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    Neurocognitive Deficits In Pediatric Obesity

    Cover for Neurocognitive Deficits In Pediatric Obesity
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    View/Open: Pearce_georgetown_0076D_13830.pdf (13.MB) Bookview

    Creator
    Pearce, Alaina Lundberg
    Advisor
    Vaidya, Chandan J
    ORCID
    0000-0003-3157-6566
    Abstract
    In the United States, 20% of adolescents suffer from obesity (body mass index—BMI—above the 95th percentile) and 8% of adolescents suffer from severe obesity (BMI 120% above the 95th percentile). Obesity carries increased risk for medical conditions with high morbidity (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes), poor sleep health, and psychopathology. In children, these risks are accompanied by lower academic achievement and worse social (e.g., discrimination) and psychological (e.g., self-esteem) outcomes. When examining cognition functioning, deficits in executive function (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility), motivation (i.e., reward sensitivity and reward-related decision making), and memory have been shown to be particularly relevant for the regulation of obesogenic behaviors (i.e., behaviors that contribute to risk for obesity). Simultaneously, comorbidities of obesity, such as chronic inflammation, may have deleterious effects on the neural functioning subserving these cognitive processes. The three studies included in this dissertation were conducted with the goals of 1) determining the scope and specificity of cognitive deficits in pediatric obesity; 2) identifying potential confounding (intelligence, socio-demographic characteristics) and mediating (medical and psychopathological) factors related to cognitive deficits in pediatric obesity; and 3) examining the neurological underpinnings of observed cognitive deficits in pediatric obesity.
    Description
    Ph.D.
    Permanent Link
    http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1047822
    Date Published
    2017
    Subject
    Executive Function; fMRI; Memory; Obesity; Reward; Cognitive psychology; Neurosciences; Cognitive psychology; Neurosciences;
    Type
    thesis
    Publisher
    Georgetown University
    Extent
    130 leaves
    Collections
    • Graduate Theses and Dissertations - Psychology
    Metadata
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    Georgetown University Seal
    ©2009 - 2022 Georgetown University Library
    37th & O Streets NW
    Washington DC 20057-1174
    202.687.7385
    digitalscholarship@georgetown.edu
    Accessibility