<p> Alternate day fasting (ADF) leads to weight loss in humans and rats. To examine the effects of ADF on diet preference, rats were assigned to alternate day or free food access and presented with chow and high-energy (HE) food. Satiety peptides CCK and exendin-4 were administered to determine if they altered the relationship between fasting and preference. Fasting decreased HE preference compared to controls. For males, this was driven by an increase in size and number of chow meals. For females, this was driven by an increase in chow meal number. ADF appeared to increase orosensory stimulation and/or decrease sensitivity to inhibitory cues for males; for females it appeared to decrease sensitivity to inhibitory cues. Peptides did not moderate the relationship between fasting and preference, but exendin-4 decreased HE preference across all groups. Shifts in diet preference may contribute to the effectiveness of using ADF as a dieting strategy.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3793. Adviser: Arthur Kramer. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-148) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> Pupil dilation measures provide a useful index of test-taking processes. Prior research has established a simple positive relationship between pupil dilation magnitude and (i) threat levels, (ii) task difficulty levels, and (iii) working memory capacity. Surprisingly few studies have investigated the interaction of these three pupil response drivers. Do they add in a linear fashion, like separate weights on a single scale (as the "load" metaphor suggests), or is their relationship more complicated? To test of this question, I used a 2 X (2 X 3) mixed experimental design with random assignment to working memory resource depletion and nondepletion groups. These groups completed two versions of the same task, where response inhibition is required repeatedly in the depleting but is not required in the nondepleting version. Next, all subjects completed a test (90 factor-multiple judgment items) that employed two levels of difficulty (easy and difficult) and three levels of threat (safe, partially cued threat, and fully cued threat). Test-taking pupil data were collected at 60 Hz using a Tobii eye-tracker. Results indicated that levels of threat and task difficulty independently contribute to pupil response magnitude and they do not moderate one another. Apparently, the effects of difficulty and threat are not moderated by resource depletion; however, this study lacked power to detect anything less than a strong depletion effect. Results indicate that test-taking pupil responses are sensitive to testing conditions (e.g., threat and difficulty), but it remains unclear whether these responses are also sensitive to priming conditions (e.g., resource depletion).</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, 1998. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 59-04, Section: B, page: 1906. Adviser: Teresa Elliott.

<p> This thesis explores Spanish Christian mystic John of the Cross&rsquo;s concept of the dark night of the soul as a process of conscious suffering that leads to empowerment, meaning in life, and enhanced wholeness. In addition, this thesis considers depth psychological concepts of individuation and Self, and the depth psychological notions of the teleological function of suffering and conscious suffering in relation to the dark night of the soul. The work of C. G. Jung, James Hillman, Thomas Moore, James Hollis, and Barbara Sullivan, among others, is considered. Using heuristic methodology, this thesis presents the story of the author&rsquo;s personal experience in the darkness to illustrate how conscious suffering leads to personal transformation. Finally, the author provides a guideline for therapists working with clients who are experiencing a dark night of the soul.</p>

The structure and organization of the spatial memory system of Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) were examined using three different experimental paradigms. The natural history of Clark's nutcrackers implies that they are capable of processing large amounts of spatial information accurately. In Experiments 1 and 2, Clark's nutcrackers were tested for their ability to access spatial information using both stay and shift response strategies in an operant test of spatial memory. Not only were Clark's nutcrackers capable of using the two different response strategies equally well, but subtle differences were discovered in how birds using each strategy coded spatial information into memory. Stay birds appeared to remember serial components from the list of to-be-remembered spatial locations. The spatial configuration of the to-be-remembered spatial locations played more of a role in the ability of shift birds to remember spatial locations. In Experiment 3, a naturalistic study examining the role landmarks play in accurate site identification, Clark's nutcrackers relied heavily on tall ($>$.5m) landmarks and landmarks proximal ($<$.5m) to the to-be-located site. Nutcrackers were also flexible in which landmarks they could use as cues to locate a position in space. Nutcrackers were capable of using separate subsets of a larger configuration of landmarks around a to-be-located site in order to accurately locate the site. In Experiment 4, the area of the brain responsible for spatial information processing (hippocampal complex) was measured in Clark's nutcrackers and three related corvids that are less dependent on stores in the wild. Clark's nutcrackers were found to have a larger hippocampal complex than the other three species. All four experiments support the premise that Clark's nutcrackers are capable of processing spatial information both flexibly and rapidly.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0531. Adviser: William P. Hetrick. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Feb. 22, 2007)."

<p> This study examined the relationships between internalized racism, perceived minority status, code-switching and three types of organizational commitment of African Americans. Overall, internalized racism and code-switching were related to less positive forms of organizational commitment. The perception of minority status was not related to affective or continuance commitment, but was strongly related to code-switching.</p>

<p> The abstract is not available from PDF copy and paste.</p>

<p> This study explores the boundaries of consciousness and the possibility of awareness expanding beyond the neural constituents of the peripheral and central nervous system. This thesis investigates whether consciousness is localized in the physical body and the present moment or is nonlocalized, transcending the physical confines of matter and time. Nonlocal consciousness, a modern reverberation of Carl Jung&rsquo;s concept of the collective unconscious, stems from the idea that consciousness can be informed by nonlocal, nonordinary perception. This theory was examined utilizing a hermeneutic process of investigation, analyzing texts from depth psychology, neuroscience, physics, shamanism, and parapsychology. The findings of this thesis, that consciousness is not confined to the physical body and neural constituents of the five senses, support the possibility that depth psychological practices increase receptivity to nonordinary perception, and the validity in therapy of drawing upon images from the unconscious and both synchronistic and transpersonal experiences.</p>