area 2 child psychology risk taking behaviour

Question 1

what is the cerebral cortex responsible for?

Answer 1

higher level thinking

Question 2

what is in the limbic system?

Answer 2

amygdala, ventral striatum, nucleus accumbens

Question 3

what does the limbic system do?

Answer 3

develops in childhood, processes emotional experiences and regulates emotion

Question 4

what is the frontal cortex repsonsible for?

Answer 4

abstract thinking, executive function such as problem solving and decision making

Question 5

what is the auditory visual cortex responsible for?

Answer 5

sensory processing

Question 6

what is the motor cortex responsible for?

Answer 6

movement related information, not full maturity til late development

Question 7

what is synaptogenesis?

Answer 7

the process where new synapses are formed between axon and dendrons
starts before birth and continues postnatally in a process called exuberant synaptogenesis during which possibly one million new synapses are created each second​.
continues by promoting flexibility as our brains become less ‘fixed’ at birth and more open to alteration through experience and learning.

Question 8

what is mylenation?

Answer 8

Myelin is​ fatty substance that insulates many neurons and allows neurons to conduct electrical impulses more efficiently

Question 9

what is synaptic pruning?

Answer 9

synaptic loss which ‘fine tunes’ the brain structures and functioning and works on a ‘use it or lose it’

Question 10

what are some examples of risk taking behaviours?

Answer 10

binge drinking, drug taking, reckless driving, unprotected sex,

Question 11

what did willoughby find?

Answer 11

found that mortality rates increase in adolescence across Western cultures as do unintentional injuries​
Many deaths are preventable however they are often linked to risk taking behaviours such as substance abuse​

Question 12

what is dual systems theory?

Answer 12

interaction of two brain systems that mature at different times.​

Question 13

what are the 2 systems in the dual system theory?

Answer 13

pre frontal cortex and ventral striatum

Question 14

what is the ventral striatum?

Answer 14

emotional regulating system that matures early in adolescence​
includes the nucleus accumbens which is a key component of the brain’s reward system. It is involved in sensation seeking behaviour and addiction, and responds to new experiences.​

Question 15

what is important about the ventral striatum in adolescence?

Answer 15

VS appears to have greater sensitivity to rewards in adolescence than any other age.

Question 16

what did johnston say about the ventral striatum?

Answer 16

found that changes in the VS almost exactly matched the increase in arrests for criminal behaviours that peaks in mid to late adolescence.​

Question 17

what is the pre frontal cortex?

Answer 17

Slower to develop by a few years. This is the cognitive control system and linked to planning, reasoning, decision making, response inhibition, goal directed behaviour and the ability to assess risk.​

Question 18

how does the VS interact with the PFC?

Answer 18

Because the PFC matures later it cannot assert executive control over the VS/NA that rewards sensation seeking behaviours associated with risk taking. imbalance between the two systems only occurs in adolescence

Question 19

what did Meyer & Bucci find?

Answer 19

rats took twice as long as a control group to learn to inhibit a response to an expected reward (one that did not arrive)​​
supported a causal effect between brain system imbalance and impulsive behaviour

Question 20

how did Meyer and Bucci carry out their experiment?

Answer 20

Lab experiment to mimic the system imbalance in adult rats​
They decreased activity in the PFC whilst increasing activity of the NA​

Question 21

what did romer find?

Answer 21

The more stress a child experiences, the more likely they are to engage in risky behaviour in adolescence

Question 22

what did kotch find?

Answer 22

conducted longitudinal study of children at risk of neglect
found that a parental neglect of 2 year old children predicted aggressive behaviour at age 8. There was no such effect when neglect occurred children were over the age of 2.

Question 23

what did De Bellis find?

Answer 23

suggests that neurotransmitters and hormones released during stressful experiences may damage the PFC
prevents the PFC from reaching full maturity and reduces its moderating influence on the VS in adolescence, resulting in more risk taking behaviours

Question 24

what did Fareri & Tottenham find?

Answer 24

also argue that early neglect causes lasting damage to the amygdala and VS both involved in regulating emotion.

Question 25

what is the background to barkley- levinson and galvan?

Answer 25

In adolescence there is a heightened sensitivity to rewards This is associated with an increased response of the ventral striatum when the adolescent anticipates and receives an expected or unexpected reward, which is not found in adults or children. When EV is increased in adults, there is a corresponding increase in the activity in the VS, midbrain PFC, and dorsolateral PFC previous research has not investigated the development of this response, it is unclear whether this result is true of adolescents.

Question 26

what is expected value?

Answer 26

sum of all possible outcomes of a choice multiplied by their probabilities

Question 27

what is subjective value?

Answer 27

the value an individual places on a stimulus. We select the option with the highest SV when making choices

Question 28

what are the 3 aims of barkley-levinson and galvan?

Answer 28

1. Whether adolescents would be more sensitive than adults to increased EV (by accepting more gambles) 2. Whether Adolescents would show greater VS activation as EV increased, compared to adults 3. Whether adolescents would show a heightened VS response even after matching with adults on number of gambles accepted

Question 29

method of barkley-levinson?

Answer 29

Lab based, quasi experiment Independent measures- adolescent or adult Dependent measures- Number of gambles in a ‘spinner game’ accepted by the ppt Activity in the ventral striatum

Question 30

sample of barkley-levinson?

Answer 30

19 adults, 22 adolescents Self-selected by posters and online - ethics Self-reported no psychiatric disorders, metal in them or taking medication

Question 31

what happened in the intake session in barkley levinson?

Answer 31

Informed consent was gained Adults: Gave their own Adolescents: provided by legal guardians and their own agreement Ppts gave details of their monthly spending money and where it came from. significant difference between adults and adolescents monthly spending. end of the session the participants were each given $20 to be used as ‘playing money’ in the next session were told that they could win another $20 but could also possibility lose the $20 they had. 50/50 expected value Gave ppts a sense of ownership and prevented house money effect

Question 32

what happened in the fmri session?

Answer 32

During the scan ppts completed a gambling task Where shown onscreen a spinner each half represented an amount of money between $5-$20 One half showed an amount of money a ppt could gain in a gamble, other showed a loss. Which side showed the loss/gain was counterbalanced across all ppts

Question 33

what happened in the gambling trials?

Answer 33

192 gambles per participant There were 48 fixed trials- On 24 trials, gambles were manipulated so the outcome could only be a gain. other 24 trials the only outcome could be a loss remaining 144 were ‘mixed’ trials (50-50) and the fixed trials were distributed among these. ppts knew they were ‘gain’ or ‘loss’ only trials so choosing to gamble on these would not represent ‘risk taking behaviours’ ppts had to decide on each trial whether or not that they would be prepared to accept the gamble for real money

Question 34

what was the range of expected values in the mixed trials?

Answer 34

wider range of expected values than if there were ‘50-50’ gambles only: The EV’s of the mixed gambles ranged from a loss of $7.50 to gain of $7.50

Question 35

what was the range of expected values in the fixed trials?

Answer 35

The EV’s of the gain only trails ranged from +$6 to +$19 The EV’s of the loss only trials ranged from -$6 to -$19

Question 36

what were ppts told at the end of the session?

Answer 36

They were told at the end of the gambling session, one of the accepted trials would be chosen from random and would actually be played for money. The money would be added to (if they won) or taken from (if they lost) their payment for participation All participants were thoroughly trained in the task before they underwent the scan.

Question 37

did Adolescents show greater VS activation as EV increased, compared to adults?

Answer 37

Adolescents showed greater activation to increased EV in the left ventral striatum than adults however this was not similar for the right VS or the medial PFC

Question 38

were adolescents more sensitive than adults to increased EV (by accepting more gambles) ?

Answer 38

increasing EV made acceptance of a gamble more likely, this was significantly greater in adolescents than adults adolescents behaved as adults did but only when there was no risk- fixed trials

Question 39

did adolescents show a heightened VS response after matching with adults on number of gambles accepted? (when an adults behave like adolescents in accepting more gambles)

Answer 39

They found that the difference in activation in the left ventral striatum between adults and adolescents remained.

Question 40

conclusions of Barkley-levinson?

Answer 40

Adolescents behave similarly to adults when there is no risk involved (in gambling) Neural differences in sensitivity to EV change across development Hyper activation of reward circuitry in adolescence is NOT a consequence of using money as the rewarding stimulus. adolescents place greater value on rewards than do adults through exaggerated activation of the ventral striatum and that this valuation increases gambling behaviour.

Question 41

what is an application to reduce risk taking?

Answer 41

graduated driving programmes nurse visitation programmes CBT operant conditioning- punishment/reward social learning theory healthy food

Question 42

what is the graduated driving programme?

Answer 42

young driver cannot get a full licence until they have completed an extended period of supervised driving with an experienced adult. They then achieve a licence in stages, during which restrictions are gradually lifted.​

Question 43

how is the graduated driving programme implemented?

Answer 43

Stage 1: Driver always supervised Stage 2: Can drive unsupervised but only in daylight hours. Stage 3: Full privileges and reaching the age of 18.

Question 44

why does the graduated driving programme work?

Answer 44

the delay in their maturation of the cognitive control system relative to the emotional regulation system in the brain governed by the VS.This imbalance results in underdevelopment of cognitive skills crucial for driving (distance judgement, speed estimation, decision making and planning ahead so being supervised can lead to less accidents dee et al- reduced fatalities by 5.6%

Question 45

what is the nurse visitation programme?

Answer 45

It targets mothers to be as they face a life changing event and would welcome support, advice and education and they are trained to cope with stressors that could provoke mistreatment. paretns who are at risk of mistreating the child

Question 46

how is the nurse visitation programme implemented?

Answer 46

A nurse visits the parents to be at home before the birth and for some time afterwards pairing a specially trained nurse with a family for a 2 and half year period beginning several weeks before the birth

Question 47

why does the nurse visitation programme work?

Answer 47

Early stress can disrupt neural processes such as synaptogenesis and synaptic pruning and associated hormones can damage the PFC limiting its influence on the VS later in life. best way to prevent harm to the child is to reduce the stress in parents.