Brian R . Davis | CUNY School of Professional Studies (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Brian R . Davis
The Journal of …, 2011
In adult animals, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a significant role in regulating emot... more In adult animals, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a significant role in regulating emotions and projects to the amygdala and periaqueductal gray (PAG) to modulate emotional responses. However, little is known about the development of this neural circuit and its relevance to unlearned fear in pre-adulthood. To address these issues, we examined the mPFC of 14 (infants), 26 (juveniles), and 38-42 (adolescents) day old rats, to represent different developmental and social milestones. The expression patterns of the neuronal marker FOS were used to assess neurological activity. Muscimol, a GABA agonist, was used to inactivate the prelimbic and infralimbic mPFC subdivisions (400 ng in 200 nl). Animals were exposed to either a threatening or non-threatening stimulus that was ecologically relevant and age-specific. Freezing was measured as an indicator of innate fear behavior. The data indicated that the mPFC is neither active nor responsive to innate fear in infant rats. In juveniles, the prelimbic mPFC became responsive in processing aversive sensory stimulation, but did not regulate freezing behavior. Finally, during adolescence, inactivation of the prelimbic mPFC significantly attenuated freezing, and decreased FOS expression in the ventral PAG. Surprisingly, across all ages, there were no significant differences in FOS levels in the medial and basolateral/lateral amygdala when either mPFC subdivision was inactivated. Taken together, unlearned fear has a unique developmental course with different brain areas involved in unlearned fear in the immature animal than the adult. In particular, the mPFC neural circuitry is different in young animals and progressively develops more capacities as the animal matures.
This is the last and final version of the paper already posted in Academia.edu. Readers are invit... more This is the last and final version of the paper already posted in Academia.edu. Readers are invited to download this versions. It charts the intersections between gender, sexualities and globalization. Through a brief genealogical exercise, it explores the crossroads of shifting inequalities, identities, and the novel geopolitics of gender and sexualities. The combination of the words “gender” and “sexuality” always imply a daunting exercise of articulating two enormous concept metaphors that have been and continue to be subject to multiple and divergent lines of theorizing and interpretation. Locating these two constructs in historical and contemporary debates on globalization makes the analysis an even more complex task. Given the impossibility of covering these vast universes consistently in only a few pages, the reflections that follow are limited and modest in light of the massive amount of literature available on each of these domains. The narratives that follow should thus be read as fragmentary notes aimed at illustrating much wider and vast trajectories. Most importantly, they are not to be read as teleological accounts. The article was originally published in the APA Handbook on Sexuality (edited by Debora Tolman and Lisa Diamond.
In this mixed-methods study, we adopted a feminist theoretical lens in conceptualizing gender as ... more In this mixed-methods study, we adopted a feminist theoretical lens in conceptualizing gender as hierarchical and complementary ideologiesfemininity and masculinity-that are fundamental constituents of institutionalized heterosexuality as a way to understand the persistence of gender inequity in adolescents' heterosexual relationships. In Study 1, we conducted separate analyses for girls and boys to evaluate whether masculinity ideology for boys and femininity ideology for girls account for boys' endorsement of male coercion and for girls' endorsement of feminine conventions in heterosexual relationships with a sample of 250 tenth-grade students (n = 144 girls). Masculinity ideology proved to be as strong or stronger than femininity ideology in predicting these respective outcomes. In Study 2, we sought to understand this pattern through a thematically informed narrative analysis of interviews with 53 of the Study 1 participants (n = 35 girls) on their beliefs about and experiences with
This study explores implications of adapting Hermans’ (2001) dialogical model of self as multiply... more This study explores implications of adapting Hermans’ (2001) dialogical model of self as multiply voiced to Cohler and Hammack’s (2007) theoretical approach to sexual identity as a dynamic relationship between sexual desires, behaviors and broadly shared cultural discourses. I utilized the Listening Guide as a novel way of investigating the interrelationships of individual I and social We sexual self voices in tandem with two cultural discourses of Struggle and Success (“coming out” as gay) and Emancipation (“post gay” queer identity). The data were individual interviews with a developmentally diverse group of 10 white, same-sex desiring men (ages 20- 50). In these men’s narratives of the gay community in particular, I and We sexual self voices combined in two distinct ways: harmoniously in tandem with a single cultural discourse of Struggle and Success or Emancipation, and dissonantly in tandem with both cultural discourses voiced together. Whereas patterns of harmony reflected coherent stories of sexual identity, patterns of dissonance marked narratives of identity confusion. I discuss implications of an approach to sexual identity as multiply voiced for current theory and practice.
LGBTSS&PPC Papers by Brian R . Davis
Prepared for the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at City University of New York School ... more Prepared for the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at City University of New York School of Law, Iraq LGBT Project
September 2015
Author: Brian R. Davis, LGBT Social Science & Public Policy Center Graduate Student Board Member
Conference Presentations by Brian R . Davis
There is a long-standing tradition in psychology of treating discrete, nominal constructs as if t... more There is a long-standing tradition in psychology of treating discrete, nominal constructs as if they are mutually exclusive categorical sets and continuous ones as if they are quantified scales. These standard approaches to variable operationalization have meant that psychologists usually turn first to scale construction for continuous measures. However, as some psychological outcomes have both a categorical and a dimensional character, these standard approaches may not always suffice. Our proposed solution is to operationalize such complexly structured psychological phenomena using Euler diagrams, or collections of fuzzy sets visually connected with a rule that determines continuous degree of membership in the set. Central to the idea of the fuzzy sets comprising Euler diagrams is emergence, both mathematically and discursively, wherein complex ideas are actively constructed from simpler elements. We argue that these features uniquely position the Euler diagram as a constructivist data collection tool amenable to a rich variety of analytic strategies. We further argue that as research participants' responses are not limited to language-based expression, Euler diagrams provide an alternative means of engaging respondents whose native language differs from that of the investigators, or of asking respondents to relay complex ideas that are difficult to verbalize. In this presentation we demonstrate such a Euler diagram-based technique with quantitative analytic methods developed for use with an impression formation task with Japanese college students.
The Journal of …, 2011
In adult animals, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a significant role in regulating emot... more In adult animals, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a significant role in regulating emotions and projects to the amygdala and periaqueductal gray (PAG) to modulate emotional responses. However, little is known about the development of this neural circuit and its relevance to unlearned fear in pre-adulthood. To address these issues, we examined the mPFC of 14 (infants), 26 (juveniles), and 38-42 (adolescents) day old rats, to represent different developmental and social milestones. The expression patterns of the neuronal marker FOS were used to assess neurological activity. Muscimol, a GABA agonist, was used to inactivate the prelimbic and infralimbic mPFC subdivisions (400 ng in 200 nl). Animals were exposed to either a threatening or non-threatening stimulus that was ecologically relevant and age-specific. Freezing was measured as an indicator of innate fear behavior. The data indicated that the mPFC is neither active nor responsive to innate fear in infant rats. In juveniles, the prelimbic mPFC became responsive in processing aversive sensory stimulation, but did not regulate freezing behavior. Finally, during adolescence, inactivation of the prelimbic mPFC significantly attenuated freezing, and decreased FOS expression in the ventral PAG. Surprisingly, across all ages, there were no significant differences in FOS levels in the medial and basolateral/lateral amygdala when either mPFC subdivision was inactivated. Taken together, unlearned fear has a unique developmental course with different brain areas involved in unlearned fear in the immature animal than the adult. In particular, the mPFC neural circuitry is different in young animals and progressively develops more capacities as the animal matures.
This is the last and final version of the paper already posted in Academia.edu. Readers are invit... more This is the last and final version of the paper already posted in Academia.edu. Readers are invited to download this versions. It charts the intersections between gender, sexualities and globalization. Through a brief genealogical exercise, it explores the crossroads of shifting inequalities, identities, and the novel geopolitics of gender and sexualities. The combination of the words “gender” and “sexuality” always imply a daunting exercise of articulating two enormous concept metaphors that have been and continue to be subject to multiple and divergent lines of theorizing and interpretation. Locating these two constructs in historical and contemporary debates on globalization makes the analysis an even more complex task. Given the impossibility of covering these vast universes consistently in only a few pages, the reflections that follow are limited and modest in light of the massive amount of literature available on each of these domains. The narratives that follow should thus be read as fragmentary notes aimed at illustrating much wider and vast trajectories. Most importantly, they are not to be read as teleological accounts. The article was originally published in the APA Handbook on Sexuality (edited by Debora Tolman and Lisa Diamond.
In this mixed-methods study, we adopted a feminist theoretical lens in conceptualizing gender as ... more In this mixed-methods study, we adopted a feminist theoretical lens in conceptualizing gender as hierarchical and complementary ideologiesfemininity and masculinity-that are fundamental constituents of institutionalized heterosexuality as a way to understand the persistence of gender inequity in adolescents' heterosexual relationships. In Study 1, we conducted separate analyses for girls and boys to evaluate whether masculinity ideology for boys and femininity ideology for girls account for boys' endorsement of male coercion and for girls' endorsement of feminine conventions in heterosexual relationships with a sample of 250 tenth-grade students (n = 144 girls). Masculinity ideology proved to be as strong or stronger than femininity ideology in predicting these respective outcomes. In Study 2, we sought to understand this pattern through a thematically informed narrative analysis of interviews with 53 of the Study 1 participants (n = 35 girls) on their beliefs about and experiences with
This study explores implications of adapting Hermans’ (2001) dialogical model of self as multiply... more This study explores implications of adapting Hermans’ (2001) dialogical model of self as multiply voiced to Cohler and Hammack’s (2007) theoretical approach to sexual identity as a dynamic relationship between sexual desires, behaviors and broadly shared cultural discourses. I utilized the Listening Guide as a novel way of investigating the interrelationships of individual I and social We sexual self voices in tandem with two cultural discourses of Struggle and Success (“coming out” as gay) and Emancipation (“post gay” queer identity). The data were individual interviews with a developmentally diverse group of 10 white, same-sex desiring men (ages 20- 50). In these men’s narratives of the gay community in particular, I and We sexual self voices combined in two distinct ways: harmoniously in tandem with a single cultural discourse of Struggle and Success or Emancipation, and dissonantly in tandem with both cultural discourses voiced together. Whereas patterns of harmony reflected coherent stories of sexual identity, patterns of dissonance marked narratives of identity confusion. I discuss implications of an approach to sexual identity as multiply voiced for current theory and practice.
Prepared for the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at City University of New York School ... more Prepared for the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at City University of New York School of Law, Iraq LGBT Project
September 2015
Author: Brian R. Davis, LGBT Social Science & Public Policy Center Graduate Student Board Member
There is a long-standing tradition in psychology of treating discrete, nominal constructs as if t... more There is a long-standing tradition in psychology of treating discrete, nominal constructs as if they are mutually exclusive categorical sets and continuous ones as if they are quantified scales. These standard approaches to variable operationalization have meant that psychologists usually turn first to scale construction for continuous measures. However, as some psychological outcomes have both a categorical and a dimensional character, these standard approaches may not always suffice. Our proposed solution is to operationalize such complexly structured psychological phenomena using Euler diagrams, or collections of fuzzy sets visually connected with a rule that determines continuous degree of membership in the set. Central to the idea of the fuzzy sets comprising Euler diagrams is emergence, both mathematically and discursively, wherein complex ideas are actively constructed from simpler elements. We argue that these features uniquely position the Euler diagram as a constructivist data collection tool amenable to a rich variety of analytic strategies. We further argue that as research participants' responses are not limited to language-based expression, Euler diagrams provide an alternative means of engaging respondents whose native language differs from that of the investigators, or of asking respondents to relay complex ideas that are difficult to verbalize. In this presentation we demonstrate such a Euler diagram-based technique with quantitative analytic methods developed for use with an impression formation task with Japanese college students.