Determining Appropriate Levels of Transdermal Stimulation for Use in an Escape/Avoidance Task — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Determining Appropriate Levels of Transdermal Stimulation for Use in an Escape/Avoidance Task

Name: Kevin Dunn
Major: Biology
Hometown: Madison, WI
Faculty Sponsor: Paul Martino
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project

Name: Alexandra Arber
Major: Neuroscience, Psychology
Hometown: McHenry, IL
Faculty Sponsor: Paul Martino
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project

Abstract

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is believed to be a genetically determined trait that affects about 33% of the population and is a risk factor for many anxiety disorders. These individuals respond to stressful situations differently than non-behaviorally inhibited (non-BI) individuals. Prior research on Wistar-Kyoto rats has shown significant differences in avoidance behaviors between BI and non-BI rats. The purpose of this current study is to determine appropriate voltages of low, medium, and high levels of stimulation to be used in a future study where avoidance behavior will be studied in BI and non-BI human participants. As part of the current laboratory-based study, eight transdermal stimulations of varying magnitude were delivered to human participants in random order between 30-100 mV in 10 mV intervals for each participant. Participants were asked to rate the stimulation intensity levels, ranging from 1 (barely perceptible) to 10 (extremely perceptible). From these intensity ratings, we determined that the appropriate levels of stimulation would be 50 mV which was rated 3.75 +/- 1.53, 70 mV which was rated 6.38 +/- 1.31, and 90 mV which was rated 7.38 +/- 1.54. These stimulation levels will be used in a future study that will further uncover the behavioral differences between BI and non-BI individuals. Determining these behavioral differences will contribute to furthering our understanding of psychiatric disorders like anxiety and PTSD.

Poster file