Hormones Flashcards
Hormones
chemical substances that act like messenger molecules in the body.
Cahill & McGaugh case study
The role of the study was to investigate the role of adrenaline and the amygdala on emotional memory. Participants were divided into 2 groups. In the first group, the participants heard a boring story about a mother and her son who went to the hospital to visit the son’s father where they witnessed the staff do a preparation drill very badly. The second group of participants heard a scary story about a boy who got into a car accident and his feet got cut off. He was quickly brought to the hospital where the surgeons reattached the boy’s legs. 2 weeks later, the researchers did a follow up and the participants were asked to come back to answer some questions about the story. Another 2 weeks later, the researchers do a follow up to the follow up. The same procedure was followed but only this time the participants that heard the traumatic story were injected with a beta blocker which interferes with the release of adrenaline. It was used to prevent activation of the amygdala to prevent the formation of emotional memory. In the first follow up, the researchers found that the people who have heard the traumatic story could recall more details and answer more questions than the people who heard the boring story who could not recall as many details from their story but in the follow up to the follow up, the researchers found that after being injected with the beta blocker, the participants did no better than the group who heard the boring story. They concluded that the adrenaline in the amygdala plays a crucial role in the formation of emotional memory.
What is the difference between neurotransmitters and hormones?
Hormones are released in the endocrine system and neurotransmitters are released in the axon terminal.
