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PYB260 > Week 3 - Research Methods > Flashcards

Week 3 - Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

Experimental research design

A

Independent variable - variable that is manipulate in a study
Dependent variable - variable that is measured in a study
Experimental control

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2
Q

Experimental between-subjects design

A

experiments are conducted with 2 or more different groups
- interested in the difference between the means of these groups

example: group A given a new drug; group B given CBT

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3
Q

Advantages of between groups

A
  • easier and more time efficient to run
  • allows observation of variables that are not stable
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4
Q

Disadvantages of between groups

A
  • many variables are unable to be controlled
  • results are presented in terms of group differences; masks changes within the individual
  • method of allocating to groups
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5
Q

Experimental within-subjects design

repeated measures

A

same participants involved in every level of the experiment
- usually interested in difference in the mean of the 2+ testing occassions

eg. participants tested for attention span before & after taking drug

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6
Q

Advantages of repeated measures

A
  • requires fewer participants
  • each participant acts as their own control
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7
Q

Disadvantages of repeated measures

A
  • not amenable to measurement of unstable variables
  • time & money
  • may need alternate forms to assess DV to counteract practice effect
  • may need to counteract cross-over effects
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8
Q

Placebo controls

A

a placebo control condition will be similar to the experimental condition, except rather than receiving the drug they receive a substance containing no active ingredients
- placebo controls are extremely useful for investigating whether any benefits derived from a drug are due to placebo effects

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8
Q

Three-groups design

A
  1. given a new drug
  2. given a proven drug
  3. given a placebo
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8
Q

Control groups/conditions

A
  • used to ensure the effect observed is due to the variable we manipulated & not some other variable
  • especially important in between-subjects designs
  • control group will be identical to the groups being tested, except for the manipulation
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9
Q

what do three-groups designs allow for

A
  • comparison between new drug & placebo
  • comparison between new & established drugs
  • experimenter to see if measure are sensitive enough to detect change
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10
Q

what are the alternate combinations of groups that could be used to answer alternate questions

A
  • effectiveness of drugs vs non-pharmacological interventions
  • specificity of drug effectson different mental illnesses
  • cross-sectional and longitudinal
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11
Q

Sources of bias

A
  • systematic errors in measurement or prediction
  • experimenter and participant expectations/bias
  • selection bias
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12
Q

Research methods

A
  • introspection
  • naturalistic observation
  • case history
  • survey
  • test
  • correlation
  • experiment
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13
Q

Potential variables

A
  • arousal
  • cognition
  • perception
  • motor function
  • mood
  • side effect/biochemical or physiological drug effect
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14
Q

The more measures used creates

A
  • a more comprehensive assessment
  • a more costly experiment
  • a greater need to consider ecperimental controls & logistics
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15
Q

Measuring performance

A

assessing change/differences in performance across performance domains (arousal, cognition etc) tells us something about how the drug works, and the effects it produces

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16
Q

Arousal levels

A
  • arousal levels change naturally throughout the day, but can also be affected by a number of things.
  • drugs are thought of as either stimulants or depressants when given in large doses.
  • uppers and downers imply a relationship between arousal and mood
  • high arousal does not equal high activity
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17
Q

Measuring arousal

A
  • EEG
  • introspection; unstructured introspection, systematic introspection
  • ask an observer
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18
Q

Levels of arousal

A
  • death
  • coma
    **- sleep
  • drowsy
  • normal
  • aroused
  • highly excited**
  • mania
  • convulsions
  • death

** = normal range of arousal

18
Q

Measures of mood

A

Studied: experimentally or between groups design
Measured: self-report, doctor’s assessment, informant report, questionnaire, tests of biological markers of depression

19
Q

Measures of perception

A

visual and auditory perception are most often studied, and is investigated by the changes in the sensitivity of a person’s perception brought about by changes in the internal or external environment

20
Q

Sensitivity thresholds

A
  • absolute threshold - lowest value of stimulus detactable by an organ
  • difference threshold - organ detects a change in level of stimulation
21
Q

Absolute thresholds detected 50% of the time

A

vision: candle flame on a dark straight road at 60km/h
smell: 1 drop of perfume in a 6 room apartment
hearing: watch tick 6m away
taste: 1tsp sugar in 8L water
touch: wing of a fly falling on your cheek from 1cm

22
Difference thresholds
measure the ability of an individual to detect a change in a stimulus - critical frequency at fusion (CFF) sensitive to drug effects
23
Cognitive performance
ability to process, store and retrieve information; can also include higher-level processes such as planning, set-shifting & response inhibition
24
how is cognitive performance manipulated?
experimentally
25
measuring motor performance
- simple or choice reaction time - tapping - pursuit rotor
26
measuring side effects/physiological effects
- questionnaire - biochemical assay - doctor's checkup/physical exam - informant report
27
general questions of identifying good research design
- what is the research question: does the chosen design allow that question to be answered - what are the strengths and limitations of the measures used to assess effects - what experimental controls have been put in place - effect size: how meaningful is the change observed in terms of everyday functioning?
28
factors to consider with drug studies
- washout effect - deprivation study designs - level of drug administered - dose of drug used - inclusion of biochemical assays - controls for routine/habitual or other drug use - non-specific treatment effects - special group selection factors (mild, moderate, sever depression) - timeframe for assessing effect - reporting of adverse events/non-compliance/attrition
29
factors to consider with drug studies cont.
- if in-vitro cellular trials are used: how generalisable are results to intact living systems? - if animal trials are used: how similar is the species, apparatus, domain of function being tested
30
Research ethics
- APS code of ethis - NHMRC guidelines
31
drug development
- development, testing, manufacturing & eventual marketing of any drug is time-consuming & expensive - companies can evaluate 1000s of different chemicals before finding one that is successful in all phases of testing
32
Major considerations in drug development
1. medical need 2. commercial potential 3. feasibility for mass production "orphan drugs"
33
FDA approval processes
1. preclinical investigation (animal studies) 2. clinical investigation (human volunteers) 3. review of NDA 4. postmarketing studies
34
Specifc limitations of animal studies
cats: markedly different sleep-wake cycles monkeys: develop obvious behavioural abnormalities from confinement rabbits: different enzymes from humans
35
Stage 1: step 1 of animal testing
Determing toxicity - acute toxicity (for single doses) - subacute toxicity (short-term use of drug) - chronic toxicity (longer-term drug use) - special toxicity (carcinogenic, teratogenic)
36
Stage 1: step 2 of animal testing
pharmacological studies (direct and indirect) direct: to locate direct measures of changes induced by drugs via tools indirect: to identify markers of signs of effect rather than evidence of the effect itself or to observe effects on behaviours that are induced in animals
37
Direct pharmacological studies - conditioning: General principles
Stimulant substances: rapid learning/acquisition of conditioned response, poor discrimination/ready generalisation, slow termination/extinction Depressant substance: slow acquisition/learning, poor generalisation/easy discrimination, rapid extinction
38
Schedules of reinforcement
pattern that determines when reinforcements are to be given - ratio schedules - interval schedules - avoidance-escape take - punishment
39
Stimulus properties of drugs
ability to act as a discriminative stimulus in discrimination learning taks
40
Reinforcing properties of drugs
- rate of responding - progressive ratio - breaking point - choice - 2 levers; one has consequences - conditioned place preference - animal will spend time in area of reinforcement
41
Phase 1 of human testing | pharmacokinetic & safety testing
human testing to determine toxicity & side effects in healthy human volunteers
42
Phase 2 of human testing | small scale and effectiveness testing
human testing in clinical samples to assess potential therapeutic effect (adverse)
43
Phase 3 of human testing | large scale effectiveness testing
expanded clinical trials using basic 3-group design (approval or rejection of new drug for licensing & marketing
44
Phase 4 of human testing
accumulation of data on drug effects
45
Postmarketing studies | phase 4
- after NDA review completed & approved - lasts on average, 15 years - new drug placed on the market - surveillance: check for new harmful effects in larger group of humans - drug removed from market if seroius problems occur

PYB260 (10 decks)

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