Celebration of Scholarship 2013

Bibliography of OWU faculty publications featured at the April 24, 2013 Celebration of Scholarship

Sexually Differentiated Object Preference in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Children have strong preferences for sex-typed toys; boys prefer trucks, whereas girls prefer dolls. These preferences appear to be driven by complex interactions of hormones and the socio-cultural environment. The relative contribution of each of these factors in children is impossible to isolate given ethical limitations. Non-human primate species afford the opportunity to examine preferences in the absence of societal values and influences that children experience. In two previous studies with non-human primates, one with vervet monkeys and one with rhesus monkeys, monkeys showed sex-typed object preferences that paralleled those of children. However, several uncontrolled variables could have influenced these preferences. Our study considered object characteristics and we controlled for possible color preferences. We also tested monkeys individually to eliminate the effects of social facilitation and dominance rank. In experiment 1, monkeys were given a choice between similar objects of different colors (Phase A) and moving vs. non-moving objects (Phase B). In experiment 2, monkeys were given a choice between dolls and trucks (Phase A) and subsequent phases looked at the influence of moving wheels (Phase B) and hardness (Phase C). Contrary to previous findings, monkeys did not show sex-typed object preferences. Instead, the monkeys preferred blue objects, hard PVC objects such as trucks and hard dolls, and dolls with wheels. The influence of previous reward based cognitive testing, familiarity of substrate materials, and rearing condition are considered as possible explanations for these findings

Co-Rooming Accounts for Socioeconomic Disparities in Infant Sleep Quality among Families Living in Urban Environments

Poor infant sleep quality is associated with negative maternal and infant health outcomes. This study measures socioeconomic disparities in infant sleep quality, and assesses whether child sleep location and maternal stress mediate associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and infant sleep quality. The study includes 86 socioeconomically diverse, mother-infant dyads living in an urban area with infants aged 6–12 months. Mothers reported socioeconomic demographics, infant sleep quality (Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire) and maternal subjective stress (Perceived Stress Scale). Maternal objective stress was measured via hair cortisol concentration (HCC). The associations among SES, infant sleep quality, infant co-rooming, and maternal stress were assessed. Infants from families with lower income-to-needs (ITN) ratios had poorer infant sleep quality. The association between familial ITN and infant sleep quality was mediated by whether the child co-rooms with parents. Maternal perceived stress was independently associated with infant sleep quality, but HCC was not associated with infant sleep quality

The Nature of 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-Induced Serotonergic Dysfunction: Evidence for and Against the Neurodegeneration Hypothesis

High doses of the recreational drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) have been well-documented to reduce the expression of serotonergic markers in several forebrain regions of rats and nonhuman primates. Neuroimaging studies further suggest that at least one of these markers, the plasma membrane serotonin transporter (SERT), may also be reduced in heavy Ecstasy users. Such effects, particularly when observed in experimental animal models, have generally been interpreted as reflecting a loss of serotonergic fibers and terminals following MDMA exposure. This view has been challenged, however, based on the finding that MDMA usually does not elicit glial cell reactions known to occur in response to central nervous system (CNS) damage. The aim of this review is to address both sides of the MDMA-neurotoxicity controversy, including recent findings from our laboratory regarding the potential of MDMA to induce serotonergic damage in a rat binge model. Our data add to the growing literature implicating neuroregulatory mechanisms underlying MDMA-induced serotonergic dysfunction and questioning the need to invoke a degenerative response to explain such dysfunction

A role for serotonin in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to insulin stress.

Controversy exists concerning the possible involvement of serotonin in the pituitary-adrenocortical response to stress. In the present research, a variety of physiological and pharmacological manipulations were used in male rats to study the role of this neurotransmitter in the adrenocortical response to insulin- induced hypoglycemia. First, the effect of insulin stress on hypothalamic 5-HT metabolism was examined, and an increased turnover was found as determined by an enhanced accumulation of 5-HT following monoamine oxidase inhibition. The corticos terone response to insulin was potentiated by prior administration of L-tryptophan, and blocked by pretreatment with valine, an amino acid that competes with tryptophan for transport across the blood-brain barrier. Treatment with the 5-HT receptor blocker methysergide, or serotonin depletion by intraventricular injection of 5 , 7-dihydroxy tryptamine significantly attenuated the insulin- induced rise in circulating corticosterone

Mending Invisible Wounds: The Efficacy and Legality of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy in United States\u27 Veterans Suffering with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Though Veteran Affairs has provided crucial life sustaining—and often lifesaving—treatments to returning soldiers, the substantial and ever-increasing rates of veteran suicides, drug addictions, and criminal behavior indicate a need for broader options in treatment. One of the most profound discoveries uncovered through MDMA-assisted psychotherapy research is MDMA’s facilitation of the alleviation of addictive behavior in subjects, and, as a result, an alleviation of addictions in general. Addiction is one of the key symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and drug abuse plays a large role in the other afflictions suffered by veterans, namely criminal activity and a high rate of suicide. If there is any hope of treating this debilitating psychotic phenomenon—or at least containing its rapid growth and addressing its profound depth—alternative remedies as a means must not be ignored for a normative end. Accordingly, this note argues that physicians must be able to treat PTSD victims through MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, an alternative remedy to PTSD treatment that has shown overwhelming promise in domestic and international medical research. In doing so, it first discusses 21 U.S.C.A. § 812, which labels MDMA as a Schedule I substance and prohibits healthcare professionals from using MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to treat PTSD victims. Next, the note asserts that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) erroneously categorized MDMA as a substance lacking an accepted medical use and lack of safety under medical supervision. The note sets out studies, domestic and international, where clinical testing of MDMA-assisted therapy to treat PTSD have been met with overwhelmingly positive results. Finally, the note argues that MDMA’s accepted medical use, low physical and psychological dependence, and known safety under medical supervision support its classification as a Schedule III under the CSA, and that the 1986 classification of MDMA as a Schedule I narcotic was, and continues to be, an arbitrary and capricious agency interpretation of an otherwise viable piece of congressional legislation