Antonova et al (2011) Flashcards
aim
to investigate the role of acetylcholine in spatial memory using scopolamine
What is scopolamine
a durg that blocks acetylcholine receptors
procedure
repeated measure design: where 20 healthy male participants were randomly assigned to receive either an injection of scopolamine or placebo
How long did participants have to wait before starting the Arena task
70-90 minutes
What is the Arena task
a virtual reality game requiring them to navigate an environment and remember the location of a pole
What was measured
Brain activity using fMRI scans during the task
Why was the experiment repeated measures design
participants had to return weeks later to complete the task again under the opposite condition
Results
results showed that participants who received scopolamine had reduced activation in the hippocampus compared those who received the placebo
What does results suggest
acetylcholine plays a significant role in encoding spatial memories, as blocking it led to decreased hippocampal activity
Why is acetylcholine considered an excitatory neurotransmitter in memory formation
the reduced hippocampal activity in the scopolamine condition shows that blocking acetylcholine prevents effective synaptic transmission in memory-related brain areas
How does this link back to the study
aligns with the understanding that neurotransmitters influence behaviour by binding to specific receptors and affecting neural activation
how does this link back to the understanding of neurotransmitters
- neurotransmitters can influence behaviour binding to specific receptors and affecting neural activation
this study supports the idea that
Neurotransmission is crucial for cognitive functions like learning and memory
