Biological Harder Details

Question 1

Which areas of the brain showed higher levels of activity in those not taking oxytocin spray? Why those areas?

Answer 1

Amygdale and fusiform face area

Process unpleasant and threatening faces

Question 2

What was concluded from the oxytocin study?

Answer 2

Oxytocin can reduce anxiety and increase chances of social contact for people with a psychiatric disorder

Question 3

What sort of sample was in the Newcomer study?

Answer 3

Self-selected

Question 4

Who was used for the Newcomer study?

Answer 4

51 18-30 year old healthy people

Question 5

How long did the Newcomer experiment last and what sort of study was it?

Answer 5

Four days

Double blind experiment

Question 6

What dosage cortisol tablets were used in the Newcomer study?

Answer 6

A tablet of 160mg equivalent in blood after stressful event

A 40mg tablet equivalent in blood after minor stressful event

Question 7

What is declarative memory?

Answer 7

Remembering facts, dates and events

Question 8

Which group in Newcomer’s study showed no memory decrease?

Answer 8

Low level cortisol group

Question 9

What other damage does cortisol do as well as learning and memory impairment?

Answer 9

Damages immune system

Question 10

What is neuroplasticity?

Answer 10

The brain has the capability to change in terms of structure and neuron connections

Question 11

What gender of rats were used in Rosenzweig’s study?

Answer 11

Male

Question 12

How long did the rats spend in their environments in Rosenzweig’s study?

Answer 12

30-60 days

Question 13

In the enriched condition, how many rats were together?

Answer 13

10-12

Question 14

What sort of stimulation was found to affect the brain in Rosenzweig’s study?

Answer 14

Intellectual and social stimulation

Question 15

What did follow-up research to Rosenzweig’s study show?

Answer 15

30 minutes a day in an enriched environment produced the same changes in the brain

Question 16

Who were the participants in the Maguire study?

Answer 16

16 right-handed, male, at least 18 months navigation experience, average age 44, average time as taxi driver 14.3 years
16 right-handed, male, non-taxi drivers age matched

Question 17

What created the comparison database in the Maguire study?

Answer 17

50, males, healthy, right-handed, aged 33-61 to get ‘average hippocampi’

Question 18

How was analysis done on the MRI scans to compare them?

Answer 18

Voxel based morphometry to count pixels of image to see size

Question 19

Which hippocampus was larger in taxi drivers in Maguire’s study?

Answer 19

Posterior hippocampus

Question 20

As the length of time as a taxi driver increased, the volume of which part of the brain increased in Maguire’s study?

Answer 20

Right posterior hippocampus q

Question 21

What characteristics can mirror neurons lead to?

Answer 21

Ability to learn and empathise with others

Question 22

What food was given to Rhesus monkeys in Gallese’s study?

Answer 22

Peanuts

Question 23

What other system was activated in the brain in Iacoboni’s study?

Answer 23

Limbic system

Question 24

How many Buddhist monks were used in Davidson’s study?

Answer 24

8

Question 25

How much meditation experience did the Buddhist monks have in Davidson’s study?

Answer 25

Over 10,000 hours

Question 26

How many novice meditators were used in Davidson’s study?

Answer 26

10

Question 27

How many of the control monks had an increase in gamma wave activity?

Answer 27

2

Question 28

How many people were used in Luders’ study?

Answer 28

44

Question 29

How many controls and meditators were used in Luders’ study?

Answer 29

22 of each

Question 30

What sort of meditation had the participants done in Luders’ study?

Answer 30

5 to 46 years Average 24 years 10-90 minutes a day

Question 31

How many meditators and non-meditators were used in Grant et al’s study?

Answer 31

17 meditators | 18 non-meditators

Question 32

What two things were done in Grant et al’s study?

Answer 32

Heated plate to measure thermal pain tolerance and then MRI

Question 33

How long was the University of Wisconsin study? What sort of study was it?

Answer 33

9 year | Randomised control trial

Question 34

How many and who were the participants used in the University of Wisconsin study?

Answer 34

201 African American men and women Average age 59 with a narrowing of the arteries Random assignment to a group

Question 35

What were the findings of the university of Wisconsin study?

Answer 35

47% reduction in death, heart attacks and strokes in participants Clinically significant reduced blood pressure with decrease in clinical events Less psychological stress in high stress subgroup

Question 36

What is ablation?

Answer 36

Taking parts out the brain

Question 37

How many participants were used in Mosconi’s study?

Answer 37

53

Question 38

How long were participants followed for in Mosconi’s study?

Answer 38

9-24 years

Question 39

How many studies were in Bouchard and McGue’s meta-analysis?

Answer 39

111

Question 40

What was the meta-analysis by Bouchard and McGue focusing on?

Answer 40

IQ correlations between siblings

Question 41

How many hours of testing and interviews took place for each twin in Bouchard’s Minnesota twin study?

Answer 41

50 hours

Question 42

What were the results of Plomin and Petrill’s study?

Answer 42

4-6 years 40% Early adulthood 60% Older adults 80%

Question 43

How many participants took part in Curtis et al’s study?

Answer 43

77,000

Question 44

How many images were shown to participants in Curtis et al’s study? How many pairs of images were there where one was infectious and the other visually similar but non-infectious?

Answer 44

20 images | 7 pairs

Question 45

How many women were used in Fessler’s study?

Answer 45

496

Question 46

How many stomach-churning situations were the participants shown in Fessler’s study?

Answer 46

32

Question 47

What age range were the participants in Fessler’s study?

Answer 47

18-50