biological approach studies

what is the aim of rogers and kensner study

to determine the role of acitylcholine in formation of spatial memory

sample of rogers and kesner

30 rats

procedure of rogers and kesner

allocated the rats into 2 groups , experimental and control group , experimental group was injected by scopolamine to block the recepter site of acetylcholine and control group was placebo saline group ( encoding memory was assessed by the numbers of mistakes at the five last trials of the first day and last five trials of day 1 ) ( retrieval memory was assessed by the average number of mistakes in the last five trials of day 1 and first five trials of day 2 )

result of rogers and kesner

scopolamine group took longer to reach the goal in the maze and made more mistakes however it did not appeared on retrieval memory that already been created , it suggesting that acetylcholine may play an important role in consolidation of spatial memory

conclusion of rogers and kesner

acetylcholine play a vital tole in the formation of spatial memory and blocking its receptor can leads to impaired performance in memory

strenghts of rogers and kesner

controlled enviroment ( standarized procedure = high reliability ) ( clear cause and effect relationship = high internal validity )

limitations of rogers and kesner

low generalizability / low ecological validity / low application value / ethical consideration on animal researches

aim of the antanova study

to investigate if scopolamine affects on hippocampal activity the formation of spatial memory

sample of antanova study

20 healthy adults

procedure of antanova study

allocated participants into two experimental and control group ( one injected with scopolamine and other group placebo ) then they had to do an arena task ( the task was they had to learn how to reach a pole in a virtual game ) then screen goes black for 30 second , during this time participants were asked to rehearse how to get to the pole , when the screen appeared again participants were in the starting point and had to recall how to get to the pole

results of the antanova study

the group injected with scopolamine showed a significant reduction in the activation of hippocampus compared to the group who recieved placebo

conclusion of antanova study

nuerotransmitters acetylcholien could play a vital role in the encoding of spatial memory in humans

strenghts of antanova study

high internal validity / application value ( useful in medical fields to treat alzheimer

limitations of antanova study

low generalizability / low ecological validity

aim of the draganski study

to investigate whether human brain can change its structure in reponse to external factors and enviromental demands

procedure of the draganski study

allocated participants into two groups of jugglers and no jugglers , both groups without any experience in juggling , first MRI performed afterwards the juggler group start learn how to juggle and practice it for three months then they underwent the second MRI and afterwards they were instructed to not practice juggling in three month then they underwent the third MRI

result of the draganski study

on the fisrt MRI there was no difference between the brain structures , on the second MRI the jugglers had more gray matter in some areas of the cortex mostly the mid temporal lobe and on the third MRI the gray matter decresed in size

conclusion of the draganski study

it suggesting teh concept of nueroplasiticity and how our brain can change its structure in response to envirmental demands

strenghts of teh draganski study

high internal validity , standarized procedure = high reliability

limitations of draganski study

low generalizability / participants bias ( self selected )

aim of the maguire study

to investigate if our hippocampus is responsible or play a role in managing spatial memory

sample of the maguire study

50 non taxi drivers and 16 taxi drivers from london

procedure of the maguire study

the taxi drivers had to know the map of london so they can increased the spatial memory abilities and they brain was scanned with MRI ( data measured using VBM to measure the gray matter and PC to counting the pixels in the image )

results of the maguire study

posterior hippocampus ( helps with spatial memory ) in taxi drivers was significantly larger and the anterior hippocampus ( mainly involved in forming new memory ) was significantly smaller hence the volume of the hippocampus was directly correlated to the amount of time they spend as a taxi driver

conclusion of the maguire study

hippocampus is responsible in managing spatial memory and can change its volume in response to enviromental demands ( neural pruning in anterior hippocampus of experienced taxi drivers )

strenghts of maguire study

high internal validity / high ecological validity

limitations of teh maguire study

low generalizability / low reliability ( impossible to replicate )

aim of the wedekind study

to investigate if MHC affects mate choice through scent

sample of the wedekind study

49 female and 44 male university students

procedure of the wedekind study

(double blind method ) men wore a tshirt for two nights without using any perfume or deodorant or any scent contaminating products , women smelled the tshirt and rate for attractiveness ( conducting during women fertile phase of menstral cycle

results of the wedekind study

women preferred men who MHC genes were dissimilar to their own which could benefit offspring with a stronger immune system

conclusion of the wedekind study

suggets that pheromones influence humans mate choice

strenghts of the wedekind study

high internal validity / application value in terms of scent for perfume industry

limitations of wedekind study

low ecological validity / low generalizability

aim of the the doucet et al study

to test if secretion from arealor glnads of lactating women affects infant behavior

sample of the doucet et al study

infants ( exacts numbers are not given )

procedure of the doucet et al study

The babies were exposed nasally to different substances, and the researchers observed their behaviours. The substances were the secretion from the areolar glands, human milk, cow milk, formula milk, vanilla and a clean control

results of the doucet et al study

infants showed more sucking behavior in reaction to arealor secretion compare to others

conclusion of the doucet et al study

The secretion of the areolar glands causes infants to start suckling

strenghts of the doucet et al study

high internal validity / high ecological validity

limitations of doucet et al study

low generalizability

aim of the kendler et al study

to investigate the role of genetic in major depression

sample of the kendler et al study

1500 participants ( swedish twins )

procedure of the kendler et al study

concluded interviewsand used diognostic tools to assess depression , compared to concordance rate in MZ a

result of the kendler et al study

MZ twins had higher concordance rate for depression rate than DZ twins , suggesting a strong genetic component

conclusion of the kendler et al study

genetic similarity increase the likehood of developing the same disorder suggesting that depression can be inherited

strenghts of the kendler et al study

high generalizability /adherad to ethical guidline

limitations of the kendler et al study

low reliability due to self reported data / no cause and effect relationship = low internal validity

aim of the capsi et al study

to study the interaction between 5HTT gene ( link to serotonine ) and stressful life events in the development of the depression

sample of the capsi et al study

847 participants from new zealand

procedure of the capsi et al study

participants were genotyped for the 5HTT allel and followed for life stressor and depressive symptoms

result of the capsi et al study

participants with short allele who experieced more stress were more likely to develop depression

conclusion of the capsi et al study

this supports the diathesis stress model , showing that genetic vulnerability alone is not enough , enviromental triggers are also necessary

strenghts of the capsi et al study

high reliability / high ecological validity

limitations of the capsi et al study

low generalizability / low internal validity ( no manipulation of the variables )