In a group of predominantly light smokers (N = 10), EEG was recorded before and after cigarette smoking both during rest, and while engaged by two cognitive/perceptual tasks (i) the video game Tetris, and (ii) a computerized reverse mirror drawing task. Increases in beta2 power occurred 0-2 minutes after smoking, which were significant in half the subjects. Significant decreases in peak alpha power and an increase of 0.7 Hz in peak alpha frequency existed 1-2 minutes after smoking. Alpha frequency and power were examined again 11 minutes post-smoking and were found to still be altered, although this did not reach significance. Frontal midline theta (FMT), recorded, during cognitive load, increased 0.6 Hz after smoking. Delta power, also recorded during cognitive load, decreased in all subjects after smoking. Auditory evoked potentials (AEP), presented in an "oddball" paradigm, and visual evoked potentials (VEP), elicited by a reversing checkerboard stimulus, were collected. Increases in amplitude, and small, but significant, decreases in latency were found in the VEP and the auditory P300 after smoking. Taken together, results suggest that, in light smokers, a general increase in arousal and an enhancement of cognitive processing is obtained from smoking.

Psychological stress may be a risk factor for essential hypertension. While several variables have been implicated as mediators or moderators of the relationship between stress and high blood pressure, their exact roles and level of importance remain to be elucidated. A key moderating variable may be family history of hypertension. A series of five studies examined the cardiovascular and emotional reactions to stress of normotensive individuals with and without a parental history of hypertension. In an attempt to facilitate the generalizability of the results, the studies used stressors with greater ecological validity than those used in most previous studies of this topic. This aspect of the research aided the examination of a possible mediator of group differences in cardiovascular reactivity, i.e., emotionality. Several studies observed significant group differences in cardiovascular reactivity to stress, suggesting that stress may be more likely to contribute to the development of hypertension in those with a genetic predisposition for the disorder. However, the exaggerated cardiovascular responsivity of individuals with a parental history of hypertension did not appear to be mediated by greater trait or state emotionality.

Central administration of pmol and low nmol doses of neurotensin (NT), rapidly stimulated hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) activity, increasing adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (B) release for several hours. This suggests potent effects of centrally administered NT and a role for this neuropeptide in HPA regulation. Of several brain areas thought to be involved in mediating NT-induced effects, one site of particular interest is the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVNh). Chronic implants of the NT antagonist, SR 48692 (powdered form), into the PVNh area decreased HPA activity under both basal and stress-induced conditions. These findings suggest an endogenous role for NT in mediating hypophysiotropic HPA signalling. Decreases in immunoreactive (ir) corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) expression was also seen following chronic SR 48692 exposure (day 7). This decrease in irCRH levels paralleled the SR 48692-induced inhibition in ACTH and B release, suggesting that CRH is involved in mediating SR 48692-induced effects on HPA activity. / Chronic intracerebroventricular (icv) delivery of NT (1 pmol/h for 14 days) into the rat brain had an opposing effect than that of SR 48692. / Chronic NT treated animals demonstrated increased fear/anxiety-related behavior. Decreased mean locomotor activity was observed in the chronic NT-treated (1 pmol/h for 14 days) animals upon exposure to a novel environment. Thus, a NT-CRH mechanism of action appears to be involved in mediating behavioral responses to stress. In addition to a proposed role for CRH mediating NT-induced HPA regulation, it also appears to be mediating fear/anxiety-related behavior. / Finally, we examined the status of NT receptors in animals with known deficits in HPA function. Aged, 24 month old Long-Evans rats, were identified as either aged, cognitively impaired (AI) or aged, cognitively unimpaired (AU) compared to young adult control rats. The AI animal showed decreased levels of [125I]NT binding sites in areas such as CA3 (42%) and DG (55%) of the hippocampus and the PVNh (72%) compared to the young controls. The fact that this is occurring in the animal known to exhibit HPA hyperactivity lends further support for a NT role in regulating HPA function. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This study evaluated the effect of attention on pain- and auditory-evoked cortical activity in humans using positron emission tomography (PET). Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured while subjects detected changes in thermal intensity or auditory frequency. Subjects rated pain on a visual analogue scale. Using statistical brain maps of the pain-related activity, directed searches were conducted in contralateral insular (IC), anterior cingulate (ACC), primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices---regions consistently found to be activated by painful stimuli. / Pain intensity was rated higher in the thermal than in the auditory task. Likewise, whereas in the thermal task there were significant pain-related rCBF increases in S1 and S2, none of these regions had significant pain-evoked rCBF increases when subjects performed the auditory task. Only rCBF in S1 was significantly correlated with the pain intensity ratings generated during the thermal and auditory tasks. These results suggest that changes in S1 cortical activity may be involved in attentional modulation of pain.

This study investigates understandings and experiences of headache in two regions of Peru: a semi-rural Quechua-speaking district of the Southern Peruvian highlands and a poor urban district of Lima. In particular, it explores the personal and collective meanings constructed around women's headache experiences. Both structured and open-ended interviews were administered to patients suffering headache to elicit interpretations of headache episodes. An analysis of the collected narratives suggests that headache is often comprehended in a polysemic framework, where shifting meanings ascribed in bodily, emotional, family and social terms articulate both individual and shared notions of suffering: loss of loved ones, inter-personal conflict, and tension associated to women's roles as homemakers are among the central themes evoked, and span through past, present and future domains. In particular, strains in family relationships, in dynamic interaction with larger contexts of social violence, play a prominent role in the configuration of headache, often experienced in conditions of solitude and isolation. Overall, this study underscores the significance of patients' subjective interpretations of painful experiences and emphasizes the manner through which bodily and emotional pain are inextricably linked to distress experienced at family and social levels.

The present studies examined differences in proenkephalin and prodynorphin peptide mRNA content, using in situ hybridization, and in opioid receptor density, using receptor autoradiography, between rats bred selectively for their high (AA) and low (ANA) alcohol consumption. Results indicated that AA rats had a significantly greater content of proenkephalin mRNA in the, arcuate nucleus (p ≤ .01) and caudate putamen ( p ≤ .005) as well as a greater overall content of proenkephalin mRNA, compared to ANA rats (p ≤ .01). The content of prodynorphin mRNA was significantly higher in the arcuate nucleus (p ≤ .01) of the AA than ANA rats. Receptor autoradiography results indicated that AA rats had a significantly greater density of mu opioid receptors in the shell region of the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex ( p ≤ .01), and a greater overall binding for the mu ( p ≤ .05), but not for the delta or kappa opioid receptors, compared to ANA rats. The presence of inherited differences in the activity of distinct components of the endogenous opioid system in brain regions associated with the processes of reward and reinforcement are in line with previous findings and suggest that endogenous opioids may play a role in determining the difference in preference for ethanol between the AA and ANA rats.

Animals exposed to nociceptive stimulation for the first time display a novelty induced hypoalgesia (NIH) that habituates with repeated exposure to the same stimuli. The non-selective opiate receptor antagonist naloxone, has been shown to attenuate this habituation. Antagonists selective for the $ mu, partial$ and $ kappa$ receptors were used in order to elucidate the opiate receptor subtype that is involved in this effect. Animals were exposed to a hot-plate apparatus set at 48.5$ sp circ$C once per day, for 8 days. The latency to lick the hind paw was used as an index of pain sensitivity. CTOP ($ mu$), naltrindole ($ partial$), nor-binaltorphimine ($ kappa$) (0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 nM), or vehicle were injected ICV 30 min. prior to each plate exposure. Only CTOP (1.0; 2.0 nM) and naltrindole (2.0 nM) prevented the habituation of NIH. These results suggest that the specific receptor subtypes $ mu$ and $ partial$, are involved in the habituation of NIH.

<p> This dissertation interviewed a single astronaut to explore psychosocial issues relevant to long-duration space travel and how these issues relate to the astronaut's training. It examined the psychological impact of isolation, crew interaction, and the experience of microgravity with the goal of increasing understanding of how to foster crew survivability and positive small group interactions in space (Santy, 1994). It also focused on how to develop possible treatments for crews when they transition back to Earth from the extreme environment of space missions. The astronaut's responses agreed with the literature and the predictions for long-duration space missions except the participant reported no temporary or permanent cognitive or memory deficits due to microgravity exposure. The dissertation identified five frequently endorsed themes including communication, environmental stressors, personal strengths, un-researched problems, and other. The agreement found between the literature and astronaut's responses offer a strong foundation of questions and data that needs to be further studied before conducting research in space or long-duration space missions.</p>

<p> This study examined the effects of Neurofeedback on individuals diagnosed with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). Neurofeedback is a non-invase form of brainwave biofeedback in which participants receive real-time visual and auditory feedback of their brainwave activity. Upon receiving this feedback, participants were reinforced via visual and auditory means for producing particular brainwave patterns which have been associated with mental concentration and bodily relaxation. The existing literature on Neurofeedback for Fibromyalgia Syndrome suggests that individuals experience lasting benefit in symptom reduction post-treatment. It was expected that participants would experience substantial improvements in their symptoms over the course of this study. </p><p> Therapeutic improvement was measured with a variety of self-report measures and neurophysiological metrics. Particpants were randomly placed into either an active treatment group or a wait-list control. The wait-list control group received active treatment after a speficied control period during which self-report and EEG data were collected. Active treatment involved approximately 30 minute Neurofeedback sessions once or twice per week depending on participant availability. Brief pre and post session measuress were obtained to track within-session improvements. In addition, a psychometric battery was administered at baseline, and weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8 to track therapeutic improvement and outcome. Participants received 8 to 16 sessions of Neurofeedback. </p><p> All participants showed improvements in subjective ratings of pain and fatigue throughout the course of treatment, decreased their FIQR scores, exhibited changes on EEG indices, and reported being satisfied with the treatment. The majority of participants experienced improvements on symptom frequency and intensity on the MFTQ, had significant pre-post session decreases in fatigue (assessed via a paired samples t-test), and had pre-post session changes on one or more EEG indices (also assessed with a paired samples t-test). VAS pain and fatigue scores and EEG indices appeared to change when participants completed their wait-list control condition and entered active treatment, which offers evidence that Neurofeedback had an additional therapeutic impact when compared to other concurrent treatments. These positive findings are consistent with the results of existing studies of Neurofeedback for Fibromyalgia, which offers additional support for utilizing neurofeedback in the treatment of individuals with Fibromyalgia. This warrants further studies of Neurofeedback as a treatment for Fibromyalgia.</p>

<p> Anxiety disorders are the most prominent mental disorder in the United States, and women are 60% more likely than men to have an anxiety disorder. One hypothesis for this sex difference is faster fear generalization rates in females. In previous studies using male subjects, context change disrupted a fear response at a short, but not long retention interval. An incidental observation suggested that females would show a different temporal pattern of fear generalization. In Experiment 1, male and intact female rats displayed disrupted fear responses in a novel context at 1 day. Males displayed context discrimination at all intervals, whereas females exhibited generalization by 5 days. In Experiment 2, ovariectomized females were given an empty capsule or a capsule containing 17&beta;-estradiol to determine the role of estrogens in fear generalization. Female rats with no hormone replacement displayed context discrimination at 5 days, whereas those receiving estradiol generalized their fear response to a novel context. These results demonstrate that fear generalization for contextual cues occurs faster in female rats and that this effect is mediated, in part, by estrogens. Understanding the sex differences in fear generalization is likely to be critical to developing effective treatments for anxiety disorders.</p>