Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Psychology

The diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in younger adults is rising. Laboratory tests (also known as neurocognitive testing) have been used to understand ADHD-specific characteristics in cognition, complementing clinical questionnaires and interviews. It is important to better characterize ADHD because affected people have diverse symptoms, and they often require different treatments. However, current research using neurocognitive testing has limitations: 1) it focuses on ADHD subgroups such as boys; 2) the sensitivity of existing tests to detect clinical characteristics is in question; 3) results are analyzed with summary statistics unsuitable for the study of individual differences and the entire ADHD spectrum; 4) current reviews suggest that conflict processing is a promising but understudied domain for understanding ADHD-specific characteristics. Computational psychiatry is a growing field of research offering new tools to link physiological data with behavioral data derived from neurocognitive testing. The objectives of this dissertation are to explore an improved test environment for ADHD. Specifically, developing and implementing cognitive and social-cognitive tests which tap into the domain of conflict processing; which integrate research in cognitive psychology; and which are suitable for the application of computational modeling. The aims are to: 1) characterize decision-making processes of younger adults with ADHD; 2) study how individual differences relate to symptom severity; and 3) link test performance to physiological measures collected with eye-tracking. The developed test environment, as part of this dissertation, consisted of a cognitive and social-cognitive computerized test that tapped into the processing of perceptual and motivational conflict, respectively. Sixty-eight adults (aged 18-35, gender balanced, nADHD=34, ncontrols=34) completed these tests, while I collected eye-tracking measures. I used computational mod (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Trish Van Zandt (Advisor); Brandon Turner (Committee Member); Jay Myung (Committee Member); L. Eugene Arnold (Committee Member) Subjects: Neurobiology; Psychobiology; Psychological Tests; Psychology; Quantitative Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, Communication

The aim of the present study was to examine neural correlates and mechanisms underlying the psychological mechanisms formalized in a computational model of quantum cognition, the belief-action-entanglement (BAE) model. An analysis of frequency band activity in the brain was carried out to test these mechanisms. The BAE model proposes that communication acts as a measurement that interferes with the evaluative processes prior to a decision (Busemeyer, Wang, & Lambert-Mogiliansky, 2009; Pothos & Busemeyer, 2009; Z. Wang & Busemeyer, 2016). Two key mechanisms were conceptualized and formalized in the BAE model: (1) the superposition state which arises from uncertainty and dissonance when deciding between two or more actions, and (2) the transition from a superposition state to a determinate one during the action evaluation process. These mechanisms correspond with the psychological function and timing of two frequency bands. The frontal-midline (FM) theta (3-8 Hz) indexes conflict processing, a state analogous to cognitive dissonance. Parietal alpha power indexes search and integration processes in memory which captures evolution from the superposition state to a determinate one. To test the extent communication influenced these underlying mechanisms, we employed a category-decision paradigm used in behavioral studies of the BAE model. The study manipulated communication in three ways: receiving information, self-expressing, and no communication. EEG data was collected from 32 participants. The subsequent analysis of FM theta and parietal alpha-beta frequency band activity provided modest support for the effect of communication on the proposed BAE model mechanisms. Specifically, FM theta activity offered initial evidence that communication resolves dissonance or uncertainty in the superposition state. Further, parietal alpha-beta suppression provided support for the proposition that communication modulates the evolution of the cognitive system until a decision (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joyce Wang PHD (Advisor); Jason Coronel PHD (Committee Member); Richard Huskey PHD (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Communication; Neurosciences