Semester 1 Exams case studies

Question 1

Maguire (2000)

Answer 1

Neuroplasticity, neuroimaging, localisation.

A- To investigate how the brain structure of London taxi drivers differs from the average brain.

P- Quasi experiment. MRI scans compared drivers & non-drivers.
Researchers correlated the number of years of taxi driving experience with MRI results.

F- Taxi drivers had increased grey matter volume in posterior hippocampus (spatial long-term memory) compared to control groups who had increased brain matter in the anterior hippocampus (spatial memory encoding).

Question 2

Draganski (2004)

Answer 2

Neuroplasticity & neuroimaging

A- To investiagte whether structural changes in the brain would occur in response to practicing jugglingl

P- Experiment. Sample randomly divided into 2 groups (jugglers & non-jugglers). Jugglers spent 3 months practicing, then stopped for 3 months. Control group nebver juggled.

F- No differences in brain structure between j&nj before the experiment. After 3 months practice, jugglers had increased grey matter in mid-temporal lobe (movement coordination). After 6 months difference increased.

Question 3

Caspi (2003)

Question 4

Milner (1966)

Answer 4

Localisation

A- To better understand the effects that the surgery (damage to the hippocampi) had on HM.

P- Method Triangulation. Case study. IQ testing, above average results. Direct observation of his behaviour. Interviews, HM & family. Cognitive testing; memory recall tasks & learning tasks. MRI.

F- HM suffered from anterograde amnesia (inability to form new long-term memories). Showed that the hippocampi involved in the consolidation of short-term & long-term memories. Hippocampus not involved in the storage of memories.

Question 5

Meaney (1988)

Answer 5

Hormones

A- To determine the role of cortisol on hormones.

P- Controlled experiment design. Rats allocated to two groups. Treatment group & control group. Treatment group, baby rats handled everday by researchers (3 weeks), brushed with wet brush to stimulate the mother for 15 minutes. Rats in control group were taken away from mother for 15 minutes (3 weeks).
Level of stress hormones tested by researchers putting the rats (2 years old) into water with a platform. Routes of the rats tracked as they looked for the platform, based on the rat’s memory & previous attempts to escape the water.

F- High levels of cortisol in early life resulted in changes the affected the rats for the rest of their lives. Increased exposure to stress hormones accelerated hippocampal neuron loss & cognitive impairments. Long-term exposure to cortisol led to overstimulation which can lead to hippocampal cell death.

Question 6

Newcomer (1999)

Question 7

Rogers & Kesner (2003)

Question 8

Troster & Beatty (1989)

Question 9

Zhou (2014)

Question 10

Wedekind (1995)

Question 11

Weissman (2005)

Question 12

Kendler (2006)