Neuroscientific research has verified that humans have specialized brain areas used in the production and perception of language. It is speculated that these brain areas may also be involved in the perception and expression of emotions. A recent study supports the idea of an auditory equivalent to visually recognizable emotions, finding that the words containing the phoneme /i:/ as in “beat” were rated more positively and those with the phoneme /^/ as in “but” were rated more negatively. It was theorized that these results support that the same facial musculature used in producing visually recognizable expressions also favors specific phonemic sounds. The present study replicates this prior research using a new methodology in which participants matched verbalized monosyllabic nonsense pseudo-words to positive or negative cartoon pictures. We hypothesized that pseudo-words containing the sounds /i:/ would be matched with pictures that are more emotionally positive and ones containing the sounds /^/ would be matched with pictures that are more negative. Data collected from 119 undergraduate student volunteers from a Southwestern public university confirmed our hypotheses and exhibit the same pattern found in previous research supporting that specific vowel phonemes are matched with emotional valence. Our findings are the first to confirm this phoneme-emotion relationship with verbalized sounds and pictures. The results support the idea that the musculature associated with positive and negative facial expressions also favors production of specific phonemic sounds that listeners recognize and associate with specific emotions.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects over 300 million people worldwide, with the hippocampus showing decreased volume and activity in patients with MDD. The current study investigated whether a novel preclinical model of depression, unpredictable intermittent restraint (UIR), would decrease hippocampal neuronal dendritic complexity. Adult Sprague Dawley rats (24 male, 24 female) were equally divided into 4 groups: control males (CON-M), UIR males (UIR-M), control females (CON-F) and UIR females (UIR-F). UIR groups received restraint and shaking on an orbital shaker on a randomized schedule for 30 or 60 minutes/day for two to six days in a row for 26 days (21 total UIR days) before behavioral testing commenced. UIR continued and was interspersed between behavioral test days. At the end of behavioral testing, brains were processed. The behavior is published and not part of my honor’s thesis; my contribution involved quantifying and analyzing neurons in the hippocampus. Several neuronal types are found in the CA3 subregion of the hippocampus and I focused on short shaft (SS) neurons, which show different sensitivities to stress than the more common long shaft (LS) variety. Brains sections were mounted to slides and Golgi stained. SS neurons were drawn using a microscope with camera lucida attachment and quantified using the number of bifurcations and dendritic intersections as metrics for dendritic complexity in the apical and basal areas separately. The hypothesis that SS neurons in the CA3 region of the hippocampus would exhibit apical dendritic simplification in both sexes after UIR was not supported by our findings. In contrast, following UIR, SS apical dendrites were more complex in both sexes compared to controls. Although unexpected, we believe that the UIR paradigm was an effective stressor, robust enough to illicit neuronal adaptations. It appears that the time from the end of UIR to when the brain tissue was collected, or the post-stress recovery period, and/or repeated behavioral testing may have played a role in the observed increased neuronal complexity. Future studies are needed to parse out these potential effects.

An individual’s reputation can be beneficial or detrimental to their exchanges with others,
and these exchanges may be critical for achieving evolutionary goals, such as reproduction.
Depending on their reputation, an individual may or may not gain access to resources in order to
achieve their evolutionary goals. Reputation is typically described as being “positive” and
“negative,” but the current study aimed to identify potential nuances to reputations beyond the
traditional dichotomy. It was hypothesized that different types of reputations (such as “friendly”,
“dishonest”, and “aggressive”) would group together in categories beyond “positive” and
“negative.” Additionally, individuals with different life history strategies might find different
reputations important, because the reputations they find most important may help them get the
kinds of resources they need to attain their specific evolutionary goals. Therefore, it was also
predicted that the importance individuals place on different types of reputations would vary as a
function of life history strategy. Exploratory factor analysis identified a five factor structure for
reputations. Individuals also placed varying levels of importance on different types of
reputations, and found some reputations more important than others depending on their life
history strategy. This study demonstrates that reputational information is more nuanced than
previously thought and future research should consider that there may be more than just
“positive” and “negative” reputations in social interactions.

Prior research suggests that African American adults are more likely than White adults to experience negative alcohol use outcomes such as alcohol use disorder (AUD) despite reporting lower rates of alcohol consumption. Research also shows that African Americans experience higher rates of depression, which can increase risk for alcohol consumption and AUD through drinking to cope. The current study examined the role of depressive symptoms and drinking to cope in alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms among White and Black/African American college students. Participants completed an online survey during the fall (T1) and spring semester (T2) of their first year of college (N = 2,168, 62.8% female, 75.8% White). Path analyses were conducted to examine whether depressive symptoms and drinking to cope mediated the association between race/ethnicity and alcohol consumption and AUD symptoms, as well as whether race/ethnicity moderated the associations between depressive symptoms, drinking to cope, and alcohol use outcomes. Results indicated that White participants had higher levels of depressive symptoms and alcohol consumption than African American participants. Drinking to cope at T1 was also associated with more depressive symptoms at T1, higher levels of alcohol consumption at T2, and higher levels of AUD symptoms at T2. Also, there was an indirect effect of depressive symptoms on AUD symptoms via drinking to cope. Results from multigroup path analyses suggested that depressive symptoms were more strongly associated with drinking to cope for White students than African American students. There were no significant racial/ethnic differences in the associations between depressive symptoms or drinking to cope and alcohol use outcomes. Future research should examine the roles of race, depression, and drinking to cope in alcohol use outcomes for college students.

Developments in commercial genetic testing have made it possible for people to find out a wealth of information that was previously difficult or impossible to obtain. Genetic testing is a novel solution to the adaptive problem of paternal uncertainty. We hypothesized that participants in the control condition would have greater interest in their paternal genetic information than their maternal genetic information and that participants who were cued to their dissimilarities with their father would seek out genetic information regarding their paternal side of the family above all other conditions. Neither of the two tested hypotheses were supported by the data. Analyses of several variables suggest that the manipulation did work to enhance perceptions of similarity and dissimilarity to parents, that participants were paying attention, and that the dependent variables were sensitive. Some incidental findings suggest that feelings of similarity, rather than dissimilarity, to father are related to interest in learning about paternal genealogy.

Alcohol use among romantic partners is known to be related to a variety of detrimental outcomes, such as decreased relationship satisfaction and increases in conflict. However, discrepant drinking among partners may be a stronger predictor of relationship outcomes over and above the amount of alcohol use. Currently, little is known about potential differences in the within- and between-person effects and discrepancy’s effect on mood, particularly among community samples. The current study investigated the effects of both individual and partner alcohol use, as well as discrepant drinking, on mood and relationship functioning. Data were obtained from 280 heterosexual romantic couples using a measurement burst daily dairy design over the course of one year. Actor Partner Interdependence Model and Dyadic Score Model analyses were used to investigate the effect of alcohol use and discrepant drinking on mood and relationship functioning, both at the within- and between- person levels. Specifically, analyses investigated the effects of no drinking versus moderate drinking, no drinking versus binge drinking, and moderate drinking versus binge drinking. Results revealed that while binge drinking may be related to positive outcomes proximally, the cumulative effects at the between-person level are detrimental. Moreover, discrepant drinking appears most detrimental when women outdrink their partners. These findings have important implications for refining and improving upon couples-based interventions aimed at alcohol-use problems among non-clinical couples.

Alcohol consumption in first-year college students is both prevalent and problematic. Although several interventions have been shown to decrease alcohol consumption in college students, effect sizes tend to be small. Previous programs have focused on reducing risk factors; however, some research has shown potential in bolstering promotive and protective factors. The main objective of the current study was to further our understanding of the use of promotive and protective factors in alcohol prevention and intervention for first-year college students. A sample of 290 college psychology majors were assigned to either a treatment group or the standard curriculum of a first-semester course on achieving academic success. The intervention included activities aimed to increase academic engagement and community engagement, promote healthy minds and bodies, and promote positive social lives, including engagement in alcohol-free social activities. Students completed baseline measures at the beginning of the fall semester of their first year in college and a follow-up near the end of the semester. Analyses examined proximal targets (use of university resources, perceptions of peer alcohol use, academic engagement, school connectedness) and behavioral targets (personal alcohol use and GPA) of the intervention. Analyses demonstrated changes in proximal targets, but no significant effects of the intervention on behavioral targets. Students in the treatment condition utilized more school resources, had lower perceptions of peer alcohol use, and were marginally higher in school connectedness than those in the control condition. This suggests that the use of promotive and protective factors in alcohol prevention and intervention may contribute to attitudes and behaviors that are associated with better academic performance and less engagement in risk behavior. However, no significant changes were found for personal alcohol use or GPA. Future studies involving longer follow-ups and adding a skills-based component are needed to fully evaluate the potential of this approach.

The purpose of this literature review is to examine barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for alcohol treatment and approaches to facilitate adoption of EBPs in alcohol treatment settings. Although EBPs represent the most effective forms of treatment, many treatment centers continue to use treatments that lack an empirical foundation. Examining current research on implementation barriers allows for a more complete understanding of factors that may prevent treatment centers from adopting EBPs, and a categorization of EBP implementation strategies and rates of adoption may aid programs seeking to utilizes EBPs. This literature review is also designed to inform a future study of EBP implementation in treatment centers in the greater Phoenix area, which will ultimately serve as a resource to individuals seeking EBPs in the local community. Research on barriers conveyed that there are two types of barriers: global and EBP specific. At the global level, there are core barriers that must be addressed before successful implementation is possible. These barriers include organization and staff barriers. EBP specific barriers should be attended to after global barriers have been addressed. Research on implementation strategies conveys that multipronged approaches are the most effective, and should focus on addressing global barriers. Treatment centers that have successfully implemented EBPs provide valuable information to the development of new implementation strategies. Lastly, research on rates conveys the implementation of EBPs is increasing over time, however the research in this area has many limitations that must be addressed in future research to determine realist rates.

The current study examined the unique influence of emotional childhood abuse on positive and negative aspects of different types of social relationships (e.g., family, spouse/partner, and friends) in midlife and whether genetic variations of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) moderated these associations. Genetic variations in OXTR are measured by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which have been the most substantially studied prospects for explaining individual differences in socio-behavioral phenotypes. Specifically, an SNP, rs53576, involving a guanine (G) to adenine (A) substitution located in the third intron of the OXTR has been associated with fundamental aspects of social processes and behaviors. Compared to A carriers, individuals homozygous for the G allele have enhanced social competencies and tend to elicit more positive responses from social partners, consequently increasing the overall quality of social relationships across the lifespan. However, the G allele of the OXTR has also been associated with greater social sensitivity. In the current study, conducted among a sample of 614 adults in midlife, it was shown that emotional childhood abuse was significantly associated with having less supportive and more strained relationships in midlife. Regarding supportive family relationships, the effect of emotional childhood abuse was moderated by the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism. Specifically, under conditions of more emotional abuse in childhood, individuals homozygous for the G allele had more supportive family relationships in midlife compared to A carriers. Overall, the findings suggest that genetic variations of OXTR rs53576 may be an important candidate in understanding the development of social relationship functioning within the context of negative early life experiences.

Anxiety disorder diagnosis is a risk factor for alcohol use disorders (AUDs), but mechanisms of risk are not well understood. Studies show that anxious individuals receive greater negative reinforcement from alcohol when consumed prior to a stressor, but few studies have examined whether anxious individuals receive greater negative (or positive) reinforcement from alcohol in a general drinking context (i.e., no imminent stressor). Previous studies have also failed to examine possible moderating effects of specific drinking contexts (e.g., drinking in a group or alone). Finally, no studies have investigated mediating variables that might explain the relationship between anxiety and reinforcement from alcohol, such as physiological response to alcohol (e.g., cortisol response). Data for this study were drawn from a large alcohol administration study (N = 447) wherein participants were randomized to receive alcohol (target peak BAC: .08 g%) or placebo in one of four contexts: group simulated bar, solitary simulated bar, group sterile laboratory, solitary sterile laboratory. It was hypothesized that anxiety would be associated with positive subjective response (SR) under alcohol (above and beyond placebo), indicating stronger reinforcement from alcohol. It was also hypothesized that social and physical drinking context would moderate this relationship. Finally, it was hypothesized that anxiety would be associated with a blunted cortisol response to alcohol (compared to placebo) and this blunted cortisol response would be associated with stronger positive SR and weaker negative SR. Results showed that anxiety was not associated with positive SR in the full sample, but drinking context did moderate the anxiety/SR relationship in most cases (e.g., anxiety was significantly associated with positive SR (stimulation) under placebo in solitary contexts only). There was no evidence that cortisol response to alcohol mediated the relationship between anxiety and SR. This study provides evidence that anxious drinkers expect stronger positive reinforcement from alcohol in solitary contexts, which has implications for intervention (e.g., modification of existing interventions like expectancy challenge). Null findings regarding cortisol response suggest alcohol’s effect on cortisol response to stress (rather than cortisol response to alcohol consumption) may be more relevant for SR and drinking behavior among anxious individuals.