The Persuasive Power of Video Game Narratives: Addressing Empathy and Attitudes toward People with Mental Illness

Many college students find themselves struggling with mental health problems (ACHA, 2015). Individuals with mental illness not only battle with the disease, but with the stigma society has developed toward them, leading to a diminished quality of life. Education and contact are two antistigma approaches utilized in this study (Corrigan & Watson, 2002). This thesis aims to understand players’ involvement in the video game narrative (i.e., narrative engagement and transportation) and its relationship with empathy and attitudes toward people with mental illness. As a way to alleviate stigma, college students (N = 97) were surveyed after playing the video game Fran Bow that was perceived by a focus group as having low in-game stereotypes. Contrary to prediction, results indicated that the video game did not have an effect on participants’ empathy or attitudes toward people with mental illness. However, an exploratory assessment of media user characteristics offers interesting insights to the results. Additionally, findings suggest that those who were more involved in the narrative held more in-game story consistent beliefs. Overall, these results imply that video games can play an important role in prosocial change; however, the nature of the game and player characteristics may influence outcomes, therefore more research is needed

Reduced Intestinal Tumorigenesis in APCmin Mice Lacking Melanin-Concentrating Hormone

Background: Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is an evolutionary conserved hypothalamic neuropeptide that in mammals primarily regulates appetite and energy balance. We have recently identified a novel role for MCH in intestinal inflammation by demonstrating attenuated experimental colitis in MCH deficient mice or wild type mice treated with an anti-MCH antibody. Therefore, targeting MCH has been proposed for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Given the link between chronic intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer, in the present study we sought to investigate whether blocking MCH might have effects on intestinal tumorigenesis that are independent of inflammation. Methodology Tumor development was evaluated in MCH-deficient mice crossed to the APCmin mice which develop spontaneously intestinal adenomas. A different cohort of MCH−/− and MCH+/+ mice in the APCmin background was treated with dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) to induce inflammation-dependent colorectal tumors. In Caco2 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, the role of MCH on cell survival, proliferation and apoptosis was investigated. Results: APCmin mice lacking MCH developed fewer, smaller and less dysplastic tumors in the intestine and colon which at the molecular level are characterized by attenuated activation of the wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway and increased apoptotic indices. Form a mechanistic point of view, MCH increased the survival of colonic adenocarcinoma Caco2 cells via inhibiting apoptosis, consistent with the mouse studies. Conclusion: In addition to modulating inflammation, MCH was found to promote intestinal tumorigenesis at least in part by inhibiting epithelial cell apoptosis. Thereby, blocking MCH as a therapeutic approach is expected to decrease the risk for colorectal cancer