Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 53).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University. / "Reprinted from the American journal of psychology, October, 1909, vol. xx, pp. 473-529."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1986. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-187).

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2004. / "Publication number AAT 3149056."

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-121).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1943. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-126).

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the psychophysiological correlates of socialization and sensation seeking during a period of reduced stimulation. The subjects were male university students divided, on the basis of self-report measures of socialization and sensation seeking, into four groups of 14 subjects each: high socialization-low sensation seeking; low socialization-low sensation seeking; high socialization-high sensation seeking; low socialization-high sensation seeking. A fifth group consisted of 14 subjects with median scores on each scale. Continuous physiological recordings were made while each subject was exposed to 70 minutes of sensory isolation in an acoustically shielded room. In addition, self-report data on subjective experiences were obtained prior to and following the isolation. The need for stimulation and a deficiency in socialization have been experimentally and theoretically linked with antisocial behaviour. It was hypothesized that the low socialization-high sensation seeking subjects would bear some resemblance to the antisocial personality identified in criminal populations. The results indicated that compared with the other groups, these subjects admitted to a greater degree of alcohol and drug use, and to having a poorer academic and occupational history. Several of these subjects admitted having had criminal convictions. In general, the responses of the low socialization-high sensation subjects on the self-report and physiological measures were consistent with similar data obtained from inmate populations. During isolation they became drowsy and appeared to use reverie and perceptual distortion as sources of stimulation. They were disturbed by the physical restraints imposed by the recording devices. Despite this, they demonstrated autonomic stability throughout the experimental period. The results suggest that research on selected noncriminal populations might be a fruitful way of investigating antisocial behaviours in general. For example, it may be possible to identify factors that determine to what extent socialization and the need for stimulation influence the development of prosocial and antisocial behaviour. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This manuscript uses sound localization circuitry in the chick brainstem to examine the balance of inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmission maintained by neural circuits. This is a particular challenge in sensory systems, like the auditory system, in which this balance must be maintained despite variation in the acoustic environment. The studies described in this manuscript help clarify why and how inhibition is limited during two periods of changing auditory input: deafness and auditory development. In the cochlear nucleus, nucleus magnocellularis (NM), deprivation of excitatory input induced by deafness triggers neuronal death. While this neuronal death has previously been accredited to the loss of excitatory drive, the present experiments examine an alternative hypothesis: that inhibitory input to NM, which may also be affected by deafness, contributes to neuronal death in NM. Using an in vitro slice preparation in which excitatory input from the auditory nerve is absent, we pharmacologically altered GABA receptor activation in NM, and assayed an early marker of neuronal health, antigenicity for the ribosomal antibody Y10B (Y10B-ir). We found that GABA decreases Y10B-ir, and that GABAA activation is necessary for the GABA-induced effect. We further found that endogenous GABAA activation similarly decreases Y10B-ir and this decrease requires extracellular Ca2+ Our results suggest that, in the absence of excitatory input, endogenous activation of ionotropic GABAA receptors is detrimental to NM neurons. During auditory development, changes in membrane properties promote the ability of excitatory neurons in the brainstem to code aspects of sound, including the level and timing of a stimulus. Some of these changes coincide with the onset of hearing, suggesting that sound-driven activity in the nervous system produces developmental plasticity of ion channel expression. While it is known that the coding properties of excitatory neurons are modulated by inhibition in the mature system, it is unknown whether there are also developmental changes in the membrane properties of brainstem inhibitory neurons. We investigated the primary source of inhibition in the avian auditory brainstem, the superior olivary nucleus (SON), which displays sound-driven activity in mature animals. The present studies test the hypothesis that, as in excitatory neurons, the membrane properties of these inhibitory neurons also change following hearing onset. We examined SON neurons at different stages of auditory development: embryonic days 14-15 (E14-15), a time point at which cochlear ganglion neurons are just beginning to respond to sound, later stages of embryonic development (E18-19), and after hatching (P0-P1). We used in vitro whole-cell patch electrophysiology to explore physiological changes in SON. Age-related changes were observed at the level of a single spike and in multi-spiking behavior. In particular, tonic behavior, measured as a neuron's ability to sustain tonic firing over a range of current steps, became more common later in development. Voltage-clamp recordings and biophysical models were employed to examine how age-related increases in sodium and potassium currents enhance excitability in SON. Together the two sets of experiments suggest a new role for inhibition in the auditory brainstem. While it was previously known that inhibition complements excitation to improve auditory coding in a stable system, these experiments reveal that under less stable circumstances, inhibition actively contributes to plasticity in the brainstem circuit. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 6, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Richard Hyson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Doug Schrock, University Representative; Richard Bertram, Committee Member; Frank Johnson, Committee Member; Chris Schatschneider, Committee Member.

30 Male Students were used as subjects in a study to assess the effects of physiological arousal, induced by means of a placebo injection, upon visual reaction· time. Two levels of task difficulty were employed: a two-choice test requiring manual responses and a four-choice test, in which the additional two peripheral stimuli were responded to by foot pedals. Manifest Anxiety scores were used as a means to categorize subjects and allow for individual differences. EEG was monitered as a controlling measure for each subject. Pulse rates, palmar sweat index and blood pressures were used as measures of physiological arousal. Results were interpreted in terms of the YerkesDodson principle.

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