model often used for exploratory analysis, It identifies homogeneous subgroups (or classes) in a population on the basis of item associations. The purpose of this study is to compare group differences between groups formed via cutoff scores with groups from LCA. The question of interest is if results in these analyses differ or parallel each other. Specifically, we examined the differences in the associations between group membership and relevant demographic covariates as well as measures of nicotine dependence.