"Circadian rhythm disruptions are common in bipolar disorder, but the specific pathways linking sleep patterns, mood episodes, and daily emotional processing are not fully understood. This project looks at how different sleep problems, specifically circadian imbalances and phase delays, affect how people manage their emotions. It also considers whether these disturbances can lead to manic or hypomanic symptoms. By reviewing existing literature and conducting initial behavioral tracking, this study aims to identify the relationships between sleep quality, the onset of mania, and emotional difficulties that follow. Research in this field faces challenges. Sleep disruptions often trigger mood episodes, and active mood states can also negatively affect sleep. Other factors, such as mental health conditions, substance use, and medications, make it hard to isolate the effects that are specific to bipolar disorder. Early analysis shows that circadian phase delays interfere with the normal cognitive processes needed for emotional control, worsening emotional regulation during manic episodes. By clarifying these connections, I hope to create better diagnostic tools and inform targeted treatments that can help individuals managing bipolar disorder."

Mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety affect millions of individuals worldwide, while existing treatments often present limitations, including delayed effectiveness, undesirable side effects, and a focus on symptom management rather than underlying causes. Emerging research suggests that psilocybin-assisted therapy may offer rapid and lasting psychological benefits, while exposure to natural environments has independently been associated with reduced stress, improved well-being, and enhanced feelings of connectedness. This study aims to investigate whether integrating nature-based settings into psilocybin-assisted therapy enhances therapeutic outcomes for individuals with chronic depression and anxiety. It is hypothesized that participants who receive psilocybin-assisted therapy with access to natural environments will experience greater reductions in depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as greater improvements in well-being and connectedness, compared to those treated in traditional urban clinical settings. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, two-way between-subjects design will be employed. Sixty adults diagnosed with chronic depression and/or anxiety and with no prior psychedelic experience will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: psilocybin in a city setting, psilocybin in a nature setting, placebo in a city setting, or placebo in a nature setting. Psychological outcomes will be assessed using clinician-rated and self-report measures administered before treatment and during follow-up integration sessions. Expected findings suggest that combining psilocybin-assisted therapy with exposure to nature will yield stronger therapeutic effects by reducing anxiety, increasing emotional insight, and enhancing connectedness to self, others, and the natural world. This research may contribute to the development of more holistic and effective mental health interventions while advancing understanding of the role of environmental context in psychedelic therapy.

Introduction: Many U.S. citizens experience unhealthy levels of stress (American Psychological Association, 2025). Individuals within romantic relationships can help mitigate this stress with dyadic coping strategies (Randall et al., 2016). Dyadic coping refers to the methods romantic partners use to jointly manage stress. Previous studies have linked dyadic coping with relationship satisfaction – as well as individual partners psychological and physical well-being (Rusu et al., 2020). Although these strategies have shown to be positive, currently, research on dyadic coping within Black romantic relationships is minimal (Helgeson et al., 2026). Therefore, the purpose of this project is to understand the role of dyadic coping within Black romantic relationships. Methods: Data from the SOUL Illinois Project will be used to answer this research question. De-identified survey results from ten couples will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results and Implications: This project is a part of an ongoing study. The results of this study will provide us with more insight on how coping methods appear within Black romantic relationships.

Adolescence is a critical developmental period, characterized by an increased risk for mental health challenges, such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and essential neurobiological changes. During this time, the hippocampus, the area in the brain that contextualizes emotional content, is very sensitive to stress and environmental adversity. The volume of the hippocampus is commonly used to monitor neurological and psychiatric disorders and a reduced volume is correlated with stress-related psychopathology, although no research has considered NSSI. Additionally, a decrease in hippocampal volume is associated with declines in cognitive abilities such as memory and attention. Our aims are to evaluate if the hippocampus volume is related to NSSI, then to assess if changes in NSSI is related to changes in hippocampal volume across time. We hypothesize that adolescents who show increases in NSSI engagement over time will exhibit reduced hippocampal growth across a one year period in adolescence (a time when the volume increases). To test this, we utilized archival data from the Longitudinal Brain Imaging Development of Girls' Emotion and Self study (Nair et al., 2023) which inspected the clinical and neurobiological trajectories of 164 participants assigned-female-at-birth across three time points. Linear regression models were constructed to analyze the concurrent and predictive relationship between longitudinal NSSI engagement and changes in hippocampal volume across T1 to T2. By demonstrating these associations, these results may contribute to a better understanding of neurological correlates of NSSI and provide a biological foundation for more targeted clinical interventions and early prevention strategies for at-risk youth.