Schizophrenia is a troubling and severe mental illness that is only incompletely treated by currently available drugs. New drug development is hindered by a scarcity of functionally relevant pharmacodynamic biomarkers that are translatable across preclinical and human subjects. Although psychosis is a major feature of schizophrenia, cognitive and negative symptoms determine the long-term functional outcomes for patients. Stimulus-evoked neural synchrony at gamma (~ 40 Hz) frequency plays an important role in the processing and integration of sensory information. Not surprisingly, schizophrenia patients show deficits in gamma oscillations. NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation on fast-spiking parvalbumin-positive interneurons is deemed important for the generation of gamma oscillations. NMDA hypofunction has been proposed as an alternative hypothesis to the well-known dopamine dysregulation to explain the neurochemical abnormalities associated with schizophrenia. For this dissertation, we validated a preclinical model to pharmacologically probe NMDA-mediated gamma oscillations by further characterizing the auditory-steady state response (ASSR) in female Sprague Dawley rats. The ASSR is a measure of cortical neural synchrony evoked in response to periodic auditory stimuli. ASSR at 40 Hz is consistently disrupted in patients. First, we established the reliability of click train-evoked 40 Hz ASSR and tone-evoked gamma oscillations in 6 separate sessions, spread over a 3-week period. Then we established the sensitivity of these neural synchrony measures to acute NMDAR blockade using the high affinity NMDA channel blocker MK-801, using a repeated measures design. Next, we compared the reliability and sensitivity of the 40 Hz ASSR from two distinct recording sites. Results from this study showed that as compared to vertex, temporal recording showed a greater gamma synchrony. However, the temporal recording had poor test-retest reliability and lower sensitivity to MK-801-induced disruption. Lastly, we characterized the dose-response profiles of an NMDA co-agonist D-serine, an atypical (clozapine) and a typical (haloperidol) antipsychotic, on the 40 Hz ASSR. Results from these studies showed that only clozapine was effective in robustly augmenting 40 Hz ASSR. Furthermore, only clozapine pretreatment had partial protective effect against MK-801 induced ASSR disruption. Overall, this work establishes that vertex recorded 40 Hz ASSR is a reliable neural synchrony biomarker in female SD rats that is amenable for bidirectional pharmacodynamic modulation.

The effects of maternal stress on child behavior, especially externalizing problems such as aggression, defiance, and lack of self-control, are well-established within psychological literature. Few studies, however, have examined the effects of maternal stress on child internalizing problems, such as loneliness, withdrawal, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Moreover, there is much research within developmental psychology to support the notion that parent-child co-regulation, sometimes called dyadic synchrony, can predict child behavioral outcomes. Currently, researchers lack an understanding of how this process can interact with maternal stress to predict child internalizing symptoms. The following thesis details a multi-method assessment which is designed to examine the mediating effect of co-regulation on the relationship between maternal stress and child internalizing symptoms. In this research project, mothers and their three-year-old children complete questionnaires and a challenging dyadic task to assess their current stress, internalizing symptoms, and co-regulation strategies. Co-regulation scores are assigned through a macro coding scheme developed by a behavioral observation coding team. Due to ongoing data collection, data from a comparable project were collected to test this hypothesis using similar self-report measures. This study may have significant implications for the effects of everyday parent-child interactions on future child health outcomes.

[pt] Esta tese aborda a temática do direito da mulher à herança, através da análise exegética, social e teológica de Nm 27,1-11 e 36,1-12. A produção exegética recente tem envidado esforços na realização de análises literárias, formais e culturais numa perspectiva diacrônica desses textos, nem sempre aberta para a pesquisa na perspectiva sincrônica e da análise do substrato teológico subjacente às narrativas. A presente pesquisa reconhece esse desiderato na pesquisa e foca na exegese sincrônica e na análise teológica. Em Nm 27,1-11, narra-se o pedido das filhas de Salfaad de participação na herança do pai, após perceberem injustiças e lacunas na legislação vigente, que resultavam na extinção do nome, da memória e do patrimônio familiar. A narrativa destaca o acolhimento dessa reivindicação por YHWH através de uma inovação jurídica. Em Nm 36,1-12, os chefes das famílias, às quais as filhas de Salfaad pertenciam, registram, por sua vez, consequências jurídicas negativas da permissão à herança de mulheres, a saber, a desintegração e perda das posses tribais. Também essa reivindicação é atendida por YHWH mediante exigência do casamento endogâmico. Os dois textos chamam a atenção por registrarem o surgimento de inovações jurídicas a partir das decisões de YHWH que acolhem pleitos por justiça e que alteram práticas consuetudinárias aplicadas em todo o Antigo Oriente Próximo. A abordagem sociológica contemplou uma análise da prática do direito à herança para mulheres nas diversas sociedades do Antigo Oriente Próximo e nos textos bíblicos. Levou à conclusão de que o fator subjacente à permissão jurídica do direito à herança das mulheres era a preservação do patrimônio e garantia da continuidade da descendência agnática. Já a análise teológica resultou na conclusão de que a permissão de YHWH para a herança das mulheres tem como pano de fundo a lógica promessa-cumprimento da terra dada a todos os filhos de Israel e que está teologicamente ancorada nas declarações divinas da igualdade entre mulheres e homens registradas nos relatos da criação, em Gn 1,26-28 e 2,18-23, perspectiva presente em outras narrativas e na legislação do antigo Israel. / [en] This thesis approaches the issue of the woman s right to inheritance, through the exegetical, social and theological analysis of Nm 27,1-11 and 36,1-12. Recent exegetical production has made efforts to carry out literary, formal and cultural analyzes in a diachronic perspective of these texts, not always open to research in the synchronic perspective and the analysis of the theological substrate underlying the narratives.The present research recognizes this research desideratum and focuses on synchronic exegesis and theological analysis. In Num 27,1-11, the request of Salfaad s daughters to share in their father s inheritance is narrated, after realizing injustices and gaps in the current legislation, which resulted in the extinction of the name, memory and family heritage. The narrative highlights the acceptance of this claim by YHWH through a legal innovation. In Num 36:1-12, the heads of the families to which the daughters of Salfaad belonged, in turn, record the negative legal consequences of allowing women to inherit, namely, the disintegration and loss of women tribal possessions. This claim, too, is met by YHWH through the requirement of endogamous marriage. Both texts draw attention for registering the emergence of legal innovations from YHWH s decisions that welcome claims for justice and that change customary practices applied throughout the AOP. The sociological approach included an analysis of the practice of the right to inheritance for women in the different societies of the ANE and in the biblical texts. It led to the conclusion that the underlying factor in the juridical permission of women s right to inheritance was the preservation of the patrimony and guarantee of the continuity of agnatic descent. The theological analysis resulted in the conclusion that YHWH s permission for the inheritance of women has as a theological background the promise of the land given to all Israelites and which is theologically anchored in the divine declarations of equality between women and men recorded in the creation narratives, in Gn 1,26-28 and 2,18-23, perspective present in other narratives and in the legislation of the OT.

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<p>  </p> <p>Dyadic play interactions are a cornerstone of early development and difficulty engaging in sustained synchronous interactions are linked to later difficulties with language and joint attention. For children at elevated risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is unclear if early difficulties in synchronous exchanges could inform later diagnoses. As part of a prospective monitoring study, infant siblings of children with ASD (high-risk group) or typical development (low-risk group), and their mothers completed a standardized play task. Play interactions for infants were evaluated to: (1) assess if early difficulties with social responsiveness or synchrony proceed ASD diagnoses within the first year; (2) explore whether repertoires of observed synchronous behaviors distinguish ASD-risk; and (3) examine whether the unfolding rates of synchrony and responsiveness over continuous time highlight ASD-risk differences. </p> <p><br></p> <p>By 12 months, distinct mean-level differences in synchrony and responsiveness by risk status were observed. Higher synchrony and responsiveness totals were also positively associated with infants later language and cognitive scores and negatively associated with ASD symptom severity (Chapter 2). Although, dyads utilized mostly comparable repertoires of observed synchronous and responsive behaviors, regardless of group membership (Chapter 3). And lastly, the overall rates of unfolding synchrony and responsiveness were fairly stable throughout the interaction. However, distinct patterns by ASD-risk and developmental outcomes were evident (Chapter 4). Ultimately, the encompassed studies did not consistently find robust ASD-specific differences. However, these studies did demonstrate the applicability of advanced methodologies to provide relevant contextual/dyadic elements (beyond the field’s norm of mean-level totals), particularly for infants with non-autism developmental concerns. Future research should build upon these studies to assess synchrony and responsiveness growth curves that extend beyond 12 months of age, as well as utilize behavioral coding approaches that systematically capture both synchronous and asynchronous exchanges.</p>

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Flow is a mental state characterised by a feeling of energised focus, complete involvement and success when fully immersed in an activity. The dimensions of and the conditions required for flow to occur have been explored in a broad spectrum of situational contexts. The close relationship between flow and peak performance sparked an interest in ways to induce flow. However, any process of flow induction requires a measure to trace the degree to which flow is in fact occurring. Self-reports of the flow experience are subjective and provide ad hoc information. Psycho-physiological measures, such as EEG, can provide objective and continuous indications of the degree to which flow is occurring. Unfortunately few studies have explored the relationships between psycho-physiological measures and flow. The present study was an attempt to determine the EEG correlates of flow under conditions of peak performance. Twenty participants were asked to perform a continuous visuomotor task 10 times. Time taken per task was used as an indicator of task performance. EEG recordings were done concurrently. Participants completed an Abbreviated Flow Questionnaire (AFQ) after each task and a Game Flow Inventory (GFI) after having finished all 10 tasks. On completion, performance times and associated flow scores were standardised where after the sample was segmented into a high flow - peak performance and a low flow - low performance level. Multi-variate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted on the performance, flow and EEG data to establish that a significant difference existed between the two levels. In addition, a one-way analysis of variance between high and low flow data was conducted for all variables and main effects were established. Inter-correlations of all EEG data at both levels were then conducted across four brain sites (F3, C3, P3, O1). In high flow only, results indicated increased lobeta power in the sensorimotor cortex together with a unique EEG pattern showing beta band synchronisation between the prefrontal and sensori-motor areas and de-synchronisation between all other areas, while all other frequencies (delta, theta, alpha, lobeta, hibeta, and gamma) remained synchronised across all scalp locations. These findings supported a theoretical neuropsychological model of flow. / Psychology / D. Com. (Consulting Psychology)

Les écosystèmes sub-Antarctiques sont particulièrement vulnérables aux perturbations environnementales et notamment aux invasions biologiques. L'introduction du Chat (Felis silvestris catus) sur la Grande Terre de l'archipel des Kerguelen a eu des effets désastreux sur les communautés d'oiseaux marins. Ce prédateur doit sa survie dans cet environnement à la présence d'une proie introduite, le Lapin (Oryctolagus cuniculus), qui constitue sa ressource principale pendant l'hiver lorsque les oiseaux marins sont repartis en mer. L'éradication du chat n'apparaît pas être une solution réaliste compte tenu de la taille de l'île (6675 km2) et son inaccessibilité. De plus elle serait susceptible de conduire à des résultats non souhaités comme par exemple une explosion démographique des populations de lapins. La mise en place d'une politique de gestion adaptée nécessite d'améliorer notre connaissance des facteurs qui conditionnent la dynamique spatio-temporelle des populations de chats. Au cours de cette thèse, j'ai cherché à identi_er les mécanismes des interactions entre le chat, le lapin et la végétation, car elles sont attendues conditionner celles existantes entre le chat et les oiseaux marins. J'ai analysé la dynamique spatio-temporelle de quatre populations de chats sur la Grande Terre et j'ai en particulier recherché si des conditions environnementales spatialement corrélées (effet Moran) pouvaient, en se propageant dans la chaine alimentaire, synchroniser les variations temporelles d'abondance des populations de chats. Enfin, j'ai étudié l'impact des variations spatio-temporelles d'abondance des populations de chats sur les variations spatio-temporelles de la structure génétique des populations de chats. / Sub-Antarctic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to environmental perturbations including biological invasions. The introduction of the feral cat (Felis silvestris catus) on the Grande TerreIsland of the Kerguelen archipelago has lead to detrimental effects on seabird's communities. Cat survival in this environment is possible because of the presence of the introduced rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which constitute the main prey of the cat during winter when most seabirds are offshore. Cat eradication is not a realistic solution given the size and inaccessibility of the island (6675 km2). Moreover it can lead to unwanted results such as the demographic explosion of rabbit populations. The design of appropriate management policy needs to improve our understanding of the factors that influence the spatio-temporal dynamics of cat populations. In this thesis, I explored the mechanisms of cat-rabbit-vegetation interactions, as they are expected to determine interactions existing between cats and seabirds. I analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of four cat populations on Grande Terre Island and I especially sought whether environmental conditions spatially correlated (Moran effect) could synchronize cat through their effect on the trophic web pathways. Finally, I studied the impact of spatio-temporal