Biological Paper 1 ERQs Flashcards
Brain & Behaviour ERQ Studies
Meaney 80s - hippocampus & memory
Rogers & Kesner 2000s - neurotransmitters
Cases 90s - neurotransmitters
Genes & Behaviour ERQ Studies
Van Oortmerssen & Bakker 80s - genes
Cases 90s - genes
Hormones & Behaviour ERQ Studies
Meaney 80s - hormones
General ERQ
Meaney 80s
Cases 90s
Rogers & Kesner 2000s
Contextual Knowledge of the role/value of animal research/models in understanding human behaviour
Animal research - studying behavioural responses of animals to then extrapolate as a model for human behaviour
Pros:
- when research cannot be performed on humans due to ethical or technological reasons
- longitudinal studies allows for behavioural responses studied over the animal’s shorter lifetime
- Easier to isolate confounding variables allowing internally valid cause-effect relationships (crucial for bio bc biological mechanisms are subject to numerous influences less controllable in humans)
Cons:
- limited ability to generalise onto humans dependant on genetic similarity of animals
- ethical concerns
Ethical Considerations Studies
Van Oortmerssen & Bakker 80s
Cases 90s
Rogers & Kesner 2000s
Meaney 80s
Weaver 2000s
Contextual Knowledge of ethical guidelines of animal research
- historical mistreatment however profound value for psychology knowledge
- now ethical guidelines concerning animal research developed which limit unethical psychological research
APA Guidelines and the 3Rs Principle in US to ensure research minimises suffering
To strike a balance between maximising valid psychological knowledge and minimising unethical treatment of animals;
the value of psychological research in consideration of its ethical breaches must be evaluated
Ethical breaches:
- undue physical & psychological harm during these experiments. (more significant depending on level of sentience of animal)
- mass killing of animals to dispose of them after experimentation
Reducing ethical breaches include the 3Rs principle:
- refinement - using less invasive techniques e.g. duration and severity of harm (however, may be impossible to eliminate physiological/psychological harm as these are the reasons that studies cannot be done on humans)
- reduction - of number of animals used (however, may reduce reliability of results as less participants to form conclusions)
- replacement - of animal research/harm with alternative methods
Meaney 80s Brain Study
ethical pros:
- replacement - ethical breaches irreplaceable since, as longitudinal study, it could only be conducted on animals w/ short lifespan
value pros:
- generalisable to humans as further research has also found hippocampal atrophy in abused children
- led to new theories of the role of stress on cognitive functioning
ethical cons:
- reduction - since animal guidelines were less strict during study; it’s likely no. animals was not minimised
- autopsies meant animals were killed. unnecessary & brutal, as alternative metrics could assess deterioration of memory instead. e.g. behavioural metrics.
ethical alternatives:
- refinement - the reduction of pain could be refined by less trials of in milky container. - rats are mammals & sentient
- Aim
- investigate the effect of cortisol on the hippocampus with regard to memory
Implications
- hippocampus governs spatial memory, as its deteriation meant more ineffective
- elevated cortisol stimulates glucocorticoid receptors in hippocampus causing cell damage
Rogers & Kesner 2000s Neurotransmitters Study
Participants/Research
- 30 rats
Evaluation:
value pros:
- controlled experiment
- internal validity
- valuable for dementia treatments
value cons:
- reductionist - memory encoding is more nuanced than neurotransmitters alone
- human memory encoding may be more complex (e.g. flashbulb memory) & not representative of the rats’ situation
ethical pros:
- refinement - temporary short harm & minimal
- rats returned to normal
- animals were not terminated after the study
Cases 90s Neurotransmitters Study
Aim
- investigate relationship between excess levels of serotonin & dopamine on impulsive aggression
Participants/Research
- True
- Transgenic mice - genetically modified to include a remove gene that produces MAOA enzyme which breaks down neurotransmitters e.g. serotonin, & dopamine thus producing excess lvls of these neurotransmitters
- Control mice
Method:
- After rats reached maturity an intruder tests were conducted—where another mouse entered the cage of the mouse.
- Autopsies of brains to determine neurotransmitter lvls
Results:
- Transgenic mice were quicker to attack the intruder (impulsive), show signs of offensive, aggressive behaviour (threatening position)
- more likely to bite the experimenter
- Autopsies showed elevated serotonin levels compared to control mice
Implications:
- Increased serotonin lvls mice exhibited more aggressive, & impulsive behaviour as a result of less MAOA
Evaluation:
value pros:
- other animal research with similar all appear to confirm this animal model, as findings have been replicated
value cons:
- this animal model may be limited in its application to humans regarding the complex types of aggressions expressed by humans
- thus the nuances of the aggression found in this study cannot be applied to humans
- psychological consensus is that majority of humans with MAOA mutation do not exhibit aggressive behaviour. this knowledge in conjunction with Cases study reveals that MAOA mutations implicate a predisposition for humans but also need an environmental interaction for the aggressive behaviour to express in humans
- reductionist approach to investigating genes and reductionist to apply to humans.
- although a person may have a gene which corresponds to a behaviour, the gene expression may be switched off thus not necessitating the person will behave with characteristics of gene
- whether a gene is expressed or not, depends on environmental signals—positing the mutual causality of biology and environment—of the individual triggering the gene to be expressed/not expressed—this is gene regulation.
- Hence the simply having the gene for genetic behaviour may not necessitate an individual will express the associated characteristic.
ethical pros:
- replacement - this gene alteration could studied in human participants thus making the results of this study irreplaceable to alternatives
ethical cons:
- animals are permanently damaged and altered from the editing of MAOA genes for this study, potentially severely harming quality of life
Cases 90s Genes Study
Aim
- investigate relationship between removal of MAOA production gene on impulsive aggression
Participants/Research
- True
- Transgenic mice - genetically modified to include a remove gene that produces MAOA enzyme which breaks down neurotransmitters e.g. serotonin, & dopamine
- Control mice
Method:
- After rats reached maturity an intruder tests were conducted—where another mouse entered the cage of the mouse.
- Autopsies of brains to determine neurotransmitter lvls
Results:
- Transgenic mice were quicker to attack the intruder (impulsive), show signs of offensive, aggressive behaviour (threatening position)
- more likely to bite the experimenter
- Autopsies showed elevated serotonin levels compared to control mice
Implications:
- No MAOA production, dictated by genes, resulted in excess neurotransmitters thus causing aggressive behaviour
- Genes which regulate the functioning of the body indirectly affect behaviour
Evaluation:
value pros:
- other animal research with similar all appear to confirm this animal model, as findings have been replicated
value cons:
- this animal model may be limited in its application to humans regarding the complex types of aggressions expressed by humans
- thus the nuances of the aggression found in this study cannot be applied to humans
- psychological consensus is that majority of humans with MAOA mutation do not exhibit aggressive behaviour. this knowledge in conjunction with Cases study reveals that MAOA mutations implicate a predisposition for humans but also need an environmental interaction for the aggressive behaviour to express in humans
- reductionist approach to investigating genes and reductionist to apply to humans.
- although a person may have a gene which corresponds to a behaviour, the gene expression may be switched off thus not necessitating the person will behave with characteristics of gene
- whether a gene is expressed or not, depends on environmental signals—positing the mutual causality of biology and environment—of the individual triggering the gene to be expressed/not expressed—this is gene regulation.
- Hence the simply having the gene for genetic behaviour may not necessitate an individual will express the associated characteristic.
ethical pros:
- replacement - this gene alteration could studied in human participants thus making the results of this study irreplaceable to alternatives
ethical cons:
- animals are permanently damaged and altered from the editing of MAOA genes for this study, potentially severely harming quality of life
Van Oortmerssen & Bakker 80s Genes Study
Aim
- investigate genetic influences of aggressive behaviour by selectively breeding aggression
Participants/Research
- true
- mice underwent selective breeding
- Control group of mice that were not selectively bred
Method
- mice underwent an intruder test (same as Cases) & the mice w/ shortest latency attack (most aggressive) were selectively bred to allow aggressive mice genes to pass onto offspring
- latency scores were studied over 11 generations of mice
Results
- latency scores gradually shortened with each generation, as selectively bred aggressive mice were quicker to respond with aggression towards intruder
Implications
- Genetic basis for aggression, as aggression can be bred and inherited
Evaluation:
value pro:
- due to the longitudinal nature of this study this could not have been performed on other animals, thus providing unique insight
value cons:
- reductionist approach to investigating genes and reductionist to apply to humans.
- although a person may have a gene which corresponds to a behaviour, the gene expression may be switched off thus not necessitating the person will behave with characteristics of gene
- whether a gene is expressed or not, depends on environmental signals—positing the mutual causality of biology and environment—of the individual triggering the gene to be expressed/not expressed—this is gene regulation.
- Hence the simply having the gene for genetic behaviour may not necessitate an individual will express the associated characteristic.
