Biological Flashcards
Localisation of Function
Maguire et al (2000)
Brain Plasticity
Maguire et al (2000)
Pheromones
Wedekind (1995)
Evolutionary Explanations for behaviour
Wedekind (1995)
Genetic similarities
Gottesman & Shields (1991)
Maguire (2000) Aim
- study the ability for the brain to undergo plastic changes in response to increased navigational requirements
- determine the role of hippocampus in spatial memory
Maguire (2000) type, & participants
Type: quasi experiment / Correlational Study
Participants:
- 16 taxi drivers from London
- 50 control
- all right handed
Maguire (2000) Method
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of participants brains
- analysed with pixel counting for size of hippocampus
- & VBM (voxel-based morphometry) for density/volume of hippocampus
Maguire (2000) Results
- post-interior hippocampus significantly larger
(Pixel counting) - volume of post-interior hippocampus correlated with amount of time spent as taxi driver
(VBM)
Maguire (2000) Implications
- environmental pressures to learn navigation of London made the brain plastic to increase volume & size of post-interior hippocampus
- post-interior hippocampus stores spatial information
Wedekind (1995) Aim
- to determine whether female attraction of males body odour are dependant on MHC genes which can be expressed through scent
Wedekind (1995) Experiment type & Participants
Laboratory experiment
49 females & 44 males (uni students)
Wedekind (1995) Method
- all participants had MHC genes identified
- male participants were asked to wear a shirt for 2 days straight
- on day 3 females smelt the shirt and ranked the odour from 1-10
Wedekind (1995) Results
- females consistently preferred smell of men with dissimilar MHC genes to their own
Wedekind (1995) Implications
- pheromones released in our scent plays a role in initial attraction
- pheromones are determined by our genes, so our genes may dictate our initial attraction
- we are attracted to differing genes because that will create genetically diverse offspring
Gottesman & Shields (1972) Aim & Experiment
- examine the relationship between genes and developing schizophrenia
- Field survey
Gottesman & Shields (1972) Participants
- 57 pairs of twins
- 24 monozygotic (MZ) (100% shared genes)
- 33 dizygotic (DZ) (50% shared genes)
Gottesman & Shields (1972) Method
- 1 of the twins from each pair already had SZ which they had found from hospital records
- then researchers interviewed other twin W/O SZ from the pair and obtained their hospital records to find their likelihood of also having SZ
Gottesman & Shields (1972) Results
- MZ twins have 48% chance of developing SZ if other twin has SZ
- DZ twins have 17% chance
Gottesman & Shields (1972) Implications
- concluded that genetic inheritance plays a role in developing SZ and related psychiatric disorders
