Biological Explanations: Neural Correlates

Question 1

What are neural correlates?

Answer 1

Correlation between different brain structures and their abnormalities

Neural correlates help to understand the relationship between brain structure changes and psychological symptoms.

Question 2

What is an example of a neural correlate related to schizophrenia?

Answer 2

Enlarged ventricles, less grey matter, and smaller hippocampi in the left temporal lobe

These structural changes can lead to negative symptoms such as speech poverty.

Question 3

What did Torrey (2002) find regarding brain structure in schizophrenia?

Answer 3

Used brain scannning
Sound ventricles in schizophrenia patients were 15% larger than normal

This indicates that nearby brain tissue may not have developed properly or may have been damaged.

Question 4

What did Suddath et al. (1990) discover in their study of MZ twins?

Answer 4

Disconcordant in relation to schizophrenia despite sharing 100% of their DNA

This suggests that schizophrenia is not solely a biological condition.

Question 5

What were the findings regarding physical changes in the twins studied by Suddath et al. (1990)?

Answer 5

Enlarged ventricles and lower volumes of grey matter in the left temporal lobe

These findings were noted in almost all twins studied.

Question 6

What is a strength of the studies on neural correlates?

Answer 6

High validity and high control in experimental design

These aspects contribute to the reliability of the findings.

Question 7

What is a weakness of studies on neural correlates?

Answer 7

Studies do not produce consistent results

Question 8

Fill in the blank: The study of neural correlates suggests that schizophrenia is not _____ biological.

Answer 8

100%

This is supported by findings from twin studies showing disconcordance.

Question 9

True or False: Enlarged ventricles are consistently linked to symptoms in schizophrenia.

Answer 9

False

Research, such as Lins (1990), has indicated a lack of significant links.

Question 10

AO1 Neural Correlates

Answer 10

Where there is a correlation between certain brain structures and their abnormalities. Suggests correlation between certain brain structures and sz. An example is through enlarged ventricles which leads to less grey matter and a smaller hippocampus. This then leads to a smaller Broca’s area which can lead to negative symptoms e.g. speech poverty, which may explain sz.

Question 11

Lewis (1990) (L,Neural Correlates)

Answer 11

Examined 18 studies and found no significant link between enlarged ventricles and symptoms in schizophrenics.