Browsing by Subject "Behavioral Symptoms"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Adapting Behavioral Interventions to Better Support Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia Care Partners Based on Their Unique Needs and Differences(2021-12-16) Kew, Chung Lin; Krumwiede, Kimberly Hoggatt; Juengst, Shannon B.; Osborne, Candice L.; Tzen, Yi-Ting; Kelley, Brendan; Smith, Scott AlanCare partners of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD) are typically family members or friends. They often experience physical and psychological strain associated with caregiving. Hence, the long-term goal is to improve the physical and psychological health and well-being of care partners of individuals with AD and LBD through the provision of a self-management intervention, problem-solving training (PST). To achieve this goal, the following gap in literature has to be addressed. Firstly, although AD and LBD have different symptom presentations, little is known about challenges specific to LBD care partners and how these challenges differ between AD and LBD care partners. Next, research to date has yet to identify specific care partner characteristics that could impact uptake and outcomes of behavioral interventions that promote self-management, like PST. Therefore, this (ORBIT model Phase I) study aims to (1) identify differences between the challenges faced by care partners of AD and LBD patients to support the transferability of care partner interventions to all care partners, and (2) identify whether PST needs to be adapted (i.e., optimized) to account for unique individual differences that may affect how much a person benefits from the intervention. Results of both these aims will provide a concrete understanding of both AD and LBD care partner experiences and specific care partner characteristics and intervention components that could impact how we can better support care partners.Item Assessing the Interpersonal Dynamics Associated with Serious Suicide Attempts: The Concept of Problem Irresolvability(2005-04-29) Roaten, Kimberly Dayle; Claassen, Cynthia A.Suicide represents a significant threat to a large number of individuals each year. This study sought to create an adult version of an adolescent suicide prediction instrument created by Orbach and colleagues (Subject Experience of Problem Irresolvability, 1999). An additional objective was to examine the relationship between the suicide attempters' experience of certain previously-researched interpersonal dynamics and lethality of suicide attempts. Eighty-three participants from a large, publicly-funded teaching hospital emergency department in Dallas completed a battery of questionnaires including a newly developed adult version of the SEPIA . Of the 83 participants, 42 individuals presented for psychiatric evaluation after a suicide attempt, and 41 patients presented for treatment of unintentional traumatic injury. An independent samples t-test suggested that the SEPIA-A accurately discriminates between individuals who have attempted suicide and those who have not (t =5.41, p = 0.00). In addition, analysis of the internal reliability of the SEPIA-A yielded a Cronbach's alpha of 0.97. Further analyses were conducted to refine and examine the items included on the newly constructed SEPIA. Finally, a significant positive correlation was noted between scores on the SEPIA-A and the BHS (r = 0.64). Overall, the results of the current study support further development of the SEPIA-A and provide encouraging results regarding its ability to distinguish between suicidal and non-suicidal individuals. The final step in the present study was the compilation of a revised version of the SEPIA, based on item-to-scale analyses, to be used in future studies examining the instrument's utility as a risk assessment measure.Item Assessment of Attention and Motion in Children with an Oral Language Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Following Language Intervention(2010-07-12) Bolanos, S. Gina; Hughes, Carroll W.Children diagnosed with an oral language disorder (OLD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been identified to have symptom overlap of core ADHD symptoms, thus misdiagnoses or true symptom overlap must be examined. Additionally, given that stimulant medication is the most popular treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD, the role of medication in remediating attention and movement in children with OLD and OLD/ADHD should be explored. Core ADHD symptoms in children with OLD and ADHD can be identified objectively using the QuotientTM, an objective CPT designed to measure core symptoms of ADHD (i.e., inattention, impulsivity, and movement). In 2009, Baker found the QuotientTM to be a useful diagnostic tool in the assessment of children with OLD and OLD/ADHD given its ability to discriminate OLD from OLD/ADHD children on variables of movement. The current study aimed to replicate the Baker (2009) findings by examining one year follow-up data. The current study also aimed to identify the effects of medication on attention and movement. The sample for the present study consisted of 35 children, between 6 and 13 years, with an oral language disorder. Twenty-two of the total sample also met diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Results of repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a factor for groups (OLD vs. OLD/ADHD or On Meds/Off Meds), a factor for time (T1 and T2), and a factor that represents the interaction term (Groups by Time) revealed significant diagnostic group differences in movement, significant medication condition group differences for attention and movement, significant improvements in attention and body control over time (i.e., 1 year), and significant improvements over time in an attention variable and a movement variable for children on medication testing. Suggestions addressing limitations of the current study are discussed for future direction.Item Investigating the Enteroendocrine - Brain Axis: Ghrelin Cell and ECL Cell Physiology and Ghrelin Action on Mood and Complex Eating(2014-06-11) Walker, Angela Kay; Eisch, Amelia J.; Powell, Craig M.; Scherer, Philipp; Zigman, Jeffrey M.The mechanisms and neurochemical pathways through which the orexigenic peptide hormone ghrelin act to regulate homeostatic feeding is fairly well documented. However, less understood are the mechanisms and brain regions that mediate ghrelin's effects on mood and complex eating behaviors. At the cellular level, little is known about the ghrelin cell's transcriptional profile, its secretory products other than ghrelin, and its relationship to other gastric endocrine cells, such as the histamine producing enterochromaffin-like cell. My doctoral research encompasses multiple aspects of the ghrelin system, from physiological assessments of the ghrelin cell to evaluations of ghrelin action on cue-potentiated feeding and stress-induced depressive-like behavior. Ghrelin has antidepressant effects, which become obvious following chronic stress. In the first part of my thesis, I found that this effect was mediated by neurogenesis. I observed that chronic stress reduces neurogenesis more severely in the ventral dentate gyrus of Ghsr-null mice, suggesting ghrelin provides a level of neuroprotection in the stress environment. Administration of anti-apoptotic P7C3-related compounds not only blocked stress-induced reductions in neurogenesis, but also minimized the severity of depressive-like behavior in mice. Focal hippocampal irradiation prevented the anti-depressant efficacy of P7C3-related compounds, indicating that P7C3 regulates mood directly through neurogenesis. In the second part of my thesis, I designed a novel protocol for studying cue-potentiated feeding behaviors in mice. Absence of ghrelin signaling in Ghsr-null mice, or administration of a ghrelin receptor antagonist in wild-type mice, disrupted the development of normal cue-food associations. Additionally, I discovered Ghsr expression in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and BLA neuronal activation in response to a food-associated positive cue significantly correlated with amount of food intake. Thus, ghrelin signaling in the BLA may be responsible for its mediation of cue-potentiated feeding behaviors. The third part of my thesis examined the ghrelin cell transcriptome for potential secretory proteins and revealed significant expression of Rbp4, Ttr, and Nucb2, along with RBP4 protein secretion. Lastly, I characterized a novel HDC-Cre mouse model that may be advantageous in future studies to determine potential interactions between histaminergic and ghrelin signaling pathways. The full range of these discoveries advances our comprehensive understanding of ghrelin.Item Relationship of Internalizing Behavior Problems to Intelligence and Executive Functioning in Children(2005-12-20) McClintock, Shawn Michael; Silver, Cheryl H.The current theme of research regarding children has focused greatly on emotional intelligence, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other problems involving emotional disorders. While there is a great amount of research devoted to these topics, there is a lack of consensus on the effects these emotional disorders have on the areas of intelligence and executive functioning in children. This study examined the relationship between internalizing behavior problems (depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal) and intelligence and executive functioning in children. Archival data, from 75 children between the ages of 6 and 14, were used. The sample consisted of children with internalizing behavior problems and children without internalizing or externalizing behavior problems, which was classified using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Each child was evaluated using the Wechsler Intelligence scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III), Children's Executive Function Scale (CEFS), and the Category Test. Results indicated that children with internalizing behavior problems performed significantly worse in domains of global executive function, problem solving, and initiative. No significant differences were found between the control and internalizing groups in the domain of intellectual functioning. This study supports the premise that executive function and intelligence are separate domains and should both be assessed in children with internalizing behavior disorders.