The field of neuroscience continues to grow in findings and opportunity. Similarly, this Honor’s Thesis aims to increase the diversity within the field. This children's book, Making Sense of Your Senses seeks to foster an early interest in the wonders of the brain by making neuroscience accessible to young readers through comprehensible text and entertaining illustrations.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a growing problem today, with diagnoses rising as it negatively affects academic performance, employment opportunities, self-perception, and relationship quality. Treatments have remained fairly similar over the last decade, despite proven side effects and, for some treatments, small effect size. The aim of this review is to determine if Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) can complement these treatments by targeting executive function(s) directly. To do this, this review analyzes data from 17 papers about the effectiveness of MBIs. Results support the effectiveness of MBIs in the treatment of ADHD; however, various limitations within the design of both this study and research on MBIs in general limit the validity of this conclusion. To remedy this, this paper suggests changes to methods and future avenues of research on MBIs for ADHD.

The aim of this study is to characterize whether a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimic, Mn3, will act as a radio-sensitizer in tumor cells and radio-protector in normal brain cells. Immunohistochemistry assesses efficacy of treatment mice. A preliminary experiment compares different levels of protein expression at varied timepoints following radiation to provide a baseline for further experimental findings. The first experiment examines the effects of Mn3 and ionizing radiation in U87 tumor cells injected into the flank of nude mice. The second examines the drug's ability to protect normal brain tissue from ionizing radiation in the normal brain containing no tumor. The third study examines the drug’s efficacy in radio-sensitization and radio-protection on mice with the U87 tumor cell line injected intracranially. Results show that in regular brain tissue, non-tumor cells exhibit less oxidative damage and a lower microglia response when treated with the SOD mimic compared to control. In flank tumor tissue, mice treated with the SOD mimic show increased oxidative damage and DNA breakage in the tumor regions. Mice with intracranial tumors show increased DNA oxidation in the tumor of the Mn3 treatment group when compared to the irradiation group.

Aging is influenced by genetic and lifestyle factors, which manifest differently in each individual. While genetic predispositions and structural brain changes occur throughout the aging process, interventions such as mindfulness meditation are promising in preventing cognitive decline and promoting healthy aging. Findings from various studies explore the impacts of various lifestyle factors, including diet, exercise, and mindfulness interventions on cognitive function and overall health as people age. Furthermore, mindfulness interventions have been shown to enhance cognitive performance, emotion regulation, and cardiovascular health. Addressing the psychological and physiological aspects of aging and the benefits of non-pharmaceutical interventions offers a holistic approach to healthy aging that is often overlooked. In this thesis, I examined various literature reviews, exploring the intersections between individual differences and mindfulness interventions in promoting healthy aging.

Weight stigma is present in many aspects of society, and especially in medicine. Weight stigma has detrimental effects on individuals physical and mental health, as well as patient-physician interactions. Application of weight-neutral healthcare ideologies such as Health at Every Size (HAES) are promising ways of decreasing weight stigma within the medical field without reducing the focus on improving patient health. Most widely applicable interventions include changing the focus of interactions from weight to health-promoting behaviors and lab values, improving provider education, and improving the general population's awareness of the problem.

This thesis is a continuation of the Humanities Lab “Narratives of School Shootings” class, which analyzed the impact of school violence on students and communities and examined the narratives and factors that exist relating to school shootings. A primary focus of the class was youth activism and advocacy. In collaboration with the Greenlights Grant Initiative, which was created to combat violence in schools, Barrett students were partnered with school districts to assist in grant writing. Using projects from “Narratives of School Shootings”, the team deduced which grants best supported each school district and worked with the districts to write and submit them. These grants are used for proactive and reactive measures to keep student emotionally and physically sound. Through this process, Barrett students analyzed the intricacies of grant writing and government funding, as well as how those contribute to cycles of inequality.

Discovering more about social hierarchies within groups of mice and the underlying brain mechanisms supporting differences in dominance is essential to understanding social roles and individuality. In this study, we aimed to discover if a novel dominance assay is able to determine social hierarchies in groups of three, as well as how this novel assay compares to a classic dominance tube test. SLEAP software, a machine learning tool, was used to analyze the behaviors of the mice in the novel dominance apparatus. In addition, cytokine levels were collected from the mice to assess possible correlations between hierarchical standing and presence of inflammatory agents.

This thesis is a continuation of the Humanities Lab “Narratives of School Shootings” class, which analyzed the impact of school violence on students and communities and examined the narratives and factors that exist relating to school shootings. A primary focus of the class was youth activism and advocacy. In collaboration with the Greenlights Grant Initiative, which was created to combat violence in schools, Barrett students were partnered with school districts to assist in grant writing. Using projects from “Narratives of School Shootings”, the team deduced which grants best supported each school district and worked with the districts to write and submit them. These grants are used for proactive and reactive measures to keep student emotionally and physically sound. Through this process, Barrett students analyzed the intricacies of grant writing and government funding, as well as how those contribute to cycles of inequality.

The current study examined the experiences of individuals with severe mental health symptoms and low physical activity who were referred by their medical provider to a program called InSHAPE. In this program, participants are paired with a health mentor, whose goal was to improve the level of physical activity engagement. Health coaches also promoted community engagement through participation in physical activity. Each week individuals were assigned a physical health goal and a non-physical health goal. It is hypothesized that individuals who accomplish their goals in the first week are more likely to stay in the program. I hypothesize that more time in the program will be positively correlated with more success in terms of participants reaching their goals as well as engaging in community activity. Finally, it is hypothesized that the more time in the program, the healthier participants will become. The results of this study report no significant associations between variables, suggesting that there is no significant correlation between time spent in the InSHAPE program and success in the program in terms of goal attainment and community involvement. More research is needed to delineate the multidirectional relationship between physical activity and mental health. A better understanding of the mood benefits of physical activity can better inform holistic treatments for those with negative mental health symptoms. Documentation of programs focused on increasing physical activity specifically for mental health gains implemented in the community are needed.