Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Psychology

This current study investigates the relationship between sexist beliefs, self-objectification, and fear of crime. In addition, the researchers sought to investigate whether these social attitudes would predict trustworthiness ratings of male faces. In part one, survey responses from 52 participants were collected. In part two, 45 participants were exposed to a crime salience manipulation before rating the trustworthiness of a series of male faces. We ran bivariate correlations between the predictor variables to confirm existing relationships as seen in the literature regarding the development of the scales as well as the research used well after the scales were developed. The results confirmed these existing relationships and revealed a significant negative relationship between fear of crime and body shame, as well as a significant positive relationship between right-wing political ideology and hostile sexism. In part two, those who were exposed to the crime salience manipulation agreed more with the results of the crime-centered poll if they scored high in fear of crime rather than low. Those exposed to the control condition showed no difference in agreement whether low or high in fear of crime. A 4-way interaction was also found between the dichotomized fear of crime variable, the manipulation condition, face model type, and the amount of manipulation applied to faces. For trust model-derived faces, trustworthiness ratings increased in a linear progression as more information was applied. However, for dominance model-derived faces, trust judgments increased in a curvilinear progression. Trust ratings peaked at the mid-level of information and were the lowest at the highest level of information.

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2023, Psychology - Clinical

Problematic social networking site use (PSNSU) has demonstrated associations with social anxiety symptom severity across the literature; however, less is known about transdiagnostic psychopathology-related variables that may mediate relationships between PSNSU and fear of evaluation. There is an especially prominent gap regarding mediating variables between PSNSU and fear of evaluation - involving difficulties in emotion regulation (DER) and intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The present study builds on recent research findings that fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with PSNSU severity, and that intolerance of uncertainty is related to PSNSU severity and motives for addictive behavior. There is also a lack of literature regarding how fear of positive evaluation (FPE), a construct unique to social anxiety, relates to PSNSU severity. Given the current prevalence of SNS usage and the social nature of these sites, it is especially important to explore whether individuals who fear social evaluation use SNSs in a problematic way, and whether lesser-studied transdiagnostic constructs such as intolerance of uncertainty and difficulties in emotion regulation mediate the relationship between fear of evaluation and subsequent PSNSU. The present study explored this gap in the literature with a mediation model in which DER and IU explained relations between both FNE and FPE with PSNSU. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and mediation analyses indicated that IU and DER mediated the relationship between FNE and PSNSU, but did not mediate the relationship between FPE and PSNSU. These findings highlight the role of IU in PSNSU for individuals experiencing social anxiety symptoms, which has not been previously established, and provide further support for the relationship of DER with FNE and PSNSU, where DER particularly functions as a mediator of this relationship.

PHD, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Fear-based psychological disorders such as social anxiety disorder (SAD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and specific phobias, are among the most prevalent and costly mental health problems today. Despite the prevalence of these disorders, their etiology is not yet clearly defined. It remains elusive why some individuals develop fear-pathology while others do not. A primary challenge facing research on the etiology of fear-pathology is parsing out if increased generation of fear in response to threat (greater fear reactivity), or poor recovery (decreased fear inhibition), is more predictive of disease. Part of this challenge is also understanding of the association between fear reactivity and fear inhibition. A secondary challenge is reaching a better understanding how regulatory resources might influence fear reactivity and/or fear inhibition. The current study was designed to explore these two challenges in order to reach a better understanding of fear-pathology development. Data was collected from n=101 college students during one laboratory session. Participants were asked to complete a fear reactivity task consisting of two film clips to elicit fear, each followed by a recovery period (without stimuli presentation), as well as two positive emotion videos. This task was specifically designed to examine fear reactivity within the context of threat (during the fear videos) and fear inhibition immediately following fear elicitation (during the recovery periods). During the entire task, emotional responses were measured in real-time on multiple response dimensions including, coded emotional facial expressions, sympathetic arousal (autonomic activity), and self-reported emotional experience. During the laboratory session, participants also completed questionnaires to index psychological symptoms and threat sensitivity, as well as two computerized Stroop tasks to index executive cognitiv (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Sociology

The goal of this study is to examine the association between collective perceptions of the police, social capital, and fear of crime in the neighborhood context. Extending Bahn's (1974) reassurance model, I argue that communities which perceive the police to be biased or ineffective at addressing neighborhood problems will have higher levels of fear. Few studies have examined how neighborhood social capital figures into this relationship, and the extant literature suffers from a lack of specificity and consistency in how social capital is conceptualized and measured. Drawing on the original formulation proposed by Bourdieu (1986), this study examines how four distinct dimensions of neighborhood social capital; social ties, attachment, neighboring, and collective efficacy; interact with perceptions of the police in their association with fear. Using the Seattle Neighborhoods and Crime Survey (2002-2003), I provide a between-neighborhood analysis which tests hypotheses of mediation and moderation specific to each dimension of social capital as they relate to perceptions of the police and fear of crime. I argue that the hypothesized negative association between social capital and fear will be amplified in neighborhoods where residents feel the police are ineffective at controlling crime or are biased in their policing. Thus, the stock of social capital in neighborhoods may compensate for the real or perceived lack of reassurance from sources of formal control. This study finds support for hypotheses overall, and indicates the importance of measuring dimensions of social capital separately, as different dimensions are found to operate independently and with varying associations with neighborhood fear.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, English/Literature

This project explores the ideological implications of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by exploring the physical journey described within the text, the contrast between the novel's two central characters Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. Building off of existing scholarship on the journalistic nature of the novel, I explore how the novel suggests a libertarian conception of the “American Dream” by constructing Duke, a stand-in for Thompson himself, as a libertarian. In doing this, I explore how the novel can be understood as a journalistic chronicle of the historical moment where libertarianism, in the United States, emerged as third-way ideology amidst the failures of the left-counterculture in the 1960s and the resurgence of traditional conservatism under President Richard Nixon. I explore how physical journey detailed in the novel reveals this emergence of libertarianism through contrasting depictions of San Francisco, home to the left- counterculture, and Las Vegas, a city that the novel frames representative of cultural conservatism in the United States. Further, I explore how Dr. Gonzo and Duke demonstrate contrasting responses to the collapse of the left-counterculture, with Dr. Gonzo falling into hedonism and Duke adopting a libertarian stance.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2019, Psychology

The neurobiological mechanisms of fear have been studied for decades. It had previously been accepted that once a memory had been consolidated into long term memory, it was stable. More recently it has been shown that this consolidated memory can reenter a labile state and be manipulated. The processes by which a memory is made labile and reconsolidated are not fully understood. Growing evidence suggests that prediction errors play a critical role in determining whether memory reconsolidation processes are initiated following memory reactivation. Much of this work has been conducted using appetitive conditioning paradigms. The goal of this work is to understand the role of prediction errors in the reconsolidation of contextual fear memories, as well as the potential brain regions contributing to this prediction error signaling. Using a unique training paradigm, we examine the role of prediction error by first establishing distinct expectancies of footshock and then differentially inducing expectancy violations through the omission of footshock during memory reactivation. We locally administer the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, into the basolateral amygdala in order to block memory reconsolidation. Additionally, we determine that the required protein synthesis occurs within six hours of memory reactivation, and that the reactivation of the memory is necessary for context fear memory reconsolidation to occur. We also measured the protein products of the immediate early genes, cFos and zif268, following memory reactivation to determine potential brain regions involved in signaling the prediction error. Using these data, and the existing literature, we determined that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) was a potential target for direct manipulation to block the prediction error signal. Unfortunately, we were unable to fully answer this question and posit that there are potential concerns with pre-reactivation manipulations that interfere with our ability to ass (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Social Welfare

Empirical research about the acceptability and feasibility of animal-assisted interventions with therapy dogs is an emergent field. The dental environment provides a controlled environment to test a strengths-based intervention for the benefit of children's health. The empirical research herein is first grounded in attachment theory. Theoretical and empirical literature predominantly reference attachment theory as the framework to understand the association between internalized emotions and externalized negative behaviors, and AAIs. However, empirical publications tend to lack thorough definition and application of attachment theory. As such, this work seeks to redefine the theoretical foundation with a full discussion of history, mechanisms, and theory of change. The first phase of this study summarizes the findings of an exploratory survey conducted in the dental clinic to understand if therapy dogs would be desired by dental professionals and families. The second phase culminated with a pilot study to explore the feasibility of Canine Support in Pediatric Dentistry. As a complete research project, this study achieved four independent yet inter-related purposes: first, the underlying social welfare issue of the dental caries childhood epidemic is discussed throughout the chapters; second, the prevalence of anticipatory anxiety and situational fear (AA&SF) as an expressed emotion to perceived negative stimuli is discussed as a barrier to preventative health and wellness. Though explored in the dental clinic, AA&SF is experienced in multiple environments, thus the research herein may be generalizable to other situations. Third, the integration of AAI in social work practice is addressed as an opportunity for social welfare research and practice. And fourth, the empirical study utilized a newly refined biomarker measure for salivary oxytocin and assessed change over time. The use of a biomarker measure provides quantitative rigor to the predominantly qualit (open full item for complete abstract)

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Medicine: Neuroscience/Medical Science Scholars Interdisciplinary

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychiatric syndrome evoked by trauma. Underlying mechanisms and neurobiological factors contributing to PTSD pathophysiology are still being understood. Recent studies implicate Neuropeptide Y (NPY), a 36-amino acid peptide transmitter. NPY is highly expressed in forebrain regions of the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which show dysregulation in PTSD. In previous studies, we reported reduced CSF NPY levels in veterans with combat-PTSD compared to healthy volunteers and combat exposed veterans (Sah et al., 2009, 2014). Polymorphisms in the NPY gene are associated with stress susceptibility and coping. Investigating how NPY contributes to PTSD pathophysiology could lead to a better understanding of the disorder, and identify potential therapeutic and diagnostic markers for PTSD. This dissertation investigates contributions of forebrain NPY to PTSD relevant behaviors using rodent models. Studies primarily focused on the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the amygdala, regions reported to malfunction in individuals with PTSD. Using pharmacological interventions, significant effects of infralimbic (IL) NPY were observed on extinction consolidation and retrieval of extinction. Functional modulation of excitatory-inhibitory neurotransmission and localization of NPY Y1 receptor on IL projection neurons revealed a pathway by which elevated IL-PFC NPY may modulate fear memory. Using tract-tracing studies, a novel NPY efferent pathway from the raphe nucleus to the IL cortex was identified. Since raphe-IL pathways are reportedly recruited in behaviors resulting from uncontrollable stress situations, this NPY circuit is particularly relevant to PTSD, a disorder stemming mostly from uncontrollable trauma.

PHD, Kent State University, 2016, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorder with nearly 30% of individuals meeting criteria for an anxiety disorder over the course of their lifetime, generating significant personal, financial and emotional burden. Additionally, women are 60% more likely than men to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, such as PTSD. Inappropriate fear that occurs in normally safe environments, or fear generalization, is a key symptom of many anxiety disorders. The current set experiments explores sex differences in the generalization of fear and identifies mechanisms by which estradiol affects fear generalization. Results demonstrate that females generalize fear at a faster rate than males, and this process is driven, in part, by estradiol. However, in males, estradiol acts to attenuate generalization rather than to induce generalization. In fact, testosterone also attenuates generalization in gonadectomized males and does so through conversion into estradiol via aromatase. Estradiol impacts generalization through effects on memory retrieval rather than memory acquisition/consolidation. In females, estradiol acts through activation of cytosolic ERß within the dorsal CA1 region of the hippocampus and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but not the ventral CA1 region of the hippocampus. Finally, estradiol-induced generalization in females appears to be a result of augmented glutamatergic signaling within the dorsal CA1 and ACC; blocking glutamate receptor activation attenuates estradiol-induced generalization. These mechanisms can help explain the discrepancies in prevalence rates for anxiety disorders between males and females, and are also crucial for development of more effective, and potentially sex-specific, treatments for anxiety disorders such as PTSD.

Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, 2015, Biological Sciences

White-tailed deer are a species of great economic and ecological concern. Foresters sometimes leave logging debris known as slash on the forest floor with the intent to protect seedlings from deer herbivory and promote forest regeneration. I examined the effects of slash on rates of deer browsing on sugar maple seedlings in a forest of northern Wisconsin and measured deer foraging behavior using giving-up density and vigilance rates by employing trail cameras. Rates of browsed stems were almost twice as high in the open as within and adjacent to slash. These findings underscore the usefulness of slash for mitigating the effects of deer on tree seedlings.Deer vigilance did not vary by night and day but photos were rarely taken during dawn and dusk. These results may suggest that rather than using reactive vigilance behavior, deer are using proactive antipredator behavior and avoiding the study site at high-risk times.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2015, Leadership and Change

This study used the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to better understand how organizational leaders experienced fear-related emotions. Through semi-structured interviews, fifteen executive leaders, mainly chief executive officers (CEOs), shared their experiences in response to threatening, risky, or dangerous incidents. In addition to a phenomenological understanding of the experience, participants illuminated the role that fear-related emotions play in leader decisions, how these emotions influence leader-follower relationships, the impacts of fear-related emotions on leaders' health and well-being, and the ways leaders managed their experience with fear-related emotions including the role courage played. Leaders often faced threats, risks, or dangers (stimuli) from within the organization itself and from the external organizational environment. The fear of not-knowing enough or not being good enough (self-doubt) and the fear of loss that often accompanies change were experienced the most by these leaders. The participants decided between a fear-focused (maladaptive) strategy and an incident-focused (adaptive) strategy when they were susceptible to a threatening, risky or dangerous stimulus. Leader efficacy was the key to a leader's choice, where strong leader efficacy resulted in adaptive decisions and weak leader efficacy resulted in maladaptive ones. In the follower-leader relationship, the participants often suppressed their fear-related emotions by using surface or deep acting, which at times affected leader authenticity and trust. Leaders experienced serious to mild health and well-being effects as a result of the emotional experience, while leaders who used suppression techniques experienced more serious health impacts. Supportive relationships, practicing mindfulness, and a leader's personal courage, including the courage to be emotionally vulnerable, played an important role in how leaders managed fear-related emotions. This study has important implicati (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2015, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Needle fear affects many aspects of medical care, yet there are currently no reliably effective interventions to address this prevalent fear. Effective treatments must be able to reduce fear reactions while also being quick to implement. A simple-to-use intervention that has had success in reducing fear reactions is implementation intentions, a coping strategy utilizing if-then statements to create plans towards goal achievement. The present study investigated whether an implementation intention strategy could reduce fear reactions when exposed to pictures of needles. This was accomplished by randomizing fearful participants to one of four interventions: a response-focused implementation intention (n = 20), an antecedent-focused implementation intention (n = 21), a goal intention (n = 19), and a control (n = 17). An additional control group included participants with low needle fear (n = 25). Results of a one-way ANOVA revealed that participants in the implementation intention groups reported marginally smaller fear reactions when compared to high-fear control participants (p = 0.06), although this was inconsistent with physiological findings. Participants in the goal intention group reported fear reactions similar to those in the implementation intention groups, suggesting that simple goal setting may be driving the relative success of the intervention. Further research should include more challenging needle stimuli (i.e., actual needles or injections) to further test implementation intentions as a coping strategy.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2014, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Research on implicit associations in psychopathology suggests that socially anxious individuals may have implicit associations congruent with the core cognitive constructs/concerns in social anxiety, such as stronger negative associations for social stimuli and fears of evaluation. The literature also indicates that implicit associations are useful for predicting spontaneous behavioral reactions. The present study recruited two groups (n=25 for each group) of persons high in social anxiety versus persons low in social anxiety (i.e., N = 50). Participants engaged in three implicit tests that assessed their attitudes towards: general social stimuli, positive social stimuli, and negative social stimuli. Participants then delivered an impromptu speech task, after which they completed each of the implicit tests once more. It was hypothesized that: (a) groups would differ significantly on implicit associations for social stimuli and fears of evaluation, such that persons high in social anxiety would demonstrate more negative implicit associations across social stimuli compared to low socially anxious persons; and (b) implicit measures would predict behavioral anxiety ratings based on performance during a speech task within the overall sample. Results were in partial support of the study hypotheses: (a) partially consistent with hypotheses, highly socially anxious persons demonstrated significantly greater negative implicit associations for negatively valenced social stimuli (but not general or positive social stimuli); and (b) implicit 4 measures assessing associations for general social stimuli, and negatively valenced social stimuli, significantly to marginally predicted observer-rated eye gaze during the speech task. There was also a significant decrease in the strength of implicit associations for positively-valenced social stimuli following the impromptu speech task. Treatment and assessment implications, and limitations to the study, will be discussed.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Education : Criminal Justice

The relationship between the physical and social environment to the behavior of individuals is an intrinsic part of sociology and criminology. This relationship exists in every environment regardless of size, yet typically we apply theory at the neighborhood level. In this work I test the propositions of the disorder model on the environment – behavior dynamic in high schools. I argue in this work that the high school, in many ways is similar to the neighborhood environment and thus can serve as a laboratory environment. Accordingly, I have addressed a variety of disorders and their relationship to behavioral adaptation through fear. Result of regression analysis ultimately provide only moderate support for the disorder model, but these findings provoke do have value. First, the fear and victimization hypothesis emerges as a possibly more important means of understanding the nature of adaptive behavior. Second the data facilitate the exploration of places within places, or micro-places, which illustrate the need to better direct efforts in schools. Finally, and most fundamentally, this study contributes to the existing debate on how exactly fear and adaptive behaviors are related. Various opinions exist in the literature which range from fear as a predictor of behavior to fear as an outcome of risk perception and constrained behavior, and fear as a co-occurrence to behavioral adaptation and risk perception. The data presented here suggest merely that fear and behavior are positively correlated. I feel that a more appropriate model can be developed, and should be explored in future research. I propose one such model above and am hopeful that it will serve as a good starting point for further theoretical refinement. Ultimately, this data provide only moderate support for the proposed theoretical “broken windows” mechanisms, and thus should be thought of as only generally supportive of such theory. Yet clearly the findings leave room for other theoretical possibilities (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2012, Dentistry

The aim of this study was to further investigate the need and demand for sedation and general anesthesia (GA) in the field of dentistry and to gain a better understanding of the feelings and attitudes patients have with regards to receiving dental care and the possibility of receiving adjunct anesthesia services in coordination with their dental treatment. This was accomplished through the surveying of 180 patients who presented for emergency dental care at the Ohio State University's and Indiana University's dental emergency clinics over a 2 month period. We found the incidence of respondents to our survey who reported being very afraid of dental treatment (16.9%) to be consistent with those found in other studies. We found that 48.6% of respondents reported delaying dental care on more than 5 occasions and 81% delaying care on more than 1 occasion. Two major factors responsible for this delay were cost (87.5%) and fear (48.8%). Those who were “very afraid” were significantly more likely to delay care on > 5 occasions (P=0.036) and of this same group, 76.7% were never offered sedation while 69% had never been offered GA as an adjunct to their dental care. We found that 55.2% of those described as “very afraid” were unaware that sedation or GA was available for their care, and that the inverse relationship comparing fear/anxiety levels to the knowledge/availability of anesthesia services was found to be statistically significant (P=0.038). Our results also showed that when respondents were asked if they were likely to choose sedation or GA in the future as a supplement to their dental treatment 83.4% of all respondents said yes, with 87% of those in the “somewhat fearful/very fearful” category indicating yes. Interestingly 76.8% of those in the “not at all afraid” category indicated that they would like to receive sedation or GA for future dental care. 63% of those patients likely to choose some form of adjunct anesthesia for their future treatment stated general (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1978, Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2012, English/Literature

The novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson is often celebrated by popular culture and either ignored or derided by literary critics, while this thesis reads it in relation to the picaresque literary tradition with a consideration for both the mass appeal and the disturbing qualities that make it a messy and difficult text. At times it comes across as transgressive in the way it creates sovereign space for alternative lifestyles, sometimes referred to as freaks by the narrator, Raoul Duke, but those moments are fleeting. More often, the narrator and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, are reinscribing a dominant structure that abuses the less privileged and less mobile members of society, such as a hitchhiker, a maid, and a waitress. Moreover, the narrator even ends up working against himself and counteracting what he apparently values: mobility, individual sovereignty and liberty, and his version American Dream. Through a rapidly moving and episodic narrative structure reminiscent of the picaresque tradition but with a postmodern twist that amplifies and accelerates the format to such an extreme that it paradoxically paralyzes meaningful movement in a focused direction, the novel proves both appealing and unsettling. At such extremes, the potentially positive and negative aspects blur and flatten into a messy text whose meaning resembles the polar extremes and sharp contrasts Jean Baudrillard found so sublime about America itself.

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Political Science

The gender gap in American politics, where women increasingly identify as Democrats and vote more than men, has been researched for the last several decades. While a variety of reasons have been put forth, this dissertation suggests a new and additional understanding for why the gender gap persists by examining the way fear and anger mediate the relationship between gender and party affect and voter turnout. Using the ANES 1980-2016 Time Series Dataset and ANES 2020 Dataset, this dissertation finds gender has an indirect effect on party affect and voting behavior through fear and anger, and this effect is a new and growing phenomenon over the last ten years. First appearing in 2012, men and women have different levels of fear and anger, which in turn impact how they feel about the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as voter turnout. Additionally, there is a consistent pattern about the direction of the indirect effect of gender. When afraid or angry, women like the Democratic Party more and the Republican Party less. Furthermore, women are more likely to turnout to vote when fear and anger are directed towards Republican Presidential candidates and less likely to vote if they are fearful and angry at the Democratic Presidential candidates. This article provides new insight to how fear and anger are impacting political attitudes and behaviors in increasingly gendered ways.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program

Chronic stress is associated with the development of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Inflammation is a key component of chronic stress and the development of psychiatric disorders. Repeated social defeat (RSD) is a rodent model of chronic stress that induces neuronal activation, microglial reactivity, and monocyte accumulation. RSD is associated with the development of anxiety-like behavior, social and cognitive deficits, and enhanced fear memory. RSD is clinically relevant as it shares key cellular and behavioral features with PTSD. Microglia play a key role in facilitating monocyte accumulation and anxiety-like behavior following RSD. Additionally, microglia have a primed profile 24d after the cessation of RSD, but how microglia mediate social and cognitive deficits or how microglia communicate with other cells after RSD is unknown. Therefore, single-cell(sc)RNAseq and single-nuclei(sn)RNAseq of the hippocampus was done 14h after RSD (Chapter 2). Here, novel stress-associated microglia were identified and uniquely characterized by cytokine/chemokine, EIF2, and phagocytotic signaling. Microglia depletion with PLX5622 (CSF1R inhibitor) prevented RSD-induced transcriptional changes to endothelia and astrocytes, but had limited, yet regionally specific effects on neurons. Furthermore, RSD-induced social withdrawal and cognitive impairment were microglia dependent. Collectively, these stress-associated microglia influenced transcriptional profiles in the hippocampus linked to social and cognitive deficits. RSD also induces stress-sensitization, where mice have amplified neuronal, immune, and behavioral responses to acute stress 24d later. The mechanisms underlying stress-sensitization are unclear. Thus, the next step of this study was to determine the influence of microglia and neuronal IL-1R1 (nIL-1R1) in stress-sensitization and fear memory after RSD (Chapter 3). Here, RSD enhanced fear memory acutely. Importantly, (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Public Health

This study focused on evaluating the patient-reported psychological outcomes (PRPOs), including anxiety, depression, cancer-related post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms (CR-PTSD), fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), and post-traumatic growth (PTG), among surgically treated colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Additionally, this study examined the association between coping strategies and these PRPOs. The research involved 23 CRC patients undergoing curative surgery. With the exception of FCR, which was measured only post-surgery, the study conducted assessments of all PRPOs and coping strategies at two crucial points: before and after the surgical intervention. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in anxiety levels post-surgery, while depression scores remained unchanged. PTG, particularly in the dimensions of Relating to Others and Appreciation of Life, showed significant increases, indicating potential positive psychological adaptation following surgery. In contrast, CR-PTSD symptoms were minor and exhibited negligible changes that were not statistically significant. For coping strategies, there was a significant improvement in problem-focused coping post-surgery, whereas emotion-focused and avoidant coping strategies remained unchanged. Despite improvements in certain psychological outcomes and coping strategies, the study identified a high frequency of FCR among participants post-surgery, with 70% reporting elevated levels (≥12). Regression analysis showed that problem-focused coping strategies were significantly associated with reduced anxiety levels and positively correlated with PTG factors over time. These findings highlight the importance of adaptive coping mechanisms in affecting psychological outcomes after CRC surgery. The persistent high levels of FCR post-surgery underline the need for targeted psychosocial interventions to address this prevalent concern among CRC survivors. In conclusion, this research underscores the complexity of psychological (open full item for complete abstract)