Browsing by Subject "Social Behavior"
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Item Evaluation of Social Stories in Sleep Treatment for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Feasibility Study(2020-12-01T06:00:00.000Z) Israelsen, Lora Jane; Brown, William David; Germann, Julie; Kao, Yungfei; Bellone, Katherine; Nakonezny, PaulA majority of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience sleep disturbances which are apt to negatively impact cognition, behavioral functioning, and the general trajectory of psychosocial development. Additionally, pediatric sleep disorders may contribute to disordered sleep in parents and reduced quality of life for family members. While children with ASD often respond positively to general standard of care in pediatric sleep medicine, there are few sleep treatments that address ASD-specific factors that contribute to sleep disturbances. This limitation may be addressed through the development of a treatment that incorporates sleep behavioral strategies in a format developed for children with ASD, such as a social story. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of using a social story on bedtime routine developed for children as a complementary intervention for standard of care in a pediatric sleep clinic. Results from this study indicated social stories are acceptable as a complementary tool to sleep treatment. All participants approached for the study gave consent. Of those enrolled in the treatment group, all participants randomized to the treatment group read the story for at least one week as part of the bedtime routine (100%) with a mean utilization of 19.4 days during the month. Participants reported the social story was easy to implement and well received by the children, though feedback indicated the need for personalization and flexibility in the implementation of social stories. There were no significant differences in pediatric sleep outcomes between treatment groups. There were significant challenges related to the feasibility of the study in terms of gathering follow-up data, partially due to the impact of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic that occurred during the study. Secondary analyses found no significant differences in parental sleep outcomes or psychosocial functioning between treatment groups. These findings suggest that social stories may be a promising tool in pediatric sleep treatment for children with ASD, but additional research is warranted to clarify its efficacy.Item Investigating Experience-Dependent Plasticity in the Accessory Olfactory Bulb(2018-04-03) Cansler, Hillary Lauren; Roberts, Todd; Meeks, Julian P.; Huber, Kimberly M.; Monteggia, LisaChemosensory information processing in the mouse accessory olfactory system (AOS) guides the expression of social behavior. After salient chemosensory encounters, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) experiences changes in the balance of excitation and inhibition at reciprocal synapses between mitral cells (MCs) and local interneurons. The mechanisms underlying these changes remain controversial. Moreover, it remains unclear whether MC-interneuron plasticity is unique to specific behaviors, such as mating, or whether it is a more general feature of the AOB circuit. Here, we describe a population of AOB internal granule cells (IGCs) that upregulate expression of the immediate early gene Arc following the resident-intruder paradigm in an AOS-dependent manner. Targeted electrophysiological studies revealed that Arc-expressing IGCs in acute AOB slices from resident males displayed stronger excitation than non-expressing neighbors when sensory inputs are stimulated. The increased excitability of Arc-expressing IGCs was not correlated with changes in the strength or number of excitatory synapses with MCs, but was instead associated with increased intrinsic excitability and decreased HCN channel-mediated IH currents. Consistent with increased inhibition by IGCs, MCs responded to sensory input stimulation with decreased depolarization and spiking following resident-intruder encounters. Different populations of IGCs are activated following exposure to males and females, suggesting they are activated in an input-specific fashion. We also describe multiple behavioral paradigms that have been designed to assay social recognition following resident-intruder behavior in conjunction with in vivo manipulation of Arc-expressing IGCs. Together, these results reveal that non-mating behaviors drive AOB inhibitory plasticity, and indicate that increased MC inhibition involves intrinsic excitability changes in Arc-expressing interneurons.Item On wealth and wrongdoing: how social class influences unethical behavior(2013-03-12) Piff, Paul K.Social class exerts a significant influence on ethical decisions and behavior. Psychological research finds that individuals from higher social class backgrounds are more likely to prioritize themselves---their individual needs and desires relative to individuals from lower social class backgrounds, who are more likely to be sensitive to others. Guided by this work, Paul K. Piff, Ph.D., will report studies showing that higher social class is associated with increased unethical behavior, decreased altruism, and increased utilitarian moral reasoning, as well as provide data to shed light on the reasons for these class differences. The talk highlights that social class is a powerful force in the realm of ethics.Item Quality of Life Is Associated with Survival in Patients with Cirrhosis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma(2014-04-11) Meier, Adam Thomas; Singal, Amit G.; Yopp, Adam; Beg, MuhammadBACKGROUND: Prior studies assessing quality of life (QOL) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) primarily included patients with preserved liver function and/or early HCC, leading to overestimation of QOL. OBJECTIVE: To characterize QOL among a diverse cohort of cirrhotic patients with HCC and evaluate its association with survival. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study among cirrhotic patients with HCC from a large urban safety-net hospital between April 2011 and September 2013. Patients completed two self-administered surveys, the EORTC QLQ-C30, and QLQ-HCC18, prior to HCC-directed treatment. We used generalized linear models to identify correlates of QOL. Survival curves were generated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using log rank test to determine if QOL is associated with survival. RESULTS: 130 treatment-naïve patients were enrolled and completed both surveys. Patients reported fair global QOL (median score 50%), high cognitive and social function (median scores 67%), but poor role function (median score 50%). QOL was associated with both cirrhosis-related (p=0.02) and tumor-related (p=0.02) components of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage. QOL was associated with survival on univariate analysis (HR 0.37, 95%CI 0.16-0.85) but became non-significant (HR 0.82, 95%CI 0.37-1.80) after adjusting for BCLC stage and treatment. Role functioning was significantly associated with survival (HR 0.40, 95%CI 0.20-0.81), after adjusting for Caucasian race (HR 0.31, 95%CI 0.16-0.59), BCLC stage (HR 1.51, 95%CI 0.21-1.89), and treatment (HR 0.57, 95%CI 0.33-0.97). CONCLUSION: QOL and role function have prognostic significance and are important to assess in cirrhotic patients with HCC.