Lecture 12 Flashcards
Describe the experiment that tested whether epinephrine enhances human memory consolidation.
In this experiment participants watched 21 slides of various scenes, some boring some emotional and then were injected with epinephrine.
Then they waited one week to test memory.
What were the results of the epinephrine memory experiment?
The results were that this was a dose dependent effect and memory was enhanced for only some of the slides and not all.
Why was epinephrine injection a risky form of experimentation?
This is because it can lead the individual to go into shock and die.
What was an alternative form of testing memory in relation to epinephrine?
Drop hand in ice water experiment was a safer alternative that also involved cortisol.
How was the hand in ice water experiment conducted?
View slides with neutral or arousing (emotional) slides, arm in ice water, wait one week, test memory. The control is warm water.
What were the results of the ice water experiment
Particpants had higher mean percent recall of arousing/emotional slides compared to the neutral slides.
What is used to block enhanced memory for emotionally arousing events?
Propranolol (beta blocker)
How does the beta blocker impact memories?
Beta blocker blocked memory for emotionally arousing events but did not block memories of neutral events.
Describe the effect viewing the slides had on women.
Women had increased adrenergic activity when viewing the slides. More norepeinehprhine the better the memory specifically for emotional events. And very little increase for neutral events.
What was used to see amygdala’s involvement in memory?
Human brain imaging.
What is Urbach-Wiethe disease?
Produces bilateral calcifications in the anterior medial temporal lobes, especially of the amygdalae. Thus resulted in patients having no amygdala.
What were the results of the experiment that conducted the neutral vs emotional slides test on Urbache-Wiethe disease patients?
No rise in memory for emotionally charged events. But neutral memory was fine.
Describe the ratio of male to female participants in neuroscience and biomedical research.
Male 5.5: Female 1
Thus there are sex related differences in brain and cognition.
What drove evolution?
Natural selection and sexual selection drove evolution.
What did Darwin say?
My conviction in the power of sexual selection remains unshaken.
