Faculty Bibliography

Diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) is now a widely used modality to investigate the fiber tissues in vivo, especially the white matter in brain. An automatic pipeline is described in this paper to conduct a localized voxel-wise multiple-subject group comparison study of DTI. The pipeline consists of 3 steps: 1) Preprocessing, including image format converting, image quality check, eddy-current and motion artifact correction, skull stripping and tensor image estimation, 2) study-specific unbiased DTI atlas computation via affine followed by fluid nonlinear registration and warping of all individual DTI images into the common atlas space to achieve voxel-wise correspondence, 3) voxelwise statistical analysis via heterogeneous linear regression and wild bootstrap technique for correcting for multiple comparisons. This pipeline was applied to process data from a fitness and aging study and preliminary results are presented. The results show that this fully automatic pipeline is suitable for voxel-wise group DTI analysis.

The purpose of this study was to test a three component framework for enhancing quality in school mental health (SMH), focusing on quality assessment and improvement (QAI), family engagement/empowerment, and modular evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation in three established SMH programs. The study involved a 2-year, multisite (Delaware, Maryland, Texas) formative evaluation with clinicians randomly assigned to participate in either the QAI (target) intervention or a Wellness Plus Information (WPI, comparison) intervention. As hypothesized, clinicians who participated in the QAI condition demonstrated significantly greater implementation of quality indicators and greater implementation of EBP as compared to clinicians in the WPI condition. However, contrary to original hypotheses, findings did not reveal differences between the conditions in knowledge or attitudes toward EBP, clinician self-efficacy, or student psychosocial outcomes. Implications for future research on quality improvement in SMH are discussed, with an emphasis on the need to examine the impact of increased implementation and resource support to SMH clinicians.

This study examined the factors that are important to successful implementation and sustainability of evidence-based interventions in school settings. Developers of interventions that have been designated as "evidence-based" in multiple vetted lists and registries available to schools participated in a structured interview. The interview focused on potential facilitators and barriers to implementation and sustainability of their intervention. The interviews were transcribed and coded to identify similarities and differences among the responses as well as themes that cut across participants. Results indicated that those concerned with effective implementation and sustainability need to address several areas: (a) development of principal and other administrator support; (b) development of teacher support; (c) development of financial resources to sustain practice; (d) provision of high-quality training and consultation to ensure fidelity; (e) alignment of the intervention with school philosophy, goals, policies, and programs; (f) ensuring that program outcomes and impact are visible to key stakeholders; and (g) development of methods for addressing turnover in school staff and administrators.

Reviews the book, The invisible man. A self-help guide for men with eating disorders, compulsive exercise, and bigorexia by John F. Morgan (see record 2007-18411-000). Dr. Morgan's The Invisible Man is a self-help guide tailored for those men struggling with eating disorders and body image disorders. Dr. Morgan, the author of multiple previous scientific publications on eating disorders and body image issues, is the head of Yorkshire Center for Eating Disorders in the United Kingdom. In this book Dr. Morgan argues that the majority of previous research, outreach, and treatment with regards to eating disorders have been focused on women. He has written The Invisible Man as a resource for the growing number of boys and men who are suffering from eating disorders and body image issues. In his book, Morgan targets a male audience. He provides easy to understand psychoeducation about these illnesses and he introduces cognitive behavioral and motivational treatments to help guide his reader toward recovery. The book follows a logical organization that accomplishes Dr. Morgan's apparent goal of providing information to the reader about the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of eating disorders and body image issues in men. Dr. Morgan has produced an important contribution to the therapeutic community by providing a book for men and their families who may have otherwise suffered alone and in silence. He covers a great deal of useful information in a relatively brief book, though there are some weaknesses to note. Overall, this is a clearly written book that could be very be helpful for men struggling with eating disorders and body image issues. As the title outlines, this book is a 'self-help' book written for a male audience.

We examined genetic and environmental influences on recognition of facial expressions in 250 pairs of 10-year-old monozygotic (83 pairs) and dizygotic (167 pairs) twins. Angry, fearful, sad, disgusted, and happy faces varying in intensity (15%-100%), head orientation, and eye gaze were presented in random order across 160 trials. Total correct recognition responses to each facial expression comprised the dependent variables. Twin data examined genetic and environmental contributions to variables and their correlations. Results support a common psychometric factor influenced primarily by additive genetic influences across expressions with discrimination of specific expressions due largely to non-shared environmental influences.