Topic 2 - Pre-adult brain development

Question 1

mnemonic/memory prompt for topic 2 - pre-adult brain development…

Answer 1

Sundays
Make
Donuts
Great
Breakfast

Question 2

what are the 4 pieces of additional research in topic 2 - pre-adult brain development?

Answer 2

synaptic pruning
mauro martin (omega 3)
debellis - impact of stress on a child’s brain
graduated driving license

Question 3

what is synaptic pruning?

Answer 3

a biological function whereby the synaptic connections in the brain that are used are preserved, and those that are not used are lost

Question 4

what does synaptic pruning do?

Answer 4

makes our brains more organised and efficient over time - areas become specialised for certain functions (e.g. auditory, visual, sensirt, motor etc.)

Question 5

what happens to the neurons that survive pruning? +e.g.

Answer 5

they usually become myelinated
e.g. hand-eye coordination improves only as the neurons involved in visual and motor functions become myelinated

Question 6

mauro-martin et al - omega 3 sample

Answer 6

60 children with ADHD from Spain (41 males and 18 females)

Question 7

mauro-martin et al - omega 3 conditions

Answer 7

participants were split into 4 groups:
1. mediterranean diet
2. omega-3 supplement
3. mediterranean diet + omega-3 supplements
4. control Group
they had to follow this diet for 8 weeks.

Question 8

mauro-martin et al - omega 3 procedure

Answer 8

-ppts had to complete the barratt impulsiveness scale (BIS) that gives them a score on how impulsive they feel before and after the dietary intervention.
-KIDMED test was administered to assess if the participants actually ate the mediterranean diet

Question 9

what did the questionnaire KIDMED consist of and assess?

Answer 9

16 questions
assesses the frequency of consumption of different foods, eating breakfast, eating fast food, etc.

Question 10

mauro-martin et al - omega 3 results

Answer 10

at the end of 8 weeks, the only group to score lower on the BIS scale was the omega-3 supplementation group - significantly lower scores in impulsivity!!!

Question 11

mauro-martin et al - omega 3 conclusion

Answer 11

omega-3 supplements may be useful to help children with ADHD to focus and be less impulsive

Question 12

what did debellis suggest?

Answer 12

neurotransmitters and hormones released during stressful experiences may damage the PFC
this prevents the PFC from reaching full maturity and reduces its moderating influence on the ventral striatum in adolescence, resulting in more risk-taking behaviour

Question 13

debellis - impact of stress on a child’s brain sample

Answer 13

group 1: 44 Children and Adolescents with PTSD
group 2: 61 participants without PTSD (but were matched on other factors)

Question 14

debellis - impact of stress on a child’s brain procedure

Answer 14

ppts undertook an MRI scan and their brains were analysed afterwards

Question 15

debellis - impact of stress on a child’s brain results

Answer 15

PTSD has an adverse effect on the brain, includes:
-intracranial volume reduction of 7%
-a decrease in the area of the corpus callosum
-males’ brains were more greatly affected than female brains
-correlations show the earlier and longer the abuse, the greater negative effect it had on the brains

Question 16

debellis - impact of stress on a child’s brain conclusion

Answer 16

brain development in children can be seriously affected by PTSD that comes from abuse and harm.
chronic, long term abuse has a longer more harmful effect on the brain developing

Question 17

how does graduated driving licences work, what principle is it based on + where has it been adopted?

Answer 17

gradually removing restrictions!!!
adolescents are initially given a probationary license with restrictions rather than full driving licences e.g. not allowed to drive during night time
based on the principle that driving skills should be learned in easier conditions until the driver is more confident and experienced to drive without restrictions.
scheme has been adopted in the US, australia, new zealand and northern ireland

Question 18

graduated driving licenses reducing accidents evidence

Answer 18

following the introduction of GDL in new zealand, car crash injuries reduced by 23% for 15-19 year olds

Question 19

Outline the aim of Barkley-Levenson et al.’s risk taking in adolescence study

Answer 19

To find out whether there were any differences in the neural activity of adolescents and adults when they were given a gambling scenario.

Question 20

Outline the sample of Barkley-Levenson et al.’s risk taking in adolescence study

Answer 20

19 adults and 22 adolescents all right-handed from California

Question 21

Outline the procedure of Barkley-Levenson et al.’s risk taking in adolescence study

Answer 21

1. Ppts were given a mock fMRI to familiarise them with the scanning process and $20 ‘playing money’ which they would use in the next session.
2. They had been told they could gain another $20 or lose it all.
3. One week later, they were given an fMRI scan whilst completing a computerised gambling task.
4. They had to indicate on a 1-4 scale (accept to reject) whether they would take the risk of the spinner landing on either of the two options presented.
5. Of the 192 trials completed, 24 trials had both options as a win, 24 trials had both options as a loss, and the other 144 trials were mixed gambles.

Question 22

Outline and explain the findings of Barkley-Levenson et al.’s risk taking in adolescence study

Answer 22

The adolescents and adults didn’t differ in their acceptance or rejection of gambles when there was no real risk
BUT adolescents were more likely to accept a gamble when the expected value of it was high.
This could be explained by the fact that the ventral striatum, which is involved with emotional responses such as experiencing pleasure, was more active in the adolescents compared to the adults’ brains when completing the gambling task (i.e. they are more sensitive to the potential of winning in the gambling task, and more inclined towards risk-taking behaviours on the task).