Biological Flashcards
Maguire - aim
Find out whether the hippocampus might also show plasticity among humans
Maguire - sample
16 right handed male London taxi drivers aged between 32-62 years
Chosen because all London taxi drivers have to learn the knowledge - every road within a 6 mile radius of Charing Cross -particularly stony demand on spatial memory
Maguire - procedure
All taxi drivers had a MRI scan of their of brain
Compared against a control group
Analysed in 2 ways :
- Pixel counting - 2D measurement of the area
- Vixal- based morphometry - 3D measurement of the volume
Volume of grey matter measured
Maguire - findings
Significant difference was found between the two groups of grey matter found in the hippocampus
Compared against the control - taxi driver had significantly more grey matter in the posterior and significantly less grey matter in the anterior
Maguire - procedure - correlation
MRI scans of taxi driver subjected for more analysis
Correlation between length of Tim - in years - as a taxi driver and volume of grey matter in the hippocampus
Maguire - findings - correlation
Positive correlation- posterior
Negative correlation- anterior
Casey - background
Mischel - marshmallow test
Low delayers - give into temptation - ate marshmallow
High delayers - resist temptation - waited for 2 marshmallows
Casey - aim
Whether people who had difficulties delaying gratification at the age of 4 would still have difficulties delaying gratification 40 years later
Casey - sample
Was taken from people who had participated in the original marshmallow test
27 low delayer and 32 high delayers - 59
Casey - study 1 - procedure
Cool ( neutral / not appealing) - female / male
Hot ( alluring) - frustrated - no smiling - go
GO/NO GO task
Go - press button
No/ go - don’t press the button
Key trial - hot stimuli is NOGO
Casey - study 1 - conclusion
High delayers were found to be much better at resisting pressing the go button when they saw the happy faces than the low delayers
Casey -study 2-aim
Brain based explanation for the ability to delay gratification
Casey -study 2 -sample
27 of 59 agreed to take part -11low delayers and 15 high delayers
Casey -study 2 -procedure
Repeat Go/No task -whilst inside a fMRI
Casey - study 2 - findings
Inferior frontal gyrus - cool system- resisting temptation
HD more
LD less
Ventrial striatum - hot system - temptation
HD less
LD more
Sperry - background
Previous studies have shown that each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body - contra lateral control
Sperry - aim
To study the effects of hemisphereic de- connection and the functions of the separate hemispheres
Sperry - research methods
Self report - quasi
Sperry - sample
11 patients who had severe epilepsy and who had previously undergone a commisurotomy - compared Agilent those who did not the surgery
Sperry - procedure, findings and conclusions
Objects were presented into the right visual field - info went to left hemisphere- participants can describe it in speech and written format
Sperry - procedure, findings and conclusions
Objects were presented in the left visual field - info to right hemisphere- participants insist that they’ve not seen anything - RH does not have language ability - if you asked to point to a matching object on the table with their left hand they could and could draw it
Sperry - procedure, findings and conclusions
Different visual stimuli were presented simultaneously to different visual fields and ps were asked to draw what that had seen - Apple - RH - key - LH - they said they had seen a key but only able to draw an apple
Sperry - procedure, findings and conclusions
Simple mathematical problems were presented to the left visual field - right hemisphere - can process mathematical info - were able to sort objects by shape, size , texture - using left hand could also solve simple arithmetic or addition
Sperry - procedure, findings and conclusions
A nude pin up was presented to the left visual field - right hemisphere- participants would giggle , look embarrassed when nude picture appears - they could not say what they were giggling and embarrassed about
Blackmore and cooper -aim
To limit the visual experience of kittens to either vertical or horizontal stripes and to compare the behavioural consequences of this restricted visual environment on the kittens
Blakemoore and Cooper - research methods
Lab experiment
Observation
Independent measure
Blakemoore and Cooper -
sample
2 kittens from birth to approximately 1 year old
Blakemoore and Cooper -procedure
For the first 2 weeks of the cats lives they were in complete darkness
2 week s to 5 months - black and white cylinder for 5 days - either horizontal or vertical
Blakemoore and Cooper - controls
Wore a collar - could not see their own body
Each cat was only exposed to one visual orientation
Checked the eyes of the cats to see if were damaged
Blakemoore and Cooper - results - initial reactions
No startle responses
No visual placing
Blakemore and cooper - results - after 10 hours
Deficits began to disappear
Blakemore and cooper - conclusions
The difference between the kittens suggests that neurones can change their preferred orientation according to stimulation they receive , matching the ability of the brain to respond to the features in the visual in put - nurture side
