Thesis (D. H. Sc.)--Deakin University. / "February 2005." Title taken from title screen (viewed October 8, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 345-370) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-135).

Thesis (D.C.P. / M. Sc.)--School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, 2007. / Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology/Master of Science to the School of Psychology. Title from title screen (viewed 15 January 2009). Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

No description available.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of whether Behavioral Skills Training (BST) was effective in teaching PEAK-DT to parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Along with, if parent implementation of PEAK was effective in increasing the children’s PEAK scores. Three parents and their child with autism were participants in the current study using the PEAK Relational Training System-Direct Training module (PEAK-DT). The procedure first required the parents to read information on how to implement the programs found in the introduction of the PEAK-DT module. Following this step, parents observed their child’s therapy sessions conducted at an ABA clinic by student therapists. Next, the parents were instructed to implement three programs and received feedback from the child’s therapist. Implementation fidelity was collected based on the parent performance and child progress was recorded based on percent correct responding within the actual program. Each parent was able to successfully implement programs within the PEAK-DT module within their child’s therapy sessions and the children were accurately responding and two of the three children had increases in skill acquisition. The results of the present study suggest that training parents using a BST model to implement PEAK-DT was effective in teaching children with autism.

Current diagnostic criteria for autism are guided by the 'Triad of Impairments' (Wing & Gould, 1979), of which 'social impairment' forms an individual category. Social difficulties have been observed in children with autism under the age of two years and the difficulties continue throughout adulthood. Few studies have used computer-based training packages (CBTP's) to facilitate social competency in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study was completed in two phases: Phase I -compared 14 individuals with ASD (IQ ý: 70), ten individuals with no disabilities (ND) and eight individuals with mild mental retardation (MR; IQ 50-70) on their ability to identify appropriate and inappropriate social interactions using 12 scenarios on a tailor-made DVD. Phase H- the ASD group was divided into two groups. Eight individuals were trained using six of the scenarios from Phase I and eight new scenarios. Following training, both groups with ASD re-viewed the 12 scenarios shown in Phase I. The results showed that individuals with ASD were less able_to identify appropriate and inappropriate social skills than individuals with MR (t (18) = 4.9, p<00 1) or ND (t (13) = 7.5, p<00 1). The severity of the autistic symptoms negatively impacted on performance (r (14) =- . 83, p<. 001). The training group significantly improved their performance (z = -2.52, p= . 05) on both trained (z = -2.207, p= . 027) and untrained scenarios (z = -2.032, p . 042). The untrained group scores showed no significant difference between Phase I and Phase II. The current study identified that individuals with autism have more difficulty understanding inappropriate and appropriate behaviour than their MR and ND peers. However the DVD was an effective method of training a component of social competency for this population. Within the trained group, ability improved on untrained as well as trained scenarios, this suggests a generalisation of skills rather than rote learning or practice effects. Future studies would benefit from addressing how to generalise this skill from computers to 'real-life' situations.

Emotional disorders are common in people with brain damage. It is often difficult to determine whether such disorders are a result of a deficit in recognition, expression, or regulation of emotion due to brain damage per se, or if they are reactive to other functional limitations. The Victoria Emotion Recognition Test (VERT) was developed to provide a standardized tool for the assessment of deficits in the recognition of facial and tonal affect. The VERT was constructed on the basis of neurophysiological and behavioural theories of emotion and neuropsychological theories of agnosia. The VERT consists of three subtests in which four emotions (angry, sad, happy and afraid) are presented at three levels of intensity. The visual subtest presents photographs of faces; the auditory subtest, audiotaped voice clips; and the auditory/visual subtest, both photographs and voice clips. Psychometric results of the standardization studies suggest that the VERT measures an aspect of the recognition of facial and tonal emotion that is independent of more basic skills in face recognition and auditory nonverbal memory. The theoretical construct of recognition of emotion was investigated within the framework of an "affective agnosia". The results suggest that a broader concept of agnosia is necessary in order to include failures in recognition of emotion within this framework. / Graduate

The principal intention of this study was to explore the heuristic value of the story of the alchemical vessel in understanding borderline conditions and pursuing their psychotherapy. It establishes the pertinence of the case study as a method of exploring the content and process of psychotherapy. The essential nature of story-telling is examined and the hypothesis is made that psychotherapy, borderline conditions, the myth of the alchemical vessel and the case study all reflect instances of story-telling. Towards the end of examining their mutual reflection, and thus heuristic value, elements of Jungian theory, the phenomenology of borderline conditions and case material are examined. Through the examination of certain shared themes which emerge from the story of the alchemical vessel and the material of psychotherapy it is established that there is indeed a metaphoric resonance between the different stories. Furthermore this resonance is useful in that it provides a secure vantage point as well as guidance towards effecting transformation for the client. The validity of the metaphoric resonance is examined and areas of weakness highlighted. Some suggestions are made concerning further research.

abstract: Knowing that disorder is related to crime, it has become essential for criminologists to understand how and why certain individuals perceive disorder. Using data from the Perceptions of Neighborhood Disorder and Interpersonal Conflict Project, this study uses a fixed photograph of a neighborhood, to assess whether individuals "see" disorder cues. A final sample size of n=815 respondents were asked to indicate if they saw particular disorder cues in the photograph. The results show that certain personal characteristics do predict whether an individual sees disorder. Because of the experimental design, results are a product of the individual's personal characteristics, not of the respondent's neighborhood. These findings suggest that the perception of disorder is not as clear cut as once thought. Future research should explore what about these personal characteristics foster the perception of disorder when it is not present, as well as, how to fight disorder in neighborhoods when perception plays such a substantial role. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2013

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar (TAB) à uma doenÃa crÃnica, altamente incapacitante e associada a custo excessivo aos sistemas de saÃde. Atualmente, reconhece-se o papel importante da Angiotensina II em transtornos de ansiedade e humor. A desregulaÃÃo do Sistema renina-angiotensina (SRA) cerebral pela ativaÃÃo de receptores da angiotensina II subtipo 1 (AT1Rs) està associada à formaÃÃo de espÃcies reativas de oxigÃnio, ativaÃÃo de vias prÃ-inflamatÃrias, reduÃÃo da neuroplasticidade e disfunÃÃo mitocondrial, estando esses eventos relacionados com a fisiopatologia do TAB. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar a aÃÃo da candesartana (CDS) em um modelo animal de mania induzido por d-anfetamina (AMPH). Utilizou-se camundongos Swiss machos (peso: 20-25g) submetidos a dois protocolos de tratamento. No protocolo de prevenÃÃo (PP), os animais receberam CDS (0,1; 0,3; 1 ou 3 mg/Kg/dia), lÃtio (47,5 mg/Kg/dia) ou veÃculo por 14 dias e entre o 8 e o 14 dia receberam AMPH (2 mg/Kg/dia i.p) ou salina. No protocolo de reversÃo (PR), administrou-se AMPH ou salina por 14 dias e entre o 8 e o 14 dia os animais foram tratados com CDS, lÃtio ou veÃculo. No 14 dia, os animais foram submetidos aos testes comportamentais, campo aberto e Y Maze. Foram realizadas anÃlises neuroquÃmicos para avaliar o estresse oxidativo (TBARS e GSH) no vÃrmis cerebelar (VC), cÃrtex prÃ-frontal (PF), hipocampo (HPC) e corpo estriado (CE). AlÃm disso, foram avaliados os nÃveis de BDNF, TNF-&#945; e fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946; para as doses de 0,3 e 1 mg/Kg de CDS. Os nÃveis de fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946; e BDNF foram avaliados apenas no HPC e os nÃveis de TNF-&#945; no HPC e VC. Em ambos os protocolos de tratamento, observou-se aumento da atividade locomotora nos grupos que receberam apenas AMPH, que foi prevenida e revertida pela CDS. Os resultados obtidos nos animais tratados com CDS + AMPH foram semelhantes aos do grupo controle e dos animais que receberam LÃtio + AMPH. No teste de Y maze, a CDS conseguiu prevenir e reverter o prejuÃzo cognitivo causado pela AMPH e apenas as doses de CDS 0,1 no PP e 0,3 no PR nÃo tiveram efeito, assim como o tratamento com lÃtio em ambos os protocolos. A CDS aumentou os nÃveis de GSH no HPC e VC no PP e no PF, HPC e CE no PR. Os nÃveis de TBARS foram reduzidos pela CDS no PF, HPC e VC no PP e no PF, HPC e CE no PR. Em ambos os protocolos de tratamento, a AMPH reduziu os nÃveis hipocampais de BDNF e o lÃtio e ambas as doses de CDS avaliadas restauraram os nÃveis dessa neurotrofina. No PP, a AMPH e ambas as doses de CDS reduziram o nÃvel de fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946; que foi expressivamente aumentado pelo lÃtio. Os nÃveis de TNF-&#945; foram aumentados pela AMPH e reduzidos pelo lÃtio no HPC e VC. Ambas as doses de CDS avaliadas tiveram efeito na prevenÃÃo do aumento de TNF-&#945; no HPC e preveniram e reverteram esse aumento no VC. Juntos, os dados mostraram que a CDS, semelhante ao Li, à efetiva na prevenÃÃo e reversÃo de alteraÃÃes comportamentais e neuroquÃmicas induzidas pela AMPH, com exceÃÃo da fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946;, sugerindo que estudos sejam desenvolvidos para avaliaÃÃo da atividade antimanÃaca desse fÃrmaco em pacientes bipolares, porÃm mais estudos prÃ-clÃnicos sÃo necessÃrios. / The Bipolar Disorder (BD) is a highly prevalent and chronic psychiatric disorder, associated with functional disability and excessive cost to the health system. The pharmacological therapy of BD displays low efficacy due the complex and poorly understood etiology, which makes it imperative to find new therapeutic targets for this disorder. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has been studied concerning neurological diseases, and is currently recognized important role of angiotensin II in anxiety and mood disorders. The deregulation of SRA brain is associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species, activation of proinflammatory pathways, reduced neuroplasticity and mitochondrial dysfunction. It is noteworthy that all these events are related to the pathophysiology of BD. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of candesartan (CDS) in an animal model of mania induced by d-amphetamine (AMPH). The animals were submitted to two treatment protocols. In prevention protocol, animals received CDS (0.1; 0.3; 1 or 3 mg/kg/day), lithium (47.5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 14 days and between the 8th and 14th day received AMPH (2 mg/kg/day ip) or saline. In reversal protocol, was administered AMPH or saline for 14 days and between the 8th and 14th day the animals were treated with CDS, lithium or vehicle. The effect of CDS was evaluated on 14th day by exploratory behavior of animals in the open field test used for pre-clinical study of antimanic drugs. The working memory was also evaluated by Y Maze test. Neurochemical analisis of oxidative stress (TBARS and GSH), was assessed in cerebellar vÃrmix (CV), prefrontal cortex (PF), hippocampus (HPC) and striatum (ST). For evaluate the levels of BDNF, TNF-&#945; e fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946;,we used CDS 0,3 and CDS 1. BDNF and fosfo-Ser9-GSK-3&#946; was assessed only in HPC and TNF-&#945; in HPC and CV. In both treatment protocols, there was an increase in locomotor activity in the animals that received only AMPH, which was prevented and reversed by CDS, whose results were similar to the control group and the animals that received AMPH and lithium. In the memory test, the CDS prevented and reversed the cognitive impairment caused by AMPH and only the CDS doses of 0.1 in prevention protocol and 0.3 in reversal protocol were not successful. Lithium treatment neither prevented nor reversed the cognitive impairment. The CDS increased GSH levels in HPC and CV in the prevention protocol and in PF, HPC and ST in the reversal protocol. The TBARS levels were reduced by CDS in PF, HPC and CV in the prevention protocol and in PF, HPC and ST in the reversal protocol. However, MDA level was increased by higher dose of CDS in ST in prevention protocol and by the two lower doses of CDS in CV in reversal protocol. In both treatment protocols, AMPH reduced BDNF and lithium and both doses of CDS restored the levels of this neurotrophin. In the prevention protocol, AMPH and both doses of CDS reduced the level of phospho-Ser9-GSK-3&#946; that was significantly increased by lithium. The levels of TNF-&#945; were increased by AMPH and reduced by lithium in HPC and VC. CDS prevented the increase of TNF-&#945; in HPC and prevented and reversed this increase in CV. Our findings showed that CDS, similarly to Li, is effective in reversing and preventing AMPH-induced behavioral and neurochemical alterations, providing a rationale for evaluating CDS as a novel antimanic agent, however new pre-clinical studies are necessary.