DISSERTATION
“Inflammation and Behavior”
Committee: Martha McClintonck (chair), Edward Laumann, David Gallo, Linda Waite (reader)
The relationships among an individual’s social life, psychological functioning, and physical health are complex and multi-directional. Nonetheless, the aim of this dissertation was to identify relationships among specific psychosocial variables associated with systemic inflammatory processes that contribute to overall health and well-being. Data is from a nationally representative sample of 3005 adults age 57-85 from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) in which participants were asked detailed questions about their social relationships, psychological, and physical health. The first two chapters demonstrate that chronic, low-level inflammation (evidenced by C-Reactive protein levels) predicts low levels of sexual motivation, and that this inflammation could partly explain the gender difference in sexual motivation (demonstrated in Chapter 1). The second two chapters present correlational evidence in support of the hypothesis that low levels of growth hormone, associated with sleep disruptions, may be a significant mechanistic link among depression, psychosocial isolation, and illnesses with an inflammatory component, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
PUBLICATIONS
In preparation
1. Sex differences in proactive sexual motivation in humans age 57-85
2. Chronic inflammation and sex differences in proactive sexual motivation
3. Poor quality sleep, growth hormone decreases, and consequential inflammatory-related health-issues
4. Growth-Hormone deficiency as a mechanism to explain the relationship between social isolation, sleep quality, and the risk for inflammatory diseases
5. Social Isolation, Blood Pressure, and CRP
Published
1. Datta, S, Patterson, EH, Siwek, D.F. (1997). Endogenous and exogenous nitric oxide in the pedunculopontine tegmentum induces sleep. Synapse 27:69-78.
2. Patterson, EH (1997) Anatomical and physiological substrates of state-dependent learning and memory consolidation. Master’s Thesis, Harvard University Extension, Cambridge, MA.
3. Datta, S., Siwek, D.F., Patterson, E.H. and Cipolloni, P.B. (1998). Localization of pontine PGO wave generation sites and their anatomical projections in the rat. Synapse 30:409-423.
4. Datta, S., Patterson, E.H., and Siwek, D.F. (1999). Brainstem afferents of the cholinoceptive pontine wave generation sites in the rat. Sleep Research Online 2:79-82.
5. Datta, S., Patterson, E.H., Vincitore, M., Tonkiss, J., Morgane, P.J., and Galler, J.R. (2000). Prenatal protein malnourished rats show changes in sleep-wake behavior as adults. J. Sleep Res. 9:71-79.
6. Datta, S., Spoley, E.E., and Patterson, E.H. (2001). Excitation of the pedunculopontine tegmental NMDA receptors induces wakefulness and cortical activation in the rat. J. Neurosci. Res. 66:109-116.
7. Datta, S., Spoley, E.E., and Patterson, E.H. (2001). Microinjection of glutamate into the pedunculo pontine tegmentum induces REM sleep and wakefulness in the rat. Am. J. Physiol. Reg. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 280:R752-R759.
8. Datta, S., Spoley, E.E., Mavanji, V.K., and Patterson, E.H. (2002). A novel action of pedunculopontine kainate receptors: A mechanism of REM sleep generation in the rat. Neuroscience 114:157-164.
9. Datta, S. and Patterson, E.H. (2002). Phasic pontine wave and sleep-dependent memory processing, in Sleep and Brain Plasticity (J. Maquet, R. Stickgold, and C. Smith, eds.), Oxford University Press.
10. Mavanji, V. K., Siwek, D. F., Spoley, E. E., Patterson, E.H. and Datta, S. (2003). Effects of passive-avoidance training on sleep-wake state specific activity in the basolateral and central nuclei of amygdala. Behav. Neurosci.
11. Datta, S., Mavanji, V.K., Patterson, E.H. (2003). REM sleep regulation in the freely moving rat: local microinjection of serotonin, norepinephrine, and adenosine into the brainstem. Sleep.
Abstracts
1. Datta, S., Patterson, E., Xie, Z. and Siwek, D.F. (1996). Role of nitric oxide in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus: maintenance of normal sleep. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 22:1337.
2. Datta, S, Patterson, EH. (2002). Regulation of Pedunculopontine Tegmental Neuronal Activity and REM Sleep: Role of GABA-ergic Neurotransmission in the Freely Moving Rat. Sleep (suppl.) 25: 2116.A.
3. Mavanji VK, Spoley EE, Patterson EH, Datta S. (2002). Local Administration of Serotonin into the Phasic Pontine-wave (P-Wave) Generator of the Freely Moving Rat Suppresses P-Wave activity but not REM sleep. Sleep (suppl.) 25: 2119.A.
4. Datta, S, Patterson, EH. (2002). Regulation of Pedunculopontine Tegmental Neuronal Activity and REM Sleep: Role GABA-ergic Neurotransmission in the Freely Moving Rat. Sleep (suppl.) 25:2120.A.
5. Spoley, E. E., Mavanji, V. K., Patterson, E.H., Datta, S. (2002). Wake-sleep cycle effects of GABA-A receptor agonist microinjection into the lateral hypothalamus of the freely moving rat. Sleep (suppl.) 25:217.A.
6. Datta, S., Mavanji, V.K., Patterson, E.H. (2003) Cholinergic activation of the phasic pontine-wave (P-wave) generator enhances improvement of learning performance in the rat. Sleep (suppl.) 26.
