ed psych 326 essay prompts

Research has implicated the important role of sleep in learning and memory. Breaksleep down into its different phases (SWS, REM) and explain a) how each phase contributes to memory consolidation and b) how different phases of sleep contribute to neuronal changes and thus behavioral performance onlearning/memory tasks

sleep is vital physiological process that consists of several phases. 2 main types of sleeo are rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and slow wave sleep which has several stages. Both rem and slow wave and rem contribute to the consolidation of memory. slow wave sleep consists of 3 stages that get lower frequency and higher amplitude eeg waver. rem is when dreams take place and sleep cycles are approximately 90 minutes. sleep plays a role in memory, "place cells" in the hippocampus respond when in a specific location and we see the same pattern of firing during sleep. slow wave sleep plays a role in memory consolidation and in mednick study, helps protect against deterioration. SWS is associated w promoting and strengthening synaptic connections. hippocampus is a memory store and new connections with cortex, eventually memories become independent of cortex. during SWS hippocampus drives the cortex. pattern in hippocampus reactivate to cortex. during REM input from hippocampus to cortexis shut off and cortex is driving itself, synaptic consolidation. during sws hippocampus is driving cells to fire together ahain so they water again -- cortex drives itsself during rem and hippocampus drives cortex during sws. sleep reduces overall intensity of synapses aswell so synapses become stronger. (synaptic downscaling)

Describe what we have learned about developmental patterns of sleep cycles and the importance of sleep for learning. Then, argue for the optimal time of day for highschool to begin. Make sure to include in your argument the evidence for altered adolescent sleep cycles, and the evidence for the impact of sleep on learning, achievement and motivation

infancy: sleep 12-18 hoursand sleep spindles consolidate learning. length of m400 connected to strength of sleep spindles.

toddlers/early children: tak 1-2 naps

adolescense: sleep cycle shifts to late and

10-20 sleep cycles shift later during teens dramatic shift between weekdays and weekends. sleep phase delays also in nonhumans. primary facrtors like sleep pressure being slowed and the circadian trhytm delay and secondary factors like psychosocial factors cause teens to sleep later but still get up early for school. not enough sleep scored lower in German less of a positive attitude, schools w later start times reported less daytime tiredness. sleep teen drivers are 1/3 more likely to crash-- reduces ability to process info, sustain attention, accurate motor control. in vorona study, later start times caused less car accidents

How does SES impact cognition and the brain? What role might stress play in these observations? Choose two cognitive skills (e.g., language, memory) that may be impacted by SES and describe the link between SES and the skills you picked. Then describe some of the evidence from neuroscience to further explain how SES impacts one the two skills.

SES is a mixture of income level, education level, job prestige and marital status. lower SES is often associated w increased exposure to chronic stressors which negatively impacts brain cognition. by 3 years old there are large differences in gray matter with low ses having less volume. children w low ses experience language disparities due to environmental factors (less books, less vocab exposure) differences in language areas like left temporal/perisylvian. fernald study notes higher ses kids have higher vocab and faster processing speed. ses is linked to variance in cognitive skill of memory. show varience in meory tests like NEPSY arrows and NEPSY delayed memory for faces. ses related factors impact hippocampus whuch is crucial in memory, reduced hippocampal volume cause memory variance.

Describe in detail one example of a successful education - neuroscience interaction where educational concerns (for example, reading difficulties, or sleep-wake cycles) drove a neuroscience investigation that led to important new information for educators

sleep is essential for learning, motivation and safety (concentration, reaction times), puberty causes a delay in sleep cycles (later sleep onset and waking), evidence drom neuroscience and psychology has led to later school start times dor middle and highschoolers. adolescense: sleep cycle shifts to late and

ages 10-20 sleep cycles shift later during teens dramatic shift between weekdays and weekends. sleep phase delays also in nonhumans. primary factors like sleep pressure being slowed and the circadian rhythm delay and secondary factors like psychosocial factors cause teens to sleep later but still get up early for school. not enough sleep scored lower in German less of a positive attitude, schools w later start times reported less daytime tiredness. sleep teen drivers are 1/3 more likely to crash-- reduces ability to process info, sustain attention, accurate motor control. in vorona study, later start times caused less car accidents. example of how neurosciense impacted education

What does the case of Phineas Gage teach us about reward circuitry in the brain? Summarize his story, the modern neuroscience understanding of the brain regions impacted and the functional implications

phineas gage worked on railroads constructing them in 19th century. he got into an accident which resulted in a large iron rod going through Gage's skull particukarly the frontal lobe. Gage survived but with personality and behavior changes. he began to engage in risky/carelesss behavior. gambling tasks in individuals with prefrontal regions. find that oatients w orefrontal regions injuries do not learn to association the reward w the good decks vs loss of the bad decks. find usually not damaged have a physiological arousal before bad decks, patients w damage prefrontal do not get this arousal. arousal precedes/amplifies riskiness. so we depend on this physiological arousal to determine risks, etc. these patients lack that. shows relationship between reward circutry (ventral striatum) and PFC

Offer an explanation for the fact that adolescents engage in increased risk-taking behavior, especially when in the presence of peers. Use evidence from developmental, cognitive and neuroscience domains. How might these behaviors be adaptive, and what are some negative consequences?

Adolescent behavior canges in other social mammals- increased risk behavior noted in nonhumans. from ecolutionary perspective, risky behavior coul facilitate seperation from family and in turn, less inbreeding which could pose and evolutionary advantage. risky behavior by some could also be goof for the group (could have benefit/cost to the individual). adolescence is a time of dramatic change in brain, body, and behavior. social cognition, social learning, and reward processing interact during adolescence. brain changes like later frontal cortex development may play a role in risk taking.

the limbic system (emotion and reward) also develops later than pfc. creating imbalance "maturity gap" and more sensitivity to rewards as pfc isnt fully developed rewards more rewarding wo taking risk into account. social pressure, sared risky behavior bring social relationships closer. negativwe consequences: drugs, impulsivity, unprotected sex. make ore risky decisons w peers

Using one specific example of plasticity from the book and/or class, outline the relationship between lifelong brain plasticity and experience. Be detailed in describing the study, the task, and the brain regions implicated as well as the behavioral and neural mechanisms involved.

brain plasticity refers to the ability for the brain to change and adapt throughout life due to experience, learning, and more. This is evident in a study by Elbert. When studying professional violinists and non-muscians there was a difference in neural representation of the left hand. to elaborate, professional violinists showed an enhanced cortical representation of fingers in their left hand compared to non players due to the precison it takes in playing. further, individuals who started playing younger showed a bigger response. Lifeling practice and skill in violin playing led to refined sensorimoror skills to allow for the precison and control violin players have with their left hand. the control group, non musicians lacked the same level of fine motor control in their left hand and less cortical representation of left hand ffingers. this study demonstrates how experiences alters brain throughout one's life, thus demonstrating lifelong neural plasticity. The elbert study provides evidence for the relationship between lifelong brain plasticity and experiences. the brain is able to respiond due to skill demands, as seen e enhanced neural representation of fingers in violin players. therefore, empahsizing the role experience has on shaping neural representation throughout one's life.

Studies have shown that the arrival of autistic symptoms between 9 months and 2 years corresponds to atypical brain development during that time. Describe atypical global and regional brain development in autistic infants, with a focus on the socialbrain systems (FFA, MNS, etc.), and link what we know about atypical brain development to the behaviors that kids with autism demonstrate.

autism spectrum disorder includes persistent deficits in the social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts. note restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, activities. symptoms must be present in the early developmental period and cause impairment. in studies looking at MNS in individuals w autism, oberman notes theyu dont show blocking when observing others-- absense of social communication and how mirror neurons respond. reduction in mns when thinking about imitating expression compared to control. MNS is incolved e the understanding/empathy of others. the FFA is responsible for face processing and in ASD there is reduced face responsiveness. as noted in Bloom studies. amygdala hypoactivation also found in asd people which is part of the social brain may contribute social communication difficulties and challenges in understanding others' perspectives that is seen in those w ASD.

In class, we learned about brain mechanisms involved with social interactions like empathy, theory of mind, etc. Discuss at least two of the mechanisms involved withsocial brain and provide evidence that supports each system. Be detailed indescribing evidence.

mirror neuron system

and theory of mind are key brain mechanisms involved in social interactions that we discussed in class. theory of mind is the ability to attribute bekiefs/intentions to yourself/others. contributes to empathy as helps with the understanding that others have different perspectives and beliefs. TOM is in medial PFC via fmri studies and tom tasks (gallagher and frith). mirror neuron system is a network that becomes active when an individual performs a task and when they observe someone performin the task. plays a role in empathy as it gives understanding/imitation of actions of others. in monkey studies we knoe subset of motor system involved-- premotor cortex. and sts that recognizes biological motion is involved. dancers show a greator response to their style of dance (ballet or capoeira style) and dance in general compared to non dancers

In the Willingham and Lloyd article, we saw four different ways that researchers may use brain data to inform psychological theories, and in turn, educational practice. Discuss two of these approaches, taking care to describe the neuroscientific basis of each and the educational implications.