Predicting Alcoholism through Individual Temperament

by

Bobbi Padro and Dr. James Higley, Department of Psychology The purpose of this project was to determine a correlation between the temperament of rhesus macaques and the amount of alcohol they consume. This project looked specifically at 16 juvenile rhesus macaques. Each juvenile had been tested to determine its temperament through the Biobehavioral Assessment (BBA) […]

Multiple Sclerosis and Brain Waves: Degree of Impact

by

Tyler Nickle and Dr. Ramona Hopkins, Department of Psychology Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Studies show that 40-70% of individuals with MS have cognitive impairments in memory, executive functioning, attention, and processing speed (Rogers and Panegyres, 2007). Quantitative Electroencephalographic peak alpha frequency (PAF) is used to measure physiological […]

Differential Interpretations of Air Pollution Health Effects Related to Funding Sources and Author Institutional Affiliation

by

Nathan Law and Dr. C. Arden Pope, III, Department of Economics The main goal of this research project was to discover whether or not results attained in epidemiology studies assessing the increased risk of mortality attributable to air pollution, are influenced by funding source or affiliation of the authors. This study was motivated by public […]

Effects of Acute and Chronic Ethanol on GABA Inhibition of VTA GABA Neurons

by

Brett Larsen and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Department of Psychology Alcohol addiction is becoming increasingly prevalent in our world today, but the mechanisms underlying alcohol addiction are unknown. We do know; however, that the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of the brain are specifically involved in addiction. These GABA neurons have […]

Families Growing Smaller: A Paradox Generated by Stigma in North India

by

Hailey King and Dr. Charles Nuckolls, Department of Anthropology As is the case with most research projects, I also had to make alterations to my project. Originally I was going to be researching with some contacts in New Zealand. Unfortunately, my contacts there had to postpone this project. I therefore, had to change my location […]

Do Donor States Care About NGO Quality?

by

Nicholas Jones and Dr. Darren Hawkins, Department of Political Science Our research examines whether donor countries care about the quality of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) when giving foreign aid to poor countries. When donor states give foreign aid to recipient states, such the US giving foreign aid to Uganda, the donor states must choose what is […]

Genetic and Neurophysiology Correlates in Autism

by

Nathan Jamison and Dr. Mikle South, Department of Psychology Overview My ORCA research project was presented as a poster at the annual International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) in San Diego on May, 2011, under the name, “Candidate Gene Associations with Performance Monitoring of Others in Autism.” I am currently working with my mentor, Mikle […]

Tea Party Endorsements: An Analysis of the 2010 Congressional Elections

by

John Holbein and Dr. Jeremy Pope, Department of Political Science My ORCA project focused on the strategies and impacts of the Tea Party Movement in the 2010 Congressional Elections. Using data gathered from an analysis of 55 national and local newspapers, this project examined endorsements made by the Tea Party Movement in House of Representatives […]

Effects of VTA GABA Lesions on Intracranial Self-Stimulation

by

David Hedges and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Department of Psychology The purpose of my ORCA research was to better understand the neural circuitry behind addiction. It is well known that the mesocorticolimbic pathway in the brain is involved with addictions. This pathway consists of dopaminergic neurons originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) projecting to the […]