1.1.5 Biological Debate

Question 1

What do neuroscientists study?

Answer 1

The brain and its impact on behaviour and cognitive functions

Question 2

What has modern technology allowed with regard to neuroscience?

Answer 2

Allowed neuroscientists to find out more about the brain

Question 3

What is the debate surrounding neuroscience?

Answer 3

Wether the knowledge it produces is being used ethically

Question 4

Where did crick and Koch (1998) claim the seat of consciousness was?

Answer 4

The claustrum - a sheet of neurons found at the centre of the brain

Question 5

How does the seat of consciousness work?

Answer 5

Like a conductor in an orchestra it combines info from different brain regions

Question 6

What evidence is there for the claustrum being seat of consciousness?

Answer 6

Koubeissi et al 2014 research on 54 year old woman with severe epilepsy

Question 7

During the brain test what happened?

Answer 7

Electrode placed near her claustrum was stimulated causing her to stop responding

Question 8

What happened when stimulation of the electrode stopped?

Answer 8

She regained consciousness with no recollection of the event

Question 9

What happened when stimulated was repeated?

Answer 9

The same thing - she lost consciousness

Question 10

How could the research into seat of consciousness be beneficial?

Answer 10

• Alternative to anaesthetic
• Potential treatment for comas
• further research
• removing life support
• diagnosis for locked in patients

Question 11

How could the research into the seat of consciousness be considered unethical?

Answer 11

• based on 1 woman with abnormal brain function

* doctor pressure forcing people to turn off life support

Question 12

How might the research into the seat of consciousness save or cost the uk economy?

Answer 12

Removing life support for patients you know won’t recover could save the nhs a lot of money

Question 13

How can neuroscience enhance neurological function?

Answer 13

Improve abilities of normal individuals in complex academic tasks

Question 14

What are TDCS?

Answer 14

Trans directional current stimulation

Question 15

What do TDCS do?

Answer 15

Pass small electric current across specific brain regions

Question 16

What did Kadosh et al find about TDCS?

Answer 16

Led to improvement in problem solving, mathematical, language, memory and attention abilities

Question 17

Where can TDCS kits be bought?

Answer 17

£100 online sites such as Amazon

Question 18

Why might neuroenhancement be considered beneficial?

Answer 18

Improve and aid ability of students

People will achieve more and work better

Question 19

Why might neuroenhancement be considered unethical?

Answer 19

• not everyone can afford it
• cheating and achieving better than others
• dishonesty not own abilities
• feel forced to use it
• possible effects

Question 20

What is the cost of depression alone in 2001? (Thomal and Morris)

Answer 20

£9.1 billion

Question 21

What do neuroscientists link mental illness to?

Answer 21

Neurological imbalances

Question 22

What should treatment of mental illness therefore do?

Answer 22

aim to correct biological imbalances through drug therapy

Question 23

Why might treating those with mental illness with drug therapy be considered beneficial?

Answer 23

• Helps them function better in society
• Take part in other forms of therapy once balanced
• Improved their quality of life

Question 24

Why might treating patients with mental illness with drug therapy be considered unethical?

Answer 24

• people unable to give full informed consent
• forced treatment of sectioned patients
• side effects

Question 25

How could research into treatment of mental illness cost or save the uk economy?

Answer 25

Costs a lot to administer drugs

Save money - depression alone costed £9.1 billion in 2001

Question 26

What is the role of any criminal justice system?

Answer 26

Rehabilitation of offenders to prevent further criminal behaviour

Question 27

Where do some neuroscientists believe criminal behaviour stems from?

Answer 27

Abnormal neurotransmitter levels or brain activity

Question 28

If criminal behaviour stems from abnormal brain activity what can be used to treat criminals?

Answer 28

Drugs

Question 29

What did cherek et al investigate?

Answer 29

Levels of impulsivity and aggression in males with history of conduct disorder and criminal behaviour

Question 30

What happens in chereks investigation?

Answer 30

Hale given placebo
Half given SSRI paroxetine
Those receiving paroxetine showed significant decrease in impulsive response and aggression

Question 31

Why might treating criminals with drug therapy be considered beneficial?

Answer 31

Prevent further crime making safer society

Improve life of prisoners

Question 32

Why might treating prisoners be unethical?

Answer 32

Forces treatment
Feeling they have little choice - prisoners
Side effects

Question 33

How could research into treating criminals save or cost the uk economy?

Answer 33

Save criminal justice system money

Costs £40,000 to imprison someone for a year

Question 34

What is neuromarketing? Give an example

Answer 34

Using neuroscience in advertising and marketing e.g eye tracking techniques to provide evidence o what catches a persons eye when looking at adverts or shopping

Question 35

When did sands research use neuromarketing and what was the result?

Answer 35

Used when devising Volkswagen advert which upped traffic to site by half and led to successful sales year

Question 36

Why might neuromarketing be considered beneficial?

Answer 36

Encouraging people to spend improves the economy

Question 37

Why might neuromarketing be considered unethical?

Answer 37

Watching people

Encouraging people to spend money they don’t have

Question 38

How might neuromarketing save or cost the U.K. Economy?

Answer 38

Encouraging people to spend improves the economy

Question 39

(Criminals) raine designed an enrichment programme based on what?

Answer 39

Research into brain dysfunction in criminals

Question 40

(Criminals) who were the sample in Raines research?

Answer 40

83 children in Mauritius

355 controls

Question 41

(Criminals) children from the age of 3 were educated in a special facility with a staff child ratio of what?

Answer 41

5:1

Question 42

(Criminals) raine the programme focused upon what?

Answer 42

Nutrition
Education
Activity

Question 43

(Criminals) raine - assessment at age 17 showed what?

Answer 43

Less antisocial behaviour than controls

Question 44

(Criminals) Raine - assessment at age 23 showed less what than controls?

Answer 44

Criminal behaviour

Question 45

(Criminals) Raines research suggests crime can be prevented by what?

Answer 45

Early intervention

Question 46

(Criminals) how does Raines research challenge free will?

Answer 46

Questions the accountability of murderers for their actions

Question 47

(Criminals) measures could be taken to prevent what?

Answer 47

Criminal activity

Question 48

(Criminals) there is an ethical issue of neuroscientists intervening with brain surgery on who?

Answer 48

Children who haven’t committed a crime yet

Question 49

(Criminals) Fontaine - what is more effective than punishment?

Answer 49

Behavioural modification

Question 50

(Alzheimer’s) why is there a growing urgency to understand more about Alzheimer’s?

Answer 50

Increasing ageing population

Question 51

(Alzheimer’s) the world wide Alzheimer’s disease neuroimaging was set up to do what?

Answer 51

Predict and monitor the disease

Sharing data with the rest of the world using PET and MRI scans

Question 52

(Alzheimer’s) the new info could do what?

Answer 52

Be used to treat, prevent and slow Alzheimer’s

Question 53

(Alzheimer’s) what economic benefit could the research have?

Answer 53

Saving billions on care

Question 54

(Alzheimer’s) the research has to be on conducted on those already having Alzheimer’s raising issues of what?

Answer 54

Full informed consent

They have confusion and memory loss