Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1999. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 60-09, Section: B, page: 4953. Adviser: Laurie Roehrich.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2002. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-02, Section: B, page: 1023. Adviser: A. Wisniewski.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 2003. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 64-06, Section: B, page: 2954. Supervisor: Nigel Field.

<p> Back problems continue to be a leading cause for disability in all of medicine and are the number one symptom disorder for consulting integrative medicine practitioners. Feldenkrais&reg; practitioners aim to clarify new functional interrelationships towards an improved <i>neuroplasticity-based </i> change in the cognitive construct of one&rsquo;s own background body schema. These phenomena have been found to clinically correlate to chronic pain through concurrent distortions in the reorganization of usual sensory-motor cortical representations in the brain &ndash; being further associated with altered body perception (Wand, et al. 2016). The <i>Feldenkrais Method </i>&reg; (FM) is a comprehensive approach being manifested through manual sensory contact (FI&reg;) techniques and movement experiences (ATM&reg;) and has been anecdotally purported to improve symptoms and functions in Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain (CNSLBP). However, there is little scientific evidence to support superior treatment efficacy.</p><p> A Randomized Controlled Trial compared a novel <i>Virtual Reality Bones&trade; / Feldenkrais&reg; Movement</i> (VRB³/FM) intervention against more conventional protocols for <i>Core Stabilization Biofeedback / Motor Control Exercises</i> (CSB/MCE). The (VRB³)&trade; treatment component consisted of full-scale skeletal models, kinematic avatars, skeletal density imagery, temporal bone-vestibular system relationships, and haptic self-touch techniques being aimed to re-conceptualize participant&rsquo;s prior notions and beliefs regarding body schema and low back pain (LBP). N=30 participating patients with CNSLBP were assigned to either the experimental group (VRB³/FM @ N=15) or the control group (CSB/MCE @ N=15). Known confounding biopsychosocial variables were controlled via stratified-random assignment on the FABQ. Treatment Outcome measures included VAS-PAIN, RMDQ, PSFS, and Timed Position Endurances Tests &ndash; including Flexion / Extension Ratios at baseline, 2-weeks, 4-weeks and 8-weeks. Statistical Analysis was conducted using Wilcoxon Rank Sum and paired, two-tailed t-test. Results showed that the VRB³/FM group demonstrated greater improvement in all treatment outcome measures as compared to the matched CSB/MCE control group.</p><p> This is the first RCT study to demonstrate that a <i>Feldenkrais Method</i>&reg; based approach being combined with <i>Virtual Reality Bones</i>&trade; can be more efficacious for the treatment of CNSLBP than the current and accepted physical medicine standard of isolated Core Stabilization Biofeedback / Training and Motor Control Exercises. Future multi-site RCT studies with larger sample sizes are therefore recommended.</p>

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a persistent pattern of inattention and or hyperactivity-impulsivity, is a growing concern in many school districts because it is estimated to affect as much as 3 percent to 5 percent of the school age population (APA, 1994). The problem is that regardless of the currently accepted methods of treatment such as parent training, family therapy, classroom management, social skills training, and medication therapy, the symptoms of ADHD persist into adolescence at an alarming rate. Children with disorders of behavior exhibit excessive theta brainwave activity compared to normal children (Lubar, 1991). The present study administered a changing criterion treatment protocol, which integrated components of neurofeedback, meditation, and control theory, in order to decrease theta brainwave activity. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether a school system could identify specific profiles of attention with a computerized continuous performance test (CPT), administer an attention enhancement program, and remedy those deficits identified by the CPT. The subjects were 5 male children between the ages of 8 and 10 years who were diagnosed ADHD by their family physicians. Subjects were selected according to their performance on the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.), a computerized continuous performance test. Subjects received between 18 and 26 attention enhancement sessions over a four month period during their regular school day. Although the T.O.V.A. showed moderate ability to identify specific profiles of attention, as supported by moderate Pearson correlations between T.O.V.A. impulsivity and ADHDT impulsivity (r = −.58, P < .05) and T.O.V.A. inattention and ADHDT inattention (r = −.63, P < .05), T.O.V.A. performance did not consistently improve after attention training. Although the attention enhancement program was completed within the school, there were many unforseen difficulties and impediments to its successful administration. Secondary dependent measures included the Stroop Color and Word Test, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Test (ADHDT), EEG measures, Parenting Stress Index, and Behavior Rating Profile. The results of these measures were equivocal.

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a cortical brain region involved in the evaluation and selection of motivationally relevant outcomes. mPFC-mediated cognitive functions are impaired following acute alcohol exposure. In rodent models, ethanol (EtOH) doses as low as 0.75 g/kg yield deficits in cognitive functions. These deficits following acute EtOH are thought to be mediated, at least in part, by decreases in mPFC firing rates. However, these data have been generated exclusively in anesthetized rodents. To eliminate the potentially confounding role of anesthesia on EtOH modulated mPFC activity, the present study investigated the effects of acute EtOH injections on mPFC neural activity in awake-behaving rodents. We utilized three groups: the first group received 2 saline injections during the recording. The second group received a saline injection followed 30 minutes later by a 1.0 g/kg EtOH injection. The last group received a saline injection followed 30 minutes later by a 2.0 g/kg EtOH injection. One week following the awake-behaving recording, an anesthetized recording was performed using one dose of saline followed 30 minutes later by one dose of 1.0 g/kg EtOH in order to replicate previous studies. Firing rates were normalized to a baseline period that occurred 5 minutes prior to each injection. A 5-minute time period 30 minutes following the injection was used to compare across groups. There were no significant differences across the awake-behaving saline-saline group, indicating no major effect on mPFC neural activity as a result of repeated injections. There was a significant main effect across treatment & behavioral groups in the saline-EtOH 1.0 g/kg group with reductions in the EtOH & Sleep condition. In the saline-EtOH 2.0 g/kg, mPFC neural activity was only reduced in lowered states of vigilance. This suggests that EtOH only causes gross changes on neural activity when the animal is not active and behaving. Ultimately this means that EtOH’s impact on decision making is not due to gross changes in mPFC neural activity and future work should investigate its mechanism.

Sexual behavior in female guinea pigs and rats is dependent upon circulating ovarian steroid hormones. The actions of these hormones on behavior are mediated by intracellular receptors located within interconnected brain regions. This complex neural network integrates somatosensory and hormonal information relevant to sexual behavior. An understanding of the anatomy of this network is important for understanding how behavior is generated. This dissertation investigated the neural projections from a region important for the induction of sexual behavior, the ventrolateral hypothalamus. Based on the steroid-sensitive neural network model described in rats, several experiments were designed to test predictions of this neural model in guinea pigs. In the first experiment, estrogen receptor- and estradiol-induced progestin receptor-containing cells were localized in the midbrain, a major projection site of the steroid receptor-rich region within the ventrolateral hypothalamus. In the second experiment, the anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris-Leucoagglutinin, an anterograde tract-tracer, was deposited within the estrogen receptor-containing region of the ventrolateral hypothalamus. Projections from this area were found in most other estrogen receptor-containing sites, including the midbrain central gray, often closely associated with estrogen receptor-containing cells. The third experiment examined the distributions of substance P, a peptide found in ovarian steroid hormone receptor-containing cells in the ventrolateral hypothalamus and estrogen receptor-containing cells in the midbrain central gray. Substance P-immunoreactive boutons were found closely associated with some estrogen receptor-containing cells suggesting substance P modulation of ovarian steroid hormone receptor-containing cells. These connections, taken together with the hypothalamic projections closely associated with estrogen receptor-containing cells in the midbrain, support the idea that some estrogen receptor-containing cells may be directly linked. These studies provide information on the neural connections between estrogen receptor-containing regions and cells which may be important for regulating functions of the steroid hormone sensitive neural network.

<p>The goal of this study is to use a rat model of acquired temporal lobe epilepsy, pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), to test the hypothesis that WD exacerbates the inflammatory consequences of SE in hippocampus of male rats. Testing this hypothesis in animals consuming WD from early in life may provide insight into how a modifiable environmental factor could influence the development of seizure disorders. </p>

The physiological and subjective effects of touch on individuals confronted with a physical stressor were investigated in a mixed two-factor study of 57 college-age women. Peak values and time course of several indices of autonomic nervous system activity (heart rate, frontalis EMG, and skin conductance) were monitored before, during, and after a 30-sec cold pressor task under three different touch conditions: no touch, touch-during, and touch-after the stressor. Experimental group members received a light stroking touch to their shoulder by the female experimenter for 30-sec. No touch (control) group members were guided through a 30-sec visualization exercise. Data analysis failed to support a theory of attenuated stress responding or facilitated recovery under either touch condition. However, equipment error and large within-subject variability may have masked the touch effects. Touch-during group members reported finding the stressor less aversive. Suggestions for future research contrasting static versus dynamic touch are discussed.

The physiological differences in happy and sad emotional reactions were measured by taking blood pressure, EMG, heart-rate, and skin-temperature while each emotion was evoked in participants. The study used films shown to participants to provoke happy and sad responses. Self-evaluation questionnaires were used to determine how aware the participants were of their physiological changes in both emotional conditions. Results indicated a decrease in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and EMG responses, but, an increase in skin temperature while participants watched the sad film manipulation. Physiological readings taken during the happy film sequence contradicted the hypotheses of this study. Participants blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature readings were lower in the happy condition than in the sad. Electromyography during the happy film manipulation was the only measure to increase as predicted. Attention was paid to the differences in men and women in their physiological responses.