<p> The purpose of this policy analysis is to critically review the Welfare and Institutions Code&sect; 369.5, which regulates the authorization of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders among California's dependent children. While these medications have been proven effective forms of treatment, there is a growing concern about their life threatening side effects.</p><p> Research has concluded that children exposed to chronic child abuse and neglect often present with behaviors indicative of trauma. The <i>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</i> 5th Edition has included criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (P.T.S.D.) in children. However, the Welfare and Institutions Code&sect; 369.5 does not mandate psychiatrists and pediatricians to first rule out trauma prior to diagnosing foster children with one or more behavior, mood, or psychotic disorders.</p><p> Results support amending child welfare legislation and policies to reflect a shift toward trauma-focused services, thereby reducing the reliance on potentially dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.</p>

<p>Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a devastating illness that afflicts around 2% of the world's population with recurrent distressing thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive ritualistic behaviors (compulsions). While dysfunction at excitatory glutaminergic excitatory synapses leading to hyperactivity of the orbitofrontal cortex and head of the caudate - brain regions involved in reinforcement learning - are implicated in the pathology of OCD, clinical studies involving patients are unable to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying this cortico-striatal circuitry defect. Since OCD is highly heritable, recent studies using mutant mouse models have shed light on the cellular pathology mediating OCD symptoms. These studies point toward a crucial role for deltaFosB, a persistent transcription factor that accumulates with chronic neuronal activity and is involved in various diseases of the striatum. Furthermore, elevated deltaFosB levels results in the transcriptional upregulation of Grin2b, which codes GluN2B, an N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptor (NMDAR) subunit required for the formation and maintenance of silent synapses. Taken together, the current evidence indicates that deltaFosB-mediated expression of aberrant silent synapses in caudate medium spiny neurons (MSNs), in particular D1 dopamine-receptor expressing MSNs (D1 MSNs), mediates the defective cortico-striatal synaptic transmission that underlies compulsive behavior in OCD.</p> / Dissertation

La littérature scientifique démontre clairement que la caféine altère la qualité du sommeil, mais des études avancent qu’une tolérance à la caféine peut être développée avec le temps. Par ailleurs, le sommeil change graduellement au cours du vieillissement, et il semble devenir plus sensible aux pressions externes et internes. Nous avons donc choisi de comparer les effets de 200 mg de caféine consommés en soirée, comparativement à un placébo, sur le sommeil de sujets jeunes et d’âge moyen, en fonction de leurs habitudes de consommation de caféine. Le groupe d’âge moyen a manifesté en condition caféine plus d’éveils nocturnes dans le dernier tiers de la nuit que le groupe de jeunes. De plus, la caféine a réduit la durée totale de sommeil et l’efficacité de sommeil de façon plus significative chez les consommateurs légers que chez les consommateurs modérés de caféine. Toutefois, une corrélation a été constatée entre ces derniers résultats et la concentration salivaire de caféine des sujets de chaque groupe, ce qui pourrait expliquer les différences d’effets constatées. D’autre part, la caféine a augmenté la latence au sommeil, le pourcentage de stade 1 et les éveils nocturnes pour tous les groupes, tout en réduisant l’efficacité de sommeil et la durée totale de sommeil. Aucune interaction significative ne fut constatée entre l’âge, les habitudes de consommation et les effets de la caféine sur le sommeil. Nous croyons donc que la caféine, conjointement aux habitudes de consommation chez les consommateurs modérés réguliers, mène à une tolérance partielle aux effets de cette substance, et que le sommeil, particulièrement vers la fin de la nuit, est plus vulnérable aux pressions chez les individus d’âge moyen. / Scientific literature clearly shows that caffeine impairs the quality of sleep, but studies suggest that tolerance to caffeine may be developed with time. In addition, sleep gradually changes during aging, and it seems to become more sensitive to external and internal challenges. We have therefore chosen to compare the effects of 200 mg of caffeine consumed in the evening, compared to a placebo, on sleep in young and middle-aged subjects, in relation to their caffeine consumption habits. Compared to the placebo condition, caffeine increased the duration of wakefulness in the last third of the night for middle-aged subjects only. Furthermore, caffeine also decreased total sleep time and sleep efficiency more significantly in light consumers than in moderate consumers, although a correlation between these results and salivary concentration differences was found, which might explain the differences in the effects noted. On the other hand, caffeine increased sleep latency, the percentage of time spent in stage 1 and wake after sleep onset for all groups, while reducing sleep efficiency and total sleep duration. No significant interaction was found between age, consumption habits and the effects of caffeine on sleep. We thus believe that the combination of consumption habits and caffeine leads to a partial tolerance to caffeine effects for moderate regular consumers, and that sleep, particularly towards the end of the night, is more vulnerable to challenges in middle-aged individuals.

Psychological disorders such as autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, drug addiction, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder involve atypically persistent behavior and atypical activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Behavioral momentum theory states that the persistence of behavior in a context is determined by the reinforcement received previously in that context. Contexts previously associated with higher rates of reinforcement yield greater persistence of behavior than contexts previously associated with lower rates of reinforcement. According to a prominent hypothesis in behavioral neuroscience, dopamine mediates the incentive salience of a stimulus. A synthesis of behavioral momentum theory and the incentive salience hypothesis proposes similar roles for dopamine activity and reinforcement in determining the persistence of behavior in a context. The aim of this dissertation was to determine the extent to which a history of dopamine modulation in a context affects the subsequent persistence of behavior in extinction and relapse. Three groups of rats were trained to press a lever for food in two alternating contexts of a multiple schedule. Following a stable baseline, rats entered a treatment phase in which they received a drug or saline injection before and after sessions in each context. In the drug context, rats received the indirect dopamine agonist amphetamine, dopamine D1 antagonist SCH 23390, or a combination of amphetamine and SCH 23390 prior to the session and a saline injection following the session. The injection schedule was reversed for the saline context such that rats received a saline injection prior to each session in the saline context and a drug injection following the session. During an extinction phase, access to food was withheld. Response-independent food was then provided in each context to trigger reinstatement of responding. A history of dopamine agonism in a context increased the relative persistence of behavior, while a history of dopamine antagonism at D1 receptors and a combination of dopamine agonism and dopamine antagonism had little impact on the relative persistence of behavior. Likewise, reinstatement was relatively greater in a context previously associated with dopamine agonism. This effect was blocked when dopamine agonism was preceded by D1 antagonism. A history of D1 antagonism alone did not affect reinstatement. These results suggest that dopamine plays a role in the persistence of behavior in extinction and relapse, but that different dopamine receptors mediate these effects.

<p>In addition to the adverse effects of high blood pressure (HBP) on cardiovascular disease, HBP is also associated with increased risk of stroke, dementia, and neurocognitive dysfunction. Although aerobic exercise and dietary modifications have been shown to reduce blood pressure, no studies have examined the effects of a combined aerobic exercise and dietary intervention on neurocognition among individuals with HBP, a group at elevated risk for neurocognitive dysfunction. As part of a larger investigation, the ENCORE study, this study examined the effects of dietary modification alone and combined with aerobic exercise on neurocognitive function among individuals with HBP. One hundred twenty five individuals with high normal blood pressure were randomized to an aerobic exercise and dietary modification group (DASH + WM), dietary modification alone (DASH-A), or a usual care control group. Participants completed a battery of neurocognitive tests assessing executive function and vigilance at baseline and again following the four month intervention. Following the intervention, participants in the DASH + WM and DASH-A groups exhibited modest improvements in neurocognitive function relative to controls, and these changes appeared to be mediated by improved cardiovascular fitness and weight loss. A combined aerobic exercise and dietary intervention improves neurocognitive function among individuals with HBP.</p> / Dissertation

abstract: Built upon Control Value Theory, this dissertation consists of two studies that examine university students’ future-oriented motivation, socio-emotional regulation, and diurnal cortisol patterns in understanding students’ well-being in the academic-context. Study 1 examined the roles that Learning-related Hopelessness and Future Time Perspective Connectedness play in predicting students’ diurnal cortisol patterns, diurnal cortisol slope (DS) and cortisol awakening response (CAR). Self-reported surveys were collected (N = 60), and diurnal cortisol samples were provided over two waves, the week before a mid-term examination (n = 46), and the week during students’ mid-term (n = 40). Using multi-nomial logistic regression, results showed that Learning-related Hopelessness was not predictive of diurnal cortisol pattern change after adjusting for key covariates; and that Future Time Perspective Connectedness predicted higher likelihood for students to have low CAR across both waves of data collection. Study 2 examined students’ future-oriented motivation (Future Time Perspective Value) and socio-emotional regulation (Effortful Control and Social Support) in predicting diurnal cortisol patterns over the course of a semester. Self-reported surveys were collected (N = 67), and diurnal cortisol samples were provided over three waves of data collection, at the beginning of the semester (n = 63), during a stressful academic period (n = 47), and during a relaxation phase near the end of the semester (n = 43). Results from RM ANCOVA showed that Non-academic Social Support was negatively associated with CAR at the beginning of the semester. Multi-nomial logistics regression results indicated that Future Time Perspective Value and Academic Social Support jointly predicted CAR pattern change. Specifically, the interaction term marginally predicted a higher likelihood of students switching from having high CAR at the beginning or stressful times in the semester to having low CAR at the end the semester, compared to those who had low CAR over all three waves. The two studies have major limits in sample size, which restricted the full inclusion of all hypothesized covariates in statistical models, and compromised interpretability of the data. However, the methodology and theoretical implications are unique, providing contributions to educational research, specifically with regard to post-secondary students’ academic experience and well-being. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2017

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abstract: This study provides insights into expanding the concepts of community arts in general and more specifically community-based art practices (CAP); highlights the participatory characteristics in the processes of CAP, and seeks to discern the mechanism that contributes to the formation of community collective identity. Revolving around Bhattacharyya’s (1995, 2004) conceptualization of community development, this study found it essential for exploring the fundamental concept of community in relation to community identity. To examine the concept of community identity, this research anchors the inquiry by studying how community-based art practice contributes to community identification and seeks to discover the connection between identity process and social change. The research also discusses the emergent concepts that serve as influential factors to the formation of community identity and proposes an alternative identification mechanism, ‘jen-tung’ process, which provides a needed new dimension to the existing theories of social identity formation and community efficacy development. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Community Resources and Development 2020

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