Diane Whitson’s research while affiliated with Saint Louis University and other places

Diagnosis of mild TBIs has been difficult due to the absence of obvious focal brain lesions in a large percentage of TBIs using conventional CT or MRI scans. One useful measure that can possibly characterize potential tissue and neural network damage objectively is Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZC) applied to MEG signals. LZC is a model-independent estimator of system complexity by estimating the number of different patterns in a sequence. We hypothesized that due to the potential network damage, TBIs would show a reduced level of complexity in regions that are impaired. We included 18 healthy controls and 18 military veterans in the study. Resting state MEG data was acquired and the LZCs were analyzed across the whole brain. Our results indicated reduced complexity in multiple brain areas in TBIs relative to the healthy controls. In addition, we detected several neuropsychological measures associated with motor responses, visual perception and memory correlated with LZC, which likely explains some of the cognitive deficits in TBIs.

Relatively little research exists regarding individuals who intentionally induce jealousy in their romantic partners, which is partially due to the absence of validated measures assessing romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motivations. In the current study, we developed measures and examined the correlates of romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motivations. Results indicated that the Romantic Jealousy-Induction Scale was unifactorial and reliable, whereas the Motives for Inducing Romantic Jealousy Scale consisted of five theoretically meaningful and reliable factors. In general, the romantic jealousy-induction behaviors and motives were associated with greater experienced jealousy, greater attachment avoidance and anxiety, lower relationship satisfaction and commitment, greater relationship alternatives, less passionate love, and greater game-playing and obsessive love.

Diagnosis and treatment of veterans with TBI and/or PTSD has been a complex issue affecting health care delivery to veterans of recent combat (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom). Investigation by this center aims to better understand the neuroimaging and neurobehavioral correlates of TBI and PTSD in order to inform medical follow up procedures with this population. Symptoms related to TBI and/or PTSD often present as factors affecting retention of these subjects in research studies, tolerance of study procedures, and logistics of conducting study activities. This session will describe techniques for utilizing frequent structured communication methods with study participants to increase retention, enhance tolerance of study procedures, and manage expectations throughout the research participation process.