Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Gregory J. Jurkovic, Gabriel P. Kuperminc, committee co-chairs; Lisa Armistead, Sarah Cook, committee members. Electronic text (117 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed June 6, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 72-83).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1989.

Despite evidence indicating negative consequences of repetitive head impacts (RHIs) on the brain, the long-term effects remain largely unknown. Contact sports, such as football, expose players to multiple collisions. Professional sports players have undergone thousands of concussive and sub-concussive RHIs over their careers. In this study we used structural 3T MRI to evaluate cortical thickness of 86 former NFL players (mean age ± SD = 54.9 ± 7.9 years old) and 24 former professional non-contact sport athletes as controls (mean age ± SD =57.2 ± 6.9 years old). Cortical thickness was compared between groups using FreeSurfer. The NFL players displayed decreased cortical thickness in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0003, 90% CI=0.0001-0.0005) and the left pre- and postcentral gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0096, 90% CI=0.0084-0.0109). When looking only at NFL subjects impaired in measurements of mood and behavior (n=36) compared to controls, NFL players displayed a similar but more extensive cluster of decreased cortical thickness in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus (cluster-wise p-value=0.0001, 90% CI=0.0000-0.0002) and in the left supramarginal gyrus and pre- and postcentral gyrus, (cluster-wise p-value=0.0002, 90% CI=0.0000-0.0004). Reduced cortical thickness in NFL players is suggestive of the long-term effects of RHIs. Still, future studies are necessary for examining the time-course of damage and the implications of regional cortical thinning.

Violent crime and trauma are very common within the society and students at the technikon are as exposed to these traumatic situations that characterize the broader national context as anybody. The purpose of this study was to explore therapeutic intervention techniques that can be used by the educational psychologist in assisting students suffering from post-traumatic stress. The phenomena of post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder were studied with reference to the DSM IV classification and description. Traumatic events and stressors among students were outlined. A case study was conducted with a subject selected at the technikon who was suffering from post-traumatic stress due to earlier physical abuse and violence she experienced at home. The Trauma-100-Questionnaire was used to investigate the extent of the trauma and the results showed that the subject was involved with negative self-talk and employed ego defence mechanisms. An analysis of the subject's problem was done through the relations theory and various techniques from the literature study were implemented in therapy with the subject. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

D.Cur. / Armed robbery is one of the most common crimes in South-Africa and often leads to signs of mental problems. The focus of heal services in South Africa is on primary healthcare. Therefore it would be more effective to treat the survivor of armed robbery at the primary level, that is before symptoms of the traumatic reaction convert into mental illness. Therapists observed, however, that survivors of armed robbery terminate therapy prematurely. This might be the reason for failing to use all opportunities to recover within a reasonable period of time. When the survivor of armed robbery does not complete therapy, or does not receive therapy, it leads to a serious decrease in the survivor's mental health status and can necessitate admission and, or treatment with medication. To prevent admission and treatment with medicines, the researcher explored the experience of therapy in order to use the information as a departure point for a model for facilitative interaction for the survivor of armed robbery by the psychiatric nurse. The aim of this research is the description of a model for facilitative interaction for the survivor of armed robbery that can be used by the psychiatric nurse at primary health care level. The researcher followed certain steps to reach the goal. Firstly the experience of the survivor of armed robbery and the experience of the therapist of the survivor of armed robbery following this traumatic incident was explored and described. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with the two target groups, it is the survivors of armed robbery and the therapists of survivors of armed robbery. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed by the researcher and another objective coder. Thereafter a litterature review was done to support the research results which was integrated into the results. Thirdly, concepts were identified, defined and classified in order to create a model for the psychiatric nurse's facilitative interaction with the survivor of armed robbery. Fourthly the structure and process of the model were described and explained by means of illustrations.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / While there is a growing body of evidence that psychopathology resulting from exposure or victimization to single traumatic stressors is common among adolescents, little is known about the impact of repeated or multiple exposures in South African adolescents. This study examined the impact of exposure to multiple and repeated traumatic stressors in a sample of adolescents from South African schools.This study was a quantitative, quasi-experimental design that drew its data from a larger comparative survey. The larger survey compared traumatic exposure between Kenyan and South African youth. The South African data from 1140 learners was utilized for the present study. The main aim of this study was to investigate whether multiple and/or repeated exposure, rather than single exposure to traumatic events is more likely to be associated with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescents. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the PTSD checklist were used as the outcome measures.ANOVA was used to establish if there were significant differences on psychiatric sequelae between the single and multiple exposure groups.Results revealed that there were significant differences between single traumatic exposure and multiple traumatic exposures on the outcome measures. There were no significant differences found between the no exposure group and single exposure group. The multiple trauma exposure group scored significantly higher when compared to single exposure group on the PTSD symptoms (mean difference = 2.607; CI= 1.67) of which p < 0.01. Results on the BDI indicated that the multiple exposure group scored more than the single exposure group(mean difference = 4.177; CI = 2.05) of which p < 0.01.The results support the hypothesis that greater traumatic exposure is associated with greater distress. These findings have implications for current conceptualizations of PTSD.

As head injuries and their sequelae have become an increasingly salient matter of public health, experts in the field have made great progress elucidating the biological processes occurring within the brain at the moment of injury and throughout the recovery thereafter. Given the extraordinary rate at which our collective knowledge of neurotrauma has grown, new insights may be revealed by examining the existing literature across disciplines with a new perspective. This article will aim to expand the scope of this rapidly evolving field of research beyond the confines of the central nervous system (CNS). Specifically, we will examine the extent to which the bidirectional influence of the gut-brain axis modulates the complex biological processes occurring at the time of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and over the days, months, and years that follow. In addition to local enteric signals originating in the gut, it is well accepted that gastrointestinal (GI) physiology is highly regulated by innervation from the CNS. Conversely, emerging data suggests that the function and health of the CNS is modulated by the interaction between 1) neurotransmitters, immune signaling, hormones, and neuropeptides produced in the gut, 2) the composition of the gut microbiota, and 3) integrity of the intestinal wall serving as a barrier to the external environment. Specific to TBI, existing pre-clinical data indicates that head injuries can cause structural and functional damage to the GI tract, but research directly investigating the neuronal consequences of this intestinal damage is lacking. Despite this void, the proposed mechanisms emanating from a damaged gut are closely implicated in the inflammatory processes known to promote neuropathology in the brain following TBI, which suggests the gut-brain axis may be a therapeutic target to reduce the risk of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and other neurodegenerative diseases following TBI. To better appreciate how various peripheral influences are implicated in the health of the CNS following TBI, this paper will also review the secondary biological injury mechanisms and the dynamic pathophysiological response to neurotrauma. Together, this review article will attempt to connect the dots to reveal novel insights into the bidirectional influence of the gut-brain axis and propose a conceptual model relevant to the recovery from TBI and subsequent risk for future neurological conditions.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Traumatic brain injury is a topic that in recent years has received increased scrutiny by the media and is viewed as a cause for public health concern in athletes that are participating in contact sports. There has been an apparent rise in the reported number of traumatic brain injuries over the last decade possibly due to a number of factors such as an increase in enrollment of sports and suspected better understanding of brain injury in the sports world. Direct or indirect impact forces applied involving acceleration/deceleration and linear/angular forces primarily cause trauma to the brain. This insult results in evident diffuse axonal and focal injuries to varying degrees in brain tissue. The spectrum of pathophysiology in traumatic brain injury involves structural, neurochemical, metabolic, vascular, inflammatory, immunologic, and ultimately cell death, which plays a hand directly in the nonspecific presentation of symptoms reported by athletes as well as the progression of recovery. Traumatic brain injury is typically associated with short- and long-term sequelae, however, inducing repetitive episodes of trauma over a career, as may happen in sports, may lead to a progressive neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has been known to affect boxers previously, but in recent years the attention has shifted and found this disease in athletes from other sports. The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy involves a progressive tauopathy that spreads across different regions of the brain in a classified four staged grading system. Several risk factors have been identified in placing athletes at risk for traumatic brain episodes, however no risk factors have been directly linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Much information is lacking in a complete understanding of traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, therefore emphasizing the importance of further research and consistently improving modifications in the protocols for assessment, recognition, management, and return to play criteria for injured athletes. Furthermore, despite the gaps in knowledge, preventative measures should serve a particular role in reducing the incidence of detected traumatic brain injuries, which should include policy changes, sport rule changes, and especially changes to the accepted sports culture through mandatory education.