Clinical Faculty

My research interests cover two different areas. One concerns genetic and psychological aspects of epilepsy, and the other concerns psychological factors that contribute to life satisfaction among the elderly. At the present time, research with epilepsy is my primary focus.

Canine Epilepsy

The overall goal of this research is to understand the genetic and non-genetic causes of seizures in dogs. There are about 25-30 breeds of dogs that are affected by epilepsy. However, our research is focusing on Poodles (all varieties). Our more narrow focus is idiopathic (primary, genetic) epilepsy in Poodles. Idiopathic epilepsy refers to seizures that are not the result of some other disorder, such as a brain tumor, metabolic disease, infectious disease that affects the central nervous system, head trauma, etc. Idiopathic epilepsy is presumed to be inherited. We are trying to determine the mode of inheritance for idiopathic epilepsy. That is, we are trying to determine whether idiopathic epilepsy is inherited as a simple recessive disorder, a simple dominant disorder, or a more complex genetic disorder. Currently, our data suggest that idiopathic epilepsy is inherited as a recessive disorder in Poodles. We also are working to find the gene (or genes) that contribute to epilepsy in Poodles. We feel that it is important to understand epilepsy in dogs for its own sake. However, we also feel that canine epilepsy is a very good naturally-occurring animal model of human inherited epilepsy.

Research participants are first asked to provide a photocopy of the Poodle's pedigree. They also are asked for any information they may have about their Poodle's relatives with respect to seizures. Participation also involves answering questions about the Poodle's medical history and nature of the seizures. Additionally, we may request a small sample of the Poodle's blood so we can conduct DNA analyses to search for the gene (or genes) that cause epilepsy.

Current work in our lab also includes the development of a system to classify canine seizures. Classification of seizures is important because different seizure types are likely to be caused by different genetic mechanisms.

Over the years, we have received funding from Versatility in Poodles ( VIP ), Inc., the Poodle Club of America, Inc., the AKC Canine Health Foundation, the FSU/Albrecht Research Fund, and private donations. Private donations are tax deductible, and 100% of donations goes directly to the research. If you wish to donate, checks should be made out to Florida State University Research Foundation, with a notation that the money is for "Poodle epilepsy research." This should be mailed to Dr. Barbara Licht at: Department of Psychology (East), 209 Eppes Hall , Florida State University, Tallahassee , FL 32306-1270 . While private donations are greatly appreciated and will be put to good use, potential participants should in no way feel obligated to make a donation. Dr. Licht is always happy to accept new participants and to provide information to owners on canine epilepsy.

Human epilepsy

My work with human epilepsy patients focuses on understanding the factors that contribute to the high rates of mood disorders (particularly depression and anxiety) and suicide that are found with epilepsy patients.

Both psychological and biological factors may contribute to the high rates of mood disorders. For example, people who experience seizures face various lifestyle challenges that are likely to impact their financial, social, romantic, and general life satisfaction. However, mood disorders also may be the neurological consequence of repeated seizures or the consequence of the medications that are taken to control seizures. Additionally, whatever neurological problem caused the seizures in the first place may contribute to mood disorders. Our long-term goal is to better understand these various psychological and biological factors. To date, I have completed one project in this area, which was conducted collaboratively with researchers at the University of Florida in Gainesville , Florida .

This project was designed to understand the temporal relationship between seizures and negative mood. Participants were epilepsy patients with poorly controlled seizures who were being evaluated to determine if they qualified for epilepsy brain surgery. For this pre-surgical evaluation, patients were hospitalized between 3 days and 2 weeks at Shands Hospital in Gainesville , Florida . (Shands is operated by the University of Florida .) During their hospitalization, they received continuous video and EEG (electroencephalogram) monitoring in order to precisely localize where in the brain each patient's seizures originate.

Data collection for our research occurred during each patient's hospital stay for the pre-surgical evaluation. Participants were asked to complete mood checklists (including, but not limited to the Positive and Negative Affect Scale) at various times during each day. Roughly five random times were chosen each day, and an alarm signaled the participant when to complete the mood checklists. Clinical and sub-clinical seizures were recorded (by video and EEG monitoring), which enabled us to plot the temporal relationship of seizures and mood for each patient. The results of this study were published in Epilepsy & Behavior, 2006.

Life Satisfaction Among the Elderly

This research is designed to examine various psychological factors that contribute to successful aging. Prior research has shown that factors such as health and financial resources account for a lot of the variability among older adults in terms of how satisfied they are with their lives. However, a large amount of variance is not accounted for by these factors. Our research seeks to understand other factors that may contribute to life satisfaction as we get older. These factors include (but are not limited to) self-concept of ability, perceived control, implicit theories of aging, and whether one tends to pursue "performance" versus "developmental" goals.

Licht, B., Lin, S., Luo, Y., Hyson, L., Licht, M., Harper, K., Sullivan, S., Fernandez, S., & Johnston, E. (2007, in press). Familial Focal Seizures in Standard Poodles: Clinical Characteristics and Mode of Inheritance. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association .

Willard, K., Licht, B., Gilmore, R., Licht, M. Sackellares, J. C., Eisenschenk, S., Bowers, D., Hyson, L., & Kirsch, L. (2006). Affect in Epilepsy Patients Undergoing Video-EEG Monitoring: Retrospective versus Momentary Assessment and Temporal Relationship to Seizures. Epilepsy & Behavior , 8 , 625-634.

Licht, B. G., Licht, M. H., Harper, K. M., Lin, S., Curtin, J. J., Hyson, L., & Willard, K. (2002). Clinical presentations of naturally occurring canine seizures: Similarities to human seizures. Epilepsy & Behavior, 3, 460-470.

McQuillen, A. D., Licht, M. H., & Licht, B. G., (2003). Contributions of disease severity and perceptions of primary and secondary control to the prediction of psychosocial adjustment to Parkinson's Disease. Health Psychology, 22, 504-512.

McQuillen, A.D., Licht, M.H., & Licht, B.G., (2001). Identity structure and life satisfaction in later life. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23, 65-72.