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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
Q

Difference thresholds

A

measure the ability of an individual to detect a change in a stimulus
- critical frequency at fusion (CFF) sensitive to drug effects

23
Q

Cognitive performance

A

ability to process, store and retrieve information; can also include higher-level processes such as planning, set-shifting & response inhibition

24
Q

how is cognitive performance manipulated?

A

experimentally

25
Q

measuring motor performance

A
  • simple or choice reaction time
  • tapping
  • pursuit rotor
26
Q

measuring side effects/physiological effects

A
  • questionnaire
  • biochemical assay
  • doctor’s checkup/physical exam
  • informant report
27
Q

general questions of identifying good research design

A
  • 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
Q

factors to consider with drug studies

A
  • 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
Q

factors to consider with drug studies cont.

A
  • 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
Q

Research ethics

A
  • APS code of ethis
  • NHMRC guidelines
31
Q

drug development

A
  • 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
Q

Major considerations in drug development

A
  1. medical need
  2. commercial potential
  3. feasibility for mass production
    “orphan drugs”
33
Q

FDA approval processes

A
  1. preclinical investigation (animal studies)
  2. clinical investigation (human volunteers)
  3. review of NDA
  4. postmarketing studies
34
Q

Specifc limitations of animal studies

A

cats: markedly different sleep-wake cycles
monkeys: develop obvious behavioural abnormalities from confinement
rabbits: different enzymes from humans

35
Q

Stage 1: step 1 of animal testing

A

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
Q

Stage 1: step 2 of animal testing

A

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
Q

Direct pharmacological studies - conditioning: General principles

A

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
Q

Schedules of reinforcement

A

pattern that determines when reinforcements are to be given
- ratio schedules
- interval schedules
- avoidance-escape take
- punishment

39
Q

Stimulus properties of drugs

A

ability to act as a discriminative stimulus in discrimination learning taks

40
Q

Reinforcing properties of drugs

A
  • 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
Q

Phase 1 of human testing

pharmacokinetic & safety testing

A

human testing to determine toxicity & side effects in healthy human volunteers

42
Q

Phase 2 of human testing

small scale and effectiveness testing

A

human testing in clinical samples to assess potential therapeutic effect (adverse)

43
Q

Phase 3 of human testing

large scale effectiveness testing

A

expanded clinical trials using basic 3-group design
(approval or rejection of new drug for licensing & marketing

44
Q

Phase 4 of human testing

A

accumulation of data on drug effects

45
Q

Postmarketing studies

phase 4

A
  • 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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