Biological studies

Question 1

Phineas gauge

Answer 1

A railway worker in the USA
Suffered an accident where an iron rod pushed up though his face and out his head
His personality fundamentally changed
He became aggressive and irresponsible
Showed that the prefrontal cortex is involved in inhibiting aggressive behaviour

Question 2

Biological contemporary study

Answer 2

Van den over et al 2008

Question 3

The aim of vandenovers study

Answer 3

To investigate accuse changes in the molecular composition and function of synapses in the medial prefrontal cortex upon re exposure to heroin cues after long term abstinence from self administration

Question 4

Sample of van den overs study

Answer 4

Male wistar rats

Question 5

van den over procedure

Answer 5

stage one - administration of heroin
the experimental group - every time they were presented with an audio visual cue they were taught to self administer heroin by poking their nose into a hole in the box - thhey would receive a dose of heroin
the control group - trained to self admisiter a sucrose solutiom to ensure any neurobiological changes were due to heroin and not just any reward
stage two - after becoming addicted to heroin the experimental group was split into two
some rate were kept in a separate cage for 21 days thus providing a period of forced abstience
other rats were put in the self sdministration box for 21 days but did not receive heroin when nose poking called extinction
stage three = rexposure
after 21 days the two groups were slit in two again
half of the absinece rats and half of the extinction rats were rexposed to drug assosiated cues for 60 mins but did not receive any heroin
the other half wee placed in administartion boxes but ot exposed to drug assosiated cues and diddnt receive any heroin - control

Question 6

vanden over results

Question 7

van den over coclusion

Question 8

van den over strengths

Question 9

van den over weaknesses

Question 10

charles whitmen

Answer 10

charles whitmen was a student at the university of texas and an ex marine
he first killed his wife and mother then shot 14 people and wounded 32 others
after his death he was found to have a cancerous tumour in the hypothalamus and near the amygdala