There is a wide-spread belief among professionals and parents that raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in bilingual households will be detrimental to their language development. Although some early studies reported an association between bilingualism and cognitive deficits, more recent studies have called these findings into question. Furthermore, the few studies of ASD and bilingualism also support potential benefits. Children with ASD from multilingual households have been shown to demonstrate increased gesturing and sociability. Our study proposes to directly investigate the relationship between bilingual environment, social ability, and language ability in toddlers with ASD. We hypothesize that toddlers with ASD who grow up in a bilingual environment will exhibit greater social ability and increased language ability compared to toddlers with ASD from monolingual households. Thirty-eight, 12-24 month-old toddlers from the UW Autism Center who were part of a larger, multisite study were categorized based on their mother’s language ability: bilingual (BL; 18) and monolingual (ML; 20). Language measures included the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory, Communication subscale of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-II), and Expressive and Receptive Language subscales from the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Social skills measures included the VABS-II Socialization subscale and a measure of joint attention. We will use two sample t-tests to compare social skills and language skills between the two experimental groups. This research will provide some of the first direct evidence regarding the impact of a bilingual language environment on the early social and language abilities of very young children with ASD. We hope to raise awareness towards the need for evidence-based approaches to guide professional and parents of young children with ASD.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling in smooth muscle cells (SMC) contributes to normal vascular development but may also play a significant role in the progression of aortic disease. Accordingly, TGF-β signaling is emerging as a therapeutic target, with strategies to block TGF-β signaling proposed as a means of preventing human aortic disease, including aortic aneurysms and dissections. However, because TGF-β signaling contributes to normal vascular development, blockade of TGF-β signaling could be harmful. We hypothesized that elimination of TGF-β signaling in aortic SMC of adult mice would cause aortic disease. We used inducible Cre-lox recombination technology to knock out Tgfbr2 in adult murine SMC. Tgfbr2 encodes TGF-β receptor II, believed to be essential for all TGF-β signaling. Mice were euthanized 4-14 weeks after SMC Tgfbr2 knockout, and effects of Tgfbr2 knockout (compared to control mice) were assessed by gross observation of aortas as well as sectioning and staining of aortic tissue. We found intramural hematomas, penetrating aortic ulcers, aortic dissection, and aortic dilation as well as significant thickening of the medial wall and adventitia in the knockout mice. Our data strongly suggest that loss of TGF-β signaling in SMC has a negative effect on aortic health and support a cautious approach in pursuing blockade of TGF-β signaling as a therapeutic strategy.

Developed in the mid-1990s, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) has been used in psychological experiments to measure the strength of a person’s automatic associations between concepts and attributes. IAT measures are shown to predict people’s behavior more accurately than do parallel self-report measures in socially sensitive domains such as race and age attitudes. The Brief IAT (BIAT) uses a similar procedure to the standard IAT, but with simplified instructions and different task structures. Unlike the standard version, the BIAT instructs subjects to respond in each trial with a “focal” key to only two of four categories (focal categories) that they are told to focus on and with a “nonfocal” key to the other two categories (nonfocal categories). The present research examines whether the BIAT has the ability to identify whether categories are associated with positive or negative valence (positive or negative attributes of a person, object, or event). It also seeks to compare the BIAT’s association strengths with those obtained from the standard IAT. One hundred voluntary undergraduate students from the University of Washington completed two BIATs that differed only in the identity of one of their categories. The same subjects were also administered two parallel standard IATs with the same categories. D scores, an effect-size measure, were calculated using data from the BIATs and standard IATs to estimate the strengths of association between pairs of categories. Through their task structures, the BIATs are expected to identify more precisely than the standard IATs can the valence association of each category. Each BIAT’s association strengths are also expected to approximate those obtained from the corresponding standard IAT. The significance of this research lies in its potential to support the development of more valid and useful IAT methods for determining a person’s unconscious attitudes toward individual objects and concepts.

According to dual process models of alcohol use, both explicit (controlled/reflective) process and implicit (automatic/reflexive) cognitions are important predictors of alcohol-related problems. These models also suggest that there are certain types of people for whom implicit processes may be more influential – e.g., people who are more impulsive. Based on these theories, this study seeks to examine whether impulsivity influences the strength of the relationship between implicit drinking identity (cognitions about the self and drinking) and alcohol-related problems. 506 college students completed the Drinking Identity Implicit Association Test, the Impulsivity Subscale of the Substance Use Risks Profile Scale, and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. As hypothesized, both impulsivity and drinking identity scores were significantly and positively correlated with alcohol-related problems. Moderation was also supported: drinking identity was more predictive of alcohol-related problems for those reporting higher impulsivity rather than lower impulsivity. These results are consistent with theories that suggest that implicit cognitions should be better predictors for individuals with higher levels of impulsivity. This suggests that targeting implicit drinking identity might be helpful in reducing alcohol-related problems, especially for those individuals with higher levels of impulsivity. In addition, targeting impulsivity may also help reduce alcohol-related problems.

Cognitive rehabilitation has been shown to be effective on cancer survivors after cancer treatment. Some evidence suggests that older adults may be more adversely impacted by chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to examine whether age may be a moderating factor on cognitive rehabilitation effectiveness among cancer survivors. Participants were survivors 6 months or more post active treatment, and were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment group (treatment) or a wait list (control). A battery of cognitive tests and questionnaires, both computerized and by hand, were given before and after a seven-week group-based memory skills intervention, which was specifically designed to improve memory and thinking abilities. 45 subjects completed all measures and were divided by age into “middle age” (21-60 yrs.; N=23) with mean age of 51.3 years and “older adults” (60+ yrs.; N=22) with a mean age of 67.1 years. Results indicated that both middle age and older adults improved over time for immediate and delayed verbal recall (list learning task) (p < .05). Significant improvement for sustained attention (digit symbol) (p < .05) and working memory (digit span) (p < .05), however, was observed in the middle age group only.There was a significant interaction effect of F (1,43) = 5.83 for the digit span total, with only the middle age group showing an improvement. Our results suggest that there was some difference in improvement of cognitive thinking and memory between the two age groups. Although both groups improved on measures of verbal memory only the younger adults improved on measures of attention. Our results may help guide future cognitive rehabilitation programs to target specific areas of cognition that may be more likely to respond to treatment. This will help patients have a more accurate expectation for cognitive rehabilitation goals.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders with symptoms related to social communication and repetitive behavior. One aspect of social communication that is particularly challenging for children with ASD is pragmatic language including the ability to clearly convey narrative information to others. Narrative language, such as story telling, is a type of pragmatic ability that utilizes cognitive-linguistic planning and coordination of information. The first objective of our study is to compare the narrative language abilities of typically developing children to children with ASD. Our second objective is to test the relation between narrative abilities and severity of symptoms within the group with ASD. Seventy-five 6 to 11 year old children with idiopathic ASD or typical development participated. Groups matched in age, IQ, and sex ratio. Narrative language samples were extracted from a longer diagnostic interview, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Scoring of narrative language skills was based on the coding system developed by Reilly and colleagues. Symptoms were assessed via the ADOS, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, Social Responsiveness Scale-2, and Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised. We expect to find a lower level of narrative ability in the group with ASD, given previous reports of pragmatic errors , misinterpretation of key events, and dysfluencies among children with ASD. For the second objective, we predict that there will be a correlation between the narrative level and social symptoms, such that better narrative ability relates to fewer symptoms. In the repetitive domain, we expect to see more repetitive behaviors with relation to lower level of narrative ability by looking at dysfluent speech, which entails repetitions and self-corrections. Our results may lead to future studies regarding narrative ability in speech interventions towards children with ASD. 

Rumination has been linked to the onset and development of depression and anxiety. Rumination is a process of repetitive negative feelings and thoughts associated with an upsetting event or situation. In this study, I investigate whether rumination explains the relationship between different types of environmental adversity and symptoms of depression and anxiety in teens. Specifically, does rumination explain the association of trauma exposure, poverty, and race/ethnicity related with the onset of depression or anxiety? Data come from a sample of 168 adolescents recruited from the community in Boston and Cambridge, MA. To examine mediation I examined four sets of models testing the following relationships: 1) the association between each measure of environmental adversity and depression/anxiety, 2) the association between each measure of environmental adversity and rumination, 3) the association between rumination and depression/anxiety, and 4) a final model that included the adversity variables as well as rumination to see the attenuation in associations of adversity with depression and anxiety once rumination was added to the model. The findings suggest that, 1) child abuse was associated with elevations in depression and anxiety symptoms, and community violence was associated with depressive symptoms and marginally with anxiety symptoms; 2) child abuse was associated with higher engagement in rumination; higher income-to-needs ratio was also related to greater rumination; 3) higher degrees of rumination predicted both depression and anxiety symptoms; and 4) the association between child abuse and depressive symptoms was reduced by 24.5% after accounting for rumination, and the association between child abuse and anxiety symptoms was reduced by 39.8% after accounting for rumination. These findings fill the void in the literature regarding mechanisms linking different types of environmental stressors to the onset of depression and anxiety. This is important for development of interventions for preventing mental illness.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by impairment in social interaction and restricted/repetitive behaviors. Perinatal complications, which occur at the time of birth, have been associated with the presence of ASD, including low birth weight, planned caesarian section, and umbilical cord problems. Though these complications and their link to autism have been heavily researched, the variability of perinatal complications has yet to be compared to the genetic diversity within ASD as a disorder. Due to recent advances in genome science, several dozen autism susceptibility genes have been identified that account for 10-20% of ASD cases. The goal of this study is to analyze both prevalence and type of birth complications in a large genotyped sample as a function of co-occurring genetic abnormalities. Using medical history data collected from a population of over 2000 genotyped families, we will determine the prevalence of perinatal complications within the presence or absence of genetic mutation. Autism severity will be examined as a function of presence of perinatal complications and presence of genetic mutations. Results from this study could serve as a starting point to further evaluate the potential shared etiology of autism and birth complications, as well as other potential genetic links among common co-occurring disorders such as gastrointestinal illnesses and epilepsy.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are genetically heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders largely characterized by impairments in social interaction. Many with ASD face other comorbidities, including sleep problems. Prevalence of sleep problems in those with ASD are significantly greater than typically developing children and range widely from difficulties falling asleep to parasomnias. Although many studies investigate the link between sleep and autism, none have considered variability in sleep differences as a function of the genetic variability of the disorder. The underlying assumption for this project is that behavioral variability, such as differences in sleep problems, observed in ASD is a function of the genetic variability in ASD. Chi square analysis was conducted using data collected about sleep problems in a medical history interview from a large, well characterized and genotyped sample of children with ASD to determine the prevalence of sleep problems in ASD as a function of genetic subtype. Those individuals with similar, recurring gene mutations were further examined in order to view whether sleep problems (both pervasiveness and type of sleep issue) may be a specific phenotype related to that gene mutation. Using ANOVA, gender differences in sleep presentation were also examined.  Results from this study may serve as a starting point to evaluate other wide ranging comorbidities, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, as a function of the genetic differences present in those with ASD.

Women make up only 25% of employees in the technology industry (e.g., computer science careers, information technology, etc.). One possible explanation for this disparity is that hiring decisions are made based off cultural fit, or the perception of similarities between employers and job candidates. The current research investigates whether perceptions of cultural fit are determined in part by the design of workplace environments, and, as a result, whether stereotypical computer science (CS) environments might influence hiring decisions and contribute to the gender disparities in the technology industry. In our study, undergraduates were asked to imagine that they were hiring a job candidate for a technology company. Participants read a description of either a non-stereotypical (e.g., art posters on the wall, etc.) or stereotypical (e.g., Star Trek posters, computer parts, science fiction posters, etc.) CS workplace, and then read the resume of either a male or female job candidate. Participants then answered questions measuring perceived candidate fit into the company environment and hiring intention. We predict that participants who viewed the non-stereotypical CS workplace environment will be more likely to hire the female job candidate than participants who viewed the stereotypical environment. This work would suggest that the design of company environments can prevent non-traditional candidates from being hired, and that encouraging companies to create inclusive, non-stereotypical environments may reduce gender disparities in the technology industry.

Despite a narrowing performance gap between women and men in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) in the U.S., women continue to be less likely to pursue degrees or careers in these fields. One potential explanation for this enduring gap may be tied to gender roles, or beliefs about the proper way women and men should behave. Women and men who violate these gender roles are often considered deviants and encounter social backlash. We proposed that women who choose careers in STEM are perceived to deviate from gender norms more than those who simply do well in STEM fields. In the current study, female and male students rated how typical and desirable it is for women to perform well in math and to choose a math-related career. Similar questions were asked about English, a contrasting field not dominated by men. We predicted participants would believe that it is less desirable and less typical for women to choose math-related careers than for women to perform well in math. We did not expect this pattern to appear for English-related career choice and performance in English. Interventions designed to increase women’s participation in STEM fields, therefore, may need to shift from addressing performance to addressing pressures imposed upon women to forsake STEM careers.

Recent longitudinal studies show a trend of declining emotional health paired with an increased demand for counseling services among college students. It has been proposed that this population faces difficulties in regulating emotions, especially in the face of challenges that are new and unique to them. In the clinical field, mindfulness practice is gaining evidence as a way to increase individuals' self-awareness, acceptance and present moment attention – qualities that have robust evidence of being beneficial for the effective regulation of emotions. The rationale of this research is that mindfulness practice could potentially increase the capacity for allowing painful emotional experiences and thus reduce maladaptive automatic responses to stressors (i.e. denying or suppressing negative emotions). The main aim of this study is to explore whether Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) mindfulness skills, which are six distinct skills designed to cultivate the different components of mindfulness in everyday life, can be efficacious at reducing difficulties in emotion regulation and increasing mindfulness in a non-clinical population of college students. In addition, since few studies have evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness-based interventions in college settings, this study fills in the gap by evaluating feasibility and acceptability using specified, testable criteria, and by exploring an alternative method of instruction: using audio recordings of DBT mindfulness practice. The study design is a between-subjects randomized controlled trial comparing an intervention group which will receive a two-week mindfulness training, with a non-intervention group which will not receive the intervention. The hypotheses of this study are that the intervention will be 1) efficacious at increasing mindfulness, 2) reducing anxiety and 3) decreasing emotion dysregulation, will be 4) acceptable in terms of participant retention and opinion toward the intervention, and 5) feasible in terms of adequate participant recruitment and compliance to the intervention protocol.

Our objective was to further explore the facial feedback hypothesis. This theory, that facial movements (efference) can influence one’s emotional experience, has historically been studied using either positive or negative stimuli. We used neutral stimuli to see if facial efference is affective in influencing emotion in the absence of stimuli that prompt an emotional response. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions created by holding a chopstick – forced smile (chopstick between teeth), forced frown (chopstick between lips), or neutral (chopstick in nondominant hand). Participants were then shown 5 neutral images, each for 6 seconds, via PowerPoint. They then rated the images on 11-point Likert scales, from 0 (extreme sadness) to 10 (extreme happiness), indicating what emotion the image was expressing. Results showed no statistically significant difference between those whose facial expressions were manipulated into smiles and those who had neutral or frowning facial expressions. A deeper understanding of the relationship between facial expressions and emotions could alter the way in which we explore treatments for both mental and physical health conditions.

Women with a history of sexual victimization often have higher rates of alcohol consumption and sexual risk-taking than women with no history of sexual victimization. One explanation proposed for these associations is the self-medication hypothesis which says that women with sexual victimization histories engage in drinking and risky sexual behavior to cope with distress or to increase positive affect. Although popular wisdom and research studies link alcohol and sexual risk-taking, sexual assault victims often experience difficulty with sexual intimacy. Specific motives to consume alcohol in order to cope with or further enhance sexual behaviors have not been examined. Further, it is not known how a history of sexual assault would impact sex-related drinking motives and whether these motives would mediate the association between sexual assault history and both alcohol consumption and risky sexual behavior. We are currently in the process of recruiting undergraduate women through the University of Washington Psychology Department’s Online Subject Participation Pool. Women are asked to complete a forty-five minute online survey about their drinking patterns, history of sexual experiences and sexual assault, and endorsements of sex-related drinking motives. Data collection will be complete at the end of winter quarter, after which we will conduct mediation analyses using bootstrapping to test our hypotheses that sex-related drinking motives will mediate the relationship between a history of sexual victimization and both alcohol consumption and sexual risk-taking. We expect that these motives will partially mediate the relationships between a history of sexual victimization and both alcohol consumption and sexual risk-taking. Results will help inform effective interventions tailored toward survivors of sexual assault.

Bilinguals outperform monolinguals in tasks measuring executive functions; particularly, in tasks that measure inhibition and flexible behavior (e.g., task-switching), all of which require increased top-down control. One interpretation of this advantage in performance is that bilinguals may approach tasks in a top-down (goal-driven) manner, and given improved performance in certain tasks, top-down control is typically viewed as beneficial. Only one study has investigated the possibility that increased top-down control may result in a cost in terms of the influence on bottom-up (automatic, non-goal-driven) processing. To further explore the potential cost of top-down control on bottom-up processing, this experiment investigated patterns of semantic priming in 50 monolinguals and 50 early bilinguals across three experiments in which the amount of top-down control required varied systematically. If bottom-up processes are impaired as a function of top-down control strategies, we hypothesized that bilingual individuals, who recruit more top-down processes, will exhibit fewer baseline semantic priming effects, and that all participants will exhibit less semantic priming as the top-down requirements of the tasks increase. The lexical decision task was used in isolation to measure baseline differences in automatic, semantic priming between monolinguals and bilinguals. An additional, task-switching paradigm, in which participants either performed a lexical decision task or decided whether the first letter of a word was between A-L or M-Z was created to engender a more top-down approach. Finally, a dual task in which participants identified changes in auditory tones while making lexical decisions, was used to attempt to decrease any top-down influence on the lexical decision task. Preliminary analysis of the data suggests that priming did not change as a function of task or language group. I will discuss the implications of this research for understanding individual differences in executive functioning.

The purpose of this study was to research if people that witness another person depicting himself/herself to be in pain would induce a positive mood in the viewer. The study examined the induction of positive moods in people viewing a video depicting a person expressing discomfort or pain. Forty-five undergraduate students were recruited from the undergraduate student population of the Introduction to Psychology course at Bemidji State University. Students completed the Mood Assessment Scale to measure their current mood and then proceeded to one of two conditions. One condition viewed an America's Funniest Home Videos (AFV) video clip of people experiencing pain (n = 24) and the other condition read a collection of the Velten positive mood statements (n = 21). At the conclusion of each condition, students again completed the Mood Assessment Scale. An independent t-test was used to measure the different changes in mood induced by the Velten mood statements and the AFV video clip. Significant results were found for both the Velten Mood and AFV video condition. Results of this study indicate that observing a person who is experiencing pain induces a positive mood in the observer.

The 2010 annual freshmen survey from UCLA found that incoming freshmen self-report as having lower levels of mental health then previous freshmen over the past 25 years. Lower levels of mental health have been found in research to correlate with higher levels of stress. If students have high levels of stress and ineffective coping skills this may negatively affect their performance. To understand how school stress, coping, and performance interact with each other, college freshmen from a mid sized university in the rocky mountain region were asked to complete a stress inventory, a coping inventory, and a demographic survey. Results showed that stress and coping are significantly positively correlated, specifically emotion coping was significantly correlated with stress. Regression analysis showed that stress accounted for over a quarter of the variance in GPA when controlling for gender. These results suggest that stress may change a student’s performance, and that freshmen may only know how to cope with stress in an emotional way.

The study aimed to compare and contrast mother-child and father-child attachment relationships and their associations with children’s emotion regulation. It was hypothesized that both mother-child and father-child attachments would be related to regulation at school and at home. Participants were 111 children (n= 78 girls, 38 boys, 10 to 14 years of age). Children completed a questionnaire and interview measures of attachment for their mothers and fathers. Teachers completed a measure of Frustration Tolerance and mothers completed a questionnaire to assess the child’s coping strategies. Effects varied across measures of attachment. On the questionnaire measure, attachment to mothers was more consistently related to emotion regulation than attachment to fathers, but on the interview measure, attachments to both parents were equally related to emotion regulation. These results indicate that children’s attachments to their fathers are as important to the study of their emotion regulation as their attachment to mothers.

As the world becomes more interconnected, health issues that may once have been considered local problems are increasingly of international concern. While a number of academic institutions have made efforts to incorporate global health topics into their curricula, the role of global health in nursing education remains relatively undefined. As one of the nation’s top nursing schools, the University of Washington’s School of Nursing (UW SON) is in a position to embrace this opportunity. The goal of our research is summarize existing practices, explore linkages between international experiences and global health educational programs, and gauge student interest in global health topics at the UW SON. A mixed methods approach will be used. Quantitative data will be obtained via a brief anonymous survey of three current 2012-2014 UW SON baccalaureate cohorts. Qualitative data will be collected through online program reviews and semi-structured interviews. Online program reviews will assess global health course offerings in the top ten US nursing schools, as well as pre- and post-Peace Corps educational opportunities including the Coverdell Fellowship and Masters International Program. Interviews will be conducted with three purposively selected global health professionals who previously served with Peace Corps. Summary statistics (frequency and percent), including 95% Confidence Intervals, will be presented. Program reviews will be presented in summary tables, and interview findings will be coded into themes with assistance of a social scientist. Results will demonstrate interest level among current nursing students in global health in general, as well as in specific topics. We also seek to identify themes linking Peace Corps experiences with awareness of global health topics, educational choices, and professional development. We will use our findings to inform the UW SON leadership of possible recruitment strategies and curriculum content to enhance global health offerings.

Integration of information over time is essential in our everyday lives. But research in many domains including memory recall, decision-making, language, and motor control shows that the order in which to-be-integrated information arrives strongly affects how it’s processed. A recent set of experiments has extended these findings into the perceptual domain by showing that when estimating the mean position of a group of serially-presented dots, subjects weighted the earliest information presented much more than the rest. However, it’s an open question whether this “primacy” effect is an artifact of task strategy, or if it’s an intrinsic, unchangeable property of integrating serially-presented visual information. Do we always weight earlier visual information over later information? Feedback has been shown to effectively change behavior in a wide variety of psychological contexts, so we conducted two experiments to determine whether the primacy effect was modifiable or not. In both experiments, subjects were shown ten serially-presented white dots that varied in location and were asked to estimate the center of the dots. In Experiment 1, we provided subjects with feedback after each trial indicating their response and the actual, correct center of the dots. In Experiment 2, we attempted to further facilitate even weighting by presenting the dots in a predictable pattern, still using the same trial-by-trial feedback as before. We analyzed our data by fitting a weighted-average model to our subjects’ data, which allowed us to estimate the mathematical weight that each subject applied to each of the ten dots. The weights we obtained showed that feedback did reduce the magnitude of the primacy effect, but subjects still showed significantly larger weighting of earlier presented information. This suggests that heavy reliance on earlier visual information, though susceptible to forces like feedback, may be an intrinsic property of how humans integrate visual information over time.

With the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on the rise, we conducted this study to further our understanding of this neuro-developmental disorder early in development so that children can get early access to interventions. A limited number of studies have performed research on children’s social processing in ASD; however, from them, it is apparent that social stimuli processing is atypical in children with ASD. The current study investigated preschoolers’ memory and learning in 80 participants with ASD and 80 neurotypical participants. These participants were assessed on social and non-social information processing utilizing a habituation paradigm, which measures the participant’s learning rate. Specifically, performance on social stimuli processing was examined in relation to changes in social communication symptoms in ASD overtime. First, we examined the habituation time to social stimuli in participants with ASD compared to typically developing participants. Second, we compared social stimuli processing in participants with ASD to non-social stimuli processing. Third, we explored the association of social stimuli processing in ASD with social growth overtime. The information from this study will help us better understand the developmental origins of face-processing impairments and a deeper comprehension into the progression of social communication in preschoolers with ASD overtime.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction, communication, and the presence of restricted interests and stereotyped behaviors (DSM-5). Theory suggests that the development of joint attention is part of a social cognitive process that provides a foundation for language acquisition. Joint attention is a strong predictor of language development in children with autism (Mundy, Sigman, Kasari 1990). Through the Seattle Children's SPARCS Study (Studying the Physiology of Attention and Regulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder), we are examining the relation of spatial and feature attention and regulatory control and growth in social communication skills over time in 2 to 4-year-old children with ASD and typical development. Using the Early Social Communication Scales (ESCS), a well-validated measure of early social interaction, joint attention, and behavioral requesting skills, we were able to classify children's behaviors into one of three categories: (1) Joint Attention: the child's use of nonverbal behaviors to share the experience of objects or events with others; (2) Behavioral Requests: the child's use of nonverbal behaviors to elicit aid in obtaining objects or events; (3) and Social Interaction: the capacity of the child to engage in playful, affectively positive turn-taking interactions with others (Mundy 2003). The aim of the current project is to examine how early social communication behaviors are influenced by both chronological and mental age as assessed by standardized measures of language and cognition. Currently we have data on 92 children, with data on 150 expected. Data will be analyzed by comparing groups (ASD versus controls) and ages (2-3year-olds versus 3-4 year-olds). The results of this study will enhance our understanding of factors that contribute to the development of social communication skills in both typical and atypical populations; and may also help to shape our interventions for children with autism.

Previous research has found that social influences including descriptive norms (how much or how often a behavior is exhibited) and prototypes (images associated with individuals who engage in certain behaviors) have been shown to influence engagement in risky sexual behavior. Although these relationships are fairly well established, less is known about factors that might influence the strength of these relationships. One potential factor is sexual sensation seeking, which refers to one’s need or desire to have various, new, and complex sexual sensations and experiences. Given that individuals high in sexual sensation seeking have been shown to be more influenced by social factors, we hypothesize that sexual sensation seeking will moderate the relationship between two different forms of social influence (descriptive norms and prototypes) and sexual behavior such that the relationship between descriptive norms and behavior and prototypes and behavior will be stronger for those individuals higher in sexual sensation seeking. Data for the current study are drawn from a sample of 121 University of Washington undergraduate students, ages 21-30, (50.4% female) who completed an online survey regarding their health behaviors, with specific measures including the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale, Alcohol-Related Sexual Behaviors Scale, Prototypes, and Perceived Sexual and Alcohol-Related Sexual Behaviors Scale. Moderation analyses using linear regression will be conducted in order to test whether sensation seeking moderates the social influence to behavior relationships as predicted above. Results from this study have the potential to inform methods aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancies and STI transmissions, lead to personalized treatment methods for those higher in sexual sensation seeking, as well as supplement current research looking at social influence and personality factors that influence risky sexual behavior.

Most treatment programs for alcohol dependence have prioritized abstinence from substances as the primary treatment goal. However, abstinence-based goals are not always considered desirable or effective by more severely affected populations, such as chronically homeless people with alcohol dependence. Because these individuals comprise a multimorbid and high-utilizing population, they are in need of more focused research attention to elucidate their preferred treatment goals. The aim of this secondary study was therefore to qualitatively and quantitatively document participant-generated treatment goals. Participants were currently or formerly chronically homeless individuals (N=31) with alcohol dependence who were participating in a pharmacobehavioral pilot of extended-release naltrexone and harm-reduction counseling. During the week 0 assessment, study interventionists elicited participants’ treatment goals and recorded them on an open-ended grid. Progress and achievement of goals was confirmed via self-report and recorded by study interventionists at the week 8 follow-up. Conventional content analysis was performed to classify participant-generated treatment goals at weeks 0 and 8. Representation of the three top categories remained stable over the course of the treatment. In the order of their frequency they included drinking-specific goals, quality-of-life goals and health-related goals. Quantitative analyses indicated participants generated an increasing number of goals over the course of treatment; however, the proportions of goals achieved and made progress towards did not increase significantly. Findings confirm hypotheses that participants can independently generate and achieve treatment goals toward alcohol harm reduction and quality-of-life improvement. Larger RCTs are necessary to confirm the role of harm-reduction treatment in helping individuals achieve these goals.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by varying degrees of challenges with social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviors. Specifically, children with ASD exhibit deficits in joint attention, which is thought to contribute to language and social skill development. The early identification of precursors to joint attention impairment allows for an earlier diagnosis of ASD and may suggest new or refined targets for intervention. The Seattle Children’s SPARCS study (Studying the Physiology of Attention and Regulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders) focuses on the attention, regulation, and development of preschool aged children with neuro-typical development (TD, N=84) and ASD (N=84), enrolled between 24- to 59- months. In the SPARCS study Orient Task, participants were presented with four social and four non-social stimuli delivered by wall-mounted speakers. Joint attention probes were delivered by the examiner via point and gaze bids. If the child showed a head and/or eye turn toward the location of the stimulus and/or verbal/non-verbal acknowledgement of the sound, s/he was given orienting credit. Credit for response to joint attention (RJA) was given if the child makes eye-contact with the examiner and followed the point or gaze to the intended target. Data collection for the SPARCS study Orient Task is ongoing. Of 168 enrolled children, 71 have completed the Joint Orient Task. Preliminary valid data was analyzed for 14 ASD and 17 TD. Preliminary results suggested that children with ASD orient significantly less than TD children. We hypothesize that social orientating behavior may relate to joint attention and that joint attention skills may be a predictor of later socio-communicative development.
 

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. Retrospective studies of children with autism suggest associations between ASD diagnosis and children’s gender, socioeconomic status (SES), race and other factors, suggesting potential ascertainment or diagnostic biases. Comparing the data collected from our study project with research results from the CDC and others is one method to discover if there are any covariates related to family demographics that need to be accounted for in future project analysis. The Seattle Children’s Study of Physiology and Attention and Regulation in Children with Autism (SPARCS), investigates how spatial and feature attention and regulatory control in preschool aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Typically Developing (TD) children ages 2-4, contributes to joint attention abilities and social-communication growth. Using data from the SPARCS study, we looked at 157 children in two dimensions, an ASD group compared to as neuro-typical (NT) group, who were 24-35 months or 36-59 months at time of enrollment. We have examined differences in gender, parental age, economic status, race, ethnicity, referral source, and number of children in family within these four groups. We have also explored differences between autism severity with 24-35 months old ASD children and 36-59 months old ASD children, by using mean cutoff scores on the ADOS and DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. Young children and their families who participate in research related to ASD may differ across a number of variables, which in turn may be related to later outcomes.

Background: Chronically homeless individuals with alcohol dependence experience serious alcohol-related consequences (Collins et al., 2012; Hwang, Wilkins, Tjepkema, O’Campo, & Dunn, 2009). It is therefore important to identify ways to reduce alcohol-related harm, such as the use of safer drinking strategies. No studies to date have explored this topic among chronically homeless individuals with alcohol dependence. Aims: This study aimed to document participants’ endorsement of safer drinking strategies over the course of a longitudinal pilot study of a combined pharmacobehavioral intervention to reduce alcohol-related harm (Collins et al., 2013). Methods: Participants (N=31; 12.9% women) were currently or formerly chronically homeless individuals with alcohol dependence. Participants’ use of safer drinking strategies was elicited using a list of safer drinking strategies and open-ended questions (e.g., “What strategies on this list might you be willing to try over the next week?”). A qualitative methodology called conventional content analysis was used to explore, categorize and document safer drinking strategies used by this population. The safer drinking strategies that participants chose to try were recorded for weeks 0 and 8. Results: At week 0, strategies that buffered the physical effects of alcohol represented the most highly endorsed category (51.1%), such as eating more often. The next most endorsed category was altering the manner of drinking (36.17%), for example spacing drinks. The final category represented reducing alcohol use (12.76%), such as drinking to avoid withdrawal. Discussion: Preliminary findings indicate that chronically homeless individuals are interested in using safer drinking strategies to reduce harm associated with their drinking. They also indicate that the most relevant ways to reduce harm for this population might be to help individuals buffer the effects of alcohol and alter their manner of drinking.

Women in the US are at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS when they engage in sexual risk behaviors (SRB), especially failure to use a condom during sexual intercourse. Women face unique pressures when the decision whether or not to have protected sex is made, and deal with these pressures using a variety of coping strategies. This ongoing study is designed to investigate the hypothesis that women who use coping strategies based on avoidance (e.g., escaping, forgetting, ignoring stressors) in their everyday lives are more likely to have sex without a condom. The study also examines the hypothesis that women who generally use coping strategies based on problem solving (e.g., confronting, planning for, and working to resolve stressors) are less likely to have sex without a condom. We recruited women from the University of Washington Psychology Department’s Online Subjects Pool. Data have been collected from 327 women during fall 2013 and winter 2014 quarters. Participants completed an online survey including a measure of coping strategies (i.e., Coping Strategy Indicator), read a hypothetical sexual scenario, and responded to questions about their intentions to engage in unprotected sex. Data were analyzed using linear regressions and we predicted a relationship between coping strategies and intention to use a condom. We predicted that those who reported using more avoidance coping strategies would be more likely to have unprotected sex, and those who reported using more problem solving coping strategies would be less likely to have unprotected sex. If a relationship between coping strategy and failure to use a condom is established, then interventions focused on teaching new coping strategies could be implemented to help decrease sexual risk behaviors and increase women’s sexual health.

Diversion agreements are contracts between the courts and an offender that serve to minimize his or her exposure to the potentially harmful effects of the official adjudication processes. Not only are there multiple ways through which diversions can be applied (through mandated counseling or informational sessions, for example) but research suggests that diversion agreements in the justice system can aid in reducing system costs and recidivism rates. With this information, the Washington State legislature passed House Bill 1524 in May of 2013, which adjusted several elements of existing statute to extend diversion options to juveniles with mental health disorders. While the benefits of this bill can be inferred from previous research, there is little understanding of the policy’s statewide effects. Therefore, the purpose of the following research is to examine the effects of HB 1524. Data will be collected on youth who have been allotted a third diversion, exploring the connection between a youth’s characteristics and criminal charge, and the likelihood of being offered a third diversion and the form of obligation required. The results of this research will allow us to gain a more comprehensive understanding HB 1524’s effects across Washington State by specifying which variables affect the juvenile justice system’s discretion in employing diversion alternatives.

The increasing rate of suicidality and death by suicide among military service members has gained considerable attention from the Department of Defense (DOD), members of Congress, and the civilian populace as military suicide rates have surpassed suicides in the general population. Although suicide prevention has become a national research priority, it has been difficult to identify specific and modifiable risk factors contributing to the rise of military suicides. Previous research suggests that both victims and perpetrators of bullying are at greater risk for suicide, but the prevalence of bullying and its impact on suicidal ideation and behaviors within military populations in unknown. The current study will explore the relationship between bullying and suicidal behaviors among military service members using baseline data from a multisite DOD-funded suicide prevention study. Participants include 125 active duty Soldiers and Marines who have engaged in recent suicidal behavior and/or reported current suicidal ideation. As part of a larger clinical interview, participants were asked about suicidal thoughts and behaviors and experiences of bullying in the military workplace. Regression analyses will be conducted to assess whether bullying constitutes a risk factor for increased suicidality. We predict that greater instances of bullying within the military context will be associated with higher rates of suicidal ideation and increased suicide attempts. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine bullying and suicidality among U.S. active duty service members. A better understanding of this risk factor may contribute to more effective suicide assessment and prevention strategies in the military.

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children is a serious health concern associated with significant adverse health outcomes and high use of health care resources. It is characterized by habitual snoring and repeated episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction during sleep. In a recent study from our laboratory, 40% of a sample of school aged children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) showed signs of SDB. JIA is an inflammatory disease with no definite known cause and one of the most common rheumatologic chronic conditions in children. The purpose of this study is to examine SDB and neurobehavioral performance in 81 children (n=40 JIA) compared to a group of age, sex matched school age children. Children underwent one night of polysomnography in the UW School of Nursing Sleep Research Laboratory and completed neurocognitive tests (WASI, CANTAB). Parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), an 86-item measure that assesses executive function behaviors at school and home. Data was analyzed using SPSS, and analyses were blocked into conceptual categories and then analyzed for group differences. Each category was considered a separate analysis with significance set at p <.05 (2-sided). The first set of analyses addressed group differences in all study variables between JIA and control children (using a Chi-square test). Second, we compared the proportion of children with SDB (apnea/hypopnea index >1.5/hr) as measured by polysomnography to those without SDB. Third, we examined relations among disease-related variables, sleep disordered breathing, and neurocognition (WASI, CANTAB, BRIEF), with a series of bivariate correlations controlling for age, medications, and disease condition. Finally, a linear regression analysis was performed to identify potential predictors of neurocognition (WASI, BRIEF, reaction time). We explored how much of the variance in neurocognition was explained by sleep disordered breathing, controlling for age, medications, and disease condition.

Humor is a universal part of every human life. Stoic philosophers like Plato emphasized self-control and believed that laughter diminishes self-control. Mark Twain said, “Humor is tragedy plus time.” The things that people find funny are deeply connected to what they regard as right and wrong. On the one hand, being ethical requires people to follow a set of moral principles that provides rules for their actions. On the other hand, humor often requires rule breaking and norm violation. Therefore the two concepts are often incompatible. Our experiment has shown the degree to which morals and humor correlate. Participants were randomly assigned to either the moral mindset or control condition. Participants in the moral mindset condition were instructed to write a story using a set of ethical words (e.g., honest, caring), whereas the control group was instructed to write a story using amoral words (e.g., banana, elephant). We then instructed participants to create a caption to a series of pictures that allowed us to assess their sense of humor. Finally the captions were rated by three trained research assistants for how humorous they were. Results suggest that participants in the moral condition produced less humorous captions compared to those in the control condition. We are currently extending the external validity of this finding by conducting this study in a business setting by soliciting responses to the survey from employees to rate fellow coworkers for their ethics and determining how humorous they are. Our research will have significant practical implications for hiring and human resource practices because a person that is humorous will have a better chance of being hired. Paradoxically, these employees are also likely to be less ethical and undermine organizational functioning in the long-term.

Research has shown that 3 to 4-month-olds with female primary caregivers show visual preferences for female relative to male faces (Quinn, Yahr, Kuhn, Slater, & Pascalis, 2002). Facial experience is likely an important influence on these preferences. From birth, infants' experiences guide face-processing skills. This processing ability influences the development of efficient face recognition later in life. This early pattern of categorization aids in deciphering people and may have long lasting implications regarding face processing. These categorization skills may be a precursor to stereotyping later in life, so understanding how these skills develop and influence an infant’s understanding of their social world is an important area of research. The following study investigated (1) How visual preferences are influenced by real world experience with males and females, and (2) How experience affects older infants' visual preferences (i.e., 10-month-olds). To answer these queries, we tested 10-month-old Swedish infants because Sweden's public policy encourages male caregiving, therefore providing an ideal location to examine infants with a wide range of experience with male and female faces. Infants were recruited via email from a database of eligible infants at Uppsala Universitet. We asked parents to assess detailed interactions between their infant and other individuals for a period of seven days and examined visual interest toward male and female faces in the lab setting. Results indicated that the more time infants spent with non-caregiver females, the less time infants spent looking at the female faces. This pattern of preferences indicates that as infants master processing details of the female face, their attention shifts to the male face, and so begins the process of mastery in that regard. 

According to the most universally used scale for measuring psychological distress, the Holms and Rahe Readjustment Scale, becoming a widow holds top rank for the most taxing life-event. Unless specifically defined otherwise, it is generally understood that the term ‘widow’ refers to a heterosexual female. Consequently, few studies highlight the psychological distress of self-identified lesbian widows, and even fewer examine resiliency. Resiliency is the capacity to recover from difficulties, where individuals use their personal skillsets to reengage themselves within their environment. To our knowledge, no current research directly compares features of both lesbian and heterosexual widow resiliency within the same qualitative analysis. We seek to understand key features and possible differences in resiliency between self-identified lesbian and self-identified heterosexual widows. To measure resiliency, ten lesbian and ten heterosexual widows, over 45 years of age, who have been widowed for a minimum of one year will comprise our research sample. We will conduct voluntary, in person, one-on-one, tape-recorded interviews. We will analyze interview data through the constant comparative analysis method. Expected results include emergent themes related to resiliency (i.e., perception of available support systems and/or effectiveness of support systems, if any). By the day of our Symposium presentation, we will have completed our pilot report, which will include at least one interview. Our intention is to learn what types of support best aid resiliency among widows, and whether these support systems are readily accessible to lesbian widows in mainstream heterosexist U.S. society. Participants in this research will give us an understanding of the underlying attitudes and social dynamics that influence resiliency in this context, helping us identify the conceptual framework needed to best aid resiliency among lesbian and heterosexual widowed populations. This study contributes to a broader effort to explore new ways of strengthening psychological wellbeing of the lesbian population.

Using casted aluminum my work explores the relation between the chaos and order that exists within our world. In our world fractal patterns are found pervasively and govern the order of both the inanimate and animate. Fractals are patterns where a basic component is copied repeatedly within itself for an unlimited number of times. Like fractals the underlying elements of my work are simple but put together they start to overwhelm the viewer. What was once easily described shapes becomes a chaotic mass. This mass is then confined to a simplistic form. Though this confinement a sense of order is returned to the viewer.

Circannual rhythms, such as the cycling between breeding and nonbreeding seasons, provide critical timing information for organisms’ major life history events including reproduction cycles, courtship, and migratory restlessness, among other physiological and behavioral changes. Photoperiods are particularly useful indicators of seasonal change because of their consistent nature, which allows organisms to predict and prepare for the onset of the short breeding season. The growth and regression of the neural circuits that control the seasonal production of song in Gamble’s white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) are one such example of the ability of photoperiods to time changes in brain morphology, organismal physiology, and behavior. As sparrows transition into breeding conditions, testosterone levels increase, driving an increase in the volume and neuron number of one song nucleus HVC (proper name) and an increase in song production rate and stereotypy. These seasonal changes can be replicated in a laboratory environment through strict light, temperature, and hormone regimes. However, variability in HVC volume and neuron number, testosterone levels, and song production of sparrows during the replicated breeding and nonbreeding seasons has been observed. The endogenous seasonal rhythm has been observed to persist in constant laboratory conditions across taxa, and thus may persist in white-crowned sparrows as well. We tested whether endogenous seasonal rhythms may contribute to the observed variability between individuals. By examining the persistence of an endogenous seasonal rhythm the measurement of several morphological and physiological traits associated with breeding seasons in sparrows maintained throughout the year in controlled laboratory nonbreeding conditions was collected. Finding seasonal-like differences in morphology and physiology of birds housed in constant nonbreeding conditions would suggest the need for additional experimental controls in future studies of songbirds in order to prevent variability due to endogenous seasonal rhythms.

A major public health aim is to effectively intervene with college students who are irresponsibly using alcohol. Defensiveness is a response that is often associated with this kind of behavior change intervention, and evidence suggests that mitigating a student’s defensiveness during this process can help increase the effectiveness of the alcohol intervention. This is a notion that is of great interest to university administrators, however it remains unclear how to best approach such students in order to minimize their defensiveness. In addition, it is also unknown with what accuracy students perceive the intentions of the alcohol intervention process, which is another factor that may contribute to their defensiveness towards an intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate two factors that may contribute to a student's defensiveness towards the intervention process: the way in which they are approached when they violate alcohol policy on campus, and how accurately they understand alcohol policy and the consequences associated with violating it. Twenty five University of Washington students were interviewed to collect this qualitative data. Participants’ quantity and frequency of alcohol use over 28 days was also collected in order to observe if levels of alcohol consumption was related to different opinions on the topics of interest. Content analysis was used for identifying themes present in participants' interview responses, while participants' alcohol use data was analyzed with descriptive statistics. 

We analyzed therapists' skill at delivering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) before and after receiving an evidence based statewide training and consultation program called CBT-Plus. Specifically, we observed how therapists' attitudes toward general evidence based practice (EBP) prior to the training affected their performance--operationalized as their score on a mock therapy session (role play)-- throughout the study. People's attitudes can have a direct impact on all types and aspects of performance. Examining this relationship in CBT-Plus will allow us to address the topic of attitude in future training practices and improve the implementation process of the treatment. Therapists who started the training with a negative attitude performed overall lower on the role plays than therapists who started with a more positive attitude. These therapists also show less improvement in skill over time. A more positive attitude towards the treatment prior to training leads to higher skill due to higher commitment to training practices. To compare the therapists based on attitude, we sorted them into low, medium, or high attitude groups based from infromation from baseline questionaires. For each group, we collected their role play scores across three different time points (before, right after, and six months after training). We compared the groups for any significant differences in overall performance scores and improvement. If personal ideas and attitudes surrounding EBP are shown to have an effect on performance when providing treatment, more attention should be given to improving therapists' perception of CBT-Plus through education. 

Our perception of the color of an object is strongly affected by the other nearby stimuli, i.e., the object’s context. A yellow stimulus changes to brown when surrounded by bright stimuli; this change comes with a shift of red-green balance where more red light is needed to produce balanced brown and more green light is needed for balanced yellow. However, the perceptual or physiological nature of these effects and their relation to other brightness and color context effects remain poorly understood. Our project explores aspects of the spatial and temporal dependence of both the induction of brown and the accompanying red-green shift. Our study measures: (a) the threshold of brown by adjusting the luminance of a test stimulus to find the light level that appeared pure brown and (b) the red-green balance of brown or yellow stimuli by varying the red and green lights creating the stimulus. For both measures, the test stimulus is a foveally-fixated 2° diameter disk; subjects are presented with a flashing (30 or 1000 ms) stimulus, surrounded by full-screen black or single concentric wide white ring that is either contiguous with the test or has a gap ranging from 0.25° to 3.0° in width between the stimulus and the ring. We investigate spatial influence by varying gap width and temporal influence by varying stimulus duration. Based on studies of brightness perception, we predict that brown will be stronger when bright context features are near the test stimulus and the test duration is shorter. In any case, the results will help us to understand the perceptual and physiological mechanisms underlying the induction of brown and the accompanying shift of red-green balance.

Previous literature has illustrated that Asian culture emphasizes interdependence, family assistance, and fulfillment of social roles, while mainstream American culture emphasizes independence, individual choice, and autonomy. Do bicultural Asian-Americans face conflict when their interdependent and independent value systems directly collide? The present study examined the psychological consequences of simultaneously holding both interdependent (family values) and independent (autonomy) cultural considerations for bicultural Asian-Americans, as compared to monocultural European-Americans. Participants (N=121 European Americans, N=70 Asian-Americans) were presented with vignettes that required them to choose between family values and the self as a way of measuring conflict between incongruent cultural values. As predicted, Asian-Americans were more distressed when making the decision to go against the family as compared to European-Americans, suggesting that they do identify with Asian values. However, Asian-Americans felt equally distressed as European-Americans when deciding to go against the self for the family, suggesting that they have also adopted American values. The differences in how bad they felt were partially explained by interdependent and independent self-construals, and attitudes about respecting family. Our results suggest one source of distress and conflict, which Asian-American youth are particularly susceptible to when it comes to decision-making, as well as some of the factors that explain that discomfort and psychological distress.

While it is acknowledged that individuals of intersecting marginalized identities experience compounded prejudices, most of the research on intersecting identities has focused on the intersections of gender and race. In two studies, we seek to explore the intersection of weight and race on perceptions of American identity. This study builds on previous research findings that Asian Americans are perceived as less American than people of any other racial group. Furthermore, because Americans are stereotyped as overweight, we hypothesized that heavier Asian Americans would be perceived as more American and less likely to be in the US illegally than their thinner counterparts. Photos of Asian American and White American men were edited to create heavier and thinner versions of each man. University of Washington students viewed either a heavier or thinner version of one of the men and assessed his American identity and perceived documentation status. The heavier Asian American men were perceived as more American and less likely to be in the US without documentation than thinner versions of the same men. Weight did not influence perceptions of White men’s American identity or documentation status. These studies demonstrate that Asian Americans who gain weight may surprisingly be buffered from prejudice directed at those who are perceived as less American.

America welcomes people from all over the world, enriching the country with a diverse range of cuisines. Unfortunately, Americans also have some of the highest rates of obesity in the world. We are interested in whether this diversity in cuisines might be contributing to the obesity epidemic. Specifically, our study examined whether having diverse options of ethnic cuisines influences people’s decisions to eat out. We hypothesized that people will be more likely to eat out if they were given diverse options of ethnic cuisines. Psychology students (N = 330) were asked to imagine they were moving to a new city and viewed a map that either had a diverse option of ethnic cuisines (2 Mexican, 2 Italian, 2 Chinese, and 2 American), only Chinese food, or only American food. Participants then indicated the number of times they would eat out in a week and how much they wanted to try all of the restaurants. Participants who were given diverse options of ethnic cuisines were more likely to report they would eat out and want to try all of the restaurants than participants who were given a limited option of ethnic cuisines. Thus, the results from this study support our hypothesis that having diverse cuisine options causes people to eat out more. Future research should examine whether diverse options lead to weight gain because of this greater desire to eat out.

Extradyadic involvement (EDI) refers to romantic intimacies outside of a primary marital or dating dyad. Despite their youth, a considerable number of young adults have engaged in EDI based on data drawn from U.S. samples (Wiederman & Hurd, 1999). In cases of unmarried dating couples, EDI may harm young adults’ emotional and physical health as well as represent risks for infidelity issues in later marriage (Maddox Shaw, Rhoades, Allen, Stanley, & Markman, 2013). With a purpose of providing suggestions to strengthen young adults’ dating relationships and to evaluate potential risks of EDI, the current study examines 3 predictors of EDI inclination in college romantic relationships including: 1) adult attachment type, 2) relationship satisfaction, and 3) the quality of alternatives. A total number of 100 participants recruited from a local community college completed a demographic questionnaire, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and the Experience in Close Relationship Scale-Short form (Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Vogel, 2007) which measure relationship satisfaction and adult attachment type respectively. To evaluate the role quality of alternatives plays in EDI inclination, participants also answered questions about a vignette designed to help them imagine an EDI situation. A hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data. Consistent with previous findings, adult attachment types of either high anxiety or avoidance were hypothesized to predict higher EDI inclination. Lower relationship satisfaction was expected to predict EDI desires. Moreover, quality of alternatives was hypothesized to show the most significant predictive value of inclination of extradyadic physical intimacy among the three factors.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has long been misunderstood and stigmatized. Some of the misunderstanding is whether the perceived permanence or severity of the disorder differs between men and women and between the young and elderly. This study seeks to examine the stigmatization associated with BPD diagnosis, asking do people believe that BPD is an untreatable mental illness? There is evidence that the media and mental health community perpetuate stigmas attached to the Borderline diagnosis (Aviram, Brodsky & Stanley, 2006). The goal of this research was to examine people’s attitudes towards BPD patients. College students living in Washington 18-50 years of age were recruited to provide data through an online survey. Participants read one of four vignettes about the life of a patient with BPD; the patient was identified either as a man or woman in his/her 20’s or 60’s. Participants then answered questions regarding their attitudes toward the patient. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to analyze the data. It was hypothesized that there would be main effects for both gender and age with women and older adults rated as less likely to recover and more culpable. It was also hypothesized that there would be an interaction effect in which elderly women are thought to have the poorest likelihood of recovery. Potentially, the results could be used to increase awareness of age and sex stigmatization of BPD patients.

Race is generally talked about as discrete categories, such as “Black” or “White,” despite the growing multiracial population that challenges this notion of discrete racial categories. In a recent study, twice as many people categorized Obama as “Black” rather than “Multiracial” despite his multiracial heritage. However, categorization may be less distinct for age. As age changes over time, people may perceive age as existing on a continuum. Do people implicitly perceive age less categorically than race? To test this we digitally morphed a young face into an old face to create seven faces that systematically varied in degree of age, so as to depict a person who ages over time. Similarly we digitally morphed a characteristically black face into a characteristically white face to create seven faces that varied in degree of racially characteristic traits, as a spectrum of seven faces for race. Participants completed an implicit categorization task for both race and age, wherein people quickly identified if one of seven faces randomly presented was “the same as the last face.” We examined confusion patterns participants had for these faces as indicators of implicit categorization processes. If participants confused faces in the middle of the spectrum less than on either end of the spectrum, we inferred that there is a two-category representation for that spectrum of faces, with the category boundary lying between the two faces being least confused. Contrastedly, when all seven faces were confused at similar rates, we inferred that there was a less categorical, more continuous representation of the faces. We predicted that participants would implicitly perceive age less categorically than race. By determining how we perceive different social categories, this research is a first step in understanding how perceptions of social categories influences our behavior towards others.

MicroRNAs are a group of highly conserved non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in regulating networks of genes. MicroRNAs bind to target mRNAs and can inhibit translation and/or facilitate degradation. One of these miRNAs, microRNA-21, plays an important role in kidney disease as it has been shown to increase in animal models of disease. Recent studies have shown that microRNA-21 promotes interstitial kidney disease with fibrosis by silencing metabolic pathways and by promoting reactive oxygen species formation. Mice with microRNA-21 deletion show a decrease in kidney fibrosis.

Our hypothesis is that cells isolated from microRNA-21 knock out mice will have decreased expression of cytokines associated with fibrosis. I will look at the expression of reactive oxygen species by live imaging of cells where microRNA-21 has been blocked. Then I will use quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blots to analyze protein levels for known molecules associated with fibrosis and inflammation. We expect to see that cells treated with anti-microRNA-21 have a reduction in reactive oxygen species, leading to less fibrosis and inflammation. Blocking microRNA-21 is a potential new therapy to combat kidney disease.

Light of a single wavelength looks yellow on a black background and looks brown on a white background. Through simultaneous color contrast and context, adding white stimuli to a black background can also induce brownness in the test light. Along with this change from yellow to brown is a shift in the proportion of red and green lights needed to produce balanced brown compared to balanced yellow. These perceptual changes reveal differences in neural processing for bright vs. dark colors. The purpose of this study is to discover how the amount and spatial distribution of white light influences both the strength of brown and the red-green balance of a test stimulus. It is hypothesized that the larger the area of white and the closer the white is to the test, the stronger the effects will be. To measure these effects, observers make red/green balance settings for the yellow/brown test stimuli and set the test stimulus to the highest luminance level at which it appears purely brown. To test the hypothesis, I varied the spatial dimensions of two types of stimuli surrounding a 2°-diameter test disk on a black background: thin rings consisted of a 0.1° white ring surrounding the test at distances from 0° to 0.75°; and segmented rings consisted of a 5° diameter ring split into 2, 4 and 8 segments with different ratios of white:black, at 1° or 0.25° away from the test stimulus. Preliminary results indicate that the strength of brown and shift in red/green balance are influenced primarily by the total amount of surrounding white and not by the proximity of the thin rings, nor the number of white segments. These results improve our understanding of the perceptual and neural processing of brown in a complex environment.

 Self-affirmation, including value affirmation, interventions help people to view identity threats in a larger context, which makes these threats psychologically less significant. It also gives people spaces to focus on other tasks as well as improve their performance on tasks. Some previous studies have demonstrated self-affirmation can help students to enhance their academic performance in both short and long time periods. Building upon the findings of previous studies, this project seeks to expand on self-affirmation interventions in educational settings. We hypothesize that self-affirmation can make individuals more persistent (less likely to give up) on difficult tasks in short time periods. Additionally, we hypothesize that the effect will be strongest for international students, who may be engaging in substantial identity formation in their new educational environment. To test our hypotheses, we will set up an experiment examining the effect of values affirmation on students’ persistence on a math test. Participants, from a local community college, will be randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group who will complete the self-affirmation intervention writing task, and a control group who will complete a placebo writing task. After participants complete the writing task, they will begin a specially designed math test with seemingly easy but unsolvable questions. All participants will be free to leave (give up) at any time during the test, and their time spent on the test will be recorded. We expect the experimental group (self-affirmation intervention) will persist longer compared to the control group (placebo writing). Within the experiment group, international students are expected to persist even longer compared to the local students.

Stimulation of rod photoreceptors has been shown to change the perception of hues seen for bright stimuli surrounded by black. It has also been shown that when the surround is made bright, the stimuli appear dark, and yellow becomes brown. Few aspects of these dark colors have been studied. Past research explains the existence of four unique hues (red, green, blue, and yellow) organized into two dimensions of opponent-color pairs. These unique hues are perceived to be pure colors, without influence from any other colors occurring in their composition. An individual’s perceptual “unique hue” is defined by equilibrium for red or green (a blue-yellow balance) and for blue or yellow (a red-green balance). Rod hue biases occur under dark-adapted conditions when rod signals strengthen one direction of the balance of a unique hue over the other. Observers adjusted the color of 2-4°-diameter disks presented 7° away from visual fixation, in the presence of either an all-black surround alone or a black surround with a white ring around the disk. Rod influence was measured as the difference in color settings for the same stimuli measured either after complete dark adaptation (maximizes rod influence) or after cones, but not rods, have recovered from a bleaching light (minimizes rod influence). Prior studies have shown that for bright stimuli, rods create a green bias for yellow, a red bias for blue, and a blue bias for both green and red. We find that the bright ring darkens the test stimuli, changes yellow to brown, and reverses the rod influence to become a red shift. Results for the other 3 test colors are pending. These results suggest that the weighting of signals from both cones and rods differs for the neural pathways underlying perception of bright vs. dark stimuli.

Understanding the relationship between student engagement and academic motivation is important when considering the experience of undergraduate students. We hypothesized that the more students engaged with the university, the more motivated they would be. Participants were invited via class appeals and Facebook posts to complete an online survey on SurveyMonkey. Eighty-three participants fully completed the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE), the Academic Motivation Scale (Wabash University, 2009), and demographic questions (major, gender, cumulative GPA, year in school, and graduation date). Regression analyses showed four subfactors of engagement to be significantly related to motivation. The first three subfactors fall under the NSSE’s theme “Academic Challenge,” while student-faculty interaction falls under the theme “Experiences with Faculty.” Thus, those who were engaged academically and with professors were more academically motivated. The findings may have implications for how universities engage and retain students, and the effectiveness of programs used to motivate students academically.

Previous research on young adults shows a negative relationship in college-aged students between alcohol-related behaviors and religiosity, giving evidence that religiosity acts as a protective barrier. Verifying that religiosity acts as protective behavior allows for a clearer understanding of possible strong deterrents towards risky alcohol-related behavior. To date no study has investigated religiosity and alcohol use in both the U.S. and Sweden, an international sample that is predominantly Christian and non-religious. The present analyses aims to compare the U.S. and Sweden in religious affiliation and alcohol use. Participants completed a baseline online survey as part of a larger trial that assessed risk behavior in adolescents. In the present analyses, the severity of alcohol use was measured with the 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, alcohol related negative consequences was measured with the 18-item Young Adult Alcohol Problems Screening Test, and frequency of religious practices was measured with one-item. We predict a negative relationship between alcohol use and alcohol related negative consequences and religion. Regression analyses were run assessing the contribution religious affiliation has on alcohol use related problems. Analyses revealed a significant main effect of religious affiliation on AUDIT and YAAPST, such that religious affiliation was related to lower alcohol use severity and related negative consequences. This further establishes religiosity as a possible protective measure to alcohol related behaviors. Thus, religious affiliation may prevent alcohol use in adolescents. One limitation is how narrowly we tested religiosity. Future research might include investigation of religious groups such as “youth groups” or religious service attendance and alcohol use to activities holding similar properties to religious groups and behaviors.

Research has shown that among alcohol dependent individuals, there is a positive correlation between stress and alcohol craving and that coping motives for drinking are associated with increased alcohol consumption and related problems. However, the relationship between drinking motives, stress, and alcohol cravings has not been investigated in undergraduates. We hypothesize that the more stress people report feeling and the more they endorse drinking to cope, the more they will crave alcohol and experience more alcohol-related problems. Participants (N=506; ages 18-20 and 1st or 2nd-year undergraduates) completed a web-based survey as a part of a larger study. Measures included self-report assessments of stress, coping motives for drinking, alcohol craving, and alcohol-related problems. Both coping motives and stress were significantly and positively related to alcohol related problems. Inconsistent with our hypotheses, stress was a better predictor of alcohol-related problems in people who reported lower (versus higher) coping motives. Coping motives were positively related to craving, but stress was not. Finally, coping motives and stress did not interact to predict alcohol craving. Thus, results were not as expected. These findings suggest that coping motives and stress do not interact to predict alcohol cravings or alcohol-related problems in first and second year undergraduates. Sample differences may account for these unexpected results –for example, nearly half of our sample did not drink alcohol in the last three months. Similarly, those in our sample who do drink may not drink as much, may not have drank for as many years, and/or may not have experienced the same level of negative consequences as published studies of alcohol dependent individuals.

On a day-to-day basis, animals are faced with many decisions concerning survival. Among such decisions, animals must sometimes choose between a small, immediately available reward and a larger delayed reward. When both the large and small rewards are available immediately, animals across species consistently select the large reward. However, as the delay to the large reward increases, their preference for the large reward decreases, suggesting that the value of the large reward is ‘discounted’ by the delay preceding it. While this phenomenon, called delay discounting, has been well characterized behaviorally, less is known about the neural mechanisms that underlie the behavior. Specifically, the role of the central cholinergic system has only just begun to be explored. A recent rodent study demonstrated that systemic administration of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists (scopolamine and atropine) caused animals to exhibit reduced preference for the large, delayed reward-increased discounting behavior. While that result suggests the cholinergic system is important for normal delay discounting, it doesn’t pinpoint essential cholinergic sources. Therefore, in this study, we were interested in determining the necessity of a major cholinergic center providing output of acetylcholine to the cortex, the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm), to normal delay discounting behavior in rats. To test this, rats were surgically implanted with bilateral cannula targeting the nbm prior to training in a delayed discounting task. The task consisted of a series of choices between a small reward available immediately and a large reward available after some delay (systematically increased throughout the session). Once stable performance was achieved, we injected a mixture of GABA_A (musicmol) and GABA_B (baclofen) agonists in order to reversibly inactivate the nbm. Preliminary results show that inactivation of the nbm increases delay discounting behavior and suggests that the nbm and its cholinergic output are necessary for normal discounting behavior.

College student drinking continues to be a concern due to high consumption rates and negative consequences associated with excess use. Both male and female students are at risk for heavy alcohol use and related consequences. Symptoms of depression are also reported frequently amongst college students, particularly female students who tend to be at higher risk than males for depression. Evidence suggests that depressive symptoms are often correlated with increased alcohol use. Alcohol consumption has also been related to perceived social norms of peer drinking, i.e. the perceived amount of drinking that other students and peers typically engage in. Injunctive norms, which refer to perceived approval or disapproval of a behavior by other students, may be highly regarded by students as important for decisions regarding their own behavior. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that this relationship may shift with an increase in depressive symptomology in females. Injunctive norms-indicating approval from others-have been linked to increased alcohol use in this population. Prior research also suggests that female drinking tends to be more strongly correlated with typical same-sex student alcohol injunctive norms more than their male counterparts. Thus the proposed study examines the moderating role of depressive symptoms and gender on the relationship between injunctive norms and alcohol use in college-age students. The goal of this study is to further understand the nature of the relationship between injunctive norms and alcohol use, and whether depressive symptoms enhance risk from injunctive norms in females more than males.

This study is using Hamilton Search (HS) memory task and Set breaking (SB) task to assess working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition control of a variety of domestic dog breeds reflecting differences in evolutionary lineage. HS and SB have been tested on young pigtail macaque monkeys as well as other species. The HS task consisted of each dog searching 4 containers side by side to find a randomly placed food reward in 5 sessions of 16 trials each. SB followed HS and the location of the food was fixed based on performance in the HS trials. Trials continued until a dog reached criterion, establishing that they had learned the position of the food. The latency and search pattern was recorded to determine performance of the task. Results compared to pigtail macaque monkeys as well as across dog breeds. The primary variables analyzed were number of containers examined, probability of selecting an outer container and right/left side bias. Preliminary results show that dogs in general are approaching this task in a remarkably systematic manner, searching from one end to the other, which is considerably different than the performance of macaques. This approach leads to few recheck errors that, rather than indicating perfect memory, actually reflects an efficient alternative to memory. Results of this study can be used to establish the validity of these tasks, and provide interesting new perspectives on both optimal foraging strategy models and the refinement of training techniques.  

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including previously diagnosed Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, are all biologically based neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterized by an increased lack of social communication, social interaction skills, and restricted, repetitive behaviors or interests. College students who are either diagnosed with ASD or have similar behavioral traits might have a tougher time coping with the demands of a college lifestyle. In the past, little empirical data have shown if there is a link between Autistic traits found in the general population of college students and academic factors. For my project, I will briefly survey approximately 200 college students using similar questions taken from the Autism Quotient and Social Responsiveness Scale to test and see if the presence of Autistic traits affects college students academic performance and adjustment to college life. Additionally, I will interview students who are registered with Center for Disability Services with an ASD diagnosis at Everett Community College to better understand their challenges. Because of the difficulties Autistic students have to face in a college campus, such as social communication, navigating the campus, and a change in their once regular routines, it is hypothesized students who display Autistic like characteristics will decline in their academic performance compared to those who show an absence of Autistic traits. Suggestions for transitioning and coping to college life are discussed

As college education becomes more accessible, it has become important to examine particular difficulties faced by the increasing numbers of first-generation college students. Students who are the first in their family to go to college often enter into the university from a working-class background, where interdependent norms of family assistance and cooperation are emphasized. In contrast, university norms emphasize the independent, middle-class value of individual development and personal freedom. Do first-generation college students identify with both sets of cultural values after entering college? If so, do they feel conflict when having to choose between two courses of action, one embodying interdependent family values and the other embodying independent individualist values? Participants evaluated several vignettes in which the decision to uphold family obligations was directly pitted against the decision to pursue personal autonomy. They imagined both going with family preferences at the expense of the self, as well as going against family preferences in favor of the self. Participants then rated their emotional response for both decisions. We hypothesized that holding the dual considerations of their working-class home culture and the middle-class university culture would lead first-generation college students to experience more distress during this decision-making process. In contrast, continuing-generation college students, who are more likely to come from middle-class backgrounds valuing independence, would not be expected to experience a mismatch in cultural values and thus would feel less distressed when having to choose between family and the self. This work will shed light on the cultural challenges that first-generation college students face, and may help identify yet another barrier to first-generation college student success.

Adolescence through emerging adulthood is a peak period for risk taking and impulsivity matched with a significant increase in emotional reactivity. This increase in stress response makes those in this age group vulnerable to psychopathology and act more impulsively. One way to diminish this is using an effective mean of coping. Mindfulness meditation has been found to increase attentional control, cognitive control, and executive function, and these increases may reduce the tendency toward impulsive action when distressed. This current study will be comparing focused breathing –a component of mindfulness meditation– to rumination and unfocused attention to investigate whether focused breathing is an effective strategy for reducing impulsive tendencies. Using an expected n = 40 undergraduate students, we will test whether focused breathing produces reductions in impulsiveness and reward sensitivity following a stress induction, compared to a neutral or a rumination condition.

The aim of this study was to further the understanding of mechanisms that underlie the pruritic and antipruritic effects of kappa opioid receptor drugs. The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) has been studied for its potential therapeutic benefits. It has been previously shown that the kappa opioid receptor antagonist, 5’-guanidinonaltrindole (GNTI), causes compulsive, hind-leg scratching in mice, while the kappa opioid receptor agonist, nalfurafine, inhibits this pruritic effect. There are applications for this antipruritic effect in medicine, to counteract symptoms in kidney-failure patients. By learning more about the mechanisms of this anti-pruritic effect, better drugs can be developed in the future with increased specificity and decreased side effects. We pre-treated male C57/BL6 mice with either saline or nalfurafine (0.05mg/kg, s.c. flank), and challenged them 20 minutes later with 5’-GNTI (0.03mg/kg, s.c. behind the neck) or saline. The number of hind-leg scratches in the 30 minutes following GNTI injection were counted as the measure of itch. We compared the results between kappa opioid receptor (KOR) knock-out mice, mu opioid receptor (MOR) knock-out mice, and wild-type mice, to determine the role of KOR and MOR in GNTI-induced itch and nalfurafine inhibition of itch. We concluded that while the pruritic effects of 5’-GNTI are not mediated by KOR or MOR, the antipruritic effects of nalfurafine was KOR dependent.

 In the last ten years, social media use and user base have exponentially increased in prevalence and interface with everyday social activities. In part this increase can be attributed to the advent of mobile web technology. Currently, the popular assumption that social media use causes higher levels of anxiety in users is trending throughout media platforms. A 2013 study by Ethan Kross, of University of Michigan, predicts Facebook usage may issue a decline in subjective well-being in young adults. Our study was designed to examine any association of anxiety levels between users and their most frequented social media platforms. Participants were recruited via various social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, Snapchat, Instagram, and SMS messaging and directed to an online self-administered anxiety survey. The study also requested participants to field several questions surveying their own social media usage and activity. For validity purposes, the order of the anxiety survey and social media usage questionnaire were alternated between participants whose biographical data remained anonymous. Nominal age and gender data were reported in planned descriptives. We used the Zung Anxiety Scale (S.A.S.) which quickly quantifies levels of anxiety making it ideal for collecting data for our study. We anticipate that our results will reflect no relative difference between anxiety levels of participants and which social media platform they indicate as their primary channel(s). Results from this study may direct methods or areas for future research on the topics of social media and technology use and anxiety or mood disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. Statistics show that one in every 52 boys are diagnosed with Autism while only one in 252 girls are diagnosed with the disorder. Research shows that girls display lower communication skills independent of their age and cognitive functioning compared to their male counterparts. This study aims to identify if these gender differences in language ability can be identified prior to diagnosis. In this study, infants at high or low risk for autism were assessed via the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS) at 12 and 18 months of age to identify various communication modes used by each infant. 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. Infants were evaluated for elevated autism symptoms at 24 months of age and differences in rates of communicative acts in males with elevated ASD at 24 months were compared to female infants with elevated ASD. We hypothesize that girls who go on to develop ASD will display significantly lower rates of communication acts at 12 and 18 months of age across all three communication domains compared to boys who go on to develop ASD. This study will contribute to a better understanding of how these symptoms might be different based on the sex of the infant. Understanding of how symptoms differ in males and females may have implications for the low rate of recognition of the disorder in females.

Self-regulation plays a significant role in an individual’s behavior and has been linked to various psychopathologies. The Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) and the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) are two biopsychological systems that are hypothesized to affect approach and avoidance-motivated behaviors. The BIS/BAS systems provide one framework that can explain the self-regulatory mechanism. In addition, studies have found that mindfulness-based therapies can improve one’s self-regulation by increasing consciousness and awareness; however, there has been relatively little research on the effects of mindfulness training on the BIS/BAS systems. We recruited 17 youths aged 15-19 from a juvenile correction facility who are expected to possess extreme BIS/BAS levels, and placed them in a 6-week mindfulness-based intervention. We collected self-reported data on mindfulness and BIS/BAS level before and after the intervention. Using paired t-tests, we will test whether BIS/BAS and Mindfulness changed from baseline to a 1 month followup assessment.

Reward presentation reinforces behaviors and increases the likelihood of a particular behavior occurring in the future. This increase in behavior is one of the bases underlying reward-based learning. Reward-based learning involves several brain areas, of particular interest to this study is the periaqueductal grey (PAG). The PAG is anatomically linked to other brain structures that are involved in reward processing, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA). When presented with rewards and novel stimuli, neurons in the VTA exhibit burst firing (brief periods of high activity), and the intensity of this firing is modulated by reward size and expectation. It is possible that incoming glutamatergic signals (excitatory signals) from the PAG contribute to this burst firing as it is the third heaviest subcortical supplier of glutamate to the VTA; however this has not been previously investigated. Previous studies have recorded burst firing in the VTA during a working memory task on a radial 8-arm maze. These past studies also showed velocity correlated firing by VTA neuron of rats as they approached or retreated from rewards. The current study had rats perform the same working memory task, but recorded neural activity from the PAG to examine whether the PAG showed similar burst firing patterns as the VTA. Recordings of single unit (one cell) responses were collected from the PAG as rats performed the task under different conditions, including omission of expected rewards or expected reward magnitude reversal. The rat’s velocity as it was approaching and retreating from the reward was also recorded. It was found that a subset of PAG neurons did show reward-related firing, similar to that of the VTA, and we anticipate also finding velocity correlates. Thus, this study will better characterize the function of the PAG and the neural processes through which reward-based learning occur.

It’s important that the public heeds warnings issued by the local government during a natural disaster, despite costs associated with taking preventative action which are not guaranteed to have been necessary if the threat fails to occur. This can lead to a low compliance rate for warnings issued for natural disasters. To begin to understand the characteristics of warning-compliant citizens, we aim to see if previously experiencing a catastrophe influences future behavior. We believe the disaster would be more salient and easily recalled the next time a warning is issued, potentially making people more cautious. This is called the availability heuristic (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). In a controlled computer simulation, we ask participants to act as a road maintenance company president and judge whether to take precautionary action in preparation for freezing roads. Each of 90 trials will represent a single night, and one or three of these trials will be manipulated in the middle of the experimental sequence so participants experience a large and sudden temperature drop from what was forecasted. For those trials, we expect participants not to take precautionary action, leading to a large penalty. We then anticipate that after experiencing these “Big Miss” trials that the participants will take precautionary measures more frequently, because of the activation of the availability heuristic. If this happens, we may propose that victims of previous disasters are more cautious with similar scenarios in the future, and we may then move forward in finding ways to create the same mentality in residents of disaster warning zones.

 Eptesicus fuscus, an insectivorous bat, vocalizes extensively in social communities and during nightly foraging. In their natural environment, bats are frequently exposed to calls from other members of their species. These calls are processed in the bats’ central auditory system, which is highly specialized and adept at processing sounds within the frequency range of its own species’ vocalizations. To investigate the effects of altering the characteristics of the calls that bats were exposed to during postnatal development, we reversibly deafened infant bats with earplugs, presented calls that were higher or lower in frequency range than normal calls, and looked at calls emitted by the bats and physiological changes in the inferior colliculus (IC), the auditory midbrain center. We hypothesized that bats exposed to calls that differed in frequency range from normal calls would learn to vocalize in a frequency range consistent with that to which they were exposed and that there might be a corresponding alteration of the frequency map in the IC. Experimental pups’ earplugs were removed only during the presentation of pre-recorded bat calls that were manipulated in frequency. Following call presentation sessions, vocalizations were recorded. After eight weeks, electrophysiology was used to study the activity of neurons in the IC. The IC is organized tonotopically, meaning that neurons that respond to a particular frequency are grouped together, forming a systematically organized frequency map. While recording neuronal activity, auditory stimuli were presented to determine the preferred frequency of neurons. Using data from recording sites throughout the IC, we found that the tonotopic organization of the experimental pups differed from that of control pups. This implies that after birth, the auditory centers of the brain remain plastic for a period of time and that communication in Eptesicus fuscus is not a purely innate behavior.