BIOAPP - Antonova (2011) Flashcards
aim
to determine the role of acetylcholine in the formation of spatial memory
what is acetylcholine?
participants
20 healthy males
research method
lab experiment - high internal validity
design
independed groups and repeated measures
procedure
the participants were then put into an fMRI where they were scanned while playing the “Arena task.” This is a rather complex virtual reality game in which the researchers are observing how well the participants can create spatial memories. The goal is for the participants to navigate around an “arena” to reach a pole. After they have learned where the pole is located, the screen would go blank for 30 seconds. During this time, the participants were told to actively rehearse how to get to the pole in the arena. When the arena reappeared, the participant was now at a new starting point in the arena. The participants would have to use their spatial memory to determine how to get to the location of the pole.
trials
the participants’ brain activity was measured for six trials.
what was given before procedure
allocated to one of two conditions -
they were injected with either Scopolamine or a placebo 70 - 90 minutes before taking part in the experimental task.
what was the procedure after (2nd time)
important :
the research is one of the first to test the role of acetylcholine in the encoding of cognitive maps in humans.
results / findings
the researchers found that when participants were injected with scopolamine, they demonstrated a significant reduction in the activation of the hippocampus compared to when they received a placebo. It appears that acetylcholine could play a key role in the encoding of spatial memories in humans, as well as in rats.
evaluation
The study was a repeated measures design - eliminating the effect of participant variability. In addition, the study was counter-balanced - that is, some of the participants did the scopolamine condition first, and others did the placebo condition first. This controlled for practice effect.
The study was carried out blindly; this controls for researcher bias.
During the debriefing, several of the participants expressed that they had felt stressed, either as a result of the injection of an unfamiliar drug or being in the fMRI enclosure. This could affect the working of the hippocampus as we know that stress may interfere with memory encoding.
The sample size was small. The results would need to be replicated to decide whether the results are reliable.
