Behavioural Research Methods of Biopsychology Chapter 5

Question 1

What is a behavioural paradigm?

Answer 1

a set of procedures used to investigate a particular behavioural phenomenon. includes a method of producing that behavioural phenomenon and a method of measuring it

Question 2

What are three ways neuropsychological testing can help brain damaged patients?

Answer 2

1. assisting in the diagnosis of neural disorders
2. serving as a basis of counselling and caring
3. providing a basis for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment and side effects

Question 3

What are three distinct phases in time of neuropsychological testing?

Answer 3

1. single test approach
2. standardized-test-battery approach
3. customized test battery approach

Question 4

What is the single-test approach?

Answer 4

used to discriminate between individuals with structural brain damage vs. individuals with functional brain damage –> proved unsuccessful

Question 5

What was the standardized test-battery approach

Answer 5

set of tests that tend to be performed poorly by brain damaged patients in relation to other patients or healthy subjects. Their scores were added up and compared.
- Flaw: could not differentiate between brain damaged individuals and psychiatric patients

Question 6

What is the customized test-battery approach?

Answer 6

most recent approach used. Its objective is to identify the nature of the psychological deficits of each brain damaged patient
- consists of many battery tests that indicate the general nature of neuropsychological symptoms

Question 7

What makes the customized test battery approach different from earlier tests?

Answer 7

1. based on modern theories
2. interpretation of test does depend how well the patient does
3. require more skill and knowledge of neuropsychologist to select a customized test

Question 8

What are a few common tests of neuropsychological test battery?

Answer 8

1. intelligence –> uses weschler adult intelligence scale (WAIS) to measure IQ
2. memory –> uses general knowledge and digitspan (for short term memory)
3. Language –> token tests (asking them more complex questions and seeing task performance)
4. Language lateralization (to see if its more dominant in the left) –>
5. Sodium amytal test (anesthetic) to same side so since language is contralateral, that person will experience muteness if it was injected into their language dominant side
6. Dichotic listening tests –> subjects listen to three digits from one ear and three from another and asked to list as many digits that they heard as possible

Question 9

What are 4 specific questions to ask in tests of specific neuropsychological function of memory?

Answer 9

1. does memory impairment involve short term or long term memory loss?
2. Is long term memory loss anterograde (after loss effect) or retrograde (before loss effect)? or both
3. Do deficits in LTM involve semantic (knowledge on world) or episodic (personal experiences)? or both
4. are deficits in LTM explicit (loss of awareness of memories) or implicit (loss of implicit memories like walking)? or both

Question 10

What are repetition priming tasks?

Answer 10

test to see if individuals show explicit memory loss. They present them with random letters and then a word that involves having those random letters missing and even though they don’t have memory of ever being showed the letters they still know which letters are missing

Question 11

What is a specific neuropsychological way of seeing frontal lobe function?

Answer 11

wisconsin card sorting task –> method of sorting cards by shape, colour and number of symbols initially and then criteria changes and people with frontal lobe damage do not adjust to the changes

Question 12

What are 2 assumptions that cognitive neuroscience is based on?

Answer 12

1. each complex cognitive process results from combined activity of simple cognitive processes called constituent cognitive processes
2. each constituent cognitive process is mediated by neural activity in a particular part of the brain

Question 13

What does an open field test measure?

Answer 13

it measures the number of poops a rat makes based on their activity score. A low activity and high poops means that rats are scared. Fearful rats experience thigmotaxic movements such as only staying close to the walls and not rearing or grooming themselves

Question 14

What does the colony-intruder paradigm state?

Answer 14

displays signs of defence in the individual that is intruding the colony and signs of aggressiveness in the individual that is fighting the person who intrudes colony

Question 15

What does the elevated plus maze test?

Answer 15

it is used to test defensiveness in rats using the anxiolytic (anxiety reducing) effects of drugs
- two sides of the maze have sides and two don’t, the measure of defensiveness is the proportion of time the rat spends in protected closed arms rather than on exposed arms

Question 16

What does the radial arm maze test?

Answer 16

spatial abilities

Question 17

What does the morris water maze test?

Answer 17

Spatial abilities in rats and navigational skills

Question 18

What does conditioned defensive burying test?

Answer 18

tests their response to threat and neurochemistry of anxiety