Publications by authors named "Sarah Shafer Berger"

Environmental enrichment decreases nicotine reactivity in male rats, but these effects have not been examined in females. This research was conducted to examine the effects of enrichment on nicotine behavioral sensitization (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study focused on 56 adolescent girls at risk for binge eating disorder and excessive weight gain, specifically examining the relationship between their interpersonal problems, depression, and alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions).
  • The girls were categorized into three main interpersonal problem areas: interpersonal deficits related to eating disorders, role disputes, and role transitions; with those facing interpersonal deficits showing higher levels of depression and alexithymia.
  • The findings suggest that the interpersonal deficits-ED group experienced more emotional distress, highlighting the need for further research on how these interpersonal issues affect psychotherapy effectiveness for these adolescents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objective: Previous research found that prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) may increase children's vulnerability to behavior and cognition problems. Maturational changes in brain and social development make adolescence an ideal time to reexamine associations. The objective was to conduct a systematic review of published studies examining associations between PCE and adolescent development (behavior, cognition/school outcomes, physiologic responses, and brain morphology/functioning).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare the characteristic meal patterns of adolescents with and without loss of control (LOC) eating episodes.

Method: The Eating Disorder Examination was administered to assess self-reported LOC and frequency of meals consumed in an aggregated sample of 574 youths (12-17 years; 66.6% female; 51.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We examined the association of youths' positive qualities, family cohesion, disease management, and metabolic control in Type 1 diabetes. Two-hundred fifty-seven youth-parent dyads completed the Family Cohesion subscale of the Family Environment Scale, the Diabetes Behavior Rating Scale, 24-hour diabetes interview, and youth completed the Positive Qualities subscale of the Youth Self Report (YSR-PQ). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that YSR-PQ scores were associated with metabolic control mediated by associations with more family cohesion and better disease management.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Gender and ethnicity are powerful predictors of initiation and maintenance of cigarette smoking in adults but less is known about their role in smoking in adolescents. Consistent with human studies, rat models also reveal sex and strain differences in response to nicotine administration.

Methods: This research examined nicotine withdrawal behaviors in 96 adolescent, male and female, Sprague Dawley (SD) and Long Evans (LE) rats.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nicotine withdrawal may differ between men and women but clinical reports are inconsistent. Two experiments were conducted to examine behavioral effects of nicotine withdrawal in male and female adult rats in dimly-lit and brightly-lit environments. Ninety-six Sprague-Dawley male and female rats received 7 days continuous subcutaneous infusion via ALZET osmotic minipumps filled with saline or 3.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF