BLOA studies Flashcards
Hormones
- slower acting
- from the pituitary gland or hypothalamus
- acts in the human limbic system
- regulatory chemical substances that target specific tissues and organs to have an effect on behaviour
- impacts aspects of behaviour including attraction and aggression, as well as biological processes like respiration, blood pressure, metabolism, appetite and sleep patterns
Hormones study: Baumgartner et al (2008)
Eval. + concl. not included
- investigated the effects of oxytocin on the formation of trust after it had been breached
Baumgartner et al (2008) - procedure
- 49 participants in an fMRI machine
- played trust game
- CG = nasal spray, EG = oxytocin
Baumgartner et al (2008) - results
- decreased response in the amygdala and caudate nucleus = EG were more likely to keep playing and investing
- primarily known for processing fear and trust, respectively
Newcomer et al (1999)
Newcomer et al (1999) studied the effects of increased levels of cortisol on verbal declarative memory.
Cortisol
- a steroid hormone!
- involved in stress response, blood sugar levels, diurnal cycle, reducing inflammation and assisting with memory formation.
, made in the cortex of the adrenal glands and then released into the blood,
Pheromones
Airborne chemical messages that are found in certain mammals give off different signals such as warnings of predators or sexual desire and attraction.
Signalling pheromones
Pheromones release rapid effects of attraction that lead to mating behaviour.
Primer pheromones
Pheromones produce longer-lasting physiological effects on the body similar to hormonal effects.
Newcomer et al (1999)
- 2 experimental groups with 120mg cortisol or 80mg cortisol
- 1 control group of placebo
- Washington University Medical Center stratified sampling
- The participants were then listened to a text and were asked to recall parts of it over a period of 4 days. The experimental group with the highest cortisol dosage (120mg) performed worse on average than the other groups, however, the group with a moderate cortisol dosage (40mg), increased their results over time. While the placebo group had the highest recall scores, the results demonstrate that a moderate amount of cortisol may have assisted the participant’s ability to memorise the text.
Culter, Friedman and McCoy (1998)
- a group of men aged between 25-49, heterosexual orientation and healthy
- frequency of several sociosexual behaviours over a period of two weeks, including affection, kissing and sexual intercourse.
- The participants then brought their aftershave in for it to be mixed with either ethanol or ethanol and a synthetic pheromone.
- The study demonstrated that the experimental pheromone group had an increased rate of sociosexual behaviours, implying that synthetic pheromones increase the attractiveness of a man to women.
Hare et al (2017)
- tested two potential human pheromones EST and AND
through gender and mate perception and preference - 2 days with heterosexual participants
- distinguish gender neutral faces and rank opposite sex from scale of 1-10
-either given clove oil or putative pheromone with a cotton ball taped to nose - time period too short
- low external validity
- bad/inaccurate rep. of how attraction actually works
- no significant difference
What is GABA
What roles does it play?
What type of neurotransmitter is it?
GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that occurs mainly in the frontal lobe and hippocampus and is responsible for behaviour, stress and fear levels and helps memory recall and absorption. 38% of synapses have GABA receptors to avoid overstimulation of neural connections/neuronal overexcitability Low levels of GABA result in high anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts. Benzodiazepines mimic the effects of GABA and are often sold as a dietary supplement to reduce stress and anxiety.
Schmitz et al (2017)
NEUROTRANSMITTERS/ANTAGONISTS
- making/repressing word associations with Gami in an fMRI machine
- green light + given word = think of synonyms
- red light + given word = repress any synonyms
- participants with higher levels of GABA performed better at restricted unwanted thoughts
- high artificially environment, extraneous variables such as increased alertness or stress from being in a foreign environment
- unrealistic of how GABA is naturally processed and used
- However, the study did successfully demonstrate how GABA helps with stress and intrusive thoughts and how lower levels of the neurotransmitter can help reduce intrusive thoughts.
Troster and Beatty (1989) - neurotransmitters/antagonists
- Troster & Beatty (1989) studied the effects of acetylcholine on memory, using a reductionist method by using an antagonist of acetylcholine.
The study involved three groups, one control and two experimental. The control group received a placebo of saline solution and the experimental groups were given varying concentrations of scopolamine.
They conducted multiple memory tests and compared the performances of each group. The study found that participants with the highest concentration of scopolamine scored lower on memory tests, demonstrating how the antagonist can have a direct impact on memory.
Acetylcholine
- Acetylcholine acts as both an inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter
- neuromuscular junctions (where nerves connect to muscles) and assists with blinking, contract muscles and other muscular movements in the heart and stomach
- plays a key role in memory and learning retention processes in the hippocampus
What is a neurotransmitter?
- Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that are fired from neurons across a synapse to bind to target receptors, to induce an effect on the brain and behaviour
- Neurotransmitters allow physical and psychical functions in the brain to take place
An action potential travels down the axon to the axon terminal, which causes the electrical impulse to fuse vesicles containing neurotransmitters with the postsynaptic membrane. The neurotransmitters travel across the synaptic gap between neurons and are received by receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron.
- the rapid nature of neurotransmission processes make it difficult to study directly.
- As a result, researchers often study neurotransmission indirectly, with the use of an antagonist, which is a drug that blocks the receptor site on a neuron and inhibits the effect of a given neurotransmitter
Why is neuroimaging in psychology used?
are used to measure and analyse the structural and functional properties of the brain, to determine and understand abnormalities in brain and behaviour.
What is structural neuroimaging and how/why is it used?
- CAT and MRI scan
- examine the brain structure in a three-dimensional high resolution, to determine any malformations such as abnormal growth and tissue, as well as compare increased neural density over time.
- this is done through the pattern of emission of energy through magnetic resonance.
- look for tissue damage and tumour growth
- cant distinguish between benign and malignant tumors
What is functional neuroimaging and how/why is it used?
- The role of fMRI is to measure the brain activity in high temporal resolution. In fMRI, the patient or participant is usually given a stimulus to compare their brain processes at a time of activity compared to a time of rest. The role of the fMRI seeks to determine when brain regions are active during the performance of a task.
- FMRI’s measure activity in high temporal resolution, which is measured frames by second, through the oxygen in the blood.
- When a brain region is active, the flow of oxygenated blood in that specific location increases.
- So the flow and levels of blood oxygenation in the blood correlates with the energy in brain cells.
Structural neuroimaging (MRI/CAT) cons
- Patients must sit still for long periods of time and it can feel claustrophobic.
- Poor/no temporal resolution
- cost
- people with mental implants inside them cannot receive MRI treatment as the metal can cause severe implications in the electromagnetic forces of the MRI.
Functional neuroimaging (EEG/PET/FMRI) cons
- Poor spatial resolution
- Not moment by moment, fastest is only 1 frames per second
- cannot use with medical implants
- lengthy procedure
- cost
Sharot et al (2007) connection to neuroimaging
- Sharot et al (2007) investigated the biological origin of flashbulb memories from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- A sample of 24 participants, who were in New York on 9/11, was placed in an fMRI machine to measure brain activity.
- Participants were given a series of words and asked to correlate the word to either their summer holidays or the events of 9/11, prompted by the words ‘summer’ or ‘September’. The participants then rated the vividness and detail of their memories and write a personal description. Here, the control and experimental group was used in an independent measures design, to compare brain states at a period of rest (summer holidays) and a period of distress (events of 9/11).
- Results showed that approximately half of the participants recorded flashbulb memories of 9/11 and that those who were closer to the event could give detailed descriptions and were more likely to have flashbulb memories of 9/11.
- In the fMRI scans, results showed that the amygdala, an area of the brain responsible for processing fear, was activated more in participants who were closer to the event when they recalled 9/11 than their previous summer.
Evolution
- the process by which organisms change over generation to generation as a result of changes in heritable characteristics.