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Title: The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Breastfeeding on Subsequent Mother-Infant Bonding.
Creator: Potts, Jamayne F., Aaron Jones, Nancy, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: This work examines the individual and comprehensive effects of oxytocin, maternal depression, and breastfeeding on the mother-infant bond. Self-report measures are used to illustrate differences in behavior, temperament, and maternal feelings towards her infant and her experiences associated with motherhood. Based on previous literature highlighting the protective and beneficial effects of oxytocin during maternity, results from this longitudinal study examining mother-infant dyads from...
Show moreThis work examines the individual and comprehensive effects of oxytocin, maternal depression, and breastfeeding on the mother-infant bond. Self-report measures are used to illustrate differences in behavior, temperament, and maternal feelings towards her infant and her experiences associated with motherhood. Based on previous literature highlighting the protective and beneficial effects of oxytocin during maternity, results from this longitudinal study examining mother-infant dyads from prenatal to three-months postpartum are aimed to combine psycho-social and biological components associated with child rearing to form a complete understanding of the mother-infant bonding system. While our research provides support for certain psycho social components by demonstrating an irrefutable impact of depressive symptoms and breastfeeding self-efficacy on later displays of postpartum attachment, there is still room for question in regards to the role that oxytocin may play.
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Date Issued: 2019
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013253
Subject Headings: Breastfeeding, Mother and infant, Oxytocin
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Development of Synchronous Vocalizations and Behaviors in Juvenile Male Wild Atlantic Spotted Dolphins.
Creator: Myers, Alyson J., Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: The ability of adult wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) to synchronize vocalizations and behaviors has been found to be a key factor in overcoming much larger bottlenose dolphins during interspecies aggression (Cusick & Herzing, 2014). Furthermore, an adult baseline of behaviors and vocalizations during aggressive events containing synchrony has been established (Myers, Herzing, & Bjorklund, 2017). The present study examines juvenile aggression that contains bouts of...
Show moreThe ability of adult wild Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) to synchronize vocalizations and behaviors has been found to be a key factor in overcoming much larger bottlenose dolphins during interspecies aggression (Cusick & Herzing, 2014). Furthermore, an adult baseline of behaviors and vocalizations during aggressive events containing synchrony has been established (Myers, Herzing, & Bjorklund, 2017). The present study examines juvenile aggression that contains bouts of synchrony to look at the development of this valuable skill. Differences of duration between adult and juvenile synchronous bouts, lag sequential analyses, frequencies of behavioral classes depending on the age class of the aggressor-recipient dynamic, differences in the frequencies of behavioral classes depending on the synchronous state and aggressorrecipient dynamic, and differences in behavioral classes exhibited by adults and juveniles during different synchronous states were analyzed. Adults, across group size, were able to maintain physical synchrony for a longer duration. Juveniles were often in loose synchronous groups before forming into a tight synchronous group as seen in adult synchrony. Vocal synchrony during adult aggression in terms of synchronized squawks were longer in duration than vocal synchrony during juvenile aggression. Juveniles used more pursuit behaviors during aggression, which indicates practice of a behavior that was found to be the most frequently used in interspecies aggression (Volker, 2016). Additionally, when adults were present in juvenile aggression, they used fewer aggressive behavioral classes demonstrating self-handicapping based on their opponent. This illustrates that there is a learning period for both vocal and physical synchrony for juvenile dolphins and that juvenile aggression, or play-fighting, is an important aspect of the development of these skills. This study is the first to describe juvenile synchrony in a population of wild Atlantic spotted dolphins.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013088
Subject Headings: Atlantic spotted dolphin., Atlantic spotted dolphin--Behavior., Atlantic spotted dolphin--Vocalizaton., Stenella frontalis.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Dynamics of Implicit Attitudes.
Creator: Williams, Joseph Michael, Vallacher, Robin, Nowak, Andrzej, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: How do people allocate responsibility for inter-racial conflict (Black vs. White) under ambiguous circumstances? We tested the hypothesis that responsibility allocation reflects people’s implicit racial bias—with greater blame allocated to the Black protagonist by observers with stronger implicit anti-Black bias—but only when they identify the conflict in low-level terms (i.e., the specific momentary actions of the individuals). When observers identify the conflict in high-level terms (e.g.,...
Show moreHow do people allocate responsibility for inter-racial conflict (Black vs. White) under ambiguous circumstances? We tested the hypothesis that responsibility allocation reflects people’s implicit racial bias—with greater blame allocated to the Black protagonist by observers with stronger implicit anti-Black bias—but only when they identify the conflict in low-level terms (i.e., the specific momentary actions of the individuals). When observers identify the conflict in high-level terms (e.g., the intentions of the individuals), they are conscious of their biases and can suppress them in favor of less prejudicial judgments. White and Black participants read or listened to an ambiguous inter-racial conflict narrative, then allocated responsibility for the conflict and rated the protagonists’ personalities. The results showed the defendants were rated as more responsible when rated more positively for personality and affective reaction. Methodological reasons for the direction of the relationship are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013175
Subject Headings: Attitude (Psychology), Subconsciousness--Social aspects, Racial bias, Implicit attitude
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Affective Individual: The Influence of Self-Structure on The Experience of Discrete and Mixed Emotions.
Creator: Blackmon, C. William, Vallacher, Robin R., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Coherence of self-concept refers to the ability to stabilize on a clear set of views about oneself. This aspect of self-structure is closely linked self-esteem, and similar evidence in emotion research suggests an intricate connection between the self-system and emotion. Evidence suggests that emotions of seemingly opposing valence such as happy and sad can co-occur (i.e., mixed emotion). This study validated a new set of emotional stimuli particularly to elicit mixed emotion and used these...
Show moreCoherence of self-concept refers to the ability to stabilize on a clear set of views about oneself. This aspect of self-structure is closely linked self-esteem, and similar evidence in emotion research suggests an intricate connection between the self-system and emotion. Evidence suggests that emotions of seemingly opposing valence such as happy and sad can co-occur (i.e., mixed emotion). This study validated a new set of emotional stimuli particularly to elicit mixed emotion and used these stimuli with a mouse task that allowed participants to report positive and negative emotions simultaneously. The study examined possible individual differences in discrete emotional response associated with self-esteem as well as a possible connection between selfconcept coherence and a differential ability to harbor mixed emotions; specifically that individuals with high coherence in self-concept would tend to disambiguate their emotional response, but those with low coherence would be more susceptible to cooccurring positive and negative emotion.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004910
Subject Headings: Emotions., Self-perception., Self-esteem., Emotional intelligence., Self-organizing systems.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Association of Mindfulness on Executive Functioning (EF) in College Students.
Creator: Norman, Marvin ‘Forrest’ Eugene, Rosselli, Monica, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Recent research has shown mindfulness practices to be correlated with traits frequently associated with high Executive Functioning (EF) individuals such as greater attention to specific tasks, greater working memory capacity, and the improved ability to inhibit behaviors or emotions. These three traits are highly correlated with each other, and provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s level of Executive Functioning. This study was designed to examine how individual traits associated...
Show moreRecent research has shown mindfulness practices to be correlated with traits frequently associated with high Executive Functioning (EF) individuals such as greater attention to specific tasks, greater working memory capacity, and the improved ability to inhibit behaviors or emotions. These three traits are highly correlated with each other, and provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s level of Executive Functioning. This study was designed to examine how individual traits associated with Mindfulness such as ‘non-judgement’ can influence attention, working memory and inhibition. This study used three self-administered questionnaires to assess traits associated with mindful individuals and three EF tests to measure performance in inhibition, task shifting and updating working memory tasks. Results showed that certain mindfulness variables from the Freberg Mindfulness Inventory and Five Facet Mindfulness Questioniare, were correlated with performance on working memory tasks while mindfulness experience was not.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005999
Subject Headings: Mindfulness, Executive functions (Neuropsychology), College students
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Assessment of Functional Abilities in the Diagnosis of MCI and Dementia in a Culturally Diverse Sample.
Creator: Arruda, Fernanda Ponce de Leon, Rosselli, Monica, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Previous studies suggested that the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ-10) has minimal ethnic bias and that a shorter version (FAQ-6) can equally diagnose MCI and dementia. Objective: We analyzed whether FAQ-6 is similar to FAQ-10 in diagnosing MCI and dementia. We examined their applicability across European Americans (EA) and Hispanic Americans, and how scores correlated to beta amyloid. Method: 222 participants (116 EA) completed a neuropsychological battery, FAQ, and PET scans, and...
Show morePrevious studies suggested that the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ-10) has minimal ethnic bias and that a shorter version (FAQ-6) can equally diagnose MCI and dementia. Objective: We analyzed whether FAQ-6 is similar to FAQ-10 in diagnosing MCI and dementia. We examined their applicability across European Americans (EA) and Hispanic Americans, and how scores correlated to beta amyloid. Method: 222 participants (116 EA) completed a neuropsychological battery, FAQ, and PET scans, and were classified as cognitively normal (CN), MCI, or dementia. The diagnostic capacity of FAQ-10 and FAQ-6 were compared for the total sample and across ethnic groups. Scores were correlated to beta amyloid. Results: Both versions showed good item discrimination. Ethnicity did not affect scores when controlling for diagnosis and education. Both versions classified CN and dementia, and positively correlated to beta amyloid. Conclusions: Results suggest FAQ-6 and FAQ-10 similarly predict diagnosis and is adequate in these ethnic groups.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013141
Subject Headings: Dementia--diagnosis, Cognitive Dysfunction--diagnosis, Bias, Functional assessment
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Effects of Dichoptic and Isoluminant-Chromatic Stimuli on the Perception of Object and Objectless Motion.
Creator: Seifert, Matthew S., Hong, Sang Wook, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Visual motion can be conveyed by a variety of information sources in the environment, and those types of information may be detected at various levels by different motion-perceiving mechanisms in the visual system. High-level visual information has been demonstrated to have 3rd order, or salience-based properties (Lu & Sperling, 1995). The perceptual system they describe that computes motion from these types of information shares several characteristics with Hock and colleagues' counterchange...
Show moreVisual motion can be conveyed by a variety of information sources in the environment, and those types of information may be detected at various levels by different motion-perceiving mechanisms in the visual system. High-level visual information has been demonstrated to have 3rd order, or salience-based properties (Lu & Sperling, 1995). The perceptual system they describe that computes motion from these types of information shares several characteristics with Hock and colleagues' counterchange detection system, notably flexibility with respect to types of input from which motion can be computed, which comes at the cost of diminished processing speed. The mechanism of counterchange detection is well suited to processing visual features often present in environmental scenes, e.g., objects and surfaces, and may be a mechanism of 3rd order motion. Consistent with reported properties of 3rd order motion, the current experiments tested count erchange-, luminance-, and color-based motion stimuli with 3 objectives: to identify whether the 3 systems framework generalizes beyond the stimulus type with which it was defined, to test whether counterchange shares similarities with the 3rd order system with respect to dichoptic integration, and perception of isoluminant color-based motion, and to test subjectively objectless sources of motion-defining information (spreading luminance and hue) to see if they display properties of the 1st order system derived from sine wave gratings. Results indicate that counterchange-based stimuli displayed predicted properties of dichoptic integration, and perception at isoluminance, but putative 1st order (spreading) stimuli also displayed these properties. This may suggest that object-like surfaces, even when not directly the source of motion information, can contribute to computation of motion. Further, these results highlight the difficulty of generalizing from one theoretical framework to another, and specifically, of psychophysically testing high-level information while isolating contributions from low level information upon which high level visual stimuli are built.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004545, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004545
Subject Headings: Movement, Psychology of, Perceptual motor processes, Physiological optics, Space and time, Visual perception
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Types of Errors in a Memory Interference Task in Normal and Abnormal Aging.
Creator: Torres Solano, Valeria Lucia, Rosselli, Monica, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: The types of intrusion errors (Prior List, Semantically Related, and Unrelated) made on the LASSI-L verbal memory task were compared across three diagnostic groups (N = 160, 61 % female), Cognitively Normal (CN), amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Errors related to Proactive, Recovery from Proactive, and Retroactive Interference were also analyzed, as well as the relationship of errors to Amyloid load, a biomarker of AD. Results suggest that the types of...
Show moreThe types of intrusion errors (Prior List, Semantically Related, and Unrelated) made on the LASSI-L verbal memory task were compared across three diagnostic groups (N = 160, 61 % female), Cognitively Normal (CN), amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Errors related to Proactive, Recovery from Proactive, and Retroactive Interference were also analyzed, as well as the relationship of errors to Amyloid load, a biomarker of AD. Results suggest that the types of error made indicated the level of cognitive decline. It appears that as deficits increase, impaired semantic networks result in the simultaneous activation of items that are semantically related to LASSI-L words. In the aMCI group, providing a semantic cue resulted in an increased production of Semantically Related intrusions. Unrelated intrusions occurred rarely, although, a small number occurred even in the CN group, warranting further investigation. Amyloid load correlated with all intrusion errors.
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Date Issued: 2018
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005982
Subject Headings: Memory--Age factors, Semantic memory, Amyloid
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The effects of predatory status on developing understanding of mental state functioning subsequent to death.
Creator: Cormier, Christopher A., Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Bering and colleagues (2004, 2005) reported that the expectation that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning) emerges developmentally, and discontinuity reasoning for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) remains lower than for others (psychobiological, perceptual). Cormier (2005) reported very similar findings for the context of sleep and proposed a modular explanation of these effects (“intentional persistence”) and suggested that intentional...
Show moreBering and colleagues (2004, 2005) reported that the expectation that conscious mental states cease with the onset of death (discontinuity reasoning) emerges developmentally, and discontinuity reasoning for some states (emotions, desire, epistemic) remains lower than for others (psychobiological, perceptual). Cormier (2005) reported very similar findings for the context of sleep and proposed a modular explanation of these effects (“intentional persistence”) and suggested that intentional persistence represents an evolved adaptation designed to maintain vigilance and behavioral preparedness while in the presence of animals of ambiguous agency status (e.g., death, sleep, hibernation, feigned death). The current study extended this line of research to realistic animal characters. Although results revealed patterns of discontinuity reasoning and intentional persistence that were consistent with those of previous studies, the prediction that intentional persistence would be more pronounced for predators was not fulfilled. A newly proposed evolutionary product, “Cooptation,” was introduced to further explain the results.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004094
Subject Headings: Cognitive neuroscience, Developmental psychology, Mental representation, Philosophy of mind, Thought and thinking
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Adolescent relationships and their contributions to social and academic competence.
Creator: Jones-Hudson, Vonda Dionne, Florida Atlantic University, Laursen, Brett, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: School success is associated with parent- and peer-relationships. To study the connection between these alliances and school success, 30 African-American and 30 European-American 6th graders were given the Relationship Closeness Inventory, Network of Relationships Inventory, Self-Perception Profile, Revised Class Play, and Youth Self-Report. A parent and best friend also completed surveys. Results show parent and peer support relates to the social competence of youth. Father support is...
Show moreSchool success is associated with parent- and peer-relationships. To study the connection between these alliances and school success, 30 African-American and 30 European-American 6th graders were given the Relationship Closeness Inventory, Network of Relationships Inventory, Self-Perception Profile, Revised Class Play, and Youth Self-Report. A parent and best friend also completed surveys. Results show parent and peer support relates to the social competence of youth. Father support is associated with female aggressive-disruptive behavior, and best friend support is associated with sensitive-isolated behavior in boys. African-American parents do more social events with their children than European-American parents do with their children. European-Americans and males have higher socioeconomic status than African-Americans and females.
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Date Issued: 1997
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15436
Subject Headings: Child development, Parent and child, Social interaction in adolescence, Academic achievement, Friendship
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Keeping an eye on cheaters: cognitive and social determinates of successful deontic reasoning in preschool children.
Creator: Sellers, Patrick D. II, Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Deontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions founded on conditional logic (Wason,1968). The inclusion of a social valence to deontic rules leads to increased rule violation identification in both adults (Cosmides & Tooby, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996), suggesting an evolutionary advantage for a specific class of reasoning known as “cheater-detection” (Fiddick, 2004). The current investigation is the first attempt to understand...
Show moreDeontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions founded on conditional logic (Wason,1968). The inclusion of a social valence to deontic rules leads to increased rule violation identification in both adults (Cosmides & Tooby, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996), suggesting an evolutionary advantage for a specific class of reasoning known as “cheater-detection” (Fiddick, 2004). The current investigation is the first attempt to understand the cognitive and social variables that account for children’s logical reasoning advantage in social violation situations.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004464
Subject Headings: Cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive psychology, Deontic logic, Developmental psychology, Judgment (Ethics), Judgment in children, Moral development, Moral motivation, Practical reason, Reasoning in children
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Investigating the Mechanisms Underlying Infant Selective Attention to Multisensory Speech.
Creator: Tift, Amy H., Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: From syllables to fluent speech, it is important for infants to quickly learn and decipher linguistic information. To do this, infants must not only use their auditory perception but also their visual perception to understand speech and language as a multisensory coherent event. Previous research by Lewkowicz and Hansen-Tift (2012) demonstrated that infants shift their allocation of visual attention from the eyes to the mouth of the speaker's face throughout development as they become...
Show moreFrom syllables to fluent speech, it is important for infants to quickly learn and decipher linguistic information. To do this, infants must not only use their auditory perception but also their visual perception to understand speech and language as a multisensory coherent event. Previous research by Lewkowicz and Hansen-Tift (2012) demonstrated that infants shift their allocation of visual attention from the eyes to the mouth of the speaker's face throughout development as they become interested in speech production. This project examined how infants, from 4-14-months of age, allocate their visual attention to increasingly complex speech tasks. In Experiment 1, infants were presented with upright and inverted faces vocalizing syllables and the results demonstrated that in response to the upright faces, 4-month-old infants attended to the eyes and 8- and 10-month-olds attended equally to the eyes and mouth. In response to the inverted face presentation, both the 4- and 10-month-olds attended equally to the eyes and mouth but the 8-month olds attended to the eyes. In Experiment 2, infants were presented with a phoneme matching task (Patterson & Werker, 1999, 2002, 2003) and the results demonstrated that the 4-month-old infants successfully matched the voice to the corresponding face, but that older infants did not. Measures of their selective attention to this task showed that the 4-month-old infants attended more to the eyes of the faces during the task, not attending to the redundant speech information at the mouth, but older infants attended equally to the eyes and mouth, although they did not match the voice to the face. Experiment 3 presented infants with a fluent speech matching task (Lewkowicz et al., 2015) which demonstrated that although the infants (12-14-months) did not systematically match the voice to the corresponding face, the infants attended more to the mouth region, which would have provided them with the neces sary redundant information. Overall, these studies demonstrate that there are developmental changes in how infants distribute their visual attention to faces as they learn about speech and that the complexity of the speech is a critical factor in how they allocate their visual attention.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004551
Subject Headings: Child development, Cognition in infants, Interpersonal communication in infants, Language acquisition, Visual perception in infants
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: SELECTIVE MODULATION OF SMALL CONDUCTANCE CALCIUM ACTIVATED POTASSIUM CHANNELS IN C57BL/6J MICE RESCUES MEMORY AND ATTENTION DISORDERS IN KETAMINE-INDUCED PSYCHOSIS: A NEW THERAPEUTIC APPROACH.
Creator: Rice, Claire A., Stackman, Jr. Robert W., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels are expressed throughout brain regions important for long-term memory. They constrain the intrinsic excitability of neurons by enhancing afterhyperpolarization, shape glutamatergic synaptic potentials and limit induction of NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity. Behaviorally, SK channels modulate learning and memory encoding. It is hypothesized that SK channels influence cognitive symptoms of psychosis including executive functioning,...
Show moreSmall conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels are expressed throughout brain regions important for long-term memory. They constrain the intrinsic excitability of neurons by enhancing afterhyperpolarization, shape glutamatergic synaptic potentials and limit induction of NMDA receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity. Behaviorally, SK channels modulate learning and memory encoding. It is hypothesized that SK channels influence cognitive symptoms of psychosis including executive functioning, working memory, and selective attention. Theories of psychosis currently posit that symptoms of psychosis are a result of dopaminergic hyperfunction, and glutamatergic dysregulation which can be induced following administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist, ketamine. Initial experiments confirmed that sub-chronic treatment with KET produced significant impairment of object recognition memory, trace fear memory, and latent inhibition compared to SAL mice. A comparison of ketamine dosing regimens revealed the necessity for sub-chronic/chronic dosing on a consistent schedule with a wash out period, to obtain long-lasting attention and memory impairment. These experiments revealed for the first time that sub-chronic KET treatment elicited a new phenotype in male C57BL/6J mice: audible vocalizations. KET mice emitted audible vocalizations within 10 min of receiving KET injections, and vocalizations were detected up to 30 min after injection. Experiments conducted to determine the efficacy of SK channel agonists and antagonists on SK channels to modulate attention and memory in the ketamineinduced model of psychosis in C57BL/6J mice demonstrated for the first time that the SK2 channel activator, CyPPA, significantly reduced memory impairment and decreased the attention deficit of KET mice. A new method of analysis for trace fear conditioning freezing responses permitted a more accurate measurement of the ability of mice to discriminate the predicted delivery of shock during trace versus CS intervals. The application of the novel analytical method further demonstrated that KET mice failed to accurately discriminate these intervals, due to their impaired attention and acquisition of the trace conditioned response. This study examined the efficacy of SK channel drugs to rescue cognitive impairments in a pharmacological mouse model of schizophrenia. The results indicate that SK2 subunit activators and blockers, may provide a new therapeutic treatment for memory impairment and attention deficits seen in schizophrenic disorders.
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Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013624
Subject Headings: Calcium-activated potassium channels, Calcium-dependent potassium channels, Mice, Ketamine, Psychoses
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Synchrony in adult male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella frontalis) during aggression.
Creator: Myers, Alyson J., Bjorklund, David F., Herzing, Denise L., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Synchrony between Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) is crucial for successfully fending off bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during interspecies aggression. The present study examined synchrony in adult Atlantic spotted dolphins during aggressive encounters with bottlenose dolphins. Across group size, aggressive behavioral events increased preceding synchrony, peaked during synchrony, and decreased dramatically after synchrony. Although smaller groups ( 10 dolphins),...
Show moreSynchrony between Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) is crucial for successfully fending off bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) during interspecies aggression. The present study examined synchrony in adult Atlantic spotted dolphins during aggressive encounters with bottlenose dolphins. Across group size, aggressive behavioral events increased preceding synchrony, peaked during synchrony, and decreased dramatically after synchrony. Although smaller groups (< 10 dolphins) became synchronous more frequently than larger groups (> 10 dolphins), larger groups remained synchronous longer; however, smaller groups exhibited more frequent aggressive behavioral events during synchrony, suggesting that additional aggressive behaviors may be necessary to compensate for the small group size, whereas larger groups may be able to rely on synchrony alone. Disorganized squawk bouts synchronized as physical synchrony began, but only if coupled with escalating aggressive behaviors. The synchrony during aggressive episodes observed in adult Atlantic spotted dolphins can be used as a baseline to determine the process of the development of this critical skill in juveniles.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004454
Subject Headings: Atlantic spotted dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin -- Behavior -- Research, Bottle nose dolphin, Bottle nose dolphin -- Behavior -- Research, Dolphins, Social behavior in animals
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Stress Reactivity in Children Following an Academic Stressor: Associations and Interactions with Intrapersonal Characteristics.
Creator: Corbett, Maria L., Jones, Nancy Aaron, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Previous research has shown that the intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., temperament) of children are associated closely with alterations in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary–adrenal (HPA) stress axis. However, consistently capturing direct associations between these characteristics and stress reactivity of the HPA axis has, at times, yielded disparate findings. Thus, using the Rothbart model of temperament (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981) as a guide, the main goal of this project...
Show morePrevious research has shown that the intrapersonal characteristics (e.g., temperament) of children are associated closely with alterations in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary–adrenal (HPA) stress axis. However, consistently capturing direct associations between these characteristics and stress reactivity of the HPA axis has, at times, yielded disparate findings. Thus, using the Rothbart model of temperament (Rothbart & Derryberry, 1981) as a guide, the main goal of this project was to investigate and identify intrapersonal characteristics that moderate associations between other intrapersonal characteristics of the child and stress reactivity during development (e.g., trait by trait interactions). Additionally, study variables were assessed for meaningful associations and, on average differences between those who responded to the stressor paradigm and those who did not. A sample of 45 male and 37 female students (n=82, M= 9.66 yrs.) from six, fourth and fifth grade classes partook in a mathematically based stressor paradigm administered in the classroom. Salivary cortisol and behavior measures were collected in two waves over a 7-week period. Several significant results emerged. Overall, children who responded to the stressor paradigm had significantly higher levels of traits associated with a more inhibited behavioral style. Further, several meaningful interactions surfaced in which intrapersonal characteristics of various categories, including reactive, regulatory, and ambiguous, interacted with one another to predict stress reactivity. Of note, the majority of the interactions involved self-regulation and surgency. These two intrapersonal characteristics interacted with several others, helping to elucidate the unique influences of these intrapersonal characteristics on each other and, subsequently, stress reactivity of the HPA axis. These results illustrate that interactions between multiple intrapersonal characteristics should be taken into consideration in the future when studying the relationships between intrapersonal characteristics and stress reactivity of the HPA axis.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004824, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004824
Subject Headings: Stress (Psychology), Stress management., Temperament in children., Emotions--Psychological aspects., Mood (Psychology)--Physiological aspects.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Pluralistic ignorance and explicit attitudes on academic cheating in college students and faculty.
Creator: Hubertz, Martha J., Bjorklund, David F., Monson, Thomas C., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Academic integrity essentially centers on an individual’s ethical attitudes and behaviors as well as injunctive norms, or norms that dictate what is socially accepted and lauded. One key influence may be pluralistic ignorance; here arguments for cheating posit that students cheat because they perceive that others are “doing it” to a greater extent than is actually true and thus what they are doing is minimized in relation to others. Research indicates that students perceive cheating as more...
Show moreAcademic integrity essentially centers on an individual’s ethical attitudes and behaviors as well as injunctive norms, or norms that dictate what is socially accepted and lauded. One key influence may be pluralistic ignorance; here arguments for cheating posit that students cheat because they perceive that others are “doing it” to a greater extent than is actually true and thus what they are doing is minimized in relation to others. Research indicates that students perceive cheating as more widespread than it actually is (Hard, Conway, & Moran, 2006). A considerable gap in the research is noted when looking at definitions of what constitutes academic fraud, research has indicated that when students are asked if they have cheated and then given a definition of cheating, their self-reports of cheating increase (Burrus et al., 2007). This indicates that students’ definition of cheating and a universities’ definition of cheating may be incongruent. Participants were 507 members of the Florida Atlantic University community during the 2012-2013 academic year who completed a survey that consisted of items, which centered on self-reported cheating, perceptions of what cheating constitutes, and estimates of cheating prevalence. Results indicate that students reported peer cheating to be higher then self reported cheating, that participants distinguished between five different forms of cheating, and that faculty and students hold differing definitions of cheating. The findings suggest a disconnect between faculty perceptions and definitions of academic integrity and students. This would suggest that greater efforts should to be taken to bring a more uniform operational definition of what constitutes academic dishonesty that universities, faculty, and students can rely on. Second, as a pluralist model of cheating was supported, universities could develop campaigns like those aimed at reducing drinking, hooking up, and increasing women in STEM fields (Lambert, Kahn & Apple, 2003; Mattern & Neighbors, 2004; Muldoon, 2002; Schroder & Prentice, 1998). Research has suggested social norm campaigns targeting pluralistic ignorance can be effective on college campuses. In educating students about what actually happens and the discrepancy between reality and perception, cases of academic dishonesty could be reduced.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004381
Subject Headings: Cheating (Education), College discipline, College students -- Attitudes, College students -- Conduct of life, Personality assessment, Plagarism, Professional ethics, Social ethics
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Properties of Child-Directed Speech in Mothers’ Native and Nonnative Languages: A Comparison of English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Mothers’ Talk to 2-Year-Olds.
Creator: Shanks, Katherine Alexandra Filippi, Hoff, Erika, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: Previous studies have found that bilingual children’s vocabulary development benefits more from child-directed speech from native speakers than child-directed speech from nonnative speakers. The current study compared the native English child-directed speech of 20 English monolingual mothers, the nonnative English child-directed speech of 20 Spanish-English bilingual mothers, and the native Spanish child-directed speech of the same bilingual mothers in terms of three aspects of input...
Show morePrevious studies have found that bilingual children’s vocabulary development benefits more from child-directed speech from native speakers than child-directed speech from nonnative speakers. The current study compared the native English child-directed speech of 20 English monolingual mothers, the nonnative English child-directed speech of 20 Spanish-English bilingual mothers, and the native Spanish child-directed speech of the same bilingual mothers in terms of three aspects of input previously associated with children’s language development: data-providing properties, topic contingency, and speech function. There were significant differences between native English and nonnative English child-directed speech, and between nonnative English and native Spanish. The results suggest two sources of influence shaping child-directed speech: quality differences related to native speaker status and cultural factors primed by the language being spoken.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004633, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004633
Subject Headings: Language arts (Early childhood), Language acquisition--Parent participation., Sociolinguistics., Bilingualism in children., Psycholinguistics., Interpersonal communication--Psychological aspects.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Self-Organization of Object-Level Visual Representations via Enforcement of Structured Sparsity in Deep Neural Networks.
Creator: LaCombe, Daniel C. Jr., Barenholtz, Elan, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: A hypothesis for the self-organization of receptive fields throughout the hierarchy of biological vision is empirically tested using simulations of deep artificial neural networks. Results from many fields for topographic organization of receptive fields throughout the visual hierarchy remain disconnected. Although extensive simulation research has been done to model topographic organization in early visual areas, little to no research has investigated such organization in higher visual areas...
Show moreA hypothesis for the self-organization of receptive fields throughout the hierarchy of biological vision is empirically tested using simulations of deep artificial neural networks. Results from many fields for topographic organization of receptive fields throughout the visual hierarchy remain disconnected. Although extensive simulation research has been done to model topographic organization in early visual areas, little to no research has investigated such organization in higher visual areas. We propose that parsimonious structured sparsity principles, that permit the learning of topographic receptive fields in simulated visual areas, are sufficient for the emergence of a semantic topology in object-level representations of a deep neural network. These findings suggest wide-reaching implications for the functional organization of the biological visual system and we conjecture that such observed results in nature could serve as the foundation for unsupervised learning of taxonomic and semantic relations between entities in the world.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004965, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004955
Subject Headings: Dissertations, Academic -- Florida Atlantic University
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Selective Activation of the SK1 Subtype of Small Conductance Ca2+ Activated K+ Channels by GW542573X in C57BL6J Mice Impairs Hippocampal-dependent Memory.
Creator: Rice Kuchera, Claire A., Stackman, Robert W., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description: SK channels are small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels expressed throughout the CNS. SK channels modulate the excitability of hippocampal CA1 neurons by affecting afterhyperpolarization and shaping excitatory postsynaptic responses. Such SK-mediated effects on activity-dependent neuronal excitability and synaptic strength are thought to underlie the modulatory influence of SK channels on memory encoding. Here,the effect of a new SK1 selective activator, GW542573X, on hippocampal...
Show moreSK channels are small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels expressed throughout the CNS. SK channels modulate the excitability of hippocampal CA1 neurons by affecting afterhyperpolarization and shaping excitatory postsynaptic responses. Such SK-mediated effects on activity-dependent neuronal excitability and synaptic strength are thought to underlie the modulatory influence of SK channels on memory encoding. Here,the effect of a new SK1 selective activator, GW542573X, on hippocampal-dependent object memory, contextual and cued conditioning, and trace fear conditioning was examined. The results demonstrated that pre- but not post-training systemic administration of GW542573X impaired object memory and trace fear memory in mice 24 h after training. Contextual and cued fear memory were not disrupted. These current data suggest that activation of SK1 subtype-containing SK channels impairs long-term memory. These results are consistent with converging evidence that SK channel activation suppressed behaviorally triggered synaptic plasticity necessary for encoding hippocampal-dependent memory.
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Date Issued: 2015
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004541, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004541
Subject Headings: Cellular control mechanisms, Cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive psychology, Hippocampus (Brain), Mice as laboratory animals, Neurotransmitter receptors
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: INHIBITORY CONTROL PERFORMANCE AS A FUNCTION OF PREADOLESCENT ANXIETY AND RESTING-STATE NEUROPHYSIOLOGY.
Creator: Shanok, Nathaniel A., Jones, Nancy Aaron, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: The aim of this study was to further examine the relationship between anxiety, inhibitory control (IC), and brain functioning (electroencephalogram) in a critical age-range for social and emotional development (8-12-year-olds). Depression was a secondary focus but was included in the analyses given the common anxiety/depression overlap. Additionally, the participants (N = 42) were assigned to 4 weeks of either an emotional training program (Emotional gFocus), a neutral training program ...
Show moreThe aim of this study was to further examine the relationship between anxiety, inhibitory control (IC), and brain functioning (electroencephalogram) in a critical age-range for social and emotional development (8-12-year-olds). Depression was a secondary focus but was included in the analyses given the common anxiety/depression overlap. Additionally, the participants (N = 42) were assigned to 4 weeks of either an emotional training program (Emotional gFocus), a neutral training program (Neutral gFocus), or a waitlisted control and were tested using cognitive, neurophysiological, and mood measures. Hierarchical regression models revealed that IC accuracy scores were significantly and negatively related to anxiety levels as indicated by the Screening For Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED), as well as depression levels (using the Child Depression Inventory (CDI)), controlling for age and gender. Additionally, increased resting-state right lateral frontal alpha asymmetry was predictive of increased anxiety as well as depression levels. To evaluate the intervention effects, a series of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA) and contrast tests were conducted to determine if group differences existed from pre-to-post for any of the measures of interest. Overall, the emotional and neutral training conditions showed similar reductions in anxiety and depression compared to the waitlist condition. Both the emotional and neutral conditions also facilitated significant improvements in IC accuracy compared to the control. Minimal pre-to-post power and asymmetry changes occurred in frontal and parietal regions; however, a lateral frontal leftward activity shift was found in the emotional training group. These findings further demonstrated a relationship between IC and anxiety and showed preliminary evidence that training IC has the potential to mitigate negative emotional functioning in adolescents. Future research is necessary to determine the importance of emotional training versus neutral as well as whether longer training intervals will be needed to facilitate a long-term impact.
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Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013486
Subject Headings: Preadolescents, Preteens, Anxiety, Neurophysiology, Inhibitory control
Format: Document (PDF)

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