The purpose of this study was to determine the overall satisfaction officers experience with the mental health resources provided by their department. The research aimed to determine whether or not age had an impact on satisfaction levels of police officers. The results from this research would provide information for law enforcement agencies to use in evaluating their own mental health services. Archival survey data from the National Police Suicide Foundation (n = 48) was used for this study to examine the research question: how does age impact an officer's satisfaction in mental health resources. A linear regression was used to analyze the data. In the current study, age did not appear to be a predictor of officer satisfaction in mental health resources. The implications for social change are that awareness is raised by law enforcement agencies to evaluate their own programs to ensure their officers are receiving adequate mental health care.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability throughout the world with few pharmacological treatments available for individuals who suffer from neurological morbidities associated with TBI. Cellular and molecular pathological processes initiated at the time of injury develop into neurological impairments, with chronic sleep disorders (insomnia, hypersomnolence) being among the somatic, cognitive and emotional neurological impairments. Immediately post-injury, TBI patients report excessive daytime sleepiness, however, discordant opinions suggest that individuals should not be allowed to sleep or should be frequently awoken following brain injury. To provide adequate medical care, it is imperative to understand the role of acute post-traumatic sleep on the recovery of neurological function after TBI. The aim of this thesis was to examine post-traumatic sleep after experimental TBI, defined as an increase in sleep during the first hours post-injury. In these studies, we non-invasively measured sleep activity following diffuse brain injury induced by midline fluid percussion injury to examine the architecture of post-traumatic sleep in mice. We detected significant injury-induced increases in acute sleep for six hours regardless of injury severity or time of day injury occurred. We found concurrent increases in cortical levels of the sleep promoting inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1-beta. We extended the timeline of post-injury sleep recording and found increases in post-traumatic sleep are distinctly acute with no changes in chronic sleep following diffuse TBI. Further, we investigated if post-traumatic sleep was beneficial to neurological outcome after brain-injury by disrupting post-traumatic sleep. Disruption of post-traumatic sleep did not worsen functional outcome (neuromotor, sensorimotor, cognition) at one week after diffuse TBI. With sufferers of TBI not always seeking medical attention, our final studies investigated over-the-counter analgesics and their effect on post-traumatic sleep and functional outcome. Acute administration of analgesics with varying anti-inflammatory properties had little effect on post-traumatic sleep and functional outcome. Overall, these studies demonstrated translational potential and suggest sleep after a concussion is part of the natural recovery from injury. While disrupting sleep does not worsen outcome, it is in no way beneficial to recovery. Additionally, a single analgesic dose for pain management following concussion plays little role in short term outcome.

Prenatal stress has been correlated with adverse developmental outcomes affecting infant cognition and behavior. Previous studies have shown that prenatal stress can lead to increased susceptibility to adult disease but few studies have looked at the physiological stress response system by measuring the activity of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Cortisol, the output of the HPA axis can be secreted in many different matrices (saliva, blood, urine, feces and hair). Most studies that do, only look at one measure of hormone production instead of examining multiple matrices. Additionally these studies do not look at the relationship between matrices. Hair provides a long-term assessment of cortisol hormone production as related to infant behavior. Four measures of cortisol representative of prenatal and postpartum periods were collected in a sample population of rhesus macaques at the NIH facility. No stress was applied to these animals and cortisol concentrations were assessed in maternal hair, infant hair, amniotic fluid, and mothers’ milk. These cortisol measures were then analyzed first to determine vii the relationships between the four measures and second to relate these cortisol values to infant behavior in the primate neonatal neurobehavioral assessment. Subjects of this study were 30 mothers and infants from the 2015 and 2016 breeding cohort. 25 of which, were unique dyads. Using four statistical analyses and 3 groupings of behavior, we found that maternal hair cortisol concentrations were correlated with different temperaments of infants, while milk cortisol concentrations were correlated with infant’s visual exploration of the environment. Additionally, an inverse relationship was found between hair cortisol concentrations and both hair cortisol concentrations with amniotic fluid cortisol. Together, the four statistical analyses show that Maternal HPA axis activation during and after pregnancy affects infant behavioral development 1 month postpartum.

Inhibitory GABAergic neurons in the parafacial zone (PZGABA) are essential for slow wave sleep (SWS). Since existing literature about the heterogenous population of PZ neurons is lacking, questions remain regarding the non-GABAergic sleep active PZ neurons. This study seeks to determine if glutamatergic PZ neurons expressing the transcription factor Phox2B (PZPhox2B) participate in sleep-wake control. Phox2B-IRES-Cre mice received injections of adeno-associated virus containing Cre-dependent diphtheria toxin subunit A (DTA) DNA into the PZ (PZPhox2B-DTA). Analysis of injection sites revealed transfection covering the PZ and the locus coeruleus, also known to express Phox2B. We recorded the sleep-wake cycle of PZPhox2B-DTA mice and compared them with control mice, analyzing their sleep-wake quantity, fragmentation, and power spectral distribution. We found total amounts and cortical power for wakefulness, SWS, and REM sleep of PZPhox2B-DTA mice were unaffected. There was fragmentation in wakefulness during the active period for PZPhox2B-DTA mice, seen as a significant reduction in the amount of time and number of episodes spent in the longest bout; however, wakefulness during the rest period was not significantly altered. No significant change was found in the bout numbers and amounts for SWS and REM sleep of PZPhox2B-DTA mice. I was unable to confirm targeted ablation of PZPhox2B-DTA neurons due to a lack of reliable antibody staining. Therefore, it remains possible that ablation of PZPhox2B neurons was incomplete and the wakeful fragmentation is due to neuronal ablation outside of the PZ, such as in the neighboring LC.

Individuals have suffered from depression for decades. Although depression is under diagnosed, it is one of the most common disorders seen by psychiatrists. The purpose of this research study was to understand whether students' perceived stress level was a significant predictor of students' depressive symptoms. The study explored social cognitive theory to assist in understanding the relationship between depressive symptoms and perceived stress in female minority students. Although depressive symptoms and perceived stress in students have been explored exhaustively, these variables had not been explored specifically among minority students and then compared to nonminority students. Using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale, depressive symptoms and perceived stress in a sample of 109 minority and nonminority, female, undergraduate students were measured. A quantitative analysis was conducted to answer the research questions. For the first research question, data analysis confirmed that perceived stress significantly predicted depressive symptoms in minority, female, undergraduate students. For the second research question, data analysis did not support moderation. Lastly, for the third research question, data analysis confirmed that perceived stress for minority students was significantly different from the distribution of perceived stress for nonminority students. Understanding depressive symptoms from a social cognitive perspective can be initiate positive social change. The results of the study can be used to design targeted interventions (e.g., support groups, cognitive therapy) for mental health in different areas, including colleges, universities, mental health agencies, and hospitals.

Previous studies have revealed insight into the effects of noises and vibrations on rodents, livestock, and zoo animals, but there is little information about such effects on non-human primates. This study aimed to assess the impact of construction activity on the behavior of animals in a non-human primate (rhesus macaque) facility. Construction activity and modified frequency behavioral data were divided into three phases: baseline (~3 months prior to construction), roof (construction on top of the animal facility), and honors (construction of 7 new buildings adjacent to the facility). We hypothesized that anxiety behaviors (scratch and yawn) would be increased during the construction as opposed to baseline but that overall behavioral activity would be decreased. Additionally, we predicted that these effects would be most prominent during the roof construction period. However, subjects actually exhibited a significant decrease in scratching behavior from the baseline to the honors phase (p=0.040). The average number of behaviors performed in a 15-sec interval (behavioral change) significantly decreased (p=0.034) between the baseline and honors construction periods. This same decrease was seen in the average number of different species typical behaviors performed per observation period (behavioral range; p=0.004). Both effects occurred from the baseline to honors period (p=0.015). Closer inspection of the honors construction period revealed levels of scratching , behavioral change, and behavioral range had returned to baseline during Honors 3 and 4 (All p>0.05). These data suggest that adaptation may be possible when monkeys are exposed to prolonged construction.

The effects of testosterone (T) extend beyond reproductive behavior to the areas of cognitive and emotional functioning. While T effects on cognition have been extensively investigated, less is known about the role of T in the processing of emotional stimuli. Considering the role that T plays in aggressive behavior and dominance status, it is of particular interest to determine whether T modulates the processing of social threat. Due to their similarities to humans in brain organization, reproductive endocrinology and affective regulation, rhesus monkeys (macaca mulatta) provide an excellent model to investigate this relationship. In a within-subjects design, six male rhesus monkeys underwent treatment to suppress endogenous T and received either T or oil replacement. Tests of anxiety, attention and memory for social and non-social emotional stimuli, and risk-taking were administered to animals during both treatments. Data analyses indicate that T treatment resulted in faster response times, but had no effect on anxiety, attention or memory for emotional stimuli, or on risk-taking behavior. There are several limitations to this study that may account for the lack of effect of T and therefore, further investigation of the relationship between T and emotional processing is warranted.