Survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) are at risk for hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, which can cause a broad range of effects from death to subtle cognitive impairment. This dissertation includes two studies of OHCA patients who had made good neurological recovery after OHCA. In both studies, patients were evaluated near the time of hospital discharge, when crucial decisions such as rehabilitation plans are made. In addition, OHCA survivors were compared with a myocardial infarction (MI) control group in both studies. Study 1 explored the frequency, severity, and predictors of cognitive dysfunction in OHCA survivors, and characterized the cognitive profile of these patients using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Study 2 explored grey matter volume (GMV) in OHCA survivors, MI patients, and healthy controls, and correlated these with cognitive dysfunction and important clinical characteristics (e.g., downtime). While OHCA patients performed poorer on cognitive testing than MI patients, both groups showed decreased GMVs compared to healthy controls. OHCA survivors who have had good neurological recovery may still face significant challenges when they re-engage in difficult cognitive tasks post-arrest. To date, these cognitive issues after OHCA have been somewhat overlooked in Canada's healthcare system. A better understanding of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury among survivors will aid in the promotion of targeted interventions and rehabilitation efforts, and may help clinicians predict those who are most at risk.

Includes bibliographical references. / The exact mechanism of dream production is still poorly understood. Based on exploratory findings that damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex does not cause changes in these patients subjective experience of their dreams (Solms, 1997), a study was conducted in order to investigate the role of this area in dream production. The dreams of seven patients with damage to tile dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were compared with those of normal participants. A content analysis found no significant quantitative differences between the dreams of dorsolateral prefrontal patients and normal controls. In addition, none of the patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reported any subjective changes in their dreams since falling ill. These findings are congruent with those or numerous neuro-imaging studies, which indicate that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is deactivated during dreaming, and provide support for the theory that deactivation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during sleep accounts for many of the formal features of dreams.

Working memory allows for continual updating and maintenance of information for cognitive and behavioural guidance. It provides continuity of experience and is integral to complex and adaptive human functioning. This study investigated performance on a selection of computer-based neuropsychological tests of working memory in a sample of 105 South African adults. The central aim was to examine whether demographic and computer performance variables affected performance on the computer-administered tests. Another key research question was whether commonly used tests of working memory measured domain-specific components of working memory, or tapped into domain-free executive attention. In particular, the study examined the n- Back Test, which had been used extensively in international research but was not sufficiently validated in the literature. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the validity of this test. The study found that the ability to manipulate a computer mouse affected performance particularly on the timed computerised tests, and that computer ability was also related to prior experience using a computer, confidence using a computer, gender and home language. Computer mouse ability was subsequently partialed out of the analysis as a covariate. No significant main effects of computer experience, confidence, gender or home language were found when computer mouse ability was removed from the analysis. This suggested that the demographic differences in performance found on the tests may have been informed by experience and confidence using a computer rather than reflect true differences in performance between the groups. Once computer mouse ability had been partialed from the results the 2-Back condition of the n-Back Test correlated significantly with the backward condition of the Digit Span Test, the forward condition of the Spatial Span Test, and part B of the Trail Making Test around the use of complex executive attention, which provided some evidence for the n -Back Test as a measure of the executive component of working memory. However, the n-Back Test did not load onto the same factor as these tests, but it appeared that the n-Back and Digit Span Tests factored around the type of executive resource demanded by each test.

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<p>This paper deals with the mind-body problem in Spinoza's Ethics and in neuro- or physiological psychology. The thesis is twofold: a) that the psychology offered by Spinoza has much in common with neuropsychology; b) that Spinoza's methodology is in some ways superior to the predominant neuro-scientific one. I also argue, though not conclusively, the superiority of Spinoza's ontology. The discussion is grounded in a comparison of the respective psychologies of emotion.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

From a neuropsychological perspective, hostile men have displayed dysregulation of right cerebral systems as evidenced through an exaggerated sympathetic stress response, with cardiovascular reactivity for blood pressure and heart rate. Altered right cerebral functioning, with hostility and anger, has been demonstrated within functional cerebral systems to include auditory (Demaree & Harrison, 1997), visual (Harrison & Gorelczenko, 1990; Herridge, Harrison, Mollet, & Shenal, 2003), somatosensory (Herridge, Harrison, & Demaree, 1997; Rhodes, Harrison, & Demaree, 2002), motor (Demaree, Higgins, Williamson, & Harrison, 2002) and premotor systems (Williamson & Harrison, 2003). Each of these studies has demonstrated cardiovascular reactivity (blood pressure and heart rates measures) concurrently with altered sensory or motor functional correlates of the right hemisphere. However, the neuropsychological mechanisms and functional regulation for the mobilization of glucose have not been examined. / Master of Science