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2016 Volume 6 ISSN 2375-401X ReCUR Volume 6 2016 Table of Contents Editorial Staff About ReCUR Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, Ph.D. Editor-In-Chief and ReCUR is a publication of the Michigan State University Honors College | 2 – 7 | Honors College Dean that highlights the diversity and quality of our students’ research and creative Sex Differences in Pubertally Added Cells in Rat Brains Devin McAuley, Ph.D. endeavors. Each issue of ReCUR accepts submissions from Honors College Susie Sonnenschein Managing Editor and students and from participants in the University Undergraduate Research Honors College Professor & Arts Forum (UURAF). In addition to providing students an outlet for | 8 | Nancy DeJoy, Ph.D. publication of their work, ReCUR offers students an opportunity to become Faculty Advisor and Highlights of Undergraduate Research Honors College Professor familiar with the editorial process as members of the Editorial Staff or Student Editorial Board. Stephanie Cepak | 9 – 14 | Communications Manager E-mail: [email protected] Website: recur.msu.edu Maternal Control in Infant Feeding Among Casey McDougall Ethnically Diverse Low-income Mothers Co-Student Editor Kelly Kenyon and Mildred Horodynski Andrew Mecca Co-Student Editor About Citation Formats | 15 – 16 | Abby McCallister As ReCUR is an interdisciplinary journal, we respect the citation formats Editorial Assistant The China Experience of the various fields of our authors. Thus readers will notice in-text- andref Casey McDougall and Nancy DeJoy Marta Werbanowska erence list differences depending on the style guide the author has sub- Co-Design Editor mitted. General stylistic issues are edited per the Chicago Manual of Style. Meghan Kuhr | 17 | Co-Design Editor The Art of Art Jack William Burk, Heather Hartmann, Sarah Hopkins, Call for Submissions Deshaun Leonard, Alex Hennessy, and Spencer Taylor Student Editorial HONORS COLLEGE STUDENTS AND UURAF PARTICIPANTS: Board | 18 – 24 | ReCUR is now accepting submissions for the next issue from Honors College The Effect of Mental Effort on Metabolism Grant Billings students and UURAF participants. Send us any artwork, research, poems, prose, Kevin Michael Wheelock, Joshua Lawrence Starkey, and Erica Ariece Wehrwein Crop and Soil Sciences and more that you’ve been working on. Please visit our website at recur.msu. Paige Bruno edu for more information. If you have any questions, email us at [email protected]. Advertising | 25 – 28 |

Keerthana Byreddy The Contribution of Childhood and Adult Abuse to Women Offenders’ Biochemistry/ Risk for Continued Substance Abuse Biotechnology About the Cover Sarah Marie Hughes Rebecca Carlson Chemical Engineering The Volume 6 cover of ReCUR illustrates | 30 – 37 | Audrey Drotos the wide array of subjects studied and re- Review: Can Environmental Fluctuations Affect Breeding Behavior in Fish? Neuroscience and Music searched at Michigan State University. Anna Reh-Gingerich Grace Hough By incorporating images representative Economics of subjects included in this issue, a col- | 38 – 43 | Abby Moore lage of research diversity and opportunity 2015 and 2016 National and International Fellowship Biochemistry/ available at this university is illustrated. Biotechnology and Scholarship Recipients Meghan Kuhr and Rachel Rapp Marta Werbanowska Neuroscience | 44 – 45 | Lark Steafo About the Contributors Lyman Briggs College © 2016 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. Sex differences in the susceptibility to certain men- not appear to be as critical to Pavlovian learning (Par- Sex Differences in Pubertally Added tal illnesses, such as eating and mood disorders in kinson, Olmstead, Burns, Robbins, & Everitt, 1999). women, often begin to emerge during adolescence. Ample evidence exists for the role of the mPFC and Therefore, these disorders may be a reflection of pu- NAcc in motivated behaviors; however, the relation- Cells in Rat Brains bertal hormones acting on the brain, in addition to ship between these brain regions is also crucial to the potential psychosocial variables that differentially demonstration of typical or pathological behavior. Susie Sonnenschein | College of Natural Science and College of Social Science affect females and males (Angold, Costello, Erkanli, & Worthman, 1999; Kaye, 2008). Little is known A common model used to explain increased risk-tak- Abstract (Casey, Giedd, & Thomas, 2000; Sisk & Foster, 2004; about whether this vulnerability is established early ing and impulsivity in adolescence proposes that there Ahmed et al., 2008). The sex steroids then selectively in development or is due to the remodeling that oc- is an early overproduction of axons and synapses that Adolescence is a time of extensive maturation and activate acute effects during puberty through cellular curs during puberty, or is a combination of the two. are pruned through late adolescence. The pruning is concomitant remodeling of the brain, which is associ- mechanisms to induce and maintain the expression more prolonged in the PFC compared to the NAcc, ated with the emergence of structural and functional of sex-specific adult behavior. Activational effects During puberty, significant developmental changes meaning that the NAcc matures earlier (Andersen, sexual dimorphisms. The medial prefrontal cortex may come or go depending on whether or not the occur, in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway that Thompson, Rutstein, Hostetter, & Teicher, 2000). (mPFC) and nucleus acccumbens (NAcc) are two hormone is present (Breedlove & Hampson, 2002). modulates patterns of motivated behavior, includ- Therefore an adolescent may respond to the arousal brain regions involved in motivated behavior. Rats ing risk-taking, reward seeking, and impulsivity. A of a rewarding stimulus without the behavioral inhi- were used to investigate whether sex differences exist An important modification to the original organi- key part of the mesolimbic pathway is dopamine bition that would otherwise come from a more ma- in cell proliferation/survival during puberty in these zational-activational hypothesis proposes that go- released from the midbrain ventral tegmental area ture prefrontal cortex (Casey, Jones, & Hare, 2008). regions. They received injections of cell birthdate nadal hormones at puberty both organize and acti- (VTA), which has widespread projections to re- marker bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) at the start of vate certain regions of the adolescent brain. Active gions involved in reward processes and goal di- It has also been proposed that a sex difference exists puberty and were sacrificed at time points across pu- maintenance of structural refinement results in long- rected behavior, particularly the nucleus accum- in motivated behavior such that males are more likely berty to quantify the number of BrdU-immunoreac- lasting changes that contribute to adult behavioral bens (NAcc) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to engage in risk-taking and reward-seeking behavior tive cells. The density of new cells increased and then responses in socially relevant environments (Sisk & (Adriani, Morley-Fletcher, Macri, & Laviola, 2003; than females (Schafer, Miller, & Byrnes, 1999). How- decreased with increasing survival time following the Foster, 2004; Sisk & Zehr, 2005; Schulz, Molenda- Ernst, Pine, & Hardin, 2006; Sesack & Grace, 2010). ever, females show more rapid dependence on drugs injections. Females showed a higher density of new Figueira, & Sisk, 2009). Instead of a second critical such as cocaine (Griffin, Weiss, Mirin, & Lange, 1989) cells, qualified by interactions in early and late puber- period, puberty can be thought of as an extension of The PFC and NAcc are two brain regions that play and report higher craving when presented with drug ty. If a structural sex difference is confirmed, and if pu- the plasticity that begins prenatally and ends late in essential roles in motivated behavior. The PFC is associated cues compared to males (Elman, Karlsgodt, bertal hormones are involved in maintaining that dif- adolescence, prolonging what was once thought to be critical for many executive functions, including plan- & Gastfriend, 2001), independent of sex differences in ference, then pubertal hormones may play a role in sex a succinct critical period during early development. ning, attention, working memory, and behavioral in- the pharmacokinetics of the drug (Mendelson et al., differences in behaviors associated with those areas. hibition (Goldman-Rakic, Cools, & Srivastava, 1996). 1999). It has been suggested the hormonal fluctuations It should be noted that the presence of hormones at Due to its functional diversity, efforts have been made in females may produce this differential subjective re- Introduction puberty is not the only important factor in matura- to map these processes onto specific regions and sponse (Elman et al., 2001). Vulnerability to addiction tion. For example, hormone treatment alone fails to neural networks. Data from conditioned place pref- can produce life-long consequences, prompting the Adolescence is a critical stage of development during produce copulatory behavior in prepubertal animals, erence, intracranial self-stimulation, and drug self- need for further research in its associated brain devel- which a child transitions into adulthood. The begin- indicating the need for further physiological develop- administration studies confirm the role of the mPFC, opment and determining what role, if any, hormones ning of the psychological and social maturation of ment and proper sensory stimuli through social in- which includes infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PL) play in creating sex differences in development. adolescence is concurrent with, but distinguishable teractions before the adult behavior can be expressed regions in motivated behaviors (Tzschentke, 1998). from, the onset of puberty, which refers to the acti- (Södersten, Damassa, & Smith, 1977; Romeo, Schulz, The mPFC is required for detection and extinction of One method of investigating structural sex differenc- vation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) Nelson, Menard, & Sisk, 2003). Additionally, genetic action-outcome contingencies, such as predicting the es is to study differences in cell proliferation. BrdU axis. Activation of the HPG axis leads to gonadal mechanisms independent of hormones may trigger value of actions (Alexander & Brown, 2011). The role labeling is one of the most commonly used techniques maturation, dramatic changes in hormone levels, sexual differentiation of the brain and subsequent of the NAcc in reward, as a key region involved in mo- for studying adult neurogenesis. BrdU is a thymidine and their resulting physical changes. These separate differences in behavior (Arnold, 1996). It is unclear tivated behavior, is widely agreed upon (Ikemoto & analog that acts as a cell birthdate marker by incor- processes are closely linked through interactions be- whether the hormonal changes at puberty are the Panksepp, 1999; Salamone, Correa, Mingote, & We- porating into the DNA of dividing cells (Taupin, tween the brain and gonadal hormones (Sisk & Fos- primary factor in the maturation of an individual’s ber, 2005). However, the specific roles of the subdivi- 2007). Therefore, cells labeled with BrdU are new ter, 2004). The effects of sex steroids on the brain brain and behavior. It is more likely the result of a dy- sions of the NAcc, the core (NAcCore) and the shell cells that were born around the time of the injec- are classically described through “organization” and namic interplay between factors. Hormonal and other (NAcShell), are more controversial regarding the dis- tion and survived up until sacrifice time. It is impor- “activation.” They first organize the brain’s structure physiological changes may alter the brain directly tinctiveness of their functions. Some studies suggest tant to note that BrdU itself is not a marker of new during critical periods of plasticity, through process- or contribute to the individual’s social experiences that the NAcCore is more important in predicting the neurons. Cells labeled with BrdU could also be glial es including cell proliferation and migration, to pro- and other environmental stimuli during adolescence, incentive value of the reward (Salamone, Aberman, cells or undifferentiated precursors. Further pheno- duce sexual differentiation that later supports male or resulting in adult behavior and, in certain cases, in- Sokolowski, & Cousins, 1999; Di Chiara, 2002). The typing can help determine the role of the new cells. female sexual behavior and physiology in adulthood creased risk for psychopathology (Arnold, 2004). shell, though perhaps playing a role in arousal, does The goal of this study was to determine if there is a

2 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 3 sex difference in the density of new cells added to perfused with 0.9% buffered saline rinse followed by brain regions involved in motivated behavior, name- 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline. ly the mPFC and NAcc. If a structural sex differ- Brains were post-fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde over- ence exists, and if pubertal hormones are involved night with a 25-gauge needle placed in the left hemi- in maintaining that difference, then pubertal hor- sphere of the cortex and transferred to 30% sucrose. mones may also play a role in sex differences in the The brains were cut into 30µm sections and stored behaviors associated with those areas. Adolescence in cryoprotectant at -20°C. The PFC and NAcc were is characterized by major changes to neural systems picked from a 1 in 6 series of sections. A single-label that underlie higher cognitive functions, but these BrdU immunohistochemistry with 3,3’-diaminoben- changes may also increase the risk for certain dis- zidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB) as the chromogen FIGURE 2. Graphs of average BrdU-ir density per Qm2 for each survival time in the core (A) and orders. There are current gaps in the knowledge re- was performed. The stained sections were mounted shell (B) of the nucleus accumbens. garding the development of these brain areas, which onto subbed and acid-washed slides and then coun- highlights the need for further research to ultimately terstained using VECTASHIELD with 4’,6-diamidi- Results ventricular zone (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus of the better understand adolescent brain development. no-2-phenylindole (DAPI) to fluorescently label nu- hippocampus. The SVZ lies along the lateral walls of clei for cell counting. Coverslipped slides were stored A main effect of survival time was present in the the lateral ventricles and contains the largest known Methods at 3°C to prevent fluorescent decay. prelimbic and infralimbic regions of the mPFC (p < site of cell proliferation, including neurogenesis, in the 0.001). In both regions, the density of new cells in- adult mammalian brain (Gates et al., 1995). New cells Animals Data Collection and Analysis creased at mid-puberty time points, compared to migrate away from the SVZ before they undergo dif- early and late time points, in both males and females. ferentiation (Eriksson et al., 1998). Due to proximity, The study used 18 male and 18 female Sprague-Dawley The regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (infralim- A main effect of sex was also present in the prelim- the new cells observed likely migrated along the ros- rats (Harlan Laboratories) housed in same-sex pairs bic and prelimbic), cingulate gyrus (for comparison bic and infralimbic regions, qualified by interactions tral migratory stream from the SVZ, which boarders in clear polycarbonate cages with ad libitum access to to the mPFC) and nucleus accumbens (core and shell) in which females demonstrated a greater density of both the PFC and the nucleus accumbens. The decline food (Teklad Rodent diet no. 8640; Harlan Laborato- were traced using Neurolucida software. Boundar- new cells than males at the two-day post-BrdU in- of new cells in the mPFC and NAcc days to weeks af- ries, Madison, WI) and water. The rats were housed ies were determined by consulting a rat brain atlas, jection survival time, p < 0.049 and p <0.013 respec- ter BrdU could be due to either cell death or migra- in a reversed light: dark cycle (lights off at 1300h). comparing differences in cellular composition based tively. The cingulate gyrus showed no significant tion into another region. A later survival time point in on fluorescence, and using structural landmarks. Re- differences in either sex or survival time (Figure 1). adulthood could elucidate the fate of the pubertally Design gional tracings were used to determine area in squared born cells and whether they are surviving until adult- microns. Once the regions were traced, BrdU-ir cells In the nucleus accumbens, a main effect of survival hood. Additionally, BrdU serves as a marker of cell All of the rats were given an intraperitoneal injection were counted in each section using light microscopy time was present in the core and shell (p < 0.001), proliferation, but does not provide information about with 200 mg/kg BrdU (20mg/mL) at 0800h, 1600h, to determine the average number of BrdU-ir cells per again showing a general trend of increasing at mid- the phenotypes of the new cells. Further staining with and 2400h on postnatal day 30 (P30), around the regional area. A two-way univariate ANOVA was puberty time points compared to early and late pu- markers for neurons and glial cells would be required start of puberty. They were later sacrificed with an performed for each region of interest using SPSS berty in both males and females. A female-biased for insight into the functional role of the new cells. overdose of sodium pentobarbital (90 mg/kg) at 2d, software to compare the average BrdU-ir regional main effect of sex was present in the NAcCore, quali- The data indicate that a significantly higher density of 4d, 7d, 10d, 14d, or 21d) following the BrdU injection, density per section (dependent variable) in each fied by interactions at the two-day (p < 0.01), 14-day new cells is present early in puberty in females com- spanning from early to late puberty. The rats were sex and each survival time (independent variables). (p < 0.01), and 21-day (p < 0.01) post-BrdU injection pared to males in the PL and IL regions of the mPFC survival times. A main effect of sex was also present and the NAcCore, based on the interactions at the in the NAcShell qualified by interactions in which fe- two-day post-BrdU injection survival time. More new males had a greater density of new cells than males at cells survived longer in the female NAcCore and Shell, the seven-day (p < 0.04), 14-day (p < 0.01), and 21-day based on the interactions at the later survival times. In- (p < 0.01) post-BrdU injection survival time (Figure 2). terestingly, these results refute previous results from this lab that a male-biased sex difference exists in the Discussion PL region of the mPFC and the NAcCore. This differ- ence could be due to the use of average cell density ver- The main effect of survival time seen in the mPFC and sus average cell count in the regions, which may have NAcc indicates that the number of new cells in these taken into account differences in brain size. Therefore, regions increases and then decreases with increasing even if males have a higher total number of cells, there survival time following the injections in both males may actually be fewer new cells per square micron. and females. The increase in BrdU-ir cells after the Further studies are required to confirm these results. two-day survival time may be due to proliferation of FIGURE 1. Graphs of average BrdU-ir density per Qm2 for each survival time in the prelimbic (A), daughter cells or migration from a cytogenic niche. The current data support a structural sex difference infralimbic (B), and cingulate (C) regions of the PFC. New cells are continuously added in the forebrain sub- in the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. To

4 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 5 determine whether pubertal hormones modulate the References Elman, I., Karlsgodt, K. H., & Gastfriend, D. the potentiation of conditioned reinforcement and lo- addition/survival of new cells in these brain regions, R. (2001). Gender differences in cocaine crav- comotor activity byd-amphetamine. The Journal of Neu- one could remove gonadal hormones before puberty Adriani, W., Morley-Fletcher, S., Macri, S., & ing among non-treatment-seeking individu- roscience, 19, 2401-2411. with an ovariectomy or castration. If the sex differ- Laviola, G. (2003). Risk-taking behavior in als with cocaine dependence. The American ence is eliminated in the absence of pubertal hor- adolescent mice: Psychobiological determinants and Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 27, 193-202. Romeo, R. D., Schulz, K. M., Nelson, A. L., Men- mones, it would suggest that the hormones play a early epigenetic influence. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ard, T. A., & Sisk, C. L. (2003). 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Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 5, 34-41. cognition, social functioning, and mental illness sus- Andersen, S. L., Thompson, A. T., Rutstein, M., adult mouse subventricular zone of the cerebral hemi- ceptibility that emerge in adulthood. The results sug- Hostetter, J. C., & Teicher, M. H. (2000). Dopamine spheres. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 361, 249-266. Schafer, W. D., Miller, D. C., Byrnes, J. P. gest that females have a significantly higher density of receptor pruning in prefrontal cortex during the (1999). Gender differences in risk taking: A me- new cells, which proliferate and survive, compared to periadolescent period in rats. Synapse, 37(2), 167-169. Goldman-Rakic, P. S., Cools, A. R., & Srivas- ta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 367-386. males in the prelimbic and infralimbic regions of the tava, K. (1996). The prefrontal landscape: im- medial prefrontal cortex and the core and shell of the Angold, A., Costello, E. 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A unifying interpretation with special reference However, this study provides additional evidence that Breedlove, S. M., & Hampson, E. (2002). Sexual dif- to reward-seeking. Brain Research Reviews, 31, 6-41. Sisk, C. L., & Zehr, J. L. (2005). Pubertal hor- there are new cells being added to these regions in pu- ferentiation of the brain and behavior. Behavioral endo- mones organize the adolescent brain and be- berty, which could have profound implications for un- crinology, 75-114. Kaye, W. (2008). Neurobiology of anorexia and havior. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 26, 163-174. derstanding how higher cognitive functions and mo- bulimia nervosa. Physiology & Behavior, 94, 121-135. tivated behavior develop to support adult behavior. Casey, B. J., Giedd. J. N., & Thomas, K. M. (2000). Södersten, P., Damassa, D. A., & Smith, E. R. (1977). Structural and functional brain development and its Mendelson, J. H., Mello, N. K., Sholar, M. B., Sie- Sexual behavior in developing male rats. Hormones and relation to cognitive development. Biological Psychol- gel, A. J., Kaufman, M. J., Levin, J. M., & Cohen, B. Behavior, 8, 320-341. Acknowledgements ogy, 54, 241-257. M. (1999). Cocaine pharmacokinetics in men and in women during the follicular and luteal phases of the I would like to thank Maggie Mohr and Nancy Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. A. menstrual cycle. Neuropsychopharmacology, 21, 294-303. Michael for training me on the techniques used (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the in this experiment. I am also grateful to the Don- New York Academy of Sciences, 1124, 111-126. Parkinson, J. A., Olmstead, M. C., Burns, L. H., Rob- Carlos Lab at Loyola University for their col- bins, T. W., & Everitt, B. J. (1999). Dissociation in laboration and help in cutting the brain tissue. Di Chiara, G. (2002). Nucleus accumbens shell effects of lesions of the nucleus accumbens core and This research was funded by the NIH and and core dopamine: Differential role in behavior shell on appetitive pavlovian approach behavior and the MSU Provost Undergraduate Research and addiction. Behavioural Brain Research, 137, 75-114. Initiative in the College of Social Science. 6 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 7 Maternal Control in Infant Feeding Highlights of Undergraduate Research Among Ethnically Diverse

Callahan, Courtney, “Experiential avoidance medi- Shinners, John, Murray, Nathan and Pryg, Kasey, “Im- ates the relation between worry and anxiety sensitiv- proving tuberculosis detection using smear micros- Low-Income Mothers ity,” 28th APS Annual Convention, May 26 – 29, 2016. copy,” GRAAL San Cristobal de las Casas, October 7, Kelly Kenyon and Mildred Horodynski 2015. ______Gelpi, Grace, North American Saxophone Alliance Bi- College of Nursing and College of Social Science ennial Conference, March 7 - 13, 2016. Swarthout, Scott, “Theatre engine project,” Edin- burge Fringe Festival, August 22-29, 2015. Abstract of obesity in African American girls and Hispanic/ Glover, Katharine and Stewart, Joel, “The technical Latino boys (Hughes et al., 2006; Olds et al., 2011). and performance characteristics of a low-cost, sim- Valentini, Kelly, “Characterization of fatty acid and A disproportionate number of overweight/obese chil- High levels of maternal control in infant feeding ply-constructed, black light insect trap,” Entomology mineral composition of selected seeds, nuts and oils dren in the United States come from low-income mi- have been linked to decreased internal satiety cues 2015, November 15 - 18, 2015. in Tanzania,” Experimental Biology, April 2 - 6, 2016. nority groups. High levels of maternal control in infant in infants (Birch & Fisher, 1998; Gross et al., 2010; feeding have been associated with decreased infant Lumeng et al., 2012; Ventura & Birch, 2008), which Herbst, Joseph, North American Saxophone Alliance Vaughn, Patrick, “Age and rate affects the fracture satiety cues, which increase obesity risk. This study increases the risk for childhood obesity and poor eat- Biennial Conference, March 7 - 13, 2016. patterns of immature porcine femurs under torsion- explores levels of maternal control in infant feeding ing behaviors. Research has shown a greater num- al loading,” American Academy of Forensic Sciences among African American, Hispanic/Latina, and Cau- ber of early-life obesity risk factors exist among Hesse, Laura, “Genetic factors contributing to the for- 68th Annual Meeting, February 23 - 26, 2016. casian low-income mothers. More African American minority children compared with Caucasian chil- mation of antibiotic resistant small colony variants,” mothers (46%, n = 109) than Caucasian mothers (18%, dren (Taveras, Gillman, Kleinman, Rich-Edwards, Midwest Micobial Pathogenis Conference, Septem- Velasco, Julian, North American Saxophone Alliance n = 43) believed parents should decide how much the & Rifas-Shiman, 2010). African American and His- ber 23, 2016. Biennial Conference, March 7 - 13, 2016. baby eats. Hispanic/Latina (51%, n = 69) and Afri- panic/Latino infants are more likely to exhibit rapid can American (37%, n = 50) mothers reported higher weight gain, experience non-exclusive breastfeed- Jweihan, Aiya, “Gender uncensored: perceptions of Young, Jacob, “Modeling the role of contaminants agreement with the importance of the infant finish- ing, less sleep, and the early introduction of solid transgender job candidates,” SIOP Annual Meeting, in the cohort survival of juvenile estuarine killifish ing the bottle and encouraging eating than Caucasian foods. A recent study conducted by Taveras, Gillman, April 13 - 17, 2016. (Fundulus heteroclitus),” Society of Environmental mothers (13%, n = 17). These data suggest greater ten- Rich-Edwards, and Rifas-Shiman (2013) found Afri- Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), November 1 - 5, dency to pressure infants during feeding in minority can American and Hispanic/Latino infants also had Lulloff, Jorda, North American Saxophone Alliance 2015. populations. Specific interventions related to respon- substantially higher BMI and body fat, and when Biennial Conference, March 7 - 13, 2016. siveness to infant feeding cues and maternal feeding measured at seven years old, almost twice the rate Zhou, Whitney, “Stereotypes, games and your blade- styles need to be tailored to specific racial/ethnic of obesity compared with Caucasian participants. Morrison, Claire, “Investigating syllabi for three-di- dancer self: using avatar customization to reduce ste- groups to promote infant-centered feeding practices. mensional learning,” Society for the Advancement of reotype threat effects,” Games, Learning, and Society Infant feeding is a growing area of research; how- Biology Education Research National Meeting, July Conference, August 17-19, 2016. Introduction ever, the majority of researchers have focused pri- 14-17, 2016. marily on the Caucasian, middle-class population. Childhood obesity is at epidemic proportions in the Variance in infant feeding behaviors among ethnic Peng, Ling, “Attentional change after mindfulness United States. Population data has shown that an populations has not yet been thoroughly explored, meditation intervention predicts stereotype threat estimated 9.5% (SD = 7.3-11.7) of infants up to two and there is limited research that has examined lev- performance: an electrophysiological investigation,” years old have been classified as obese, and approxi- els of maternal control over infant feeding as they 28th APS Annual Convention, May 26 – 29, 2016. mately 31.7% (SD = 29.2-34.1) of children 2-19 are vary across low-income minority populations. This overweight/obese (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & study compares maternal control over infant feed- Sears, Huei, “Property of the roots of tribonacci-type Flegal, 2010). Obesity prevalence varies among so- ing across ethnic groups to provide an understand- polynomials,” 2016 Joint Mathematics Meetings, Jan- cioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups, with higher ing of how minority populations’ feeding behav- uary 6 - 9, 2016. occurrence among low-income and minority groups iors vary and can influence child weight status in (Dixon, Peña, & Taveras, 2012; Ogden et al., 2010). order to decrease the risk of obesity in early life. While evidence shows that prevalence of obesity may be plateauing, the disparity across ethnici- Parental feeding styles are mostly responsible for an in- ties is growing, with particularly high occurrence fant food intake (Sherry et al., 2004; Stang, Rehorst, & Golicic, 2004). Research has shown that high-control

8 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 9 parenting styles inhibit children’s ability to self-reg- of 1 (disagree) to 5 (agree). The middle choice, “nei- ulate (Carper, Orlet-Fisher, & Birch, 2000; Costanzo ther agree nor disagree,” had very low frequency and, & Woody, 1985). Using variable densities of formula, therefore, was dropped in our comparison in order African American Hispanic/ Latina Caucasian Total Fomon (2001) demonstrated how infants naturally to improve clarity. Results were dichotomized to (n = 182) (n = 209) (n = 104) (N = 495) possess internal satiety cues and can independently show percentage agreement with each statement to n (%) adjust their intake to maintain an average energy bal- measure maternal control in feeding by group. SPSS Marital Married 13 (7%) 83 (40%) 38 (37%) 134 (27%) ance. Another study showed that infants are capable version 22 was used for descriptive data analysis. Status of regulating their intake based on internal feedback Not married 169 (93%) 126 (60%) 66 (63%) 361 (73%) so that even though there was ~40% variance between Sample < High school 39 (22%) 77 (37%) 13 (13%) 129 (26%) individual meals, the energy intake over a 24-hour Education High school 48 (26%) 75 (35%) 35 (33%) 156 (32%) period varied only by ~10% (Birch & Fisher, 1998). Participants in this study were low-income mothers > High school 95 (52%) 59 (28%) 56 (54%) 210 (42%) (N = 495) recruited from two counties in Colorado Parents often assume that infants need help in making and three counties in Michigan. All “Healthy Babies” M (SD) feeding decisions and do not allow infants to practice participants were of low socioeconomic status (SES), Age (years) 22.5 (4.2) 25.3 (6.1) 24.5 (4.4) 24.1 (5.3) self-control over amounts of food intake. Restricting defined as less than or equal to 185% U.S. poverty TABLE 1. Mother Demographics. and controlling infant feeding weakens the infant’s level, and therefore qualified for WIC/SNAP govern- internal response cues to fullness and energy den- mental food assistance programs. These requirements sity, which can determine food intake in later child- indicate that all homes could be classified as “food hood (Birch & Fisher, 1998; Fisher & Birch, 2002). insecure.” Inclusion criteria were that mothers an- Children who have poor self-control mechanisms are swered at least one of the selected questions; mothers African American Hispanic/ Latina Caucasian Total more likely to exhibit negative eating behaviors, such with premature infants were excluded. Participants (n = 182) (n = 209) (n = 104) (N = 495) as eating in the absence of hunger. Restrictive feeding were categorized into three major ethnicities: African n (%) practices have been associated with higher obesity American (n = 182, 37%), Hispanic/Latina (n = 209, Female 88 (48%) 93 (44%) 43 (41%) 224 (45%) outcomes at 3 years old (Taveras et al., 2006). Birch 42%), or Caucasian (n = 104, 21%). See Table 1 and and Fisher (1998) suggested that an authoritative par- Table 2 for study sample demographics. Male 94 (52%) 116 (56%) 61 (59%) 271 (55%) enting style, meaning one that displays high demand- Age Male 1.75 (0.94) 1.69 (1.06) 1.81 (1.14) 1.74 (1.06) ingness and high responsiveness, is the best for infant Results (months) Female 1.62 (0.84) 1.48 (0.87) 1.94 (1.22) 1.63 (0.95) feeding health outcomes. A more recent study reaf- firms that high parental responsibility and monitoring Results of mothers’ beliefs about infant feeding are Birth weight (lbs) 7.17 (0.86) 7.32 (1.01) 7.45 (1.15) 7.29 (0.99) combined with low restriction/pressure to eat results shown in Table 3. Nearly half of the African Ameri- 3-month weight (lbs) 10.74 (2.27) 10.62 (2.46) 10.94 (2.53) 10.74 (2.41) in optimal child nutrition (Ventura & Birch, 2008). can mothers (46%, n = 99) and one third of Hispanic/ Latina mothers (36%, n = 77) believed that the parent TABLE 2. Infant Demographics. Methods should decide how much the baby eats; this is much higher than the 18% (n = 40) of Caucasian mothers This study used secondary data from a larger re- who agreed. Caucasian mothers (13%, n = 17) had the search study, that focused on maternal responsive- lowest agreement rate compared to African Ameri- African American Hispanic/ Latina Caucasian Total ness, feeding styles, and infant feeding practices with can (36%, n = 47) and Hispanic/Latina mothers (51%, (n = 182) (n = 209) (n = 104) (N = 495) mother-infant dyads from Michigan and Colorado n = 66) regarding their belief that their baby should Agreement to Statements (Horodynski, Brophy-Herb, Olson, Baker, & Rog- finish all of the milk in the bottle. Hispanic/Latina ers, 2009). Data were collected between January 2010 participants showed the most agreement with the “it’s important for the parent 99 (46%) 77 (36%) 40 (18%) 216 (100%) and October 2013. Participant demographic data and mother’s role in encouraging the baby to eat (46%, to decide how much a baby responses were obtained from the “Healthy Babies n = 174), compared with African American (35%, n = should eat” Infant Feeding Questionnaire: Time 1.” During sched- 135) and Caucasian mothers (19%, n = 74). This find- “It’s important that baby 47 (36%) 66 (51%) 17 (13%) 130 (100%) uled interviews, trained data collectors obtained ing is supported with literature reporting that ma- finishes all the milk in the mothers’ responses to behavioral questions. Three ternal control feeding is associated with minority bottle” questions were analyzed and compared across three ethnicities (Sherry et al., 2004; Taveras et al., 2010). “It’s important to encourage 135 (35%) 174 (46%) 74 (19%) 383 (100%) self-identified ethnicity categories: African -Ameri baby to eat” can, Hispanic/Latina and Caucasian. For the purpose Discussion of our research, the selected items were classified TABLE 3. Mother’s Agreement With Belief Statements. as indicators of maternal control in infant feeding. As a secondary analysis, this particular report Response variables were recorded on a Likert scale covers a selected sample of the entire “Healthy

10 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 11 Babies Through Infant-Centered Feeding” study tina mothers often worry about not producing enough (USDA NIFA- AFRI grant #2009-55215-05220). I’d Fomon, S. (2001). Infant feeding in the 20th cen and, therefore, does not account for all related cofac- milk and thus are typically more concerned about also like to thank Kyung Sook Lee for her statistical tury: Formula and Beikost. Journal of Nutrition 131, tors or the entire data set. Since only baseline data underweight than overweight, and may misinterpret analyses and the MSU College of Nursing Under- 409S-420S. from Time 1 was used, temporal change in feeding infant cues (Gross et al., 2009; Hurley, et al., 2008). graduate Research Program for funding this research. practices and the outcomes of intervention cannot Ethnicity, cultural beliefs, perceptions, and age are Gross, R., Fieman, A., Mendelsohn, A., Chiasson, be analyzed. As a basic descriptive study within a closely interrelated. Musher-Eizenman, de Lauzon- References M., Rosenberg, T., Scheinmann, R., & Messito, M. larger project, this paper illustrates the infant feeding Guillain, Holub, Leporc, and Charles (2009) hypoth- (2010). Maternal perceptions of infant hunger, sati beliefs of three populations of low-income mothers. esized that cultural differences and socioeconomic Baughcum, A., Powers, S., Johnson, S., Chamberlin, L., ety, and pressuring feeding styles in urban Latina status are more closely associated with pressuring Deeks, C., Jain, A., & Whitaker, R. (2001). Maternal WIC population. Academic Pediatrics 10, 29–35. As hypothesized in our study, African American and children to eat than parenting style. It is important feeding practices and beliefs and their relationships Hispanic/Latina mothers demonstrated higher levels for health professionals to understand these influ- to overweight in early childhood. Journal of Developmen- Hannon, P., Willis, S., Bishop-Townsend, V., Mar of maternal control in infant feeding than Caucasian ences on mothers’ infant feeding behaviors in order to tal & Behavioral Pediatrics, 22, 391-408. tinez, I., & Scrimshaw, S. (2000). African-American mothers, indicating that African American and His- promote healthy infant feeding practices. Health pro- and Latina adolescent mothers’ infant feeding deci panic/Latina mothers support high parental control fessionals need to consider the mothers’ support net- Bentley, M., Gavin, L., Black, M., & Teti, L. (1999). sions and breastfeeding practices: A qualitative related to infant feeding decisions. This may take the works and role models, which can heavily influence Infant feeding practices of low-income, African- study. Journal of Adolescent Health 26, 399-407. form of restricting the baby to eat less, pressuring the maternal infant feeding decision-making (Bentley, American, adolescent mothers: An ecological, multi- baby to eat more, or both. Hispanic/Latina and Afri- Gavin, Black, & Teti, 1999; Hannon, Willis, Bishop- generational perspective. Social Science & Medicine, 49, Horodynski, M. A., Brophy-Herb, H. E., Olson, can American mothers showed higher levels of agree- Townsend, Martinez, & Scrimshaw, 2000; Sherry et 1085-1100. B., Baker, S., & Rogers, K., (2009). Healthy babies ment with the importance of the baby finishing the al., 2004; Wiemann, DuBois, & Berenson, 1998). So- through infant-centered feeding. Retrieved from University entire bottle and encouraging the baby to eat. Both cioeconomically disenfranchised mothers often have Birch, L., & Fisher, J. (1998). Development of eating of Michigan, College of Nursing website http://nurs of these behaviors suggest pressuring feeding styles. less access to healthy food and nutrition information, behaviors among children and adolescents. Pediatrics, ing.msu.edu/Research/ResearchProducts/HealthyBa more environmental stressors, and less time to spend 101(3 Pt 2), 539-549. bies.htm. One interpretation of why these differences exist may feeding their babies. All of these factors can lead to include cultural factors, such as beliefs and environ- mothers, particularly mothers from African Ameri- Brown, A., & Lee, M. (2013). Breastfeeding is Hughes, S., Anderson, C., Power, T., Micheli, N., mental conditions separate from SES, as all mothers can and Hispanic/Latina populations, not adhering to associated with a maternal feeding style low in con Jaramillo, S., & Nicklas, T. (2006). Measuring feeding were of similar SES. Previous research suggests the in- feeding guidelines. Food insecurity can influence feed- trol from birth. PLoS ONE. in low-income African-American and Hispanic par fluence of culture accounting for much of the disparity ing behavior, often promoting control-feeding styles. ents. Appetite 46, 215-223. in feeding practices and outcomes (Dixon et al., 2012). Low-income mothers tend to show more concern for Carper, J., Orlet Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (2000). Breastfeeding, for example, is well-established in the infant hunger and less concern for overeating (Baugh- Young girls’ emerging dietary restraint and disinhibi Hurley K., Black M., Papas M., & Quigg, A. Hispanic/Latina culture and may encourage less ma- cum et al., 2001). Poor feeding behaviors contribute tion are related to parental control in child feeding. (2008). Variation in breastfeeding behaviors, percep ternal control (Brown & Lee, 2013; Gross et al., 2010; to childhood obesity prevalence in the United States. Appetite 35, 121-129. tions, and experiences by race/ethnicity among a Hurley, Black, Papas, & Quigg, 2008). This may ex- Ethnic disparities in child obesity may be linked with low-income statewide sample of special supplemen plain why fewer Hispanic/Latina mothers agreed that early-life risk factors, one of which is high maternal Costanzo, P., & Woody, E. (1985). Domain-specific tal nutrition program for women, infants and chil “the parent should decide how much the baby eats” control over infant feeding (Taveras et al., 2010). As parenting styles and their impact on the child’s de dren (WIC) participants in the United States. Mater than African American mothers, who tend to breast- our results suggest, African American and Hispanic/ velopment of particular deviance: The example of nal & Child Nutrition 4, 95-105. feed less (Hurley et al., 2008). The body of research can Latina mothers exhibit higher levels of maternal con- obesity proneness. Journal of Social and Clinical Psycholo be somewhat contradictory as low-income Hispanic/ trol in infant feeding than Caucasian mothers. In- gy 3, 425-445. Lumeng, J., Ozbeki, T., Appugliese, D., Kaciroti, Latina populations have also shown maternal pres- terventions in early life could greatly reduce ethnic N., Corwyn, R., & Bradley, R. (2012). Observed suring feeding styles, which have been linked to poor disparities among childhood obesity prevalence (Tav- Dixon, B., Peña, M., & Taveras, E. (2012). Life assertive and intrusive maternal feeding behaviors infant feeding and self-regulation (Sherry et al., 2004). eras et al., 2013). Further research and interventions course approach to racial/ethnic disparities in child increase adiposity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, should focus on the complex network of the beliefs, hood obesity. Advances in Nutrition: An International 640-647. Parents’ perception and concern over their child’s environments, and cultures that influence a mother’s Review Journal 3(1), 73-82. health and weight status may differ from the clinically feeding behavior and should tailor nursing inter- Musher-Eizenman D., de Lauzon-Guillain B., established rates, and these perceptions vary across ventions more specifically to minority ethnicities. Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (1999). Restricting access Holub S., Leporc E., & Charles, M. (2009). Child income and ethnicities (Hughes et al., 2006). When to palatable foods affects children’s behavioral and parent characteristics related to parental feeding shown pictures of children of different weights and Acknowledgements response, food selection, and intake. American Journal practices: A cross-cultural examination in the US asked at which level they are considered obese, about of Clinical Nutrition 69, 1264-1272. and France. Appetite 52, 89-95. one-fifth of African American participants chose the Thank you to my mentor Dr. Mildred Horodynski for largest child as the cutoff for overweight, indicating a her inspiration and guidance, as well as for allowing Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (2002). Eating in the absence Ogden, C., Carroll, M., Curtin, L., Lamb, M., & different idea of overweight than what is clinically es- me to do a secondary data analysis within her project, of hunger and overweight in girls from 5 to 7 years of Flegal, K. (2010). Prevalence of high body mass index tablished as healthy (Sherry et al., 2004). Hispanic/La- “Healthy Babies Through Infant-Centered Feeding” age. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76, 226-231. in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. Journal of the American Medical Association 303, 242. 12 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 13 Olds, T., Maher, C., Zumin, S., Péneau, S., Lioret, Taveras, E., Gillman, M., Rich-Edwards, J., & S., Castetbon, K., & Summerbell, C. (2011). Evi Rifas-Shiman, S. (2013). Reducing racial/ethnic dis The China Experience dence that the prevalence of childhood overweight is parities in childhood obesity: The role of early life plateauing: Data from nine countries. International risk factors. Pediatrics 167, 731. Casey McDougall and Nancy DeJoy Journal of Pediatric Obesity 6, 342-360. ______Taveras, E., Rifas-Shiman, S., Scanlon, K., Grum Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures Sherry, B., McDivitt, J., Birch, L., Cook, F., Sand mer-Strawn, L., Sherry, B., & Gillman, M. (2006). To Michigan State University prides itself on the di- in an organized and easily accessible way. According ers, S., Prish, J., & Scanlon, K. (2004). Attitudes, what extent is the protective effect of breastfeeding versity of its student body, and with 7,568 interna- to CEC chair Kurt Dewhurst, the CEC “work[s] to practices, and concerns about child feeding and child on future overweight explained by decreased mater tional students from 131 countries enrolled in the fall create innovative programs, greater connectivity and weight status among socioeconomically diverse nal feeding restriction? Pediatrics 118, 2341-2348. of 2015, it has reason to be proud. One of the larg- coordinated presentation of arts and cultural activi- White, Hispanic, and African-American mothers. est international student populations is made up ties on campus and in the broader communities we Journal of the American Dietetic Association 104, 215- Ventura A., & Birch L. (2008). Does parenting of those students who come to MSU from China, serve in Michigan, nationally and internationally.” 221. affect children’s eating and weight status? Internation 4,700 in the fall of 2015 alone according to MSU’s al Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 5, Office for International Students and Scholars. Stang, J., Rehorst, J., & Golicic, M. (2004). Paren 15. The MSU arts and cultures theme from February tal feeding practices and risk of childhood over 2015 to August 2016 was “The China Experience.” weight in girls: Implication for Dietetics Practice. Jour- Wiemann, C., DuBois, J., & Berenson, A. (1998). nal of the American Dietetic Association 104, 1076-1079. Racial/ethnic differences in the decision to breast From colorful quilt displays and the Land of Feath- feed among adolescent mothers. Pediatrics 101, e11. ered Dragons exhibit in the MSU Museum, to a spe- Taveras, E., Gillman, M., Kleinman, K., Rich-Ed cially themed marching band half-time show featuring wards, J., & Rifas-Shiman, S. (2010). Racial/ethnic choreography by Jennifer Wen Ma, to an advertising differences in early-life risk factors for childhood exhibit on display in the Communications Arts and obesity. Pediatrics 125, 686-695. Sciences Building and a traditional Chinese opera put on by the MSU College of Music and the China Conservatory of Music, Michigan State students Photo by: Stephanie Cepak were presented with a wealth of opportunities to ex- perience Chinese culture like never before. Through The Honors College’s Sharper Focus/Wider arts and culture at MSU, students have had all year Lens faculty panel discusses “Seeing China” in to interact with different facets of Chinese culture. the MSU Union Ballroom on November 16, 2015.

MSU’s thematic years When asked about why “The China Experience” was are run by the MSU Cul- chosen for this year’s theme, Dewhurst said “The CEC tural Engagement Coun- had been having discussions about the growing pres- cil (CEC), a council com- ence of China on the world stage and the increased prised of college deans, number of Chinese students on our campus. We as well as the Directors of agreed that a focus on China would be an especially the MSU Museum, Broad appealing theme and we proceeded to create a mission Art Museum, Abrams statement for the China experience year. The mission Planetarium, and The established was: “As a globally engaged, research-in- Wharton Center. The- tensive university, MSU has created The China Ex- matic years were cre- perience: An MSU Exploration of Arts & Culture to ated when the CEC was showcase China-related faculty and student work; founded eight years ago. to inform and educate the campus and broader com- The CEC was designed to munity regarding Chinese arts and culture; and fos- be a collaborative effort ter increased integration of students from China from among the MSU colleges China into MSU life, as well as expand overall cross- and units invested in the engagement between all cultures involved.” Accord- arts and humanities with ing to Dewhurst there was also a “significant com- the mission of presenting mitment to cross-cultural understanding,” as well as opportunities to experi- a desire to connect not only with the Chinese-Amer- ence rich cultural activities ican students at MSU, but also Chinese American

14 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 15 populations in the broader East Lansing community. The purpose of the theme was realized as dialogue The Art of Art was fostered around culturally sensitive and impor- tant issues. Jack William Burk, Heather Hartmann, Sarah Hopkins, Deshaun Leonard, Alex Hennessy, and Spencer Taylor The tradition of the thematic year continues into the ______2016-2017 school year with the focus “WaterMoves MSU,” as represented by the STEAM (science, tech- College of Communication Arts and Sciences nology, engineering, arts, and math) programs. The programs will look at water both from scientific and cultural standpoints. As for the future, Dewhurst says: “Overall, we hope the thematic initiatives enrich the learning experience for our students as well as the public. The Cultural Engagement Council is now Photo by: Communications and Brand Strategy involved planning an exciting series of experiences on campus and we hope that it will build bridges to Smoke billows above the Spartan Marching achieve lasting impact at the intersection of science, Band as it performs “The Art of the March: artistic and cultural expression, and community. We Cues from Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’” during hope it will move us all to take the lead in shaping a the football half-time show November 14, 2015. better tomorrow for the Great Lakes and beyond.” The show featured five musical selections per- formed by more than 600 people.

Visit artsandculture.msu.edu for more information about thematic years and upcoming events.

The Art of Art is a film that follows the lives and creative methods of four prac- ticing artists who work in different genres: glass blowing, scrap art, experimen- tal art, and textile art. This is not only a doumentary about method, but an in- side look into what it means to live your art within the context of daily life.

Visit recur.msu.edu/artofart/Volume6 to watch the film.

16 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 17 Human studies that have directly examined dynam- Subjects The Effect of Mental Effort on ic cerebral metabolism are wide in scope of meth- odology. Early research using arterial catheters or Test subjects were recruited members of the Depart- blood draws to determine brain oxygen consump- ment of Physiology, or were acquaintances of the re- Metabolism tion (VO2) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2) searchers. A total of 11 subjects were recruited (four male and seven female). The age range was 18-22 years Kevin Michael Wheelock, Joshua Lawrence Starkey, and Erica Ariece Wehrwein during mental activity reported conflicting findings (Lassen, 1959). Newer neuroimaging studies have old. Ten of the 11 subjects were Michigan State Uni- ______versity students, while the other was an employee. Department of Physiology allowed for a more precise measurement of cerebral blood flow and VO2, which is strongly correlated Subjects stated that they were non-smokers. All sub- Abstract studies have shown that cerebral metabolism increas- with metabolism (Hoshi & Tamura, 1993). Hoshi jects were of a normal physical activity level (neither es in some areas of the brain during cognitive activity and Tamura (1993) demonstrated that during men- sedentary nor involved in high intensity training) Cerebral metabolism has been shown to vary with (Hoshi & Tamura, 1993; Hoshi et al., 1994). The use tal arithmetic blood flow to the frontal region of the and were not obese (body mass index < 30 kg/m2). of calorimetry to detect cerebral metabolism was first brain increased, but only when the subject had dif- cognitive activity. By using indirect calorimetry, this Test Conditions study found that overall metabolic rate increased in attempted over 80 years ago by Lennox (1931) who ficulty solving a problem. Individuals that solved a a healthy population of young college males and fe- described an increase in oxygen (O2) concentration problem easily did not have the same change in blood Conditions were the same for each test subject. Test- males (ages 18-22) during the completion of arithme- and decrease in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration flow. The same study also demonstrated that there ing was done between 8 and 11 a.m. on weekday tic and spatial reasoning problems. Energy expendi- in the jugular vein of subjects performing arithmetic was over and under-compensation of cerebral blood mornings. Subjects were told to refrain from eating ture (EE) was found to be elevated by 19% and 16% problems (Lennox 1931). A similar experiment two flow during the mental activities, meaning some areas or drinking beverages other than water the morn- (n = 11, p < 0.0001) during the arithmetic and spatial decades later failed to replicate this finding (Sokoloff, of the brain received reduced blood flow while others ing of the experiment. Each test took place in the reasoning tests respectively, compared with the base- Mangold, Wechsler, Kennedy & Kety, 1955). More received more. This indicates that the sum of cerebral same laboratory, and subjects were seated on a stool line condition during which subjects sat with their recently, indirect calorimetry has been used to show EE may be constant; when one area of the brain be- at the same computer/PowerLab for all testing. The eyes closed. Respiratory exchange ratio was found that metabolic rate increases with mental work- comes more active, another area decreases activity. tests were presented in the same order to each sub- to have decreased slightly from baseline during the load, but a large portion of the change was attribut- ject. All tests were completed in one continuous run, Human studies of cerebral metabolism have been spatial reasoning condition (from 0.86 to 0.83, p = ed to cardiovascular activity (Backs & Seljos, 1994). with a one-minute break between each condition to conducted in numerous ways. Indirect calorimetry 0.01), but not the arithmetic condition (from 0.86 to explain the next test. Upon arriving at the lab, sub- Glucose is the main energy source for the brain. Com- is a much simpler and more affordable measure- 0.860, p = 0.99). When stratified by performance, it jects were immediately seated at the testing station pared with other tissues, brain tissue has very low ment than brain scans, and is less invasive than an was found that high performers on the arithmetic test and fitted with a gas analyzer mask tightly cover- glycogen content. Turnover of the small amount of arterial catheter. Therefore, we used indirect calo- had significantly lower EE than the low performers. ing the nose and mouth. Different mask sizes were glycogen is also very slow, about 1-2% of the glucose rimetry to measure changes in metabolism dur- This relationship did not hold for the spatial reason- used depending on the person to ensure a tight fit. utilization rate (Oz et al., 2007). Thus, cerebral en- ing mental exercises in young, healthy humans. ing test. In conclusion, we demonstrate that whole The subject was then told to close his/her eyes and ergy demands must be met by a continuous supply Our study is a proof-of-concept that indirect calo- body metabolism is elevated during increased cog- breathe into the mask for five minutes. This served of blood glucose. It has long been reasoned that glu- rimetry is sensitive enough to detect changes in nitive demand. Our findings demonstrate that cog- to bring the air in the machine to equilibrium and al- cose supply must change to meet the metabolic de- overall metabolism resulting from thought exer- nitive challenges are a substantial contributor to lowed the subject to become accustomed to the appa- mands of the brain. Studies have demonstrated that cises, and also tests the impact of spatial and arith- total EE beyond that achieved with physical work. ratus. Data from this period was not used in the final consumption of a sugary drink before various cogni- metic problem solving on whole body metabolism. analysis. At the end of this period, the testing began. Introduction tive tests can improve cognitive function in memo- ry, verbal and spatial reasoning, and mathematical Methods Metronome Control skills (Scholey, Harper, & Kennedy, 2001; Owen & Metabolism is the biological process of breaking Sunram-Lea, 2011; Philippou & Constantinou, 2014). Each subject was told to tap the “5” key on the nu- down macronutrients to create energy, in the form It has also been demonstrated that peripheral blood Overview meric keypad in time with a metronome beat of 60 of adenosine triphosphate, which drives various cel- glucose levels fall during the performance of mental beats/second for a period of three minutes. In an ef- We first measured individual subjects’ seated, resting lular processes. In humans, the brain is the most en- tasks (Scholey, Laing, & Kennedy, 2006; Perlmuter et fort to limit the cognitive effects on metabolism dur- metabolic rates by monitoring them using a Power- ergy dense organ, generating 20% of basal metabolic al., 2009). The effect of glucose loading on cognitive ing this test, subjects were asked to clear their minds Lab A/D converter and AD Instruments gas analyzer rate (BMR) despite accounting for only 2% of body performance appears to vary depending on the testing of all other thoughts and close their eyes. This con- with spirometer (AD Instruments) while they were weight (Khatri & Man, 2013). On a 2000 cal diet, this conditions; certain tasks are more readily improved dition served as the control condition for our study. prompted to perform a series of cognitive tests. Pow- translates to 420 cals per day. Although well charac- with glucose loading (Scholey et al., 2001), and the erLab data was stored in real time using LabChart terized in the “resting” state, dynamic brain metabo- difficulty of tasks appears to affect the magnitude of Mathematical Test software (AD Instruments, v7). Using the spirometer lism, especially during normal physiologic activity is improvement in performance (Kennedy & Scholey, and gas analyzer, we obtained ventilation (Ve; L/min), The first cognitive test was a mathematical drill. A not fully understood (Villien et al., 2014). Human and 2000). Glucose also seems to improve performance to VO2 (ml/min), VCO2 (ml/min), respiratory exchange brief explanation was given to each subject about animal studies indicate that cerebral metabolism may a greater extent in healthy elderly and cognitively im- increase with mental workload (Owen & Sunram- ratio (RER), and energy expenditure (EE; kJ/min). how to answer the problems. Subjects were also told paired subjects compared to healthy, young subjects not to move except for entering the answers with one Lea, 2011; Philippou & Constantinou, 2014). Imaging (Messier, 2004; Philippou & Constantinou, 2014). 18 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 19 hand on the keyboard and were not allowed to write Data Collection and Analysis Low Performance High Performance or do manual calculations. Finally, it was emphasized Difference that the test did not have a time limit. Each person Physiological data was imported into Microsoft Test EE EE P-Value Excel from LabChart software. Performance data (low minus high) was given the same set of 50 arithmetic problems (kJ/min) (kJ/min) generated from the website math-aids.com (Figure was generated manually by recording the number 1). The problems covered addition, subtraction, mul- of correct answers on each test along with the time Arithmetic 8.44 (1.45) 6.02 (1.64) 2.42 <.0001 tiplication, and division. These problems were en- required to complete that test, which was record- tered into a Microsoft Word document, and the sub- ed using a stopwatch. This information was then Spatial 7.27 (2.0700) 7.63 (1.82) -0.36 0.07 jects entered the answers into this same document. entered into Excel. The data was then imported into SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) for analysis. TABLE 1. Mean EE stratified by test performance. High arithmetic performers had lower EE than low performers (p<0.0001). Subjects were grouped by their cal- EE and RER were analyzed using a two-way repeat- culated score for both arithmetic and spatial tests. The high performance group ed-measures ANOVA with a Tukey post-hoc test. was defined as scoring greater than the median, while the low performance group Statistical significance was determined using A = 0.05. scored below the median. Performance measures are given as the mean EE over Data from each subject was pooled together and then the duration of the experiment for all subjects and conditions combined. stratified by the test condition. Mean and standard error were also calculated (Figures 2 and 3). The per- formance conditions were calculated by dividing the subjects into two groups using an adjusted arithmetic and spatial reasoning score, which was equal to the number of problems correct divided by the total test time. The median arithmetic and spatial scores were calculated for all subjects; the low performing group was defined as being below the median, while the high performing group was defined as those who per- formed above the median. The median observation was not used (Table 1). Differences between each groups’ mean EE, which was averaged over all conditions, FIGURE 1. Sample of the arithmetic test were analyzed using an unpaired students’ t-test. Re- FIGURE 2. The arithmetic and spatial condi- FIGURE 3. Spatial reasoning task had a re- used for experiment. Subjects were given spiratory rate (RR) was averaged over the time pe- tions both lead to a significant increase (* = duced respiratory exchange ratio (RER) com- page one of the test in a PDF and filled in riod of each test condition for each subject. This data p < .0001, n=11) in energy expenditure com- pared to control and arithmetic conditions (* = the blanks in a Microsoft Word document. was then pooled for all subjects and analyzed using a pared with the metronome control condi- p < .05, n=11). The metronome and arithmetic two-way ANOVA with a Tukey post-hoc adjustment. tion but were not different from each other. conditions were not significantly different from each other. Spatial Reasoning Test Results but the spatial condition differed significantly from a non-significant (p = 0.0746) elevation of EE. The second test was the spatial reasoning test. Again, both conditions (arithmetic, p = 0.01 and control, p = The mean RR for the metronome, arithmetic, and the subject was instructed how to enter his/her an- The average pooled EE was 6.52, 7.75, and 7.55 kJ/min 0.03) (Figure 3). spatial conditions was 15.52, 18.46, and 16.45 kJ/min, swer into the computer, in this case by either pressing for the control, arithmetic, and spatial conditions, respectively. No significant difference was found be- “S” if the shapes were identical or “D” if they were dif- respectively. A two-way RM-ANOVA test for vari- As mentioned previously, subjects were divided tween the three testing conditions (F = 1.77, p = 0.19). ferent. The spatial test was obtained from PEBL soft- ance was highly significant, with a p-value of <.0001. into two groups: high performing and low per- ware. Subjects were presented with a sequence of im- A Tukey post-hoc analysis revealed that EE for the forming. The median value was not included, Discussion age pairs on the computer and were required to decide control condition was significantly lower than both yielding two groups of five for both the math if each pair contained identical images. The shapes the arithmetic (p < .0001), and spatial conditions (p < and spatial reasoning test. The low perform- Fluctuations in brain metabolism are not fully un- used were two-dimensional. Subjects were told that .0001), while the two test conditions did not signifi- ing groups averaged 8.44 and 7.27 kJ/min for the derstood. This study builds on prior evidence that there was no time limit on this test, as with the arith- cantly differ from one another (p = 0.936) (Figure 2). arithmetic and spatial conditions, respectively. mental exercises do lead to an increase in overall EE. metic test, and were allowed all the time they needed The effect size was relatively large; there was a 19% to complete the 64-problem set. The software used for The average RER was 0.856, 0.860, and 0.831 for The averages were 6.02 and 7.63 kJ/min for the high and 16% increase in EE for the arithmetic and spatial this test randomly generated a new problem set each metronome, arithmetic and special conditions, re- performing groups. An unpaired t-test showed reasoning conditions respectively, compared with the time, so subjects did not all receive the exact same spectively. A two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post- that the high performing arithmetic group had baseline resting condition. We attribute this differ- problems. Following completion of this test the data hoc analysis was highly significant (p = .0028). significantly lower EE than the low perform- ence to the mental challenge of the activities them- collection was finished, and subjects were dismissed. The Tukey test showed that the control and arithme- ing group (p < 0.0001), while the high perform- selves because subject movement during the testing tic conditions did not significantly differ (p = 0.9964), ing group on the spatial reasoning test displayed was limited to typing on the keyboard. Our control 20 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 21 condition attempted to account for this small amount Brain scanning technology (near-infrared spectros- controlled testing conditions. Potential weaknesses Hoshi, Y., Onoe, H., Watanabe, Y., Andersson, J., Berg- of movement by having subjects tap a key on the key- copy, PET scans, and MRIs) has shown that blood include subject selection by convenience sample, strom, M., Lilja, A., Langstrom, & Tamura, M. (1994). board in time with a metronome beat; the movement flow to different areas of the brain changes during randomly generated problems for the spatial reason- Non-synchronous behavior of neuronal activity, oxi- from this act was similar to entering the answers difficult mental exercises. Increased oxygen con- ing test, and lack of data on sympathetic nervous dative metabolism and blood supply during mental to the problems from each activity. The metronome sumption has also been shown in areas of the brain system activity. The spatial reasoning test was gen- tasks in man. Neurosci Lett, 172, 129-133. had the added benefit of occupying subjects with a where blood flow is not increased (Hoshi & Tamura, erated from a software suite that did not give us the simple task that did not require a great amount of 1993). What is not clear from the imaging studies ability to force the software to use the same prob- Hoshi, Y. & Tamura, M. (1993). Detection of dynamic mental effort, thus making it a good control task. is whether or not a measurable difference in whole lems for each test. However, given that 64 problems changes in cerebral oxygenation coupled to neuronal brain metabolism exists. It has been shown that ce- were randomly generated, it is unlikely that some function during mental work in man. Neurosci Lett, 150, We observed a performance effect on EE during the rebral metabolism increases in some brain areas but tests were systematically easier than others. As we 5-8. arithmetic testing condition: Individuals who had a decreases in others, potentially indicating that cere- only measured respiratory rate for a marker of sym- higher accuracy and finished the test quicker expend- bral blood flow merely shifts to the areas of the brain pathetic outflow, we do not have a complete picture Kennedy, D. O. & Scholey, A. B. (2000). Glucose ad- ed less energy than those who took more time on the where it is needed. If this is the case, change in overall on the physiological processes that were occurring ministration, heart rate and cognitive performance: test and had lower accuracy. While we are not aware cerebral metabolism would not be detectable through in subjects during testing. Despite these weaknesses, Effects of increasing mental effort. Psychopharmacology, of other studies that have found such an effect using calorimetry (Hoshi et al., 1994; Villien et al., 2014). our testing conditions were well controlled, and the 149, 63-71. methodology similar to ours, performance effects have increase in EE that we saw from the arithmetic and been shown in other ways. Hoshi and Tamura (1993) It is likely that a portion of the increase in EE that spatial reasoning activities was highly significant. Khatri, N. & Man, H. Y. (2013). Synaptic activity and found that subjects who struggled to solve an arith- was observed resulted from sympathetic activity. The data collected for this study indicates that cerebral bioenergy homeostasis: Implications in brain trauma metic problem extracted more oxygen from the blood Studies that have measured respiratory and cardiac metabolism may increase from mental activity. We and neurodegenerative diseases. Front Neurol, 4, 199. in the frontal hemisphere of the brain. Greater task factors during mental testing found increased respi- also found that the high performers on the arithmetic difficulty is also related to higher peripheral glucose ratory rate (RR) and heart rate during mental exer- test had a lower EE than low performers. We did Lassen, N. A. (1959). Cerebral blood flow and oxygen uptake, implying that greater cognitive demand from cises (Backs & Seljos, 1994). Backs and Ryan (1994) not observe this relationship with the spatial reason- consumption in man. Am Physiological Soc. more difficult activities requires more energy (Kenne- observed that faster respiration was associated with ing test. We attempted to use RER to determine the dy & Scholey, 2000). Although subjects in our study higher difficulty memory tasks. Increases in catechol- type of macronutrients being metabolized during Lennox, W. G. (1931). XV. The effect of mental work. all took the same arithmetic test, difficulty is relative; amines and cortisol have also occurred after perform- the study and found an apparent shift from carbo- Archives of Neurology & Psychiatry, 26, 725-730. those who found the test easier may have required less ing a mental arithmetic task (Fibiger, Evans, & Singer, hydrates towards fat at the end of the testing period; energy to complete the problems. In contrast to these 1986). While our study did not measure cardiovascu- this may indicate that free blood glucose was metab- Messier, C. (2004). Glucose improvement of memory: findings, Perlmuter et al. (2009) found that subjects lar factors or hormonal changes, RR was measured. olized by the brain early in the study. We conclude A review. European Journal of Pharmacology, 490, 33-57. who performed better on cognitive testing increased RR can act as a proxy for sympathetic outflow. It has that mental exercises do give rise to an appreciable their peripheral glucose uptake, implying an increase been widely accepted that there is coupling between increase in overall metabolism, but further study Owen, L. & Sunram-Lea, S. I. (2011). Metabolic agents in EE. We did observe a slight increase in EE in high the respiratory system and sympathetic activity. Re- is needed to pinpoint the source of this increase. that enhance ATP can improve cognitive functioning: performing subjects on the spatial reasoning test, but spiratory sinus arrhythmia is a classic example of the A review of the evidence for glucose, oxygen, pyrvate, this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.0746). coupling of respiration with sympathetic outflow to References creatine, and L-carnitine. Nutrients, 3, 735-755. RER was measured to attempt to determine the tis- the heart. During inspiration, heart rate is increased; sue source of the observed change in EE. RER can during exhalation, heart rate is slowed (Eckberg, Backs, R. W. & Ryan, A. M. (1992). Multimodal Oz, G., Seaquist, E. R., Kumar, A., Criego, A. B., Bene- be used to discern which macronutrients are being 2003). Respiration is also coupled with vasoconstric- measures of mental workload during dual-task per- dict, L. E., Rao, J. P., Henry, P. G., Van De Moortele, consumed for energy. An RER of 1.0 is indicative tion, another result of sympathetic outflow (Wal- formance: Energetic demands of cognitive rocesses. P. F., & Gruetter, R. (2007). Human brain glycogen that only glucose is being used, while an RER of 0.7 lin, Hart, Wehrwein, Charkoudian, & Joyner, 2010). Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics content and metabolism: Implications on its role in indicates fat is being metabolized. In this study, we Respiratory rate is affected by elevated CO2 levels Society Annual Meeting 36:1413-1417. brain energy metabolism. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, hypothesized that an increase in RER would be ob- resulting from increased EE, which was observed in 292, E946-E951. served because the brain primarily uses glucose as this study. Despite these facts, we did not observe any Backs, R. W. & Seljos, K. A. (1994). Metabolic and fuel. RER was unchanged from the metronome to significant elevation in RR during this study. Both the cardiorespiratory measures of mental effort: The ef- Perlmuter, L. C., Shah, P. H., Flanagan, B. P., Suram- arithmetic condition, but declined slightly during arithmetic and spatial reasoning tests had a small in- fects of level of difficulty in a working memory task. pudi, V., Kosman, Y., Singh, S. P., & Al-Jaghbeer, E. the spatial reasoning test. While this rejects our hy- crease in RR compared with the control condition, International Journal of Psychophysiology, 16, 57-68. (2009). Rate of peripheral glucose change during cog- pothesis, it could also indicate that free glucose was so it is possible that our sample size was too small nitive testing predicts performance in diabetes mel- consumed during testing which required the use to detect a significant difference. Future studies will Eckberg, D. L. (2003). The human respiratory gate. litus. J Diabetes, 1, 43-49. of elevated lipolysis in other tissues. Other studies need to measure sympathetic activity more directly The Journal of Physiology, 548, 339-352. have shown that difficult cognitive activities lead to to discern how it is affected by cognitive exercises. Philippou, E. & Constantinou, M. (2014). The influ- a slight decrease in blood glucose levels (Scholey et Fibiger, W., Evans, O., & Singer, G. (1986). Hormon- ence of glycemic index on cognitive functioning: A al., 2006; Perlmuter et al., 2009). It is unclear what Strengths of this study include the use of well-vali- al responses to a graded mental workload. Eur J App systematic review of the evidence. Adv Nutr, 5, 119-130. effect this phenomenon ultimately has on RER. dated indirect calorimetry methodology and tightly Physiol Occup Physiol, 55, 339-343.

22 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 23 Scholey, A. B., Harper, S., & Kennedy, D. O. (2001). Villien, M., Wey, H. Y., Mandeville, J. B., Catana, C., Cognitive demand and blood glucose. Physiol Behav, 73, Polimeni, J. R., Sander, C. Y., Zurcher, N. R., Chonde, The Contribution of Childhood 585-592. D. B., Fowler, J. S., Rosen, B. R., & Hooker, J. M. (2014). Dynamic functional imaging of brain glucose Scholey, A. B., Laing, S., & Kennedy, D. O. (2006). utilization using fPET-FDG. Neuroimage, 100, 192-199. and Adult Abuse to Women Blood glucose changes and memory: Effects of ma- nipulating emotionality and mental effort. Biol Psychol, Wallin, B. G., Hart, E. C., Wehrwein, E. A., Chark- Offenders’ Risk for Continued 71, 12-19. oudian, N., & Joyner, M. J. (2010). Relationship be- tween breathing and cardiovascular function at rest: Sokoloff, L., Mangold, R., Wechsler, R. L., Kennedy, Sex related differences. Acta physiologica, 200, 193-200. Substance Abuse C., & Kety, S. S. (1955). The effect of mental arithme- tic on cerebral circulation and metabolism. J Clinical Sara Marie Hughes | Department of Psychology and School of Criminal Justice Investigation, 34, 1101. Abstract Protective Services, as compared to the compari- son group of those not in the child welfare system. Numerous studies have been conducted showing that suffering from abuse, in both childhood and The present study examines the relationship between adulthood, poses a risk factor for developing sub- experiencing abuse and the development of substance stance abuse problems later in life among some abuse problems. To strengthen the analysis, the con- populations. However, research demonstrating this trol variables of age, income, education, employment, relationship among women is limited. This study current mental illness, and prior substance abuse collected data from specialized Michigan caseloads were added to the analysis in order to rule out the pos- of 402 women who were on probation and parole. sibility that they explain any significant connection. Measures of whether or not they had suffered physi- cal or sexual abuse in either childhood or adulthood Methods and whether or not they struggled with current or prior substance abuse were examined. The results Available data were used for the analysis. The sample show that suffering from child abuse, more so than was comprised of 402 women who were on proba- adult abuse, is a strong predictor of developing sub- tion or parole for a felony offense. These respondents stance abuse problems later in life; this relationship were recruited through the state of Michigan’s spe- held true even after controlling for other known cialized female probation and parole caseloads. The predictors of substance abuse. This study provides sample is racially and ethnically diverse with 198 information on which women on probation and pa- identifying as white, 12 white Hispanic, 147 black, role are most likely to continue misusing substances. 10 black Hispanic, one Pacific Islander, four Na- tive Americans, 44 Multi-racial women, and eight Introduction women who did not disclose their racial or ethnic groups. The ages of the respondents span a range of Some prior research sparked interest to explore the 18 to 60 years, with a mean age of 33.9. All of the connection of women offenders’ prior abuse and their women reported histories of substance abuse. Ad- current substance abuse in order to fill the gap in the equate income and employment were barriers for the literature for the female population. In 1999, Grilo, overwhelming majority of the sample, with 327 of et al. conducted a study of psychiatric in-patients the women reporting an annual income of less than who had reported histories of childhood abuse. The $10,000 and 57 reporting an annual income of more group that suffered from childhood abuse reported than $10,000. Seventy participants were employed significantly higher levels of substance abuse- prob full-time, 220 were unemployed but stated they were lems than the no abuse group, even after control- able to work, and the remaining women were either ling for the variables depression and age. A study employed part time or unable to work due to children. completed by Herrenkohl and colleagues in 2012 found that there was a significantly higher percent- The data were collected via semi-structured in age of adult substance abuse in people who were person interviews with the individual women. involved in the child welfare system, such as Child They were asked numerous questions regarding

24 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 25 the barriers they have faced since being on proba- ployment were controlled for since these are other Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 tion and parole and their relationships with their known predictors of developing substance abuse (childabuse) (adultabuse) agents. The variables of child abuse, adult abuse, issues as identified by prior research. The income and substance abuse were measured with scales. variable measured whether or not the woman made more than $10,000 a year, education was indicated b β b β b β b β The frequency distributions and missing values for by whether or not the woman had a high school di- Intercept 0.969 0.973 0.562 0.675 each variable and scale were first examined, and they ploma, and employment was measured by whether or were all found to be approximately normal in their dis- not she held a full-time job. The control variables can child abuse 0.319 *** 0.194 0.196 * 0.120 tributions. There were just a few missing values so no be related to both the independent and dependent adult abuse 0.329 *** 0.186 0.135 0.076 mean substitutions were necessary. One woman had variables, and thus need to be held constant in order age -0.006 -0.046 -0.007 -0.051 missing data on the child and adult abuse scales, but to examine the relationship between the variables. no means substitution was used; instead the woman’s education -0.015 -0.005 -0.061 -0.02 data was removed from the analysis. Thus, the final Since prior research shows that mental illness is a income 0.160 * 0.044 0.169 0.046 analysis is from a sample of 401 women. The reli- strong predictor of substance abuse, this factor was employment -0.488 ** -0.130 -0.454 * -0.121 ability of the scales was measured using Cronbach’s controlled for at the time of the interviews; results alpha based on standardized items; the alpha levels upheld previous research with the relationship of the mental ill 0.597 ** 0.120 0.661 *** 0.23 ranged between .6 to .8. The descriptive statistics current mental illness variable to substance abuse, current for each variable and scale can be viewed in Table 1. p < 0.001. A final control variable, prior substance abuse, prior sub 0.096 0.200 0.087 *** 0.181 was added because past behavior has been shown to abuse The bivariate correlations for each measure and scale be a predictor of current behavior. Therefore, a strong included in the analysis were examined in order to test of whether child or adult abuse is related to current see which variables are related to each other. Then, substance abuse is whether the relationship remains the variables of age, income, education, and em- significant after controlling for prior substance abuse. F 15.640 *** 14.296 *** 9.838 *** 9.239 ***

R2 0.038 0.035 0.149 0.141

Variable Mean Std. Dev. Min/Max Reliability (for scales) R2 adjusted 0.035 0.032 0.134 0.126

Dependent Variable TABLE 2. Regression models of predictors of substance abuse. sub abuse scale (current) 4.515 2.97 0 to 8 0.61 Finally, both child abuse and adult abuse were en- greater confidence that there is a strong relationship Main Focus Variables tered as independent variables in a multivariate lin- at the bivariate level between experiencing physical child abuse scale 0.833 0.866 0 to 2 0.70 ear regression. There were four different models of or sexual abuse, in childhood and/or adulthood, and regression and the dependent variable in each model then developing substance abuse problems later in life. adult abuse scale 0.796 0.805 0 to 2 0.60 was current substance abuse. The four steps in enter- ing the independent variables were: child abuse, adult However, after running a multivariate linear regres- Control Variables abuse, child abuse with control variables, and adult sion the results verify that child abuse is a stronger age 33.870 10.527 18 to 60 abuse with control variables. The control variables, predictor than adult abuse of current substance abuse which were factors expected to influence current sub- because in the full model, which includes all of the education 0.689 0.463 0 to 1 stance abuse, included age, education, income, em- predictors, the beta for adult abuse becomes non-sig- income 0.813 0.390 0 to 1 ployment, current mental illness, and prior substance nificant while the beta for child abuse remains signifi- abuse. Table 2 shows the results for all four regres- cant. The initial finding of a connection between adult employment 0.174 0.38 0 to 1 sion models, with significant variables highlighted. abuse and current substance abuse was spurious due mental health scale (current) 0.418 0.494 0 to 1 0.77 to the control variables. Thus, the original relation- Results ship between adult abuse and current substance Recidivism abuse was explained by whether the woman was em- arrests (12 months from T1) 0.31 0.691 0 to 5 At the bivariate level, both childhood abuse and ployed full time, had current mental illness, and/or adulthood abuse were strong predictors of current prior substance abuse. Among all of the variables, cur- convictions (12 months from T1) 0.24 0.568 0 to 3 substance abuse. These relationships remained intact rent mental illness showed the strongest correlation even after controlling for the woman’s age, income, to current substance abuse. However, even when con- TABLE 1. Descriptive statistics for selected independent variables and dependent vari- education, employment status, current mental illness, trolling for mental illness, a history of child abuse was ables from wave 1 (N = 401). and prior substance abuse. This finding results in even still a significant predictor of current substance abuse.

26 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 27 Discussion References

The original research question was whether being a Grilo, Carlos M., Charles A. Sanislow, Dwain C. victim of childhood and/or adulthood abuse predict- Fehon, Steve Martino, and Thomas H. Mc ed current substance abuse. This research found that Glashan (1999). Psychological and behavioral child abuse was a stronger predictor than adult abuse functioning in adolescent psychiatric Inpa for current substance abuse. This relationship re- tients Who Report Histories of Childhood mained significant after controlling for the variables of Abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry 156 : 538-543. age, education, income, employment, current mental illness, and prior substance abuse. All seven of these Herrenkohl, Todd I., Seunghye Hong, J. B. Klika, variables are other known predictors of substance Roy C. Herrenkohl, and M. J. Russo (2013). Developmen abuse as found in prior research. There is substantial tal impacts of child abuse and neglect related to research showing the strong relationship between adult mental health, substance use, and physi childhood abuse and substance abuse; thus, further re- cal health. Journal of Family Violence 28: 191-199. search should focus more on prevention and rehabili- tation strategies. The present research also found that the strongest predictor of current substance abuse was current mental illness. Future research is needed to explore the varying impacts of different types of men- tal illnesses on the development of substance abuse.

There are a few implications based on the results of this study. First, when looking at substance abuse cases it is crucial to determine if someone was a vic- tim of physical and/or sexual abuse, especially if the abuse occurred in childhood. With this information, substance abuse rehabilitation programs might pro- vide individualized services in order to obtain the best patient outcomes. Furthermore, prevention programs for substance abuse need to begin as early as elemen- tary school in order to educate children on the gravity of these problems. In addition, substance abuse pre- vention programs should begin as soon as an entity within the child welfare system, such as Child Protec- tive Services, receives knowledge of a child abuse case. Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Merry Morash and Miriam Northcutt Bohmert for their guidance in conducting this research; and I would like to thank the Provost Undergraduate Research Initia- tive for funding my research and allowing me this unique opportunity as an undergraduate student.

28 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 29 attracting females to their nest (Bakker & Milinski, al., 2011). It is difficult to create laboratory experi- Review: Can Environmental 1991; Bakker, 1992; Milinski & Bakker, 1990; Cando- ments to test these relationships, but the overall con- lin & Vlieger, 2013). Male sticklebacks prepare for the sensus is that having several sexual signals is a good breeding season by building a nest out of algae, other way for males to indicate their quality (Morrell et al., Fluctuations Affect plant material, and sand (Candolin & Vlieger, 2013). 2011). However, not all of the signals are weighted They then remain by their nest to protect it from equally during mate selection. Differences in female Breeding Behavior in Fish? predators and other males while waiting for females preference between species and environmental fac- to come into their territory. Another strategy used by tors often change the amount of energy males put into Anna Reh-Gingerich | Department of Zoology some males is to take advantage of nesting males by their different signals and behaviors (Morrell et al., “sneaking” into their nest after a female drops her eggs 2011; Braithwaite & Barber, 2000; Boughman, 2001). Abstract the wild (Zhu, Won Kim, & Choe, 2012; Head, Wong, and trying to fertilize as many as possible before the & Brooks, 2010). Though much has been understood nesting male is able to chase him away (Candolin & Coloration in stickleback males is one of the primary Gasterosteus aculeatus, or three-spined stickleback, about the uses of these sexual signals through lab or Vlieger, 2013). This can be a costly strategy for males, characteristics traced throughout the breeding sea- are a species of fish that rely heavily on sexual sig- controlled experiments, there is currently little in- but still makes it possible to have multiple successes son in courtship studies. When the breeding season nals during mate selection. Males have bright throats sight as to how a changing environment may influence throughout the season. When a female enters the ter- nears, males display red at the throat region, and their and blue eyes, exhibit specific behaviors when the the decision process for males and females in the wild. ritory of a nesting male, a very fast series of behaviors eyes become more intensely blue (Bakker 1992; Bak- female is near, and build nests to protect the eggs. Different environmental factors play into the success and sexual signals occur. The sexual signals include ker & Bern, 1994). Some males also become more blue Females use these signals in order to grade the qual- rates of breeding fish, such as visibility, predator risk, bright coloration and olfactory cues from the male. He or green in the body. Researchers create a color scale ity of each male and decide if he is worth the invest- and turbidity (Candolin, 1996; Candolin, Salesto, & often bites the female, does zigzag motions with his to grade the intensity of the throat and eyes in order ment of her eggs. Males are able to change the in- Evers, 2007; Head et al., 2010). Aquatic environments body, and tries to lead her to his nest (Candolin & to be able to make comparisons during the breeding tensity of their throat and body color when near a are easily influenced by outside forces, such as pol- Vlieger, 2013). If the female responds positively to his season (Bakker & Bern, 1994). It is important to note female, but the degree of change is dependent on lution and invasive species and can change the con- advances, she will follow him to the nest where the the coloration of the males because past research has the male and potentially on the surrounding envi- ditions that affect breeding fish. In other words, the male will show the nest to her. If she accepts the nest, shown color is an important factor in the female de- ronment. Aquatic areas experiencing the effects of sexual signals that were readily used in one set of she will swim into it and drop her eggs, with the male cision process. Males with brightly colored throats global climate change, invasive species, and increas- environmental conditions may not be as effective in following behind her to fertilize them. After that, the were more likely to have a female release her eggs ing rates of development often affect the behaviors of another set. This begs the question: Is there an advan- male remains to protect the eggs and fan water rich in their nest than males with less intensely colored fish and wildlife. Reviewing past and current trends tage to being able to change sexual-signal intensity with oxygen into the nest until the eggs hatch. The throats, both in laboratory and natural experiments of stickleback sexual-signaling behavior related to within these changing environments? Recent stud- female, however, has no involvement with parental (Bakker, 1992; Bakker & Bern, 1994; Milinski & Bak- their environment is useful for planning management ies have taken on the challenge of observing breeding care (Bakker & Milinski, 1991; Bakker, 1992; Milin- ker, 1990). In some populations of stickleback fish, strategies for stickleback habitat and potentially behaviors under varying environmental conditions. ski & Bakker, 1990; Candolin & Vlieger, 2013). Males throat color is one of the most important factors. The other species reliant on specific breeding behaviors. Stickleback fish are prime study organisms due to may have multiple reproductive events throughout a combination of environmental barriers and female their easily observed mating rituals, both in the lab season though not all of them will be successful. The selection contribute to the emergence of stronger Introduction and in the field. Through reviewing these studies, the sexual signals the males provide are important in the sexual signals in males. For example, benthic (bot- importance of knowing the extent of the phenotypic decision process of the female. Some males are able tom-dwelling) stickleback males tend to not have Gasterosteus aculeatus, more commonly known as plasticity of stickleback fish is apparent. Not only are to quickly alter the quality of their signals, particu- as bright coloration as limnetic males (Boughman, three-spined stickleback fish, are an interesting spe- there advantages and disadvantages to the fish in- larly coloration, which creates potential challenges 2007). In each population, females exhibited differ- cies to study during their breeding season. Their name volved, but also potential long-term effects to stick- and benefits for the females in different environments. ent color preferences when selecting males; limnetic refers to the spine prominent on their back. However, leback populations and the aquatic communities in- females were drawn to males with redder throats, three-spined sticklebacks, in particular the males, volved. Since sexual selection is a driving force in the Sexual Signaling: whereas benthic females had no significant trends for portray other intriguing characteristics. Although characteristics of male stickleback fish, environmen- Importance and Uses sexual selection related to color (Boughman, 2007). they look dull or gray most of the year, during the tal fluctuations that hinder the breeding process will breeding season males take on brilliant hues of orange have an effect at the population level. The scale and Male sticklebacks use a combination of sexual signals The selection for more brightly colored throats and and red at their throats and their eyes turn blue (Bak- consequences of that effect are still uncertain, but past to convey their quality to females. There are a couple extravagant secondary sexual characteristics, in gen- ker, 1992; Bakker & Bern, 1994). These sexual signals research has shown it is an area worth investigating. of theories as to why males use so many sexual sig- eral, has two possible theories. First, the female di- are referred to as secondary sexual characteristics nals, but it is difficult to distinguish these relation- rectly selects for the trait due to a direct benefit to and are used in courtship trials as a way to “signal” Breeding Behaviors in Three-Spined ships in experiments. One theory is that the different herself, and second, there is an indirect genetic benefit to their female counterparts about the quality of the Stickleback signals provide the females with different information that gets passed on to the offspring (Candolin, 1999). males (McLean, Bishop, & Nakagawa, 2012). Second- related to the quality of the male (Morrell, Hentley, For example, a previous study found that parasitized ary sexual characteristics can be seen in many differ- Reproduction in three-spined sticklebacks is an ex- Wickens, Wickens, & Rodgers, 2011). The other hy- males were unable to put as much energy into their ent species. Fiddler crabs and guppies are two other travagant ritual that is easy to entice in a laboratory pothesis is that females have multiple receivers, so coloration, and females were less likely to choose commonly studied species that rely on sexual signal- setting and observe in the wild. Males are the primary males use multiple signals to reach them (Morrell et them over brightly colored males (Milinski & Bakker, ing during courtship rituals to decide on their mate in caregivers for the offspring and are also responsible for 30 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 31 1990). Parasitized males may not be able to provide for Both natural and human-induced changes to the en- the offspring as well as a fit male, which suggests that vironment can strongly influence sexual selection relying on brightly colored throats is a useful strategy and the reproductive systems of the animals involved for females to improve the survivability of their off- (Guillette et al., 1994). Increasing cases of eutro- spring. However, not all males that display brightly phication and turbidity is one example of a human- colored throats are necessarily of a higher quality. In induced change that directly affects the success of the previous study although there was a preference stickleback males and other aquatic organisms that for brighter throat color in males only in one location rely on sexual signaling (Järvenpää & Lindström, were the males actually in better physical condition 2004). Human-induced changes are particularly con- (Bakker & Bern, 1994). There is also a thought-pro- cerning because they occur so rapidly and can out- voking discussion on the potential of males “cheat- pace the rate of adaptation within a species (Heus- ing” or dishonestly displaying sexual signals. In some chele, Salminen, & Candolin, 2012). A natural and cases, it was possible that the male had strong genetic sometimes human-induced environmental change is material, but had already gone through a breeding a sudden increase in the number of predators. This cycle and would not be as able to care for its offspring can result from the introduction of a nonnative or (Candolin, 1999). However, there are other cases when invasive species, but monitoring predatory species males in poor condition put more effort into display- in general is important from a management stand- ing when the predation risk was higher, or when they point. Both environmental changes have the poten- had been deprived of food (Candolin, 1999). Since the tial to change the way female mate choice occurs, likelihood of survival decreased, it was suggested that which can spill into the structure of future popula- low quality males put more effort into their color- tions. Research in this area is limited, but recent ation in order to attract a mate, either to eat the eggs/ studies have highlighted its importance in relation offspring to improve their own condition or because to mate encounter and the direction of sexual selec- they would have fewer overall chances for success tion (Kokko & Mappes, 2005; Heuschele et al., 2012). (Candolin, 1999). Though there are potential ways for the selection process to be distorted based on throat Environmental Change: color, the overall strength of selecting mates has been Eutrophication enough to keep the system stable (Candolin, 1999). Other sexual signals provided through courtship may Eutrophication is a growing concern in areas where help to reduce the chance for “cheaters” and also to three-spined sticklebacks breed. Eutrophication oc- keep the system stable in changing environments curs when outside nutrients are introduced to aquat- where throat color may not be an effective strategy. ic environments and cause an influx of algae -(Can dolin et al., 2007). Human activity has contributed Environmental Changes and Sexual to excess nutrient runoff into many aquatic environ- Signals ments (Larsson, Elmgren, & Wulff, 1985). Though this could provide more nesting material and pro- Why is it important to keep the breeding behav- tection from predators for males, it creates a visibil- iors and sexual signals of male stickleback fish in ity challenge for females since bright throat color is mind when considering environmental changes? a major factor when deciding on a mate for females As the research shows, breeding is a complex pro- (Bakker 1992; Bakker & Bern, 1994). It was found cess that relies on many visual and olfactory cues that when exposed to conditions similar to those of in order to achieve success. While all of the signals eutrophication, throat intensity did not change on contribute to the likelihood of a successful mating average for males but courtship intensity increased encounter, male coloration seems to be one of the (Candolin et al., 2007). However, females did not major factors females are drawn to if the difference change their responsiveness to the increased activ- is substantial (Boughman, 2001; Boughman, 2007; ity. Thus, the cost of courting females deepened in Braithwaite & Barber, 2000; Morrell et al., 2011; Mil- regards to energy spent by the males (Candolin et al., linski & Bakker, 1990). So what happens, then, if the 2007). While the females did not respond much dif- environment changes in a way that makes visibil- ferently, the time spent considering male candidates ity limited or being more colorful disadvantageous? did increase when females were visually impaired

32 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 33 (Candolin, et al., 2007; Engstrom-Ost & Candolin, increased predation risk influences courtship and greater chance of survival even though female stickle- tion plays an important role in each scenario, it will 2007). However, the overall mate encounter rate mate selection in other species. In fiddler crabs, for backs may not gain direct protection from the adjust- be important to monitor stickleback courtship activ- did drop in another study that examined female se- example, females gave preference to males that cre- ments. However, decreased courtship activity overall ity in environments currently undergoing changes. lection in impaired waters (Heuschele et al., 2012). ated larger nests when a predator was present (Zhu, may create adverse long-term effects on stickleback Sticklebacks and other aquatic species are currently Won Kim, & Choe, 2012). Since the nests gave po- populations; therefore, further study is required. facing challenges related to environmental change and In such examples, adjusting the intensity of some tential shelter from an attack, it is hypothesized that responding by using multiple reproduction strategies. sexual signals versus others has potential benefits. the females took advantage of the direct safety benefit Discussion and Conclusions The influence such changes will have on future stick- Rather than spending extra energy to increase inef- (Zhu et al., 2012). When predators were not present, leback population ecology and community structure fective courtship behaviors, placing more energy mate selection was more related to the time during Phenotypic plasticity when it comes to sexual sig- is still largely speculation based on past research, but into nest quality or olfactory cues may increase the the breeding season with many different responses nals has costs and benefits. In some cases it may in- if observational studies and overall interest continue chances of success with each female encounter. Such to nest size (Zhu et al., 2012). In another popula- crease the ability for a population to persist under to grow, even more insight can be gained on the in- a strategy could also benefit the females. Although tion of fiddler crabs females were more likely to se- sudden environmental changes. Research has shown tricacies of stickleback mate selection and evolution. not being able to rely on throat color may increase lect males that built hoods at the front of their nests that there is potential for stickleback fish, and other The research presented shows that there is an incen- the chances of encountering a parasitized male, using (Kim, Christy, & Choe, 2007). It is thought that the species with strong sexual selection trends, to ad- tive to use three-spined stickleback fish as a study olfactory cues could reduce the chances of finding a hood provided an extra space for the female to get to just the intensity of their various sexual cues. On the species. While it is a difficult relationship to target poor quality male that was signaling dishonest color- safety in the presence of a predator (Kim et al., 2007). other hand, there is the potential for more instances in a laboratory setting, more research on how stick- ation (Milinski & Bakker, 1991). On the other hand, The increased risk of predation had an observable ef- of “cheating” and dishonest sexual signaling to win leback fish change behavior patterns, olfactory cues, research has also shown that when there are visual fect on the selection process for fiddler crab females. out during female selection (Kokko & Heubel, 2008; and visual cues in response to environmental fluc- impairments, male-male competition is relaxed, and In both cases, an adjustment of courtship intensity Greenfield & Rodriguez, 2004). Stickleback fish are tuations is a worthwhile and encouraged endeavor. more instances of “cheating” occur. Males may signal provided a direct benefit to the female and poten- a good study species since their breeding behavior dishonestly about their quality, which can translate tially also to the male. Even though courtship was is so easily observed, and sexual selection is a strong Acknowledgements into the survival and fitness of the offspring - (Can more energetically costly, males that built larger and driver in their characteristics. However, other species dolin, 2000; Wong, Candolin, & Lindström, 2007). more elaborate nests improved their chances for suc- can have their breeding behaviors change with fluc- I would like to thank Dr. Janette Boughman and cess in areas with increased predation risk (Zhu et al., tuating environments. The collared flycatcher Fice- Emily Weigel for giving me the opportunity to Studies on other fish species that rely on sexual signal- 2012; Kim et al., 2007). It is likely that male fiddler dula albicollis and the waxmoth Achroia grisella are work in the MSU stickleback lab, and for their ing show similar results. Cichlids in the Great Lakes crabs also helped their own survival in the process. two other examples of species with distinct sexual continuing guidance and support. Also, thank of Africa also rely on visual sexual signals (Seehausen, traits that develop differently in fluctuating environ- you to all of the lab members who encouraged me Van Alphen, & Witte, 1997). In areas where turbid- Among stickleback males, predator presence also ments (Jia et al., 2000; Qvarnstrom, 1999). Though and taught me so much during my year with them. ity increased, there was much less selection based on causes an adjustment in courtship behaviors. Al- there are many examples of changes in sexual signals, coloration, and the reproductive barriers broke down though there was no difference in coloration, male there have not been many studies looking at the po- References (Seehausen et al., 1997). Similar patterns were ob- sticklebacks did adjust the frequency of certain ac- tential advantages or downfalls of these differences served in other fish species where visual cues were no tions (Candolin 1997). Males were more likely to (Greenfield & Rodriguez, 2004; Qvarnstrom 2001). Bakker, T. C. M. (1992). Female mate choice longer the major selection factor, which, in turn, re- zig (move in a sharp diagonal motion) near a female and male red coloration in a natural three- laxed how strong the sexual selection trends were on rather than frequently try to lead her to his nest With climate change being an increasingly studied spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculea- the sexual signals (Wong et al., 2007; Candolin et al., (Candolin, 1997). There was also an overall decrease subject, influences of shifting environmental factors tus) population. Behavioral Ecology, 5, 74-80. 2007; Järvenpää & Lindström, 2004; Candolin, 2004). in energy put into courtship when a predator was are becoming more relevant and visible. Breeding be- near (Candolin, 1997). These results suggest that haviors and sexual signaling are topics that should Bakker, T.C.M & Milinski, M. (1991). Sequential Eutrophication is a serious issue that may have it was advantageous for males to adjust the inten- become more prominent in the climate change dis- female choice and the previous male effect in stickle more influence on stickleback populations, a spe- sity of their courtship; they reduced their exposure cussion. Differences in sexual signaling and selection backs. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 29, 205- cies that relies heavily on sexual signaling, than to predators and did not reveal the location of their among stickleback populations due to environmental 210. originally determined. Eutrophication, however, is nest through frequent leads (Candolin, 1997). De- change could lead to long-term changes in the struc- not the only consequence from outside stimuli that spite that coloration did not adjust in the presence ture of communities involved as well. A recent study Bakker, T., & Bern, U. (1994). Female mate choice may have a strong effect on stickleback populations. of predators, it is possible that keeping throat color looked at how changes in the number and diversity and male red coloration in a natural three-spined the same helped offset the costs of intense courtship of sticklebacks may influence prey and organisms in stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) population. Environmental Change: Increased bursts by staying at a higher level of attractiveness. lower trophic levels (Des Roches 2013). When the Behavioral Ecology, 5, 74-80. Predator Density In all of the cases, having the ability to modify sexual number of fish was manipulated, there was a greater signaling under varying predator presences was po- change seen in lower trophic levels than in stickleback Boughman, J. W. (2001). Divergent sexual se- Invasive species or sudden increases in predatory tentially advantageous in increasing survival while food sources (Des Roches 2013). On the other hand, lection enhances reproductive isolation in stickle species are another potential concern for courtship making the most of breeding opportunities. Select- differences in stickleback diversity were more likely to backs. Nature, 411, 944-948. if stickleback predators become more prominent. ing males that are able to successfully survive in a create changes in their prey populations (Des Roches, There have been several studies demonstrating how predator-rich environment may give their offspring a Shurin, Schluter, & Harmon, 2013). Since mate selec-

34 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 35 Boughman, J. W. (2002). How sensory drive can Engström-Öst, J. & Candolin, U. (2007). Hu- Assessing the expectations of intersexual selection. er (Ficedula albicollis). Evolution Int. J. Org. Evolu- promote speciation. Trends in Ecology and Evolu man-induced water turbidity alters selection on Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 25, 1513-1520. tion, 53, 1564–1572. tion, 17, 571–577. sexual displays in sticklebacks. Behavioral Ecology, 18, 393–398. Milinski, M., & Bakker, T. (1990). Female stickle- Qvarnstrom, A. (2001). Context-dependent Boughman, J. W. (2007). Condition dependent ex- backs use male coloration in mate choice and hence genetic benefits from mate choice. Trends in Ecology pression of red color differs between stickleback Greenfield, M.D. & Rodriguez, R. L. (2004). Gen- avoid parasitized males. Nature, 344, 330-333. and Evolution, 16, 5–7. species. 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The relationship between sig- 2014. ment interactions in the determination of the size of a bias to escape predation risk? BMC Evolutionary nal quality and physical condition: Is sexual signal a secondary sexual character in the collared flycatch- Biology 12 1-7. ing honest in the three-spined stickleback? Animal Heuschele, J., T. Salminen, & Candolin, U.(2012). Behavior, 58, 1261-1267. Habitat change influences mate search behavior in three-spined sticklebacks. Animal Behaviour, 83, Candolin, U. (2000). Male-male competition 1505-1510. ensures honest signaling of male parental ability in the three-spined stickleback. Behavioral Ecology Järvenpää, M.& Lindström, K. (2004). Water tur- and Sociobiology, 49, 57–61. bidity by algal blooms causes mating system break down in a shallow-water fish, the sand goby Poma Candolin, U. (2004). Effects of algae cover on egg toschistus minutus. Proceedings of the Royal Society acquisition in male three-spined stickleback. 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36 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 37 Zane Crawford has Thomas Grubb is an 2015 and 2016 National and International been awarded the Compu- Honors College senior major- tational Science Graduate ing in advanced mathemat- Fellowship and Scholarship Recipients Fellowship from the U.S. De- ics in the College of Natural partment of Energy (DOE). Science and economics in Each year, MSU undergraduates and alumni are awarded highly competitve national Crawford graduated with the College of Social Science. and international fellowships and scholarships. In this issue of ReCUR, we introduce his bachelor’s degree in He was named a Goldwa- recent recipients of these prestigious awards. electrical engineering ter Scholar in 2016, making from MSU in 2015 and is him MSU’s 43rd Goldwa- The National and International Fellowships and Scholarships (NIFS) Office, now pursuing his doctor- ter Scholar since the scholarship pro- ate at Michigan State University with a re- gram was established by Congress in 1986. administered by the Honors College, helps interested undergraduate and graduate search focus on computational electromagnetics. students to pursue major national and international opportunities by providing The Goldwater Foundation seeks schol- information and direct support throughout the competitive application process. The fellowship is administered by the Krell Insti- ars committed to a career in science, math- More information is available at tute and supports approximately 70 students who ematics, or engineering who display intellec- nifs.msu.edu are pursuing doctoral degrees in fields that use high- tual intensity and who have the potential for performance computing to solve complex science and significant future contribution in their chosen field. engineering problems. Ashley Archer is an Rebecca Carlson is “Being named a Goldwater Scholar is a direct reflec- Honors College junior ma- an Honors College senior The program includes an annual stipend of $36,000, tion of the support and opportunities I have received joring in fisheries and wild- majoring in chemical engi- full tuition and fees, an academic allowance, and a while at Michigan State,” Grubb said. “I am hon- life in Lyman Briggs College neering in the College of En- 12-week practicum at a DOE site with access to DOE ored to receive this award and grateful to my teach- who earned the nationally gineering and Chinese in supercomputers. ers, peers and family who have made this possible.” competitive Udall Scholar- the College of Arts & Let- ship in 2016. She is the 12th ters has received the Gold- “I am overjoyed at the opportunity to focus on re- Grubb worked as a research assistant for the Udall Scholar from MSU. water Scholarship in 2015. search topics that truly interest me thanks to the National Superconducting Cyclotron Labora- support of a fellowship,” Crawford said. “Further- tory as a freshman. In 2014, he performed re- The Udall Foundation awards Carlson hails from Rockford, Michigan, gradu- more, I see these awards as not just recognition search on mathematic patterns and statistics as scholarships to college soph- ating as valedictorian of Rockford High School. of my accomplishments and my potential for fu- part of the MSU Undergraduate Research In- omores and juniors for leadership, public service, Prior to that, she lived in Italy for 14 years. ture success, but recognition and a reflection of stitute in Experimental Mathematics. Most re- and commitment to issues related to American the people and communities that have inspired cently, he conducted research in probabilistic Indian nations or to the environment. Each year, Carlson is a member of the student editorial me and molded me into the person I am today.” methods at East Tennessee State University. the foundation awards up to $5,000 for educa- board for the Red Cedar Undergraduate Re- tional expenses to students in the United States. search Journal, tutors in the College of Engi- Crawford was also awarded a National Defense Sci- He is from Haslett, Michigan and graduated from neering Residential Experience (CoRe) and is ence and Engineering Graduate Fellowship and a Haslett High School. Archer interned for the U.S. Department of Agri- a member of Women in Engineering and Bridg- Department of Defense Science, Mathematics, and culture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service in es International. She is also the recipient of Research for Transformation (SMART) Gradu- Andrew Joseph was Wisconsin and is a member of the MSU Fisheries an MSU Alumni Distinguished Scholarship. ate Fellowship, but declined both in favor of the and Wildlife Club. accepted into the Presi- Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. dential Fellows Program in “I am very humbled to receive this award, which 2015, making him MSU’s “My career goal is to research and implement ef- is a testament to the wonderful support and en- He was a member of the Honors College Dean’s Ad- 9th Presidential Fellow. fective natural resource management tech- couragement that I have received from students visory Council, Honors College Programming Board, niques, to ensure the longevity and sustainabil- and faculty alike at Michigan State,” Carlson Honors Students Actively Recruiting (H-STAR), The Presidential Fel- ity for future generations of all people,” Archer said. said. “I am grateful for the chance to participate the electrical honors society, Tau Beta Pi, and the lows Program offers up in research and learn from outstanding mentors.” electrical engineering society, IEEE - Eta Kappa Nu. She is from Howell, Michigan and a graduate of Brigh- to 75 top undergradu- ton High School. ate and graduate students Crawford’s undergraduate research focused on sur- from leading colleges and universities across face representations for electromagnetic scattering the country a year-long opportunity to study the surfaces and on integration methods for an elec- U.S. Presidency, the public policymaking pro- tromagnetic equation solver acceleration method. cess, and the Chief Executive’s relations with Con- gress, allies, the media, and the American public.

38 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 39 “Net neutrality and freedom of speech online have “To be recognized as a Goldwater Scholar means a Sarah Kovan is a gradu- Hannah MacDonald become the topics of heated debate in Con-gress and great deal to me,” Kechner said. “I have found so much ate of the Honors College earned a competitive scholar- by President Obama,” Joseph said. “I would like to enthusiasm for research and it has been one of the with degrees in comparative ship from the National Oce- be a Presidential Fellow in order to prepare myself most influential aspects of my academic career. I am cultures and politics from anic and Atmospheric Ad- to address these topics through new policies and overjoyed to be surrounded by such exceptional op- James Madison College and ministration (NOAA) in 2016. regulations as well as research the history of previ- portunity and mentorship here at Michigan State.” human biology from the Col- She is an Honors College ju- ous presidential and congressional decisions influ- lege of Natural Science; she is nior majoring in environ- encing the telecommunica-tions and media sector.” MSU’s 17th Rhodes Scholar mental geosciences in the Varsha Koduvayur since the award began in 1904. College of Natural Science, Joseph graduated with degrees in media and in- graduated from the Hon- The Rhodes Trust, the oldest formation in the College of Communication Arts ors College with degrees in NOAA’s Hollings Scholarship provides finan- of the major international competitive award foun- and Sciences and Arabic in the College of Arts & international relations and cial support for one year of academic study and dations, provides 32 of the most outstanding un- Letters. He’s from Farmington Hills, Michigan. comparative cultures and a full-time internship position at a NOAA facil- dergraduates in the United States an opportunity politics from James Madison ity during the summer. MacDonald is the 7th to study at the University of Oxford in England. Joseph has previously been awarded the Foreign College and Arabic from the MSU student to receive a Hollings Scholarship. Language and Area Studies Fellowship from the U.S. College of Arts & Letters; “Being named a Rhodes Scholar is an incredibly Department of Education, as well as the Ira & Jennie she was awarded a nation- amazing and humbling experience, and I couldn’t “I am deeply honored to be an Ernest F. Hollings Greene Endowed Scholarship from the Department ally competitive research as- have gained this recognition without unending sup- Scholarship recipient,” MacDonald said. “I am of Communication in the College of Communication sistant fellowship through the Carnegie Junior Fel- port from the MSU community,” Kovan said. “As a thrilled about the future opportunities that this Arts and Sciences. lows Program within the Carnegie Endowment for scholar-athlete, I’m most proud of the accomplish- scholarship program will provide me. This scholar- International Peace in Washington, D.C. in 2015. ments I have achieved in collaboration with my ship will allow me to further pursue my education He has worked as a video team crew member for teammates, like our most exciting wins. It is in these and follow my passion for marine conservation.” WDBM in East Lansing, as well as camera operator The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a successes, and in the camaraderie created in those mo- for MSU Spartan Vision. private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advanc- ments, that make me proud to be a Spartan athlete.” MacDonald is a member of the Residential Initia- ing cooperation between nations and promoting ac- tive on the Study of the Environment (RISE), and currently interns at the Aquatic Animal Health Megan Kechner grad- tive international engagement by the United States. Kovan was a starting midfielder and honorary - cap Laboratory. uated from the Honors Col- Each year, the endowment offers 10-12 fellowships tain of the MSU women’s soccer team, earning lege with degrees in neuro- from a pool of nominees from nearly 400 participat- Academic All Big-Ten Awards in 2012, 2013, and She is an education programmer for the Thunder science from Lyman Briggs ing colleges. Carnegie junior fellows work as research 2014, along with the 2015 Big Ten Distinguished Bay National Marine Sanctuary and was named College and psychology from assistants to the endowment’s senior associates. Scholar Award and MSU Scholar-Athlete Award. volunteer of the year in 2014. MacDonald also the College of Social Science During her time at MSU, Kovan participated in received an honorable mention for the Udall and is the second Goldwater “I am thrilled to be working at the Carnegie En- study abroad experiences Israel and Spain and in Scholarship. Scholarship recipient for the dowment for International Peace (CEIP) as a ju- the Michigan State University Osteopathic Medi- year 2015. nior fellow for the Middle East program. My work cal Scholars Program. She earned a James Madison at the CEIP will provide a strong foundation for College fellowship to conduct indepedent research MacDonald is from Alpena, Michigan and is a gradu- ate of Alpena High School. Kechner is from Davison, Michigan and a the future of my career in international relations, exploring the need for and sustainability of interest- graduate of Davison High School. She is a re- which I hope to further by entering government free loans for poor women in Sri Lanka and worked as search assistant, working in Professor Michelle service after graduate studies in international rela- a research assistant under Professor Andrea Freidus, Mazei-Robison’s lab determining the specif- tions and Arabic,” Koduvayur said. “I am so grateful conducting an ethnographic study on the consequenc- Raeuf Roushangar, ic signaling changes in the human brain that for my incredible family, the MSU Honors College, es of undergraduate medical volunteerism. Kovan won a prestigious Paul & contribute to addiction and mood disorders. James Madison College, and the National/Inter- was chapter coordinator for Michigan State Students Daisy Soros Fellowships in Kechner also interned at the Silvio O. Conte Neu- national Fellowships and Scholarships Office who Today Leaders Forever, an organization that fosters 2015 for New Americans – roscience Research Center at Vanderbilt University. guided and supported me through this endeavor.” leadership through service, relationships and actions. an honor that comes with She’s is a member of the Society for Neuroscience, up to $90,000 stipend. He is the MSU’s Neuroscience Club and presented re- She is from Auburn Hills, Michigan, having Kovan is from Okemos, Michigan and graduated from a Michigan State University search in November 2014 to the Society for Neu- graduated from Avondale Senior High School. Okemos High School. graduate student studying roscience. Kechner is a recipient of the Lyman biochemistry, Briggs College Undergraduate Research Award. . Roushangar was one of 30 winners of the pre- mier graduate school fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants. The recipients, cho-

40 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 41 sen from a pool of 1,200 applicants, were selected applying to and selecting a graduate program. sociation’s American Indian, Alaska Native, Native lin Aviyente in the Communications and Sig- for their potential to make significant contribu- This scholarship will ensure that I find the -per Hawaiian Caucus. She is the recipient of the Future nal Processing Lab, a member of MSU’s Stu- tions to U.S. society, culture, or their academic field. fect fit in a program that will provide- op dent-Athlete Advisory Council, Tau Beta Pi, Eta portunities, challenge me, and foster academ- Leaders Mentoring Scholarship through the De- Kappa Nu and an Honors Times Two mentor. Roushanger said about winning the fellow- ic, professional, and personal growth. I am partment of Food Science and Human Nutrition. ship: “It will give me freedom. Without the fi- proud to be named a 2015 Beinecke Scholar.” Zoltowski was also the recipient of the MSU Hon- nancial burdens, I’ll be able to focus on my re- In addition to his classroom and research ac- “Words cannot describe how thankful I am for ors College National Scholarship, Walter R. Yates Me- search. It will also give me a lifelong connection to tivities, Schnell was involved in the Campus Ar- all the support and encouragement from my re- morial Scholarship and Arthur J. Harris Memorial other Soros fellows. That will open many doors.” chaeology Program, Meta-Religious Inquirer’s search mentors, professors, and advisors that I Scholarship. Club of MSU, the MSU Undergraduate Anthro- have received throughout the application pro- In his first year at MSU, he founded an interna- pology Club and the MSU Paranormal Society. cess,” Shelder said. “It is an honor to be awarded tional nonprofit organization to bring medical- sup the Udall Scholarship. The Udall Foundation and plies to poor communities: Generate Help 2 Heal He has also been the recipient of the Cole Excel- I share the same passion for improving and ad- Generations. GH2HG has collected and shipped lence Award from the Honors College, the Hon- dressing the overall well-being of American In- more than $500,000 worth of medical supplies from Editor’s Note: ors College Alumni Association Scholarship, the dian people in the United States. Thank you the U.S. to poor communities around the world. Charles Hayden Kelly Scholarship from the Col- Udall Foundation for enabling this opportunity.” Two MSU students also received honorable mentions Roushangar’s dedication has earned him many hon- lege of Social Science, and the Samuel Jay Hartt for the Goldwater Scholarship in 2015: Chris- ors including the Clinton Global Initiative Univer- Award from the College of Arts and Letters. Shelder hails from Muskegon, Michigan and is a grad- tine Isaguirre, an Honors College sophomore sity, MSU’s Pamela J. Fraker Undergraduate Schol- uate of Reeths Puffer High School. majoring in biosystems engineering in the Col- arship, MSU Leader of the Year and many others. Schnell hails from Howell, Michigan, having gradu- lege of Engineering, and Aaron Oom, an Hon- ated from Howell High School. ors College junior majoring in biochemistry He plans to finish his doctorate at MSU where he is David Zoltowski and molecular biology in Lyman Briggs College. working with George Mias, physicist and geneticist, was one of 14 students na- tionwide to be awarded on research that focuses on omics technologies and Shelbie Shelder is MSU also had two students receive honorable men- a Churchill Scholarship their applications in personalized/precision medicine. an Honors College senior tions for the Goldwater Scholarship in 2016: Hon- in 2015. He is MSU’s 17th majoring in nutritional ors College junior Laura Azouz, who is majoring Churchill Scholar. Joshua Schnell was sciences in the College of in chemical engineering in the College of Engineering; Agriculture and Natural and Honors College junior Hananiel Setiawan, who is awarded the nationally com- Zoltowski graduated from Resources, specializing in majoring in physics in the College of Natural Science. petitive Beinecke Scholarship the College of Engineer- in 2015, which pays for grad- epidemiology and global public health, and earned one ing with a degree in electri- uate studies in the arts, hu- cal engineering. Zoltowski manities and social sciences. of 80 nationally competitive Udall Scholarships in 2015. hails from West Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from West Lafayette High School. He was captain of the Schnell is a graduate of the The Udall Foundation awards scholarships to col- MSU Varsity Swimming and Diving team, a Big Ten Honors College with degrees Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten. in anthropology from the lege sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Ameri- College of Social Science and Established in 1959, the Winston Churchill religious studies from the College of Arts and Letters. can Indian nations or to the environment. Each year, the foundation awards up to $5,000 for edu- Foundation’s Scholarship Program offers Schnell is MSU’s second Beinecke Scholar since 2011. 14 American students of exceptional abil- He will receive $4,000 immediately prior to cational expenses to students in the United States. Shelder is MSU’s 11th Udall Scholar. ity and outstanding achievement the oppor- entering graduate school and an addition- tunity to pursue graduate degrees in engineer- al $30,000 while attending graduate school. She is an intern at the Michigan Department ing, mathematics, or the sciences in Churchill He plans to earn a doctoral degree in bio- College at the University of Cambridge in England. archeology or Mesoamerican archaeology. of Community Health, and previously served as an undergraduate research assistant for the Bio-Computational Evolution of Action Center. “I am honored to be named a Churchill Scholar and “Being awarded a Beinecke Scholarship means look forward to making the most of my experience more to me than I could hope to put into words,” A Charles Drew Science Scholar, Shelder is presi- at Cambridge in all areas of life,” Zoltowski said. Schnell said. “This award not only allows me to “I want to thank all members of the MSU com- continue my education and to help make chang- dent of MSU chapter of the American Indian Sci- ence and Engineering Society, and a student munity who have supported me in my endeavors.” es in the world, but the funding security that ac- He was a research assistant to Professor Se- companies it will allow me greater freedom in representative for the American Public Health As-

42 | recur.msu.edu recur.msu.edu | 43 About the Contributors Susie Kevin Wheelock Sonnenschein gradu- graduated with high honor ated from MSU in 2014 with from Lyman Briggs Col- Heather Hartmann is Kelly Kenyon is a grad- bachelor’s degrees in neu- lege at Michigan State Uni- the editor for Box Pro Magazine, uate from the Honors Col- roscience and psychology. versity in May 2014 with a a business resource for Affili- lege with degrees in nursing During her time at MSU, bachelor’s degree in physi- ates and Coaches within the and interdisciplinary social she worked in Dr. Cheryl ology and a specialization CrossFit industry. Hartmann sciences: health and soci- Sisk’s laboratory, which fo- in global public health and graduated from Michigan ety and a specialization in cuses on studying the role of epidemiology. Wheelock is State University in 2014, with bioethics. She is an active pubertal hormones in shap- currently a post-baccalaure- a bachelor’s degree in journal- member of Sigma Theta Tau ing the adolescent brain. Specifically, Susie’s project ate fellow with the National Institutes of Health in ism and with high honors. Box International Honor Society looked at sex differences in the addition of new cells Phoenix, AZ studying diabetes and diabetic kidney Pro is one of four publications of Nursing. She volunteered to the rat prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens disease in American Indians. under the Peake Media um- with nursing research as an across puberty. Susie received fellowship funding His research has focused on childhood risk factors for brella, a company that is based in Louisville, Ken- undergrad and spent two years working with MSU from the College of Social Science for the project and a future diabetes development and, in adults, discover- tucky. On top of running the digital and print as- nursing researcher Millie Horodynski on projects re- Travel Award through the Honors College to present ing new biomarkers to better identify individuals at pects of the magazine, Hartmann is also the video lated to infant feeding practices among low-income her findings at the Society for Behavioral Neuroendo- risk of diabetic kidney disease. The results of this lead for the company, covering leadership events mothers. She maintains a wide range of interests in- crinology conference in June 2013. Susie is currently work have led to multiple publications. Wheelock across the country and producing media for all four cluding public health and medical ethics and plans a graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh’s has been accepted into the University of Michigan magazines’ websites. Hartmann also conducts photo to incorporate them into her future nursing career. Center for Neuroscience PhD program, under the Medical School class of 2020. shoots for the cover of Campus Rec Magazine at vari- mentorship of Dr. Anthony A. Grace, where she is ous campus recreation facilities across the U.S. If she studying the effects of antipsychotic drugs on the do- isn’t behind the lens or pen for her job, she is either Anna pamine system in an rodent model of schizophrenia. doing CrossFit, serving her church, writing a novel Reh-Gingerich grad- or having an adventure with her camera at her side. uated from the College of Natural Science with a bachelor’s degree in zo- Sara Hughes gradu- ology and a marine biol- ated from Michigan State ogy concentration. While University with a bach- she was an undergradu- elor’s degree in criminal ate at MSU, she assisted justice and psychology in Emily Weigel and Dr. Ja- December 2015. As an un- nette Boughman with a sexual selection study dergraduate, she worked that focused on reproductive behavior throughout with Dr. Merry Morash and a breeding season in male three-spined stickle- Dr. Sandi Smith on their back fish. She presented their research findings at research regarding women BEACON, UURAF, and the Midwest Ecology and on probation and parole, the communication styles Evolution Conference, where she won “Best Un- of their agents, and subsequent recidivism rates. dergraduate Poster.” Post-graduation, she spent Hughes also spent a semester in Australia and New time reviewing other topics related to sexual sig- Zealand studying comparative politics and crimi- nalling in three-spined stickleback and water qual- nal justice systems, and a semester in Washington, ity, which inspired this review article. Her inter- DC interning as a domestic violence victim advocate est in the effects of water quality expanded and for the non-profit DC SAFE. She now works asa she is now a graduate student at the University of full-time Research Assistant on the Suicide Preven- North Carolina Wilmington, pursuing a master’s tion Intervention for at Risk Individuals in Transi- in coastal and ocean policy. She is looking for- tion (SPIRIT Trial) with Dr. Jennifer Johnson. Her ward to pursuing a challenging, yet rewarding ca- work includes conducting clinical interviews with reer in watershed management and raising public inmates at the Genesee County Jail. Hughes will be awareness about the effects of poor water quality. pursuing a master’s of social work in the Fall of 2017.

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