Summer Scholars Programhttp://hdl.handle.net/10675.2/5585562024-03-16T13:42:49Z2024-03-16T13:42:49ZNeuropathology of Anxiety Disorders Comorbid with Alcohol DependenceO'Connor, TaraKeough, KelseyLayton, JamesCarpenter, TimothyCrethers, DaniellePatton, TaddVazdarjanova, Almirahttp://hdl.handle.net/10675.2/5658962019-08-30T07:13:42Z2015-08-11T00:00:00ZNeuropathology of Anxiety Disorders Comorbid with Alcohol Dependence
O'Connor, Tara; Keough, Kelsey; Layton, James; Carpenter, Timothy; Crethers, Danielle; Patton, Tadd; Vazdarjanova, Almira
Anxiety disorders commonly occur along with other mental or physical illnesses, including alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Like most coexisting disorders, treatment for individuals who suffer from an anxiety disorder and an AUD is particularly challenging, contributing to an increased risk for suicide attempts, more intense withdrawal symptoms, and a higher probability of alcoholism relapse. Previous research has shown that a dysregulation of certain neuronal plasticity-related events in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is implicated in anxiety disorders and alcohol dependence. However, the exact role this dysregulation plays in the comorbidity of these disorders is not well understood. The experiments conducted here were part of a larger study aimed at understanding the neuropathological characteristics present when anxiety disorders and AUDs coexist. We examined anxiety-like behavior and plasticity-related activity in the brains of rats bred to consume large or small quantities ethanol. After obtaining a prestress baseline of alcohol drinking behavior, rats were exposed to a standard shock procedure in which a mild footshock (paired with a tone) was administered. Drinking activity and anxiety-like behavior were assessed on multiple days following footshock. The rats were then euthanized so that the brains could be examined for activation of plasticity-related activity in the PFC. Significant differences in alcohol consumption and anxiety-like behavior were observed between alcohol-preferring and alcohol-non-preferring rats and are discussed in relation to drinking alcohol as a means to reduce anxiety. These findings will be included in our larger study and will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the neuropathological substrates associated with comorbid anxiety disorders and AUDs.
Poster presentation given at the 2015 CURS Summer Scholars Symposium
2015-08-11T00:00:00ZCitizen Perceptions of Police in the Post-Ferguson Era: A Survey in Partnership with the Richmond County Sheriff's OfficeHendricks, AustinKelley, JohnnaGordon, PaxtonFoley, Alison, PhDhttp://hdl.handle.net/10675.2/5658062019-08-30T07:13:06Z2015-08-11T00:00:00ZCitizen Perceptions of Police in the Post-Ferguson Era: A Survey in Partnership with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office
Hendricks, Austin; Kelley, Johnna; Gordon, Paxton; Foley, Alison, PhD
The current study reports the results of a survey designed in conjunction with Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) to assess citizen satisfaction with local police. Research suggests that overall satisfaction with and perceptions about police are shaped by individual’s personal experiences with police as well as their perception of neighborhood safety, sex, race, education level, and age. Based on prior research, we hypothesized that general attitudes about local police would be influenced by attitudes about American police as a whole. This is particularly important given the current national conversation revolving around police use-of-force in the wake of the highly-publicized events in places such as Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland. While results are limited by the small and relatively homogenous sample of participants, linear regression models show that when race, neighborhood safety, and gender are controlled for, attitudes towards American police and attitudes towards the officer involved in their most recent encounter were significant predictors of attitudes toward RCSO. Attitudes towards the American police were the strongest predictor of satisfaction with RCSO. The majority of open-ended responses reflected negative attitudes towards police, which varied by race and sex, though many participants offered suggestions for improvement.
This poster presentation was given at the 2015 CURS Summer Scholars Symposium.
2015-08-11T00:00:00ZThe Effects of Acute and Repeated Exposure/s to the Organophosphate Pesticide Chlorpyrifos at Subthreshold Doses on Brain Structural IntegrityLalani, AshishMurphy, ShannonBeck, W. DanPoddar, IndraniTerry, Alvin V.Hernandez, Caterina M.http://hdl.handle.net/10675.2/5658052019-08-30T07:13:57Z2015-08-11T00:00:00ZThe Effects of Acute and Repeated Exposure/s to the Organophosphate Pesticide Chlorpyrifos at Subthreshold Doses on Brain Structural Integrity
Lalani, Ashish; Murphy, Shannon; Beck, W. Dan; Poddar, Indrani; Terry, Alvin V.; Hernandez, Caterina M.
Organophosphates are a class of chemicals that are used in pesticides, herbicides, and also as nerve agents. Organophosphate pesticides are ubiquitous among agricultural fields and the prolonged effects of organophosphates are not well understood. It is believed that exposure to Organophosphates can cause neurological deficits and impaired neurobehavioral function. We hypothesize that the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) is associated with mechanisms that directly and/or indirectly disrupt axonal transport in brain regions integral for learning and memory. To assay this claim, rats were treated acutely with CPF at a subtoxic dose (18 mg/kg) or with repeated exposures for 14 consecutive days at subtoxic doses (3.0, 10.0 or 18 mg/kg). Whole brain was collected 6 or 24 hours after acute exposure or directly following 14 days of repeated exposure or a 30-day drug-free washout period. For my project, I focused on the prefrontal cortex, a brain region important for executive function. Prefrontal cortex was processed using a subcellular fractionation protocol and extracts were assessed by immunoblotting methods to measure the expression of a-tubulin, a microtubule protein critical for axonal transport. Our results will help us gain insight into a potential mechanism by which CPF affects axonal transport.
This poster presentation was given at the 2015 CURS Summer Scholars Symposium
2015-08-11T00:00:00ZImpossibly Complicated Tales of Dispossession and Betrayal: Thomas Pynchon's Vineland and the Neoliberal Shift in AmericaWilliams, DanielHayes, AdrienneAtkins, HunterHoffman, Toddhttp://hdl.handle.net/10675.2/5657882019-08-30T07:11:08Z2015-08-10T00:00:00ZImpossibly Complicated Tales of Dispossession and Betrayal: Thomas Pynchon's Vineland and the Neoliberal Shift in America
Williams, Daniel; Hayes, Adrienne; Atkins, Hunter; Hoffman, Todd
The 1970s were characterized by the ascendancy of a particular breed of right wing conservatism that advanced neoliberal reforms and precipitated the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. As an economic theory, neoliberalism proposes that the government de-regulate markets and ease financial burdens on corporations thus enabling wealth to be evenly distributed across the social spectrum by natural market processes. In practice, the process of manufacturing consent for these policies mobilized religious and nationalist rhetoric, caused an abiding cultural shift, and resulted in numerous economic crises and inequitable concentrations of wealth. Our project conducts an analysis of Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland in order to derive insights into this transformation of America. Published in 1990, the scope of Pynchon’s novel encompasses both the hippy movement that peaks in the late 60s and the rise of neoliberalism up through the middle of the Reagan administration in 1984— the year in which the novel takes place. Pynchon’s work is exemplary of what is called postmodern literature—the defining literary genre of the period which in many ways is unique precisely because of its political engagement with post-industrial capitalism—and, as such, encapsulates perhaps better than any writer the effects of neoliberalism. Our project has produced an essay (and a poster) that is comprised of three sections: An economic, cultural, and historical explanation of neoliberalism— An investigation of Pynchon’s critique of the media as it works to assimilate citizens into the cultural hegemony— And Pynchon’s critique of the ideologies and policy decisions surrounding the then contemporary environmental movement.
Poster presentation given at the 2015 CURS Summer Scholars Symposium
2015-08-10T00:00:00Z