Trustworthiness is an invariant characteristic that is independent of changes in emotional expressions. However, the perception of trustworthiness is highly varied and is not often accurately portrayed. As an attempt to understand what causes variations in perceived facial trustworthiness, participants were asked to rate trustworthiness of facial expressions (sad, happy, neutral) presented individually and as a single unit. Results found participants viewed happy expressions as more trustworthy, but when presented with all emotional expressions, neutral expressions were more likely to be used as an indication of trustworthiness. Overall, this study suggests neutrality is a better indicator of personality traits.

In recent years there has been much speculation about how events that occur during childhood can have a lasting impact on a child’s development. There have been many studies that attempt to look at how the impact of child stress affects different parts of development: physical development, psychological development, and social-emotional development. The purpose of this research was to observe and learn how stress affects emotional and social development and consequently impacts the child's risk for mental health issues. Although stress is a multidimensional concept and can be measured by biological responses, the presence of challenging environmental factors, and self-reports, for the purpose of this research stress was defined as the presence of adverse environmental factors. For development, I specifically observed attachment and emotional regulation. My focus on mental health was internalizing psychopathology, especially anxiety and depression. To gain a better understanding of the emotional social development of a child suffering from toxic stress, I looked at multiple studies already done that observed the effects of stress on a child’s social-emotional development. I also used conclusions drawn from experience gained while working at the Stress and Development Lab directed by Dr. Katie McLaughlin. For this approach I reviewed papers that demonstrated a connection between stress and mental health, between stress and development, and between development and mental health. I also looked for and identified factors that showed evidence of mitigating the effects of stress on mental health and development. These factors are referred to as protective factors. Identifying the aspects of development influenced by toxic stress and the mitigating factors is crucial to creating and implementing intervention techniques to promote healthy development and to decreasing the risk of internalizing psychopathology.

There has been a clear rise in diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in recent years: it is estimated that 1 in 68 children now have ASD. Thus, there is a pressing need to detect early indicators of ASD to help create new early intervention programs with the hope of optimizing the lives of individuals with ASD. One of the most distinct features of ASD is a deficit in social skills. This study investigated infants’ social attention in relation to parental levels of ASD-like characteristics. Specifically, we measured parental levels of the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), which refers to an individual’s ASD-like characteristics, such as social deficits, repetitive behaviors, and social language deficits that are milder than clinically relevant symptoms. Parents were given a Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). A high BAP score, indicating more ASD-like characteristics, was hypothesized to affect how parents engage with their children, including less flexibility with their social communication styles, which may in turn affect children’s social development. Infants were observed in a highly controlled laboratory task in which they watched social and nonsocial videos, followed by an interactive task that consisted of playing with a parent and toys. Infants’ social and non-social attention was coded from these tasks. It was hypothesized that high parental BAP scores would be related to lower levels of infants’ social attention. The results will be discussed with regard to current theories of the sources of social deficits in children with ASD. The findings from this study could help to further identify individuals at risk for later development of autism within the first year of life, allowing for early implementation of intervention programs.

Childhood cancer is the highest leading cause of disease-related deaths among youth between the ages of 0 and 19 in the United States. Although many children afflicted with pediatric cancer recover, research has shown that the diagnosis and treatment experience puts significant stress on children and their families. There are many family subsystems that may be at risk, including the marital relationship. Findings regarding pediatric cancer’s effect on the marriage have been mixed, and there is a need to identify factors that predict which families in particular may be at risk for poor marital adjustment. Research has indicated that how a partner responds to emotions can highly impact the quality of the marriage. The Parent Meta Emotion Philosophy (PMEP) refers to parents’ thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences regarding their emotions, as well as the emotions of their children and others. This study examines PMEP as a predictor of individual differences in marital adjustment in the context of pediatric cancer. Participants consisted of 176 families recruited as part of a larger study from two children’s hospitals in urban areas of the Northwest and Southeast United States. Caregivers completed self-report questionnaires of marital adjustment each month over the first year following diagnosis. Caregivers also participated in a meta-emotion interview, which assessed dimensions of PMEP for emotions of sadness, anger, and fear. Findings suggest that on average, marital adjustment increased over the first year after the child’s diagnosis. In addition, dimensions of PMEP were examined as predictors of trajectories of the marital relationship over the first year. Finally, we discuss and emphasize the importance of examining predictors of variability in the trajectory of marital functioning in pediatric cancer, and how to increase assessment, prevention, and intervention efforts for such at risk families.

It is known that diseases such as ADHD and nicotine addiction are linked to dysfunction in cholinergic signaling and accompanied by increased levels of impulsivity, which begs the question – is there a direct relationship between the cholinergic system and impulsive behavior? To answer that question we began by determining whether systemic administration of atropine, a muscarinic antagonist that blocks cholinergic signaling, would increase impulsive decision-making in rats. We found that it does increase impulsive decision-making, and we are currently trying to determine whether atropine’s effect can be explained by its impact on other psychological processes. For this reason, we performed an experiment to test whether administration of atropine also impacts working memory performance in rats. Specifically, we tested 8 Long Evans rats using a delayed alternation working memory task on a T-maze, which asks rats to correctly remember the location of a reward after a delay. The task consisted of 24 pairs of trials; each trial pair had a forced choice trial and a free choice trial with a 4, 8, or 16 second delay preceding the free choice trial. Once the rats displayed 80% choice accuracy over 3 consecutive days, the 3 day injection protocol began – rats were injected with either saline or atropine, retrained for 1 day, and then injected with the remaining solution on the final day (with solution order counterbalanced). Rats injected with atropine performed no differently than rats injected with saline, suggesting that atropine does not impact working memory. This supports the claim that working memory impairment is not responsible for the relationship seen between impulsive decision-making and atropine.

Some physiological markers, such as heart rate, may be related to the development of later intrusive memories following a distressing event. Several analogue experimental studies have found a relationship between lower heart rate and an increased number of subsequent intrusions. When looking at a trauma-exposed sample, increases in heart rate in response to a stressor were positively correlated with trait anxiety. However, the potential interplay between trait anxiety, heart rate, and subsequent intrusive memories is yet to be established. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between heart rate and intrusions by examining how trait anxiety may mediate this relationship. We predict that there will be a strong negative correlation between heart rate during intrusive memory sequences and number of subsequent intrusions, a positive correlation between heart rate during intrusive memory sequences and trait anxiety, and that trait anxiety will mediate this relationship. We collected data from 178 undergraduate students who viewed a 10-minute video clip that has been shown to elicit distress and lead to the development of later film-related intrusive memories. Participants’ heart rates were monitored using Microsoft wrist bands, and we specifically looked at heart rate during film sequences most commonly reported as later intrusive memory content. Participants were assessed for intrusions (frequency, distress, and content) 24 hours after film viewing. Being able to identify individuals who are most likely to experience intrusions after a traumatic event can play a crucial role in treatment and prevention of post-trauma psychopathology.

The Theory of Narrative Thought (TNT) is a descriptive—as opposed to a normative—theory of decision-making, one that dispenses with those optimality criteria that governed more “rational choice” theories (e.g. Expected Utility Theory) from earlier eras. TNT strives to balance cognitive experience with brain processing subservient to a person’s higher-order, narrative decision-making process. This balancing renders TNT especially well suited for application to those decision makers who possess a wealth of cognitive experience within a choice domain (for example, Supreme Court justices adjudicating disputes between parties). The Court’s June 2015 holding extended 14th Amendment due process and equal protection rights for the first time in our nation's history to same-sex couples who desire to marry. During autumn, 2015 I collaborated with fellow students and professional consultants to my advanced Judgment and Decision making class on a project that treated the textual narrative of Justice Kennedy’s lead opinion as a case study. Our purpose was to apply Lee Roy Beach’s TNT in a novel fashion—to evaluate as “sound” or “flawed” the reasoning embedded within a US Supreme Court justice’s opinion. In particular, we applied TNT’s “narrative errors” and “undetectable errors” features, its overarching “coherence” principle and evaluated the “normative narrative” Justice Kennedy utilized as a reference point for his majority opinion judgment in the recent and momentous “same-sex” marriage case. Finally, we applied D. Kahneman’s “goals are reference points” analysis to the main narrative that the Constitution “provides liberty to all within its reach” in assessing whether Kennedy was operating at a gain or avoiding a loss in the judgment he delivered. My analysis of Justice Kennedy’s lead opinion demonstrates that nomothetic theoretical constructs within TNT have broad applicability across knowledge domains in characterizing those high level judgments that impact long-established policies, practices, and laws of a society.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a method of noninvasively and reversibly influencing brain activity through the generation of brief magnetic fields. Utilizing this approach, we investigate the role of the semantic representation of objects in the dorsal portion of the premotor cortex (PMd). The ventral portion of the premotor cortex (PMv) has been known to be involved in the representation of manipulable objects, such as tools. Conversely, we provide evidence that stimulation of PMd facilitates access to foot-related objects (such as sandals or slippers) by observing decreased decision times in a categorization task when PMd is stimulated at 110% of motor threshold. Within this task, subjects are shown a category, either “object” or “animal”, and asked to select which of two options match the provided category. These findings also provide support for the notion that the human premotor cortex has a topological organization and that part of the organization of sematic knowledge for objects depends on the modality with which they are interacted.

Previous research suggests that taking gender/women’s studies classes increases positive attitudes towards feminism and gender equality. This study generalizes prior findings to the University of Washington (UW) by investigating the impact of participation in Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) classes on students’ attitudes towards women, feminism, and homosexuality. Undergraduate UW students who have taken at least one GWSS class and students who have never taken such a course were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward women, feminism, and homosexuality and to assess their views toward the field of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies. We hypothesize that students who have taken GWSS classes will have more positive attitudes of women, feminism, and homosexuality and that these findings will hold when controlling for students’ demographic variables such as gender, political ideology, and socioeconomic background.

Childhood maltreatment is one of the most common adverse events in children and has been associated with a variety of negative effects on children’s social adjustment and mental well-being later in life. One explanation is that maltreated children may develop maladaptive emotion regulation skills, which mediate the pathway between maltreatment and psychopathology. Accumulating literature suggests that attachment security may be a protective factor against maladaptive emotion regulation skills in maltreated children. Prior research has investigated attachment as a mediator between childhood maltreatment and poor behavior outcomes. However, little research has examined attachment as a protective factor associated with better emotion regulation skills in maltreated children, which in turn results in better behavioral and emotional adjustment. The current study hypothesizes that, childhood maltreatment will have a less negative effect on children who are securely attached to one of their care givers, compare to those who have insecure attachment. In other words, secure attachment will serve as a protective factor for children exposed to adverse experiences, leading to better emotional and behavioral outcomes. Data from two separately collected samples of maltreated and control children (n= 221 and n= 124) are analyzed based on multiple linear regression models. We expect to find a significant difference between the effect of maltreatment on emotion regulation in high and low attachment individuals, such that children with more secure attachment are less affected by maltreatment. These findings would suggest that secure attachment may protect maltreated children from developing maladaptive emotion regulation skills which contribute to better general behavior outcomes in children.

In the field of cognitive psychology, multiple studies have shown that humans seem able to recall a large amount of information with great detail. Thus, scientists are particularly interested in understanding the exact mechanisms by which memories are encoded in the human brain. Current models of semantic knowledge origin can be classified into two families: semantic network models and embodied cognition models. My experiment provides a way to distinguish between these two models by examining which type of interferences (semantic vs. sensorimoter) has a larger effect on semantic memory retrieval. Thirty participants were asked to perform a computer task, during which they chose the picture of an object that matched the target word from an array of objects that containd different distractors. There are three conditions, corresponding to the different types of distractor objects: unrelated distractors, sensorimotor distractors, and semantically associated distractors. Greater interference from distractors reflects greater similarity in concept representation, and thus results in slower response times. Our results show that the mean reaction time of semantically associated distractor condition is the largest. The mean reaction time of unrelated distractor (control) condition is the second largest and that of sensorimotor distractor condition is the smallest. The results support the semantic network models and indicate the facilitation of sensorimotor related objects. The results from these comparisons can not only provide us with a general idea of how the embodied cognition model and semantic network models differ from each other, but also provide us with potential applications to everyday life. First, for example, knowing the patterns from which people build concepts in mind inspires people to create memorization strategies, leading to the improvement of memorization. Second, as a growing area in cognitive psychology, embodied cognition is related to not only memory, but also emotion, perception, and language, etc.    

Thomas Edison argued that video must be presented at 46 frames per second (fps) for smooth motion to be perceived. Most console video games are presented at 30 fps, but new technology allows for more than 60 fps. Gamers argue about whether the increased fps affects the perception of movement within games, and whether the increase in price is worth it. In a case study, Linus showed that a console-gamer was able to correctly identify the fps only 20 percent of the time, whereas a PC-gamer who regularly played at 60 fps or faster correctly identified the fps 100 percent of the time. We predicted that in a larger sample with more clips, PC-gamers would correctly recognize video clips presented at 120 fps versus 60 fps more often than console-gamers would. A set of 10, 10-20 second screen capture video clips of an active game of Portal2 were created, and each clip was duplicated in 60 and 120 fps, resulting in 20 clips. In a sample of 10 console-gamers and 8 PC-gamers, the PC-gamers correctly recognized the 60 versus 120 fps clips (M=12.38) more often than the console-gamers (M=10.5; t=1.52, p=.08), approaching significance. On certain clips, the PC-gamers were significantly better at recognizing the fps. This small sample provided good insight into the issue of whether video gamers can detect the difference between frame rates. These results support our hypothesis and the results from Linus that PC-gamers can tell the difference between video games presented at 60 fps and 120 fps more readily than console players can. This small sample provided good insight into the issue, but future research will need to focus on objectively determined “PC-gamers” versus “console-gamers,” rather than relying on the participants to self-identify.

Studies have been exploring the use of neurofeedback training as a treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), although the application of neurofeedback training to healthy subjects in order to improve reading comprehension ability has not been investigated. It is important that the relationship between specific brain oscillation frequencies and cognition is broadened from the cognitively unhealthy population to the cognitively healthy population. Additionally, this research is necessary in order to expand the knowledge and use of neurofeedback training. The purpose of this study is to further understand the connection between specific brain oscillation frequencies, attention, and reading comprehension. To date, 16 typically developing college undergraduate students from the University of Washington have completed the study. Participants were assigned to either the neurofeedback-training (NFT) group or the pseudo neurofeedback training group. In the NFT group participants were trained to decrease theta (4-8 Hz) while simultaneously increasing beta (12-20 Hz). In the pseudo NFT group participants were re-played feedback which was pre-recorded from participants in the experimental group. Participants were blind to group assignment. Assessment included attention measured with the Attention Network Test (ANT), reading comprehension measured by scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension test, and EEG during eyes-open resting state before and after two sessions of NFT or pseudo-NFT. Preliminary results suggest a significant improvement in reading ability following theta-beta ratio neurofeedback training.

Since 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. The Brief IAT (BIAT) uses a procedure similar to the standard IAT, but with simplified instructions and different task structures. Unlike the standard version, the BIAT instructs subjects to focus on only two of four categories (focal categories) and respond to them with a “focal” key and to the other two categories (non-focal categories) with a “non-focal” key. By means of the BIAT, the present study examined whether race categories (represented by surnames) are associated with positive or negative valence (represented by pleasant-meaning or unpleasant-meaning words). It also correlated the BIAT’s association strengths with those obtained from the standard IAT. One hundred and ten volunteer undergraduate students from the University of Washington completed six BIATs and two standard IATs. Three of the six BIATs differed from the other three only in the identity of the fourth category (e.g., Black American versus White American names). The two standard IATs, which used the same four categories as their BIAT equivalents, also differed from each other in the identity of their fourth category. Self-report measures of race attitude were administered. D scores, an effect-size measure, were calculated to estimate the strengths of association between categories. The significance of this research lies in its potential to support the development of more valid and useful IAT methods for evaluating a person’s implicit attitudes toward socially-sensitive concepts.

College presents many challenges for students, and how students cope with these challenges can affect how well they fare academically and socially. First-generation college students (FGs: students whose parents do not have four-year degrees) face more social, academic, and financial challenges and have higher dropout rates than continuing-generation students (CGs: students with at least one parent with a four-year degree). Research has shown that when facing challenges in college, FGs are unlikely to seek university resources; however, it is not clear what FGs are doing in the face of challenge. This exploratory study uses a social and cultural-psychological lens to begin understanding how FGs respond to challenges in college. We presented 273 undergraduate students (70 FGs) with a series of vignettes describing academic, financial, and social challenges and asked students to predict how they would respond to each challenge. Initial analyses suggest that when faced with financial challenges, FGs were less likely than CGs to “seek resources they would need,” and when faced with academic and social challenges, FGs were more likely than CGs to seek social support, to distract themselves from thinking about the challenge, and to remove themselves from the situation. These findings suggest that FGs may struggle in particular when faced with financial challenges, as they do not seek the resources they need to overcome this type of challenge, perhaps because they do not have access to many financial resources. When facing academic or social challenges, rather than turning to the university, FGs may seek social support outside of the university or disengage from these situations altogether. Given that FGs tend to struggle more in college than CGs do, this research has implications for understanding how to help future FGs deal with challenges in the university.

Women with a history of sexual victimization experience differences in triggers for sexual arousal excitation and inhibition compared to women without a history of sexual victimization. Although most studies suggest that women experience decreased sexual arousal in the presence of negative consequences (e.g. unwanted pregnancy), recent research has found that some women actually experience increased sexual arousal.  Theory suggests that post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms may play a role. Studies indicate PTS symptoms may influence sexual arousal responding, resulting in decreased sexual arousal inhibition. Little research has examined this relationship; no research has investigated how PTS and sexual arousal inhibition interact among women with a history of sexual victimization.  PTS symptoms (arousal and intrusion symptoms), may potentially explain the decreased sexual arousal inhibition in the presence of negative consequences due to similar physiological factors of fear arousal and sexual arousal and the contextual commonalities (e.g. impulsivity) shared by PTS symptoms and sexual arousal.  Participants (n=17) came from a subset of a larger umbrella study. Participants were recruited via poster and advertisement (newspapers, Craigslist) from the Pacific Northwest. Inclusion criteria included being: 1) female, 2) 21-30 years old, 3) sexually interested in males (exclusive sexual interest in males not required) and 4) not pregnant. The following measures were administered: Finkelhor’s Child Sexual Abuse Measure, The PTSD Questionnaire, and the Inhibition Due to the Threat of Negative Consequences Subscale of the Sexual Inhibition and Sexual Excitation Scale. This study analyzed the effect of PTS symptoms on the relationship between SA and sexual arousal inhibition in an attempt to better understand the range of outcomes SA survivors experience. A supported hypothesis may demonstrate that those with high PTS symptoms may potentially react differently to negative consequences than those with low PTS symptoms, suggesting a potential pathway as to why this might occur.

For a community suffering from collective trauma, unity is vital for building community resilience, which is the capacity to withstand, recover from, and respond positively to a collective crisis. Both the Native American Tulalip community and the predominantly White Marysville community were affected by an October 2014 school shooting in which five students (3 Native American; 2 European American) died. We sought to identify factors that contribute to community resilience. We surveyed 597 employees of the Marysville School District and assessed perceptions of unity prior to and after the shooting, as well as personal experiences following the shooting (i.e., negative and positive feelings). My project focuses on the relation between people’s individual experiences and their perceptions of community unity following the shooting. I conducted a series of regression analyses predicting unity from personal experiences and found that people who had more positive feelings following the shooting perceived the communities as more united, while people who had more negative feelings perceived the community as less united. Furthermore, these relationships were magnified among people who knew at least one victim of the shooting compared to those who did not know victims. These findings suggest that in cases of collective trauma, projections of negative feelings following the event have the potential to hinder efforts to rebuild the community, whereas positive feelings may serve to aid this effort, especially among people who are closely tied to the traumatic event. These results highlight the importance of understanding how to foster positive feelings in the promotion of post-trauma healing. Given the frequency of mass violence in contemporary society, it is increasingly important to examine not only preventative measures but also understand how to promote healing for those affected by these tragedies. This work seeks to begin answering this question.

Phosphenes are temporary visual percepts which can be elicited via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the visual cortex. Often described as flashes or blobs of light, phosphenes usually occupy a small subset of the visual field and can be consciously perceived and described by a human subject. In order to investigate the relationship between phosphene characteristics and the methods in which they are elicited, subjects were asked to draw the phosphenes they perceive in response to different stimulation intensities, locations, and orientations. This information was then used for direct brain-to-brain communication of simple images. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was utilized to decode information from the brain of one human (“the sender”) and TMS was used to encode that information into the brain of another human (“the receiver”). Namely, the image that the sender viewed was determined by monitoring oxygenated blood flow patterns in the brain and transmitted directly to the brain of the receiver. The receiver “saw” the image viewed by the sender through TMS-induced phosphenes which were elicited by stimulating with parameters determined during the mapping stage. This brain-to-brain interface allows for the successful transmission of complex visual information directly from one human brain to another and does so through noninvasive methods.

There is a plethora of empirical studies on the positive long-terms effects of mindfulness meditation practice on a wide variety of cognitive processes. However, the efficacy and feasibility of brief mindfulness meditation practice in the classroom have not been fully explored. Due to students’ class scheduling and other time constraints, as well as the need and the cost of expert guidance, traditional mindfulness practice may not be sustainable in conventional U.S. college and university campuses. The focus of this study is to examine if a brief 60- to 90-second mindfulness meditation session immediately before lecture would improve the learning experience among undergraduate college students. Immediately before a 55-minute lecture, students were instructed to sustain focused attention to the present moment and to clear their minds of any thoughts about day-to-day activities. Students were prompted to take a deep breath slowly and also given the option of closing their eyes. The 60- to 90-second mindfulness meditation sessions were carried out twice a week over a nine-week period, for a total of 18 brief sessions. Mid-quarter and end of quarter surveys were used to determine student reactions and impressions, and optional general comments were elicited. The data for over three years of classes will be presented. This research has important implications in education, as we may be able to design affordable and accessible protocols in mental training that have immediate potential benefits. The efficacy of brief mindfulness sessions on actual learning remains to be determined in future studies.

There are significant pregnancy health disparities experienced by American Indians in the Great Plains region that are not well understood. Community-based research projects (CBRPs) are one of the best ways to understand why these disparities exist and how we can reduce them. Conducting a CBRP requires building a trusting relationship with the American Indian community and the researchers. As well as having community members and researchers work together on the project will show that we value the community members and their input just as much as our own. It will also allow us to write the findings from a community perspective not just an outsider’s perspective. Our McNair research plan is to establish a trusting CBRP collaboration with the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians focusing on institutions that will help us conduct the Healthy American Indian Pregnancy Project that is under grant consideration.

Islands are home to some of the world's most unique and rare species but often are heavily underfunded for scientific monitoring and conservation efforts. In light of a changing climate, it is important to catalogue the diverse species in island environments to estimate current distribution and abundance to establish baseline data records. Historically, smaller organisms like insects are overlooked. However, native pollinators are an integral component of ecosystem functioning and health. In summer of 2015, I surveyed a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Java, Indonesia for native bee and wasp species. Utilizing hand held GPS, insect net collection techniques, and colored bowl traps, I was able to conduct the first pollinator survey on Tinjil Island getting a glimpse of the myriad of pollinators inhabiting the area. Transition from my Indonesian field research experience, beginning in March 2016, I am now surveying the coastal meadows and endemic wildflowers of the San Juan Islands for native bee species. By photographing pollinator visitation of wildflowers in San Juan Island National Historical Park, I am contributing to the creation of a citizen scientist species identification catalogue for the region. In celebration of the National Park Service centennial, I am collaborating with a small team of regional pollinator experts to help identify native bee species of Washington's most iconic islands through a rapid 24-hour survey known as a BioBlitz (May 21-22). In addition, I share with you how you can contribute to local citizen science initiatives and entomology-based educational experiences from your own backyard.

In recent years, heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) has been used to treat a variety of illnesses and disorders such as depression, hypertension, and asthma. HRVB method includes presenting to an individual his current heart rate (HR) on the screen and teaching him to increase/decrease his HR by breathing at frequency of 0.1Hz (6 breaths/min). Such breathing will elicits high-amplitude oscillations in HR and blood pressure (BP). Such oscillations arise since baroreflex, as a closed-loop system for BP control, has resonance property (i.e., produces high-amplitude oscillations in response to 0.1Hz stimulation). The benefits of HRVB are derived from these oscillations which train reflexes and improve cardiovascular regulation the same way physical exercises improve muscle condition and regulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response of the baroreflex to paced 0.1Hz emotional stimulation and how alcohol affects this response. Seventy-two subjects were randomized into three beverage groups that received an active dose of alcohol, an inactive dose of alcohol (placebo), or no alcohol. Each performed eight 5-minute tasks: two baseline tasks (before and after beverage consumption), four emotional stimulation tasks (negative, positive, alcohol, and neutral picture cues paced at 0.1Hz), paced breathing task (using a moving bar), and paced breathing task (using alcohol images). ECG, beat-to-beat blood pressure, and respiration were collected. Alcohol reduced baroreflex activity across all tasks. There was a strong positive association between the amplitude of 0.1Hz HR oscillation with baroreflex gain (activity) in both alcohol and control groups. Paced 0.1Hz breathing significantly increased baroreflex gain in the control and placebo groups, but did not change it in the alcohol group. All emotional tasks decreased baroreflex gain. Paced breathing versus breathing plus emotional stimulation tended to increase baroreflex gain more. Results showed that the application of breathing in HRVB is more effective than emotional stimulation.

The epidemic of sexual assault on American University campuses has resulted in the centering of consent as a key way of distinguishing between acceptable, normal sex and unacceptable, punishable sex. Unfortunately, various experiences of sex that fit within the acceptable, normal sex category according to university policy frameworks can often have just as detrimental side effects on women as rape does. The need to investigate how consent might be failing women in challenging rape culture then becomes paramount. This presentation provides an analytical review of contemporary writings and studies derived from various books, journals, and news articles available through the University of Washington Library or various online resources. The findings include how various forms of consensual sex such as coerced sex, compliant sex, and even enthusiastic, pleasurable sex can play into upholding rape culture, harm women disproportionately, and uphold men’s systemic power. By becoming involved in the continued modern discussions of consent, this presentation seeks to redirect the current discourse on sexual consent now common on university campuses in hopes of broadening our perception of consensual sex and more adequately challenge rape culture.

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, with even fewer examining their resiliency. Resiliency is the capacity to recover from difficulties, where individuals use their personal skill sets 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. 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. To measure resiliency, we are conducting voluntary, in-person, one-on-one tape-recorded interviews of 15 lesbian and 15 heterosexual widows. Inclusion criteria required participants be at least 45 years of age and widowed for a minimum of one year at the time of interview. We analyzed interview data through the constant comparative analysis method. We found differences between groups in a variety of themes related to resiliency (i.e., perception of available support systems, and effectiveness of those systems). Participants in the research will have given 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 improve resiliency among lesbian and heterosexual widowed populations.

Making the surrounding of a yellow target brighter will make the target appear darker and change its hue to brown. These changes are called darkness induction and brightness induction, respectively. Brown induction is interesting because the shift from yellow to a different dark hue, brown, is not found for the other basic colors—red, green, and blue. To assess whether the same neural and perceptual processes mediate brown and darkness induction, we explore the possible parallels with a checkerboard variation of White’s Illusion, which produces unexpected and theoretically controversial darkness induction effects. Surround stimuli consisted of a 20x10 black and white checkerboard grid. In a portion of the checkerboard grid, either the white or black squares were replaced by a 4x4 set of target squares, leaving the target squares surrounded by either only black or only white squares, respectively. For the darkness induction task, gray target squares were adjusted in luminance (physical light level) so that targets on white matched targets on black in perceived darkness. For the brown induction task, yellow/brown target squares were adjusted in luminance so that each target was right at the boundary between pure brown and yellowish brown, the “brown boundary.” The magnitude of the White’s Illusion effect was expressed as the difference in luminance between the two darkness-matched targets (darkness induction) or the two brown-adjusted targets (brown induction). Preliminary results show the White’s Illusion effect for brown induction to generally be in the same direction, but much weaker in magnitude, compared to darkness induction. This suggests that brown induction cannot simply be concluded as being darkness induction. These results help us to begin to understand the differences in the underlying perceptual and neural processes that mediate the two key properties of human vision, darkness induction and brown induction.

Humans find it trivial to classify natural scenes, yet this same task is a significant challenge for artificial intelligence. Here we investigate which properties of natural scenes might allow computers to classify natural scenes more accurately. A set of 200 images of natural scenes (city, coast, country, forest, and mountain) were converted into gray scale. Each scene was then Fourier filtered to create a bank of images that each contained different spatial frequency and orientation information. Low-frequency information corresponds to large-scale modulations in luminance across the image (e.g., a coastline might be brighter in the upper half of the image and darker in the lower half of the image, which would be visible within the images created by filtering using a low-frequency grating in the horizontal direction). High-frequency gratings correspond to small-scale modulations in luminance (e.g., fine textures such as grass would be visible within images filtered using a high-frequency vertical filter). We then trained a computer algorithm to ‘guess’ which class (city, coast, country, forest or mountain) any given image belonged to, based on this filtered image bank, and used this training algorithm to determine which filtered images provided the most reliable information about which class the scene belonged to. Using novel images, this approach allows us to classify with greater than 75 percent accuracy. We are currently examining which filters are considered by the algorithm to be the most useful, with the eventual goal of examining if the information contained within these filters resembles that used by humans.

The traumatic loss of one or both parents is difficult for children to manage, even under the best circumstances. For children in low- and middle-income countries, the effects of being orphaned can be devastating. In Kenya and Tanzania, it is hard to meet orphans’ basic needs, such as food and shelter, let alone their mental health needs. The present study is examining data from a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a mental health treatment for orphans in Kenya and Tanzania. In the intervention condition of the RCT, orphaned children in these countries who presented with posttraumatic stress or grief symptoms participated in a 12-week Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) intervention, along with their guardians. TF-CBT was previously adapted to fit this cultural setting based on an earlier pilot study. This evidence-based treatment consisted of weekly group sessions led by trained local lay counselors following a predetermined schedule of TF-CBT components. We will be looking at data from 64 study participants’ qualitative interviews conducted 12 months post-treatment, in which children and their guardians reported their levels of satisfaction with the treatment they received. We are currently conducting content analysis on interview responses to identify common themes in the overall experiences, opinions, and life changes associated with participating in the TF-CBT intervention. Findings from this project have important implications for examining whether orphans and guardians in this setting found TF-CBT acceptable and worthwhile, helping inform future research and implementation efforts.

Propositions are cognitive structures centered on verbs of action or existences (e.g., Maria plays golf or Maria is a golfer). Implicit Association Tests (IATs) measure associations among concepts in the simpler form of categories that can often be represented by single words (e.g., nouns, adjectives, verbs). To test whether IATs can measure associations involving propositions, this research tested variations of an IAT measuring implicit-attitude associations of Democrat and Republican categories with valence. The first two variations replaced the two political party categories with concepts that could be exemplified by propositions (Democrat victory and Republican victory). A one-verb variation used exemplars in the form of recognizable names (e.g., Obama, Romney) followed by the verb “wins”. This worked successfully and was comparable in properties to the basic 2-category IAT. An opposed-verb variation used exemplars incorporating opposed verbs (e.g., Obama wins and Romney loses for the Democrat victory concept). This proved difficult for subjects, in addition to which the resulting IAT measure did not correlate as expected with self-reported political attitudes. A final phrase IAT variation returned to the two parties as concepts, but used exemplar stimuli in the form of short phrases (e.g., common core) extracted from full statements of Republican and Democrat policy positions (e.g., The U.S. government should specify basic requirements (‘common core’) for public education). Subjects received initial practice linking the short phrases to the full policy statements. The phrase IAT was easier for subjects than the opposed-verb IAT and correlated as expected with self-report measures, indicating its possibility of being used more generally to measure associations involving proposition-level concepts.

Marijuana is one of the most commonly used substances among young adults. Approximately 20% of college students at two major universities reported use in the past 30 days. Various methods of marijuana use are also becoming increasingly popular and may be perceived as less risky by young adults than smoking as a route of administration. Young adults are generally more aware of vaping (smoking vapor produced by an electronic device, e.g. vape pen or e-cig) than older individuals and the prevalence of vaping tobacco is highest among young adults. Dabbing (i.e., when an individual ingests heated butane hash oil) is another new method that young adults have reported using to consume marijuana. This research study investigated the behaviors and personal views of young adults (18-25 years old) regarding substance use and associated perceived health risks. Participants were recruited using online advertising and direct mailers within Washington State. Data was collected using an electronically delivered survey between April and August 2014 (n= 2,101) and June and November 2015 (n= 1,591). Results from the preliminary data on marijuana use suggest increased rates of new (vaping and dabbing; 5% in 2014, 10% in 2015) versus traditional (smoking and eating; 90% in 2014, 85% in 2015) methods (dabbing was added to the survey in 2015). The proposed research investigates whether there is a relationship between marijuana consumption methods and perceived physical, psychological, emotional, and cognitive risk. Considering the progression of relaxed policies on marijuana use and the lack of research on health risks associated with vaping and dabbing, significant results could influence and encourage further education of individuals, especially young adults, about the potential health risks of novel methods of marijuana use. 

During mammalian neural development, there are critical periods in which the brain is most plastic. These periods of plasticity are defined by the growth of neurons and formation of new synapses. Perineuronal nets (PNs) are specialized proteoglycan structures of the extracellular matrices that surround neurons in many parts of the brain. Their formation is thought to be triggered by appropriate sensory experience and to mark the end of plasticity by stabilizing the established synaptic connections. Density of PNs in mammalian brains varies across regions of the brain, and with age, but there have been few studies of the central auditory system. By studying the postnatal development of PNs in the central auditory system of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, a species in which the auditory pathways are exceptionally large and highly differentiated, we aim to increase our understanding of critical periods in the auditory centers of the brain. To visualize the distribution of PNs over the course of maturation, we used immunohistochemistry to label PNs and the associated cell bodies. More specifically, we used Wisteria floribunda lectin to label PNs, and parvalbumin, a calcium binding protein, to label neuron cell bodies. In counting parvalbumin-labeled cells and cells surrounded by PNs we hope to determine the patterns and trends of these critical periods. Our results suggest that there are distinct differences in the amount of area that PNs occupy and the number of cells which are netted across different ages. Each auditory nucleus has shown a unique pattern of development for PN staining. Our findings on the plasticity of the development of the auditory pathway may help further future studies of sensory systems.

Corvids are fearless. This fearlessness coincides with their striking ability to problem solve and employ their advanced intellectual acuity. Mobbing is a widely utilized behavior reported in varying species of birds and across the mammalian spectrum. Why do these select organisms participate in this conspicuous behavior? I propose that this behavior is a crucial communication tool within a hover of Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus). By effectively communicating between individuals, crows can efficiently distract targeted predators and place increasing risk equally over participating members of the mob. I will analyze the audible and physical responses of crows to predatory stimuli in the field. I will also aim to test whether or not crows can adequately identify fake research decoys, as crows are notably intelligent and very effective communicators. I've done this by comparing the results of previous work on Northwestern Crows, which employed an obviously fake predator model, to my work with a more advanced predatory representative. The importance of this work stems on the crows responsiveness to my predatory stimuli. Understanding the way these birds communicate and recognize false predator decoys will only lead to more efficient work done with this species in the future.

While many community mental health agencies have shown increasing emphasis in the direction of evidence-based practices (EBP) for children’s mental health, most training efforts have not included consultation on intervention delivery following training. A rising body of evidence suggests that one-time training workshops do not provide enough support to sufficiently influence clinician adherence with respect to EBP delivery, and that ongoing expert consultation is vital for motivating providers towards satisfactory implementation. Though the literature outlines consultation broadly, the fundamental elements of consultation, to date, remain elusive, and further investigation into the underlying mechanisms of this critical training strategy is warranted. To investigate consultation, biweekly consultant-led call summary emails (N=73) generated by five Ph.D. level expert consultants following EBP trainings were examined via identification of thematic issues addressed among community therapists belonging to six-month-long training cohorts. To ensure inter-rater reliability—improving internal validity—three peer examiners were commissioned to offer concordant verification of identified themes in the coding process. Each coding team member independently reviewed summary transcriptions and developed a list of themes. These subcategory themes were evaluated, discussed, and consolidated by the coding team into a coding scheme for each subcategory. By the day of the symposium presentation, data analysis will reach completion and key findings will be reported. Prospective results may include emergent themes related to EBP delivery (i.e., frequently addressed clinical issues, therapeutic barriers to treatment, etc.) This study contributes to a larger effort of examining core consultation functions, which may have broad applicability in the assessment of the conceptual framework needed to best improve consultant-clinician training initiatives in community mental health.

Smoking prevalence among homeless people is nearly 4 times that of the general US population. Homeless people are also disproportionately affected by tobacco-related mortality, which is 3 to 5 times higher than in the general US population. Smoking cessation treatment studies to date have yielded very low quit rates in the homeless population, ranging from 9% to 16%. It has been found that current smoking treatments have not been effective due to their lack of practicality and desirability among homeless individuals. Considering the principles of patient-centered care, we asked homeless smokers what smoking treatment goals and strategies—including and beyond smoking cessation—have been or would be desirable, feasible and effective based on their own lived experience. Participants (N=24) were homeless and were either current or former smokers. Semi-structured interviews included questions on smokers’ interest in smoking treatment and reducing smoking-related harm as well as acceptable means to achieve these ends. We analyzed interview transcripts using conventional content analysis, a method of interpreting qualitative data through a systematic process of coding and classification. Participants reported wanting to continue using nicotine (e.g., vaping and electronic cigarettes) without having to smoke cigarettes or replacing some or all cigarette smoking with other substances, such as marijuana. Engaging in activities to alleviate boredom and stress (e.g., writing, painting and eating) represented further alternative strategies. Former or current smokers with the lived experience of homelessness were interested in learning about safer ways to use nicotine. Participants also had creative ideas about alternative smoking treatment pathways. These findings will be used to better tailor smoking treatment to homeless smokers’ needs and goals.

In the US, the prevalence of smoking is over five times higher in the homeless population than in the general population, which precipitates disproportionately high rates of smoking-related mortality among homeless smokers. Despite the high levels of smoking-related harm experienced in this population, few homeless smokers are ready, willing, or able to successfully quit smoking. The current study’s aim was to document homeless smokers’ perceptions of smoking—both the advantages and disadvantages—to better understand why they persisted in smoking and why it has been difficult to stop. Participants in this study were 24 individuals with the lived experience of homelessness and smoking who were staying at a shelter in Seattle, Washington. Semi-structured interviews were used to assess the reported role of smoking in participants' lives, including participants' understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of their current smoking. Interviews were analyzed using conventional content analysis, which is a systematic means of coding and classifying participants’ open-ended interview responses. The most frequently discussed advantages of smoking included social benefits (e.g., using shared experience of smoking as an ice breaker or a social bond), stress relief, and alleviation of nicotine withdrawal symptoms. The most frequently cited disadvantages included health concerns (e.g., associated cancer risk and respiratory problems), negative impact on family (e.g., setting a bad example for children, exposing relatives to smoke), and the financial cost of smoking. By documenting the perceived advantages and disadvantages of smoking among individuals with the lived experience of homelessness and smoking, this study provides information that service providers may use to better develop treatment services and alternative smoking treatment pathways to align with this population's needs and interests.

Although smoking has decreased dramatically in the general US population, the prevalence of smoking among homeless individuals has not. Further, severe smoking-related illnesses, such as lung cancer and emphysema, disproportionately affect homeless smokers. Unfortunately, current smoking treatment options, which focus primarily on supporting smoking cessation, yield low quit rates for homeless smokers. Understanding homeless smokers’ experience with and perceptions of these treatment options may provide insight into ways to improve them and help decrease smoking-related harm in this severely affected population. Homeless individuals who were former or current smokers (N = 24) participated in semi-structured interviews that ascertained their prior experience with existing smoking treatment and cessation methods. Conventional content analysis was used to code and categorize participants’ responses. Findings indicated that participants had mixed to negative perceptions of existing smoking treatment and cessation methods. Specifically, participants had concerns about providers not prioritizing smoking treatment, the expense of smoking cessation aids (e.g., nicotine replacement therapy), and potential side effects of medication for smoking cessation (e.g. varenicline). Additionally, when consulting with treatment providers, many participants preferred personalized feedback (e.g. showing a picture of their own lungs) over general information on health risks or advice to stop smoking. Homeless individuals who were former and current smokers had mixed to negative perceptions of existing smoking cessation methods. Instead, they expressed interest in more personally tailored advice and methods. Further research is necessary to explore alternatives to smoking cessation treatments and methods that are more patient versus provider driven.

Telehealth is expanding at a rapid pace and gaining acceptance with both health providers and patients, in large part thanks to convenience. Video conferencing in particular has been used in a number of research studies with cancer patients. This study adapted an existing in-person cognitive training intervention into a video-conference intervention for cancer survivors with cognitive or ‘chemo-brain’ concerns. Cancer survivors frequently report cognitive dysfunction symptoms as a top concern. Cognitive training interventions can be an effective method for improving function and decreasing frequency of symptoms. Participants were cancer survivors with cognitive dysfunction symptoms who completed treatment at least six months or more in the past and live 25 miles or more from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. After undergoing a phone screening, informed consent and baseline testing, subjects participated in seven, weekly, one-hour long video-conference education sessions followed by post testing. Pre and post evaluations included mood, quality of life, and symptom measures of cognition as well as objective measures of cognitive functioning. Five participants with mean age of 56 (9.0) and 1.4 (0.45) years since treatment with breast, ovarian, and prostate were enrolled for the video conferencing workshop. Average instructor and topic ratings for both in-person and video conferencing workshops were compared. Data collection was also focused on collecting feasibility and efficacy results. Given the novel nature of video conferencing, results will give insight to the practicality, advantages, and disadvantages of using video conferencing to implement a behavioral intervention.