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Exploring the Effects of Stress on Emotion Perception
No full textEveryone has experienced some level of stress at some point in their life. Having the ability to perceive emotions is crucial for the development of social and communication skills, as well as coping with the stress that we encounter. It is understood that stress can impact cognitive abilities like memory and focus. McEwen and Sapolsky (1995) found that high stress affects brain functions, disrupting memory and making it harder to focus on external cues. However, there is currently little definitive research exploring the relationship between stress and emotional perception. The purpose of our study was to explore this relationship. Data was collected from an in-person questionnaire and an apple watch used to determine heart rate. We used paired t-tests to compare stressed and non-stressed conditions for the same participant. We also used Pearson’s r to determine the magnitude of the relationship between induced stress and emotion recognition. The analysis was conducted through SPSS. The analysis revealed... This clarified how stress influences emotional processing, benefiting both cognitive psychology and clinical work
Measuring reaction time based on your political affiliation
No full textThe decisions we make on a daily basis consist of various implicit mechanisms, one of them being reaction time. The relationship between both factors is crucial because they reflect a person’s mental efficiency and the success of our cognitive processes. Reaction time refers to how rapidly one responds to a stimulus, especially under conditions that require quick assessments. Tasks that are performed accurately under faster reaction times indicate stronger cognitive abilities, which are paramount under higher-stress environments. However, quicker responses can compromise the accuracy of a decision, leading to potential mistakes. Scientists and researchers have tested this under different task conditions, simple and choice reaction times. Franciscus Donders conducted two experiments; in simple reaction time, participants make one decision by quickly pressing a button after seeing a light stimulus. Under choice reaction time, individuals rapidly make a decision between two choices by pressing one button if a stimulus is on the left side or a different button if the stimulus is on the right side. Thus, researchers were able to calculate the time it takes to make a decision, where simple reaction time is subtracted from choice reaction time. They found that it takes us about 1/10th of a second to make a decision, but this can be affected by age, sleep, and cognitive impairments (Ulrich et al., 1999). As a result, behavior must be understood to comprehend mental processes individuals make. In order to understand how reaction time influences the decisions we make, we designed a social-political experiment where 40 college students decide where they stand on various social issues in the U.S. Prior to making a choice, they are asked which political party they identify under. We hypothesize that participants that align with a political party will have faster reaction times on all issues, and those who identify as neutral will have more delayed reaction times. This allows us to further our understanding between behavior and mental mechanisms
SREBP versus NRF1 Behavior Based on Cholesterol Sensing in Niemann-Pick Type C Using a COS-7 Model
Get PDFNiemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a rare genetic disorder where cholesterol and lipid transport are blocked leading to accumulation in the lysosomes (National Organization of Rare Diseases (NORD), 2024; Boston Children’s Hospital). This accumulation can lead to neurological issues, such as developmental delay, ataxia, seizures, and early onset of dementia (Patterson, 2000). To study this disease more in depth, scientists have identified a drug called U18666A that induces NPC in the cells it is administered to (Lu, et al., 2015) which allows for the study of other structures and biomolecules in the sterol sensing and transport pathways.
Cholesterol has different uses throughout the cell. In the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), cholesterol is used for maintenance of mobility in ER proteins and protein secretion (Rigsdale, et al., 2006). When the cholesterol is transported to the ER from the lysosome, it is sensed by both the SREBP complex and NRF1. Although SREBP has been well studied in its pathway for de novo cholesterol synthesis (Horton, et al., 2002), less is known about NRF1 activity in NPC. This leads to the inquiry of how NRF1 reacts and its downstream effects in comparison to the SREBP complex. NPC was induced in COS-7 cells using the U18666A drug and imaged through immunofluorescence staining in order to look into these effects. As studied previously, SREBP was found to stay in the ER when cholesterol was detected and left the ER when NPC was induced. NRF1 reacted similarly when cholesterol was detected in the ER; however, it was also found to both stay in the ER and travel to the nucleus when NPC was induced
Propagation Party: Comparing Root Development Across Techniques
Get PDFPlant propagation is a method of growing plants through various techniques that create genetically identical clones of the parent plant. Propagation maintains the preferred genetic material of a plant so that it can be further reproduced on a larger scale. To assess growth variations, sweet potato cuttings were propagated in soil and water, as well as in water with and without rooting hormone. Additionally, Monstera cuttings were propagated in water with and without rocks. Root development was observed across all conditions to determine the most effective propagation methods. Plants propagated in water appear to root more successfully than those propagated in soil. The samples with added rooting hormones or rocks as a mineral-filled substrate in the water had greater root lengths than those without. Plant propagation could be an important technique in the growth and cultivation of future farming methods as it requires minimal supplies to increase the quantity of desired plants
STOP You’re Under ArREST! Harnessing Resting-State fNIRS to Predict Stop-Signal Performance
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Assessing the impacts of historic redlining on lichens
Get PDFHistoric redlining has greatly impacted both human health and the environment. However, we are just now beginning to understand the full extent of these impacts. In this study, we examined how lichens, which are commonly used as bioindicators to assess pollution impacts and environmental change have been impacted by historic redlining. To do this, we overlaid research grade observations of lichen species from iNaturalist on to maps of Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) graded areas across the United States. We then assessed whether lichen functional groups that are more susceptible to pollution were more commonly found in redlined versus non-redlined areas. Using this approach, we found no legacy effects of redlining on lichen presence and abundance. However, we did find that lichen observations for more tolerant functional groups (e.g., foliose lichens) were more common in parks and greenspaces. Ultimately, our findings suggest that lichens may not be useful bioindicators for assessing the impacts of redlining. However, more research is needed to determine if this is the case
Psychology: Feedback Frenzy
No full textResearch has shown that feedback can have effects on an individual\u27s performance (Gibson & Mumford, 2013; Miedl et al., 2016). Depending on whether the feedback received is positive or negative, one might feel an increase or decrease in stress, motivation, and learning ability (Hon et al., 2013; Hu et al., 2017; Wise, 2004). In this study, we are interested in testing whether positive or negative feedback have an impact on task performance by measuring time and accuracy. Significant findings could have implications on how workplaces and academic institutions could better optimize performance and learning. We predict that receiving positive feedback will reduce task time while increasing accuracy, while receiving negative feedback will increase task time while decreasing accuracy. Data will be presented at SURS
BEST Screening: Introducing the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid to NICUs in Tennessee
Get PDFBlind Early Services Tennessee (BEST) is an early intervention agency that serves children ages 0-5 with visual impairments across Tennessee. BEST serves over 200 children and families across the state offering early intervention (BEST Start), parent empowerment (BEST Advocate), and family support (BEST Together) programming. The purpose of this project was to assist in the implementation of an early identification initiative (BEST Screening) using the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid (NAVEG). The NAVEG is a newborn vision screening shown to identify neurological risk for visual impairments. The long-term goal of this program is to promote the screening and early identification of babies in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Tennessee as many of them are at increased risk of visual impairment. This project resuled in, 2 children’s hospitals in Tennessee pursuing formal training in the administration of the NAVEG, and one hospital planning to complete a research study to contribute to the literature on the NAVEG. In addition to the BEST Screening program, this project sought to assist the agency in creating accessible parent and caregiver resources disseminated through internet platforms. These resources included weekly social media posts (Tuesday Tidbits), monthly newsletters, and website updates to provide specific links to various resources. These resources have and will continue to raise awareness for the importance of early intervention in vision and offer support to families with children diagnosed with visual impairments
Enhancing Concussion Education and Documentation within Belmont University’s Athletic Department
Get PDFThis doctoral capstone project was completed through a partnership with Belmont University’s Sports Medicine Department. The primary purpose of this project was to identify the department’s current needs and to develop deliverables to enhance and facilitate the concussion education and documents provided to Belmont Athletics stakeholders (including student athletes, university educators, coaching staff, and other members of administration). The process included collaboration with university athletic trainers and student-athletes to ensure usability and creation of relevant products. These resources include informational handouts designed for both student-athletes and educators, an on-field concussion assessment and protocol, concussion education resources with increased opportunities for student interaction, and updated concussion forms. Throughout this experience I had the opportunity to further develop interprofessional communication skills, educate others on the scope of occupational therapy, and gain increased insight into the lived experience of collegiate student-athletes who have experienced concussions
Mental Health and Wellness Programming for Adults with Down Syndrome
Get PDFThis capstone project was completed in partnership with GiGi’s Playhouse located in Brentwood, TN. GiGi’s Playhouse is a non-profit organization that offers free programming for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. The focus of this project was addressing the mental health and wellness of adults with Down syndrome. The goal of this project was to provide meaningful lessons and activities for participants to learn about mental health, coping strategies, and emotional exploration. Participants had the opportunity to learn and practice meditation, mindfulness, self-advocacy, healthy relationships, creative expression, and more. Participants completed The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) as a pre and post-test measure