Despite concern that preterm infants receive inappropriate tactile and auditory stimulation because of early birth, few studies have explored the development of responsiveness to tactile and auditory stimulation prior to 40 weeks' postconceptional age. The present research traced longitudinally the development of responsiveness to tactile and auditory stimulation of 14 preterm infants born at 30 or less weeks' postconceptional age. The preterm sample was divided into three groups (well, moderately ill, and sick) to assess the effects of illness. All infants were assessed three times per week from 30 to 34 weeks' postconceptional age. Body movement, eye movement, heart rate, smiles, hand-to-mouth activity, and "avoidance" signals of grimaces, cries, yawns, and tongue protrusions were assessed in response to (a) auditory stimulation in the form of talking, (b) tactile stimulation in the form of touching/stroking, and (c) the combination of talking and touching. Further, these infants were assessed weekly for the development of neurological reflexes and responsiveness to the orientation items from the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. When a pre-stimulus period was compared to a stimulus condition, preterm infants were found to respond to talking with significantly more eye movement; to touching with significantly more body movement; and to the combination of talking and touching with more body movement. Significant effects of illness were found when smiles, hand-to-mouth activity, and "avoidance" signals were assessed. During all the stimulation conditions the well infants had significantly more smiles and hand-to-mouth activity. During talking and the combination of talking and touching the sick infants also showed significantly more "avoidance" signals. Sick infants also performed less well than the well infants on the Brazelton orientation items and on some of the neurological exam items. The findings of this study suggested that responsiveness to social stimuli, talking and touching, develops quite early, even before the time of usual birth, and is minimally affected by illness. Behaviors shown by these infants are those likely to attract the caregiver's attention, suggesting that the preterm infant is capable of behaviors which will engage the caregiver and possibly serve as the roots of social behavior. / This thesis was digitized as part of a project begun in 2014 to increase the number of Duke psychology theses available online. The digitization project was spearheaded by Ciara Healy.

Every second throughout life, cortical circuitry efficiently compresses and interprets huge volumes of incoming sensory information. This high fidelity sensory processing guides normal brain development and is essential for animals’ successful interaction with the environment. Low-level sensory perceptual disturbance is nearly ubiquitous in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but despite the potential to offer crucial insight into the abnormal development of higher brain function is poorly understood. Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common heritable cause of ASD. Previous studies in the Fmr1-KO mouse model of FXS report cell-intrinsic, synaptic and local connectivity abnormalities in the neuronal physiology of primary sensory cortices. This suggests that sensory perceptual dysfunction could emerge from interacting circuit-wide pathophysiology to impair neural adaptations that support high fidelity sensory information processing. However, there is little mechanistic consensus about how this might occur. To address this, in this thesis I use brain slice electrophysiology and computer modelling to provide a bottom-up description of how thalamocortical (TC) responses, the principal cortical input for ascending sensory information, are mis-interpreted in the somatosensory Layer 4 (L4) circuit in Fmr1-KOs at a crucial developmental transition to active sensory processing. Recruitment of intracortical L4 network activity could be atypically evoked by lower frequency thalamic stimulation in Fmr1-KO slices. Furthermore, profound alterations to single-cell and network response dynamics were observed, in particular loss of spike timing precision considered critical for sensory circuit performance. These network phenomena were supported by interacting single-cell and local circuitry pathophysiology, including hyperexcitable cortical neurons and temporally distorted feed forward and feedback inhibition. Together, these data demonstrate cortical hypersensitivity to TC inputs and abnormal recruitment of network activity in critical period Fmr1-KO somatosensory cortical circuits. The hyperresponsiveness of intracortical circuitry may underlie tactile hyperexcitability and distorted sensory perception in FXS patients. Interestingly, modelling suggests that many of the alterations of synaptic and neuronal function are compensatory, thus minimizing the impact of the genetic lesion. Thus, this study shows for the first time that circuit level dysfunction emerges in the Fmr1-KO mouse from an accumulation of effects at the synaptic and cellular level; however, it also highlights the challenge of understanding which of these changes are pathological and which are compensatory.

Master of Science / Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health / Edgar Chambers IV / Smoking of food is one of the oldest methods of food preservation and still is used widely to help preserve foods such as meats, fish and cheeses. Apart from its conservation function, the smoking process also has a considerable influence on the sensory characteristics of the products. A highly trained, skilled descriptive sensory panel identified, defined and referenced 14 attributes related to the flavor of food products labeled as smoked or smoky. The lexicon included: Smoky (Overall), Ashy, Woody, Musty/Dusty, Musty/Earthy, Burnt, Acrid, Pungent, Petroleum-Like, Creosote/Tar, Cedar, Bitter, Metallic and Sour. Definitions of these attributes were written and references were found that anchor a 0-15 point scale. This lexicon was used to evaluate the differences among smoked products under different circumstances such as products on the market versus products smoked at home, different woods used to smoke products and the length of time a product spends in the smoker. There are many methods used to impart this smoky flavor and due to health, environmental and economic concerns, many producers use nontraditional methods while hobbyists thrive on the traditional methods. Descriptive analysis was used to see if there are differences between products smoked using an at-home smoker and market products. Using principal component analysis, cluster analysis and analysis of variance, it was found that market products were significantly different than products smoked using an at home smoker. The market products were significantly more Sour and less Smoky, Ashy, Woody, Musty/Dusty and Acrid. Many types of woods are used to smoke products and many market products distinguish themselves based on the wood used. Six highly trained panelists evaluated pork that was smoked with either hickory, mesquite, cherrywood or Applewood and was smoked for 1, 2 or 4 hours. The flavor profiles of the smoke flavor was similar between the types of woods although as the length of time in the smoker increased and the intensities of most attributes rose, the differences among products smoked with different woods became more pronounced. Apple wood smoked products had higher intensities for Overall Smoky, Ashy, Burnt, Pungent, Petroleum-Like, Creosote/Tar and Cedar, while cherry wood smoked products had lower intensities for all attributes. Hickory and Mesquite smoked products were not significantly different from each other and typically scored between the other two woods. Smoking is a slow process and many popular restaurants that smoke their own products find that their claims of smoking for long periods of time are beneficial to their image. Descriptive analysis was used to see how the flavor changes based on the length of time the product (pork) was in the smoker. The samples of pork ranged from not smoked to smoked for 15 hours, with samples at every 2.5 hour increment. For most attributes, the intensities went up with the amount of time the product was in the smoker. The only exceptions were Musty/Earthy and Sour. The regression analysis revealed that Smoky, Ashy, Acrid, Creosote/Tar and Bitter are all at least moderately correlated with the time the product spent in the smoker.

Age is associated with alterations in sensation and cognition, but little is known of how sensory-cognitive interactions change over time, especially during late middle age. This project examined the change in relations between sensation and cognition and their consistency with established models of neurocognitive aging. Three studies examined associations between visual contrast sensitivity (CS), auditory pure tone acuity (PTA), and cognition among male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA), who were assessed twice (VETSA 1, x̅𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 56, n =1,237, VETSA 2, x̅𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 62, n =1,016). Study 1 examined sensory relations, with the hypothesis of more and stronger correlations between CS and PTA at VETSA 2 than at VETSA 1 and a larger genetic correlation at VETSA 2 than at VETSA 1. Heritability at VETSA 1 and VETSA 2 was significant for multiple CS and PTA frequencies, and heritability increased with age. At VETSA 2, there were more shared genes between CS and PTA than at VETSA 1. Studies 2 and 3 examined sensory-cognitive associations. The Study 2 hypotheses of more and stronger associations between CS and cognition at VETSA 2 than VETSA 1 were not supported. Performance in five of nine cognitive domains was correlated with low frequency CS at VETSA 1. Four of these five correlations were significant at VETSA 2. The Study 3 hypotheses of increasing associations between PTA and cognition also were not supported. Low frequency PTA correlated with performance in six cognitive domains at VETSA 1 and in four at VETSA 2. High frequency PTA and episodic memory significantly interacted with age. Neither CS nor PTA was associated with cognition dependent on the sensory modality in which the cognitive tests were presented. The hypothesis that correlations between CS and PTA would increase with age was partially supported, and the hypothesis that correlations between sensory function (vision, audition) and cognition would increase with age was not supported, in both cases because these correlations were independent of age. The results did not follow a single established model of cognitive aging, supporting a model-agnostic approach to future aging research.

'Gala' is an apple cultivar with a distinctive aroma and flavor. 'Gala' storage season is short in regular atmosphere (RA). Controlled atmosphere (CA) extends 'Gala' storage but volatile production is reduced. 'Gala' odor-active aroma compounds were identified using Osme, a gas chromatography and olfactometry technique. Changes in aroma after RA and CA storage were characterized by Osme and descriptive sensory analysis (DSA). Hexyl acetate, butyl acetate and 2-methylbutyl acetate were emitted in the largest amounts and were perceived with the strongest intensities, with "ripe apple", "solvent" and "fruity" descriptors. Production of hexyl acetate and butyl acetate after CA storage decreased significantly compared to apples stored in RA, along with perceived intensities. 2-Methylbutyl acetate only decreased in apples stored 20 weeks in CA. Other esters with an apple odor were butyl 2-methylbutyrate and hexyl 2-methylbutyrate. Methyl 2-methylbutyrate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and propyl 2-methylbutyrate had sweet, fruity, and berry-like odors. Ester production after CA storage decreased at different rates. The non-ester compounds 4-allylanisole (anise) and 0-damascenone (grape juice) as well as an unidentified compound (watermelon), were perceived mostly from RA stored fruit. Other unidentified peaks had cucumber, mushroom, adhesive tape or skunk odors. Comparison of mixtures of 'Gala' odor-active compounds in water with whole 'Gala' apples revealed that hexyl acetate, hexanal and butyl acetate were necessary to impart an apple odor. 2-Methylbutyl acetate and methyl 2-methylbutyrate also contributed to the least difference between mixture solutions and apples. DSA of 'Gala' apples stored in RA and CA confirmed the general decrease in fruity aroma following CA storage. A floral descriptor was also significantly affected by CA storage. A musty note appeared in CA stored fruit, which may have corresponded to a garlic odorant peak detected during Osme. 'Gala' apples stored 16 weeks in CA followed by 4 weeks in RA emitted more volatiles than fruit stored 20 weeks in CA. The difference in volatile production was perceived by Osme analysis, and differences in overall fruity aroma between 16 and 20 weeks CA stored fruit were perceived only for whole fruit. There was no difference between those two types of storage for fruit flavor. / Graduation date: 1998

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-226).

Undergraduate honors paper--Mount Holyoke College, 2006. Program in Neuroscience and Behavior. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57).

No description available.

Research question: How do the utilization of the human senses affect the customers' shopping experience within e-commerce? Purpose: The purpose is to describe how brands within e-commerce can create an enhanced shopping experience for its customers. Method: Cross-sectional design, semi-structured in-depth interviews Conclusion: The study revealed that in order to create an enhanced shopping experience for its customers, brands within e-commerce should treat the shopping experience as extended, which enables stimulation of multiple senses.

Rationale and hypothesis: Diabetic neuropathy involves dying back of nerve endings that reflects impairment in axonal plasticity and regenerative nerve growth. Metabolic changes in diabetes can lead to a dysregulation of hormonal mediators, such as cytokines. Thus I studied the effect of interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a proinflammatory cytokine produced by T-cells, on the phenotype of sensory neurons derived from control or diabetic rats. I hypothesized that IL-17A induces neurite outgrowth in sensory neurons through signaling pathways that enhance mitochondrial function. IL-17A can also reverse impaired nerve regeneration associated with diabetes Objectives: Determine the ability of IL-17A to enhance neurite outgrowth in cultured sensory neurons. Investigate the signalling pathways activated by IL-17A and mechanistically link to neurite outgrowth. Study the ability of IL-17A to improve mitochondrial function of sensory neurons (since axon outgrowth consumes high levels of ATP). Methodology: Cultured adult dorsal root ganglia (DRG) sensory neurons derived from age matched control or streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic rats were fixed and stained for fluorescent imaging to determine total neurite outgrowth. Western blotting determined the levels of MAPK and PI-3K activation by IL-17A and for measuring levels of proteins of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation pathway. Mitochondrial bioenergetic function was tested in cultured DRG neurons using the Seahorse XF Analyzer. Results: I found that IL-17A (10 ng/ml; P<0.05) significantly increased total neurite outgrowth in cultures derived from both control and STZ-diabetic rat models. This enhancement was mediated by IL-17A-dependent activation of MAPK and PI-3K pathways with maximal effect at 15 minutes (P<0.05). Pharmacological blockade of one of these activated pathways led to total inhibition of neurite outgrowth. IL-17A improved mitochondrial bioenergetic function of sensory neurons. Bioenergetics function was associated with augmented expression of proteins of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Conclusion: IL-17A enhanced axonal plasticity through activation of MAPK and PI-3K pathways and was associated with augmented mitochondrial bioenergetics function in sensory neurons / October 2014