AMRC Bio Approach Flashcards

Question

antonova method

Answer 1

* 20 healthy male adults - mean age of 28 * Double blind procedure * All participants received training about how to use VR set up and rules before partaking in the task * Participants randomly allocated to two conditions ○ Group 1: injected with scopolamine ○ Group 2: injected with a placebo * Both groups injected with their respective substances 70-90 minutes before taking part in the experimental tasks * Participants put into fMRI while playing the "arena task" ○ Complex virtual reality game in which the researchers are observing how well participants are able to create spatial memories § Goal: to navigate and reach a pole ○ After reaching pole, screen went blank for 30 seconds - in this time participants were told to actively rehearse their route to the pole ○ When area reappeared, they were at a new starting point § Using spatial memory, they had to get back to the pole * Brain activity measure for 6 trials * Participants returned 3-4 weeks later and redid the test ○ This time, received opposite treatment (e.g. If they got placebo the first time, they got scopolamine this time and vice versa) § Repeated measures design

Answer 2

* Participants injected with scopolamine showed significant reduction in the activation of the hippocampus when compared to those injected with placebo * Appears that Ach could play a key role in the encoding of spatial memories in humans as well as rats

Answer 3

* Although there was a higher rate of error in the scopolamine group, not a significant difference * Difference in activity in the hippocampus, however, is significant. * This means that the task design may not have been best suited for showing performance differences - Without the use of fMRI, there would have been no way to know that as the biological level there were significant differences in the two conditions

Answer 4

Double blind * Controls researcher bias ○ Non-verbal cues, opinions etc ○ Therefore increases internal validity § Conclusions are reliable, where the neurotransmitter Ach does not have a role in memory encoding * Greatly reduces demand characteristics Random allocation High internal validity * Lab experiment ○ IV and DV operationalised to establish cause and effect ○ Control over extraneous variables Repeated measures * Eliminates participant variability * counter balanced - Controlled practice effects (order) Use of fMRI * Scientific and therefore: ○ Objective ○ credible Practical applications * The results suggest drugs targeting the Ach system, like physostigmine, may have application in treatment of memory disorders, like Alzheimer's, assuming Ach plays a role in memory function.

Answer 5

During debrief participants said they felt stressed, either as a result of the injection of an unfamiliar drug or being in fMRI (claustrophobia) * This could affect the hippocampus function as stress may interfere with memory encoding * Might decrease ecological validity Small androcentric sample * Beta bias - assuming that results can simply be replicated for females * Reduces reliability Lab experiment * Since setting is artificial, low external validity Small sample size * Results must be replicated to determine if reliable Use of fMRI * Decrease ecological validity * Participants anxious in unfamiliar/closed space

Answer 6

* Informed consent * Deception * Protection from harm (mental) - participants said they felt claustrophobic

Answer 7

neurotransmitters

Answer 8

To determine the role of acetylcholine in the formation of and retrieval from spatial memory.

Answer 9

* 30 rats acclimate to a Hebb Williams maze by placing food in one of the corners ○ Once rats were familiar - and no longer afraid of the environment - the experiment could begin * The rats were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: ○ Scopolamine - blocks the acetylcholine receptor sites and thus inhibits any response ○ Saline solution was a placebo injection - done to ensure that getting an injection alone was not responsible for a change in memory. § An injection could result in an increase in adrenaline which would be a confounding variable ○ Injections were made directly into the hippocampus * 10 minutes before running the maze, the rats were either injected with scopolamine (experimental group) or a saline solution (control group) * Encoding of memory assessed by average number of errors made on the first five trials of Day 1 compared to the last five trials of Day 1 was used to assess retrieval

Answer 10

* Scopolamine group took longer and made more mistakes in the learning maze ○ Means higher average number of mistakes made on the last five trials on Day 1 * However, did not appear to have an effect on retrieval of memories that had already been created. * Appears that acetylcholine may play an important role in the consolidation of spatial memories

Answer 11

Suggests that acetylcholine plays and important role in memory encoding, because the rats with low acetylcholine levels wandered around the maze as though lost, even though they had learned it previously

Answer 12

* Experimental design allows for cause and effect conclusions base on isolation of variables in three experimental conditions * Control group allows to control for possible confounding variables * Lab experiment - easy to replicate, control of variables - as rodents as easy to breed. Replication leads to reliability of theory - adds reliability to theory of neurotransmission * Reductionist * Scientific- can break down and identify specific cause * Biological determinism * Scientific * Predictable Counter argument for generalisability: rats and humans have a similar limbic system. Practical Applications Results suggest that drugs targeting the acetylcholine system may have applications in the treatment of memory disorders, like Alzheimer's disease, assuming that acetylcholine plays a role in memory formation.

Answer 13

* Difficult to generalise animals studies to humans because results may not be wholly applicable * Effects of neurotransmitters are difficult to isolate, because the alteration of one neurotransmitter may cause changes in other neurotransmitters too. * Counter for practical applications credibility: * Biological reductionist - therefore ignores other potential influences * Not free will * Harder to suggest change or choice

Answer 14

To investigate the effects of stress, caused by caring for a relative with Alzheimer's disease, on the immune system by looking at wound healing.

Answer 15

* Participants were recruited through a newspaper advert (volunteer samples) * Experimental group: 13 women aged 47-81 years old were carers * Control group: 13 other women were matched with carers on basis of age and income - matched pairs design * All participants were dressed and treated by a nurse in the same way for every participant * Researchers also assessed biochemical substances (such as cytokines) to regulate the immune system * Participants were given a 10 item perceived stress scale to assess how stressed they were feeling.

Answer 16

* Complete healing took on average 9 days (24%) longer in carers than control group * Cytokine (protein) levels, which are important for wound healing, were lower in carers than control group * Carers reported feeling more stressed on perceived stress scale

Answer 17

* Chronic stress (increased cortisol) suppresses functioning of the immune system. * The behaviour is the stress response but how it affects the immune system - E.g. Chronic stress leads to increased corticosteroids in the blood stream --> lowers T cells --> lowered immune system --> takes longer to heal

Answer 18

Application: * Research provided good evidence to medical staff and emphasised the effects that stress can have on recovery after surgery. It is important to reduce stress before surgery Experimental design * Quasi experiment - matched pairs (can be countered with the weakness)

Answer 19

Matching of participants was not exact * Participants not matched on other factors e.g. Relationship status or smokers * Both these variables associated with stress levels * Carers more likely to be married * Social support known to lower support * Results in sample bias which suggests that carers should have a better functioning immune system and so strengthens the validity of the study findings

Answer 20

* Protection from (physical) harm - couldn't guarantee that the wound wouldn't re-open and cause the participants any pain * Deception - could go into full informed consent

Answer 21

To look at the impact of stress on memory

Answer 22

The researchers carried out a double blind laboratory experiment in which the participants were matched for age and gender to one of three conditions: * Condition 1: high level of cortisol ○ Given a tablet containing 160 mg of cortisol on each day of the four-day experiment ○ Dose of cortisol produces blood levels similar to those seen in people experiencing a major stress event * Condition 2: low level cortisol ○ Given a tablet containing 40 mg of cortisol per day ○ Dose is similar to amount of cortisol circulating in the bloodstream of people undergoing minor surgical procedures such a having stitches * Condition 3: placebo group ○ Participants in this condition were given placebo tablets § A tablet that looked like the other tablets but with no active ingredient ○ This was done in order to have a control group * All participants were asked to listen to and recall a prose paragraph ○ Each day given a different piece of prose with same level of difficulty ○ Tested three times * Participants tested again one day after taking the pill and then again four days later * There was a test again six days later to ensure that there were no long-term effects of the treatment on the participants

Answer 23

* Results indicated that high cortisol levels impaired performance in the memory task since the participants who received the highest level of cortisol also showed the worst performance in the verbal declarative memory * Researchers were also able to verify that the effect was not permanent ○ Performance of participants in high cortisol condition returned to normal after they stopped taking the hormone tablet * According to researchers, these results demonstrate a clear link between levels of cortisol and remembering * Appears that high levels of cortisol interfered with the recall of the prose passage, whereas moderate levels of cortisol may have actually assisted in the recall of the passage This is supported by the fact that there are cortisol receptor sites on the hippocampus, which is responsible for the transfer of information from STM to LTM and vice versa

Answer 24

* Experimental, therefore researchers could establish clear cause and effect relationship between IV and DV * Carried out baseline test in order to eliminate the possible confounding variable of individual differences between groups * Counterbalanced use of tests * As different texts were used for days 1 and 4, counterbalancing acted as a control that the difficulty of the text did not play a role in recall

Answer 25

* Researchers did not have full control over extraneous variables * Experiment ran over several days and participants were not in the lab the whole time * Variables e.g. Individual stressors in lives of participants - MINI COUNTER: despite this weakness, clear relationship between amount of cortisol ingested and performance on memory test established * Generalisability * Memorising a piece of prose not the most authentic memory experience - may explain student exam stress, but ability to generalise to other situations may be limited

Answer 26

Participants ingested cortisol which affected memory negatively, however, participants had signed informed consent and damage was not permanent

Answer 27

for pheromones

Answer 28

To test the hypothesis that androstadienone (derivative of testosterone and one of the chemical components of sweat) exposure would modulate participating women's mood and corresponding behaviour as measured by a sustained attention task.

Answer 29

* 37 women participated * Repeated measures design, within-group experiment * Tested by either a female or a male experimenter * Effects on mood, psychophysiological arousal, sustained attention, and rating of male facial attractiveness were assessed * Sensory detection of the experimental substance was rigorously controlled for by psychophysical testing

Answer 30

* Shown that exposure to a non-detectable amount of androstadienone modulated women's psychophysiological arousal and mood in a positive direction, but did not change attention performance or rating of facial attractiveness * Moreover, mood effects only evident when an experimenter of the opposite sex conducted the testing

Answer 31

Androstadienone as a pheromone intensifies women's reactions to men and that social context is important for mood effects of androstadienone exposure in women.

Answer 32

reductionism

Answer 33

Lab experiment * Has controls and accounts for extraneous variables such as: ○ Pregnant? ○ Heterosexual? ○ Menstrual cycle? * Therefore increases validity Repeated measures design

Answer 34

Lab experiment * Has controls and accounts for extraneous variables such as: ○ Pregnant? ○ Heterosexual? ○ Menstrual cycle? * Therefore increases validity Repeated measures design * Construct validity * Difficult to operationalise * What is the researcher was attractive? * Reliability * Lack of consistent findings

Answer 35

against pheromones

Answer 36

To investigate if androstadienone and EST signal gender and affect mate perception

Answer 37

* 140 heterosexual participants * Repeated measures design * Participants completed two computer-based tasks on two consecutive days * On one day exposed to putative pheromone (AND or EST) masked with clove oil; On other day exposed to control scent (clove oil alone) * Order of conditions was counterbalanced ○ Task 1: participants shown five "gender neutral facial morphs" and had to indicate the gender (male or female) Task 2: they were shown photographs of the opposite sex and asked to rate their attractiveness on a scale from 1 to 10.

Answer 38

* There was no difference in gender assigned to the faces in the pheromone versus control condition There was no difference in the average attractiveness ratings of the photographs of the opposite sex

Answer 39

* The two chemicals (AND and EST) do not act as signals of gender or attractiveness * Based on this result, researchers concluded that these chemicals do not qualify as human pheromones

Answer 40

* Lab experiment * Variables are operationalised * Scientific and measurable * Repeated measures design * Eliminates participant variability * counter balanced - Controlled practice effects (order) * Single blind design * Control of demand characteristics, which increases internal validity

Answer 41

* Construct validity * Attractiveness, while used as a measurement in the experiment, is subjective * Low reliability Lack of consistent findings

Answer 42

reductionism

Answer 43

to investigate why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behaviour, whereas others do not & to investigate whether antisocial behaviour would be predicted by an interaction between a gene (MAOA) and an environment.

Answer 44

* large sample (442 male children) followed from birth to adulted assess every 2 years from 3-15, then at 18, 21 and finally at 26

Answer 45

1. Sample was genotypes 2. environmental factors (forms of maltreatment) were assessed- maltreatment groups did not differ in MAOA activity * 3-11 y.o.: 154 children maltreated § 8% severe maltreatment § 28% probably maltreatment § 64% no maltreatment * Maltreatment was considered to include: § physical abuse resulting in injury § sexual abuse § rejection by mother § frequent changes of primary caregiver 3. antisocial behaviour measured using clinical diagnosis conduct disorder: * personality checklists to measure antisocial personality traits official conviction records for violent offences (assault, robbery, rape, domestic violence, homicide)

Answer 46

* 85% of males having low-activity MAOA gene genotype who were severely maltreated developed some form of antisocial behaviour males with high MAOA activity did not have elevated antisocial scores. even when they had experiences childhood maltreatment

Answer 47

Biological determinism * Predictable (incl education) * Treatment Biological reductionism * Can be operationalised Longitudinal researcher (vs snapshot) Scientific method - methodological consideration * Little bias High ecological validity

Answer 48

Biological determinism * Irl applications - the court views all actions as free will Biological reductionism * Disregards extraneous variables Correlational research - 3rd variable * Limited control Impossible to replicate

Answer 49

* Useful when ensuring that adoption agencies place children (with low-activity MAOA gene genotype) into safe, nurturing homes Justifies the reason from social services to complete regular check-ups in the homes of violent families to protect children

Answer 50

‘nature loads the gun, nurture pulls the trigger’ * partly explain why not all victims of maltreatment group up to victimise others provide epidemiological evidence that genotypes can moderate children’s sensitivity to environmental results

Answer 51

Although the participants were assessed every few years, the study did not take into account an array of confounding variables and other major life events which may have triggered aggressive behaviour.

Answer 52

A study of violence in a family with genetic abnormality

Answer 53

Brunner and his colleagues wanted to explain the behaviour of a large family in the Netherlands where the males are affected by a syndrome of borderline intellectual disability and abnormal violent behaviour

Answer 54

* the study was based on five affected males from the family * data were collected from analysis of urine samples over a 24-hour period case study

Answer 55

* test showed disturbed monamine metabolism associated with a deficit of the enzyme MAOA in each of five males a point mutation was identified in the X chromosome of the gene responsible for the production of MAOA

Answer 56

* MAOA is involved in serotonin metabolism * Defect in gene that leads to impaired serotonin metabolism is likely to be responsible for the intellectual disability in this family ○ In turn, may account for the violent behaviour Brunner concluded that the MAOA deficiency in this family was associated with a recognisable phenotype that accounted for their inability to regulate their aggression

Answer 57

Deterministic * Means that it is out of the control of the individual * Can establish cause and effect - help develop a universal treatment for those in the same situation Case Study Allows for rich, qualitative data

Answer 58

Applications In the court, all actions are considered as free will and the individual is held accountable regardless Low population validity and generalisability Aggression being expressed is from a recessive allele, meaning only the minority have it`

Answer 59

correlational twin study

Answer 60

to carry out a twin study of twins from the Swedish national twin registry (has over 42000 set of twins registered) to determine the level of heritability of depression.

Answer 61

Lifetime major depression was assessed at personal interview by modified DSM-IV criteria on15,493 complete pairs of twins, from the national Swedish Twin Registry.

Answer 62

They found that the average concordance rate for MZ male twins was 31 per cent and for MZ female twins 44 per cent, while for DZ twins it was 11 and 16 per cent respectively.

Answer 63

Overall, Kendler concluded that heritability of depression is estimated to be 38%. While the study agreed with the argument of depression being genetically inherited, the fact that the concordance rate for MZ twins is far below 100 percent indicates that depression maybe the result of a genetic predisposition- also known as genetic vulnerability. This means that inheriting the gene does not automatically result in the person developing depression. Additionally, the results for the DZ twins being lower than the MZ twins supports the theory of genetic inheritance because fraternal twins are much less likely to have the same gene makeup.

Answer 64

A strength of this study is that there was a large sample size, meaning that it can be easily generalised to the amongst the population. However, this in contradicted by the fact that twins are a very small part of the global population, reducing the overall generalisability of the study.

Answer 65

Another issue, this time with ethics, is the self-fulfilling prophecy. Given the study, this means that as identical twins may think that they are more likely to develop depression, they might start to exhibit more symptoms. This also causes questions into issues of undue stress or harm, both because the study may contribute to the onset of depression, but also because it could leave participants in fear that they too will develop the illness. Therefore, while the study supports the idea that depression is genetically inherited, it also indicated that the expression of the illness may be affected by external influences.

Answer 66

kinship study

Answer 67

One of the ways in which genetic research is carried out is through a technique called 'family studies.' In such studies, researchers look at the incidence of a behaviour over a number of generations. Usually, this is limited to three generations in most populations. These studies look at the genetic similarity between familial relationships, that is, the chance that if one member is diagnosed with a certain disorder, another will have it as well. Concordance rates are the percentage of this similarity. One behaviour commonly studies is Major Depression Disorder, or MDD.

Answer 68

To study the potential genetic nature of Major depressive disorder

Answer 69

· carried out a longitudinal family study over 20 years · sample of 161 grandchildren and their parents and grandparents, looking at families at high and low risk for depression. The original sample of depressed patients (now grandparents) were selected from an outpatient clinic with a specialisation in the treatment of mood disorders, and non depressed participants from same local community. Original sample (parents/children) interviewed 4 times during this period, and children (now adults with own children - allowing for 3rd gen study). Data collected from clinicians blind to past depression.

Answer 70

researchers found high rates of psychiatric disorders in the grandchildren with 2 generations of MDD. By age 12, 59% grandkids already showing signs of a psychiatric disorder (commonly anxiety disorders). Kids had increased risk of any disorder if depression was observed in both grandparents and parents, compared to kids where parents weren't depressed. Also, severity of parent's depression was correlated with increased rate of mood disorder in the children. However, if a parent was depressed but there was no history of depression in grandparents, there wasn't significant effect of parental depression on grandkids.

Answer 71

The association between parental MDD and child diagnosis is moderated by grandparental MDD status. The rates of psychopathology are highest in grandchildren of parents and grandparents with a moderately to severely impairing depression.

Answer 72

* Longitudinal * Increases reliability of data * Researcher triangulation - increases credibility Large sample - 161

Answer 73

* Confounding variable - amount of time a child spent with a healthy grandparent * Association between parental MDD and child diagnosis is moderated by grandparental MDD * Large sample, but more research needed to confirm reliability of findings Although kinship studies indicate a potential genetic link to behaviour, no actual genotype is studies

Answer 74

If there was a gene for aggression, would people stigmatise those who posses the gene?

Answer 75

Particularly in genetic research, it must be ensured that participants truly understand what the study means

Answer 76

○ When one finds out that his identical brother has bipolar disorder and that there is a high concordance rate for this disorder, this may lead to stress in the healthy twin May even lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which relatively normal behaviour is interpreted by the participant as "symptoms" of bipolar disorder

Answer 77

If confirmation bias takes place because of earlier research, it can lead to complications in diagnosis where the incorrect diagnosis of bipolar disorder may happen

Answer 78

○ Important to ensure that the samples are anonymised and that confidentiality is maintained. This means that the names are not given to the researcher who is carrying out the research § This is a blind control ○ Results of such testing should not be given to people outside of the study § May lead to: □ Confirmation bias by practitioners □ Stigmatization in society □ (in some cultures) - denial of employment or health/life ensurance

Answer 79

* Argues that there are 6 categories of disgust: 1. Poor hygiene 2. Animals that are vectors disease (such as rats of cockroaches) 3. Sexual behaviours 4. Atypical appearance 5. Lesions and visible signs of infection 6. Food that shows signs of decay * What they all have in common: elicit 'disgust response' which is all about avoiding infection Thus, disgust as a behavioural strategy that reduces the likelihood of contact with potentially harmful pathogens

Answer 80

What (things) elicited a disgust response

Answer 81

* Carried out research on the internet via BBC to test whether there were patterns in people's disgust responses * Online survey where 77,00 respondents from 165 countries (mostly European) were shown 20 images * For each image they were asked to rank their level of disgust Among 20 images were 7 pairs in which one was infectious or harmful to the immune system. The other was similar but not infectious

Answer 82

The findings confirmed that the disgust reaction was most strongly elicited for those images which threaten one's immune system

Answer 83

* Large-scale cross-cultural survey with many participants * Unlikely responses were excluded (all 1s in the answers or all 5s) Data therefore robust and seems that the significant differences found in 6 of the 7 pairs between the levels of disgust when looking at the disease-irrelevant picture and the levels of disgust shown at the disease-relevant picture are reliable findings

Answer 84

* 75% of participants were between 16 and 65 years of age, with only 10% over 65 years old ○ Age range shown on graph is misleading, and the responses for under-16s and over 65s come from a much smaller groups of people * Sample also skewed towards those who have a computer and those who answer surveys of this kind * 78% of respondents were from Europe, and majority of them from the UK Research was not as cross-cultural as it might seem - affects validity and reliability

Answer 85

To investigate the nausea experienced by women in their first 3 months of pregnancy when the infusion of hormones lowers immune system

Answer 86

* 496 pregnant women were asked (web based survey) to think about 32 stomach-turning scenarios (i.e. fishhook through their finger) and then were to rank the scenarios Fessler then asked questions to determine whether they were experiencing morning sickness

Answer 87

Women in their 1st trimester scored higher in their sensitivity test than the women in later stages

Answer 88

* Natural selection may have helped compensate for the increased susceptibility to disease during the risky period of pregnancy by increasing the urge to be picky about food Sensitivity seems to decrease as the risk of disease decreases.

Answer 89

* Methodological strength ○ Although there was a correlation between disgust and nausea, researchers also measured each independently § Found that the phase of the pregnancy and feelings of nausea contributed separately to disgust sensitivity Essentially, it is impossible to feel nausea without disgust and the level of disgust felt decreased considerably throughout the pregnancy

AMRC Bio Approach Flashcards

(115 cards)