The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the impact isolation has on mental health, which in turn affects physical health. During my global health immersion as a volunteer at the McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital emergency room, I observed many older adults suffering from acute pain. Many of these older adults stayed in the emergency room alone for hours. […]
C46: Psilocybin as a Preventative Measure for Alcohol Dependence
Alcohol addiction is a widespread problem that affects people of all ages and backgrounds, yet it is not very well treated. Addiction is commonly referred to as a sickness or disease, but is set apart from other diseases in that there is a lack of medications that provide a cure or alleviate symptoms. With the […]
C47: Rodent Behavioral and Antidepressant Effects of Psilocybin and Novel Tryptamines
Clinical trials on the use of psilocybin to treat depression are promising, but still in preliminary stages. Additionally, they are confounded by the presence of hallucinations, which may not be necessary for its clinical effectiveness but create significant challenges in experimental design. Thus, there is a need to determine if other tryptamines have similar molecular […]
C48: Estrogen Improves Psilocybin Efficacy
Recent study of the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin points towards potential therapeutic benefits for serotonin-linked mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder and PMDD, a depressive disorder that is associated with women’s estrous cycles and the cycling of estradiol. The primary mechanism of action of psilocybin is agonistic on the 5HT2A receptor. Estradiol has been shown […]
C49: Effects of Adolescent Benzodiazepine Exposure on Alcohol Intake and Tolerance
Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are strong anxiolytic drugs that act at GABA receptors, resulting in overall inhibition of the central nervous system (CNS). Benzodiazepines can be prescribed by a doctor, or recreationally abused. One in five high schoolers report using benzodiazepines either medically or recreationally. However, the longitudinal effects of benzodiazepine use during adolescence have not been […]
C62: Society’s Use of Language to Otherize Migrants of Color
While discussing with my advisors, I found myself drawn to the use of language when referring to migrants in America. As described in one of my references, “immigrant groups, regardless of their country of origin, were perceived as a threat at the time of their arrival in the United States”(Wei et al., 2019). However, while […]
B52-P: Minds Made Up: The Intersectionality Between Medical Decision Making and COVID-19
Contact Tracing explores the public health response to COVID-19 and the psychology of the medical decisions that are made as they pertain to communicating with and abiding by contact tracing efforts. This is accomplished through an anthropological approach to critically examine the implications of contact tracing, taking into account several nuances that encompass the spread […]
B39-P: Assessing Suicidal Behavior in Bodybuilders and the Military: An Analysis of Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder and Muscle-Enhancing Risk Behaviors on Suicidal Ideation
Introduction: Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is defined as a consistent preoccupation over one’s own muscularity and body weight. MD is a subtype of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and is associated with a myriad of acute and long-term health outcomes, including suicidal behavior. Research examining the mechanisms through which suicidal behavior is related to MD is limited, […]
A15-P: Impact of Glucocorticoid Synthesis Inhibition During Early Life Stress on Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning
Early life stress alters future stress responses by leading to neuropsychiatric disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. Following exposure to a stressor, animals release hormones that aim to reinstate homeostasis. Corticosterone (CORT), a stress hormone, is associated with the consolidation of fear memories where CORT can enhance new emotionally arousing memories. When […]
A25-P: Language, Transportation, and Stigma; Oh My: Barriers to Accessing Equitable Free Healthcare Services in the United States
As of 2019, 34 million Americans live in poverty – 10.5 percent of the population (United States Census Bureau, 2020). The rates nearly double among minority populations with a poverty rate for Black Americans at 18.8 percent and Hispanics 15.7 percent (United States Census Bureau, 2020). Poverty is well established to have a negative impact […]