IB Psychology - BLOA Studies

scarr & wienberg (1983) *Transracial Adoption: results* HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE

*Group & Average IQ* • white population: 100 mean IQ of adoptive parents: 120 • Natural children of the adoptive parents: 119 • Black children reared in their own homes: 90 • adopted children (white): 111 • adopted children (black): 106 • Black children adopted in the first 12 months of life: 110 overall results of the study support the idea of additive influence of genetics and the environment to the development of IQ. in this sense it collaborated the findings of Kendler et al(2015) On the one hand, adoption increased cognitive abilities of adopted children -black children placed in white families increased their IQ scores substantially as compared to black children reared in their own homes (an increase of 16 IQ points) -early adoption resulted in higher IQ scores than late adoption. Black children adopted early scored 110 IQ points on average score of adopted white children On the other hand , just as the kendler et al's (2015) study, the correlation between the IQ of adoptive parents and adoptive children was lower than the correlation between the IQ of adoptive parents and adopted children was lower than the correlation between adopted children and their biological parents (0.29 and 0.43 respectively). From these data reschers estimated that 40-70% of IQ variance in the sample was due to genetic differences among the children. The additive influence suggests that an increase in IQ occurs due to environmental factors, but also suggests that how responsive a particular child would be to environmental influence depends on the child's genetics. Children with "good" genetics placed in "good" environments get double advantage. A contradictory from the same study, however, is that young siblings were very similar to each other, whether they were genetically related or not. The IQ correlations of adopted siblings were very nearly as high as those of the biological siblings reared together(0.44 and 0.42 respectively): there is the same amount of similarity between two adopted siblings as there is between two natural siblings. this finding can only be explained by the predominant influence of the rearing environment on the development of IQ.

scarr & wwienberg (1983) methods HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE

*Transracial Adoption Study* sampled 101 adoptive families who had biological children but who also adopted transracially . some of the adopted children were black and some white; some children were adopted in the first year of life and some after 12 months of age. all children were assessed on IQ and school achievement tests. *Adolescent Adoption Study* in this study participants were adolescents who had been adopted early in the first year of life and spent an average of 18 years in their new families.their adoptive parents, their biological parents and biological children of their adoptive parents also participated in the study.

kendler et al (2015) methods HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE: ADOPTIONS STUDIES

*additive influence of genetics and environment on the development of intelligence: • Adopting into a higher socioeconomic family results in an increase in IQ, but this increase will be higher or lower depending on the genetic inheritance of the child. took place in Sweden the complete national Swedish register of male-male siblings was searched, initially identifying 436 male siblings sets where one of the members was reared by adoptive parents. IQ scores were taken from the Military Conscription Register (which includes cognitive assessment data for all 1 year-old men in Sweden). Available data also includes the educational attainment of both biological and adoptive parents. Demand for child adoption in Sweden was considerably larger than the number of children available for adoption, so potential adoptive parents were carefully screened. The mean educational level was significantly higher in the group of adoptive parents as compared to biological parents. there was a modest correlation (r=0.18)between the educational levels of biological and adoptive parents, which may suggest some effects of selective placement.

weaver et al (2004) methods BEHAVIORAL EPIGENETICS: REGULATING STRESS RESPONSES

- The stress levels of the rats were measured by placing each rat in a confined tube for 20 minutes and then recording the amount of corticosterone, a stress hormone, was in the rat after the confined tube. - conducted another experiment: The second study was focused on the nurture of the rat offspring, examining whether rats with more nurturing and calmer mothers had lower corticosterone. - The first group was made up of rats that received less attention from the mothers, but were now receiving vigorous licking and grooming from other rats. - the second group was made up of rats who received vigorous licking and grooming from their mothers, but were now receiving less attention

*Antonova et al* (2011): *methods* Neurotransmission and Memory

-Used a sample of 20 healthy males -Double blind procedure -Participants were randomly allocated to one of 2 conditions -Injected with either scopolamine or placebo (70- 90 min. before experimental task) -Scanned (fMRI) while playing arena task -the arena task is a complex virtual reality game in which the researchers observed how all the participants were able to create spatial memories. -the goal was to navigate around an arena to reach a pole. -after they had learned where the pole was located, the screen went blank for 30 seconds.during this time, the participants were told to actively rehearse how to get to the pole in the arena. -when the area reappeared, the participants were at a new starting point in the arena.the participants would have to use their spatial memory to determine how to get to the location of the pole. -the participants brain activity was measured for six trials. -Trained and learned the rules of the game (6 trials) -3-4 weeks later they redid the test but received the opposite injection from last time( in other words repeated measure design).

freed et al (2001) results Dopamine & Parkinson's Disease

-irrespective of the age group,Pet scans revealed increased growth of dopamine producing cells in the putamen -a reduction of symptoms by 28% was found in the patients in the transplant group,but only the younger ones (aged 60 or younger). No improvement was registered in the older sub-group of patients (aged over 60) the overall conclusion was the transplantation of dopamine-producing neurons in the putamen of patients with severe parkinson's disease results in some clinical benefit in younger but not older patients -less response to treatment in the older patients despite successful growth of dopamine neurons may be attributed to lower neuroplasticity of the brain

Merzenich et al (Method)

1.)Sensory inputs from all the hand digits (fingers) were mapped in the cortex. to do this, electrodes were inserted in the cortical area known to be responsible for sensation from the hand,then researchers stimulated various areas on all the fingers one by one and noted which electrode was responding to the stimulation. monkeys were anesthetized before the procedure this procedure 2.)the third digit( the middle finger) on the monkey's hand was amputated 3.)sixty-two days later a mapping was done to see how the cortical area responsible for sensitivity from the hand changed after amputation

fisher, aron, & brown (2005) methods (neurotransmitter & Love)

17 participants (10 females, 7 males) of an average age of 21 years old (range: 18 - 26). They collected their sample through word of mouth and by posting flyers asking for volunteers. All the participants were "in love" and the average age of courtship was 7 months (range: 1 - 17). To determine the duration, intensity and nature of the participants' romantic love, the researchers interviewed each participant using a semi-structured format and the participants also completed a "Passionate Love Scale (PLS)". all participants were placed in a fMRI scanner and engaged in a standard procedure involving looking at photographs while their brains were being scanned. There were four stages. Procedure: 4 steps 1. For 30 seconds each participants viewed a photograph of his or her beloved person 2. Participants were given a 40 second filler activity which was to count back from a given number 3. For 30 more seconds participants viewed a photograph of an emotionally neutral acquaintance 4. The final stage was another 20 seconds of counting back from a number (These 4 step were repeated 6 times, so total procedure lasted 12 minutes per participant.)

weaver et al (2004) results

1st Experiment: found that rats with calmer and more maternal mothers had lower stress levels than the rats with more anxious mothers that showed less attention to their offspring. 2nd Experiment: that not only can inheritance of genes affect behaviour. The environment can have an impact on genes and gene expression. that not only can inheritance of genes affect behaviour. The environment can have an impact on genes and gene expression. they found that the type of nurturing rats receive from their mothers in the young ones' early life affects the way their brain responds to stress later in life. more specifically, rats raised by mothers that were less nurturing (for example, likeced and groomed their young less often) were more sensitive to stress when they became adults. For example, when their movements were restricted (by placing them in a narrow tube), their adrenal glands produced more stress hormones. this increased production of stress hormones was linked to a fewer number of receptors for these hormones in the brain (specifically glucocorticoid receptors. in its turn, the smaller number of glucocorticoid receptors in the brain was linked to the suppression of the glucocorticoid receptor gene. the gene itself did not differ in the groups of rats receiving different nurturing , but rats raised by less-nurturing mothers had more chemicals that inhibit transcription of the glucocorticoid receptor gene. as a result, fewer receptors were produced; more stress hormones were released; and the organism suffered more consequences of stress. To confirm their finding, the researchers conducted studies where they gave rats substances that reserved the effects of transcription suppression for that particular gene, and this treatment normalized responses to stress even in less-nurtured rats.

bouchard & mcgue (1981) results

A POSITIVE correlation was found between kinship and IQ, in that the closer the kinship, the higher correlation their seemed to be in IQ. Supports the influence of genetics on intelligence. -results of the meta-analysis showed that intelligence is 54% genetically inherited. (However, keep in mind typical limitations inherent of any twin study.)

BREMNER ET AL (2003) Results

A failure of hippocampal activation and 16% smaller volume of the hippocampus were seen in women with abuse and PTSD compared to women with abuse without PTSD. Women with abuse and PTSD had a 19% smaller hippocampal volume relative to women without abuse or PTSD. Conclusions: These results are consistent with deficits in hippocampal function and structure in abuse-related PTSD.

newcomer et al (1999) methods Stress Hormones and Memory: Cortisol

All participants were employees or students at the Washington University Medical Center. All participants were given a clinical interview with a physician. They were excluded from the sample if they were pregnant, had a history of mental illness, had suffered head trauma, or had suffered from any illness that had been treated with corticosteroids. In addition, participants not routinely sleeping during the night hours were excluded to standardized circadian rhythms. In order to investigate a possible link between cortisol and memory the researchers designed an experiment with three experimental conditions: -Condition 1 - high level of cortisol: The participants in the high level cortisol group were given a tablet containing 160mg of cortisol on each day of the four-day experiment. This dose of cortisol produces blood levels similar to those seen in people experiencing a major stress event. -Condition 2 - low level of cortisol: The participants in the low level of cortisol group were given a tablet containing 40 mg of cortisol per day. This dose is similar to the amount of cortisol circulating in the bloodstream of people undergoing minor surgical procedures such as having stitches removed. -Condition 3 - placebo group: The participants in this condition were given placebo tablets - that is, a tablet that looked like the other tablets but with no active ingredient. This was done in order to have a control group. Participants were assigned on a matched-pair design for gender and age. The experiment was done under a double-blind control. All participants were asked to listen to and recall parts of a prose paragraph. This tested their verbal declarative memory. It is known that verbal declarative memory is often affected during long-term stress and the researchers knew from previous studies that cortisol could be involved in memory impairment.

*Atri* (2004): *Results* Neurotransmission and Memory

All three conditions had a lower score on the overlapping pairs. However, only the scopolamine group did significantly worse. The difference was significant at p < 0.01 The scopolamine group did not often make a mistake, but rather could not recall any word for the overlapping pair.

HM (Corkin) Method

Background Info: HM was 7 years old when he fell off is bike and sustained brain damage. He didn't start having epileptic seizures until he was 10. When he was 27 the epileptic seizures got so bad that doctors recommended removing his medial temporal lobe(that included the hippocampus) to stop the seizures which is where he sustained the brain damage One MRI scan was conducted on H.M. in 1992 and one in 1993. Before the 1992 scan, H.M. completed an IQ test and a memory test. The IQ test showed that he had normal intelligence, but the memory test showed his memory quotient (MQ) was 37 points lower than his IQ and showed he had severe amnesia.

HM (milner) Method

Background Info: HM was 7 years old when he fell off is bike and sustained brain damage. He didn't start having epileptic seizures until he was 10. When he was 27 the epileptic seizures got so bad that doctors recommended removing his medial temporal lobe(that included the hippocampus) to stop the seizures which is where he sustained the brain damage scoville was the neurosurgeon that resected the medial temporal lobe. to see the effects of the medial temporal lobe being resected milner used the following things using method triangulation -Psychometric testing: IQ testing was given to HM. His results were above average. -Direct observation of his behavior -Interviews with both HM and with family members. -Cognitive testing: memory recall tests as well as learning tasks - such as reverse mirror drawing.

Rogers & Kesner (2003): Method

Background Information: In the hippocampus, there is a high concentration of acetylcholine receptor sites. Researchers have therefore questioned the role of this neurotransmitter in the consolidation of memories wanted to determine the role of acetylcholine in memory formation and retrieval. They had 30 rats acclimate to a Hebb Williams maze by placing food in one of the corners. Once the rats were familiar with the maze - and no longer were afraid of the environment - the experiment could begin The rats were randomly allocated to one of two conditions. The rats were either injected with scopolamine or with a saline solution ten minutes before running the maze -Scopolamine blocks the acetylcholine receptor sites and thus inhibits any response. The saline solution was a placebo injection. -This was done to make sure that the fact of m getting an injection alone was not responsible for a change in memory. An injection could result in an increase in adrenaline which would be a confounding variable. The injections were made directly into the hippocampus. Encoding of memory was assessed by the average number of errors made on the first five trials of Day 1 compared to the last five trials of Day 1, whereas the average number of errors made on the first five trials of Day 2 compared to the last five trials of Day 1 was used to assess retrieval.

Squire(1992) Method

Background info: when Eugene Pauley was 70 was diagnosed with viral encephalitis-which destroyed the entirety of his hippocampus and part of his amygdala. leaving him with similar symptoms as HM. used method triangulation which includes: • Interviews with EP and his family; for example, EP was unable to describe how he would travel from his home to locations in his neighborhood that he visits with his wife • Psychometric testing: for example, IQ testing - which proved no impairment of intelligence. • Observational studies - watching how EP solved problems or behaved on memory tasks. For example, EP could not remember a string of numbers • MRI: found that the anterior temporal lobe was the most damaged - including the amygdala and hippocampus. AMI(autobiographical Memory Interview): is a structured interview that asks for detailed information about three periods of life: childhood, early adult life, and recent life.Within each of these periods EP's memory was tested for both personal semantic knowledge (e.g., What was your home address while attending high school?) and autobiographical memory (e.g., Describe an incident that occurred while you were attending elementary school) Another important finding was an experiment in which Squire took 16 different objects and glued them on cardboard rectangles. He then organized the objects in 8 pairs. On the bottom of one of the objects in each pair was written the word "correct." EP had to choose between the two with the goal that with rehearsal, he would be able to consistently choose the "correct" object.

Ferguson et al (2000) methods Hormones & love

Background: social famalairtin rodents is based on olfactory cues. if a rodent repedelty meets another member of the same species, the olfactory investigation time (time spent sniffing the other animal on meeting it) Participants: 42 oxytocin gene knockout mice and 42 mice with normal genotype. All mice were male. Method: Experiment; mixed-design (independent measures and repeated measures) Procedure: A female mouse was introduced into the home cage of the "participant" for a one-minute confrontation. This was repeated four times with ten-minute intervals between trials. These were called "habituation trials". The same mouse was used on all four trials. On the fifth trial (dishabituation) a new female mouse was introduced. Behavior was recorded and scored by the trained raters. Olfactory investigation was operationalized as the amount of time spent in nasal contact with the female mouse.

Baumgartner et al (2008) methods Oxytocin and trust

Baumgartner and his team used an fMRI to study the role of oxytocin increasing trust between participants during a social game called the "trust game." This game is used by economists and neuroscientists to study social interaction. In a typical trust game, an investor (player 1) must decide whether he or she will keep a sum of money (for example 10 dollars) or share it with a trustee (player 2). If the sum is shared, the investment is tripled (30 dollars). Player 2 (the trustee) now has to decide whether he or she will repay the trust by sharing the gain with player 1 so that each gets 15 dollars or violate the trust by keeping the money. This game is thus built upon the dilemma of either trusting or not trusting. Trusting is profitable but there is also a risk in trusting. Participants: 49 participants were placed in an fMRI scanner. They received either oxytocin or a placebo via a nasal spray. Participants were then told to act as investors in several rounds of a trust game with different trustees. In a second condition, they were told that they were going to play a "risk game" with a computer, instead of with another human being. • The participants received feedback from the experimenters in which they were told that their decisions had resulted in poor investment because their trust had been broken. They were then asked to make the next investment decision

HM (Corkin) Results

Both scans showed that the lesioning (also called ablation or cutting) of H.M.'s brain was 3cm less than Scoville had estimated. It therefore did not extend as far into the posterior hippocampal region as he thought, although there was surrounding damage, as stated, to the uncus and the amygdala. Approximately 50% of the posterior hippocampus on each side remained, but this had shrunk considerably on the right side. Corkin et al. believe this could be due to both the removal of the rest of the hippocampus, and also to the drugs and continuing (though much reduced) epileptic seizures The researchers concluded that the hippocampus plays a critical role in converting memories of experiences from short-term memory to long-term memory. Since HM was able to retain some memories for events that happened long before his surgery it indicates that the hippocampus is not the site of permanent storage but rather plays a role in the organization and permanent storage of memories elsewhere in the brain. The small amount of normal hippocampus remaining in the left temporal lobe was not sufficient to support normal memory. Therefore, this study demonstrates the importance of the hippocampus and the temporal medial lobe area for memory

bouchard & mcgue (1981) aim

Conducted a meta-analysis of 111 studies on IQ correlations between relatives.

scarr & Weinberg (1983) aim HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE

Conducted two longitudinal studies investigating the malleability of intelligence known collectively as the Minnesota Adoption Studies. • The Transracial Adoption Study-designed to see if black children reared by white families performed on tests of IQ and school achievement as well as other adoptees. • The Adolescent Adoption Study - looked at how differences in cognitive ability accumulate over years until adolescence

Caspi et al (2003) *methods* behavioral Epigenetic: Depression

Diathesis-stress theories of depression predict that an individual's reaction to stressful events depends on their genetic makeup. If an individual has a specific genotype, then interaction with the environment may cause these genes to be expressed. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is evidence for a gene-environment interaction (G x E) for a mutation of the serotonin transporter gene - 5-HTT. The serotonin transporter is involved in the reuptake of serotonin in brain synapses. Caspi hypothesized that people who inherit two short versions of the 5-HTT gene, are more likely to develop major depression after a stressful life event. The study was a prospective, longitudinal study. Caspi and his team looked at a sample of 847 New Zealand 26-year-olds. All were members of a cohort that had been assessed for mental health on an every-other-year basis until they were 21. They were divided into three groups based on their 5-HTT alleles: Group 1 had two short alleles; Group 2 had one short and one long allele; Group 3 had two long alleles. The mutation of the 5- HTT gene has the shorter alleles. Roughly 43% of people have the shorter alleles. The participants were asked to fill in a "stressful life events" questionnaire which asked them about the frequency of 14 different events- including financial, employment, health and relationship stressors- between the age of 21 and 26. they were also assessed for depression.

mchgaugh & cahill (1995) results Stress Hormones and Memory: Adrenaline

In the original version of the experiment the researchers found that the participants who had heard the more emotionally arousing story demonstrated better recall of specific details of the story. -They could also recall more details from the slides. In the follow-up study they found that those that had received the beta-blocker did no better than the group that had heard the "mundane" story. -They therefore concluded that the amygdala plays a significant role in the creation of memories linked to emotional arousal.

zak (2009) methods oxytocin and Trust

In this study, Zak wanted to create "alpha males" to see how they would react in an online trust game. The sample was made up of 25 male students. First, the researchers drew blood from the participants to establish baseline levels of testosterone. They then had the participants rub a gel on their shoulders. -The participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions: -a prescription testosterone gel or a placebo. The men returned the next morning another blood test was done to record the actual increase in levels of testosterone in the participants. The treatment had doubled the amount of testosterone in the experimental condition. Then the participants were asked to play the Ultimatum Game. Each participant in the game was told that he could be generous to another player with money he controlled - or he could be stingy. Stingy offers could be rejected by the other person. Rejected offers caused both men to lose all the money on the virtual table. The study was a double-blind counterbalanced repeated measures design. The men returned four weeks later and repeated the procedure but this time got the other substance to rub on their shoulders

kendler et al (2015) results HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE: ADOPTIONS STUDIES

Interpretation of the findings of the study suggests that cognitive ability is environmentally malleable: there was a 5-point Increase on average by age 18. The fact that there is a correlation between cognitive ability of adopted children and educational levels of adoptive parents supports this conclusion On The other hand, results also suggests heritability of intelligence: this is evident from the correlation between cognitive ability of adopted children and the educational level of biological parents. Result seem to suggest an additive influence of environment and genetics: the largest IQ scores were observed in adopted children from well-educated biological families adopted into well-educated families

kendler et al (2015) aim HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE: ADOPTIONS STUDIES

Researchers conducted a rigorously designed adoption study of a sample of sibling pairs in which one of the siblings was home-reared and the other one was adopted away.

Ferguson et al (2000) results Hormones & love

Mice with normal genotype showed considerable habituation from the first trial to the fourth. The amount of time they spent in olfactory contact with the female mouse decreased on each subsequent trial. On the fifth trial (when the new female mouse was introduced) dishabituation occurred and the amount of time in the olfactory contact returned to the original level. Oxytocin gene knockout mice showed no habituation. They spent equal time in olfactory contact with the female mouse each time she was placed in the cage. Conclusion: Oxytocin is necessary for the development of social memory in mice. It plays a role in recognizing familiar members of the same species.

sharot et al (2007) results

Only half of the participants actually reported having what would be called "flashbulb memories" of the event - that is, a greater sense of detail and a strong confidence in the accuracy of the memory. -Those that did report having flashbulb memories also reported that they were closer to the World Trade Center on the day of the terrorist attack. Participants closer to the World Trade Center also included more specific details in their written memories. Sharot and her team found that the activation of the amygdala for the participants who were downtown was higher when they recalled memories of the terrorist attack than when they recalled events from the preceding summer, whereas those participants who were further away from the event had equal levels of response in the amygdala when recalling both events. The strength of amygdala activation at retrieval was shown to correlate with flashbulb memories. These results suggest that close personal experience may be critical in engaging the neural mechanisms that produce the vivid memories characteristic of flashbulb memory.

kosfeld et al (2005) methods Oxytocin and Trust

Participants: 128 healthy male students (mean age 22) were randomly allocated into either the oxytocin group or placebo group; substances were administered intranasally. The researchers designed a trust game with real monetary stakes. In the game, subjects were paired anonymously and played the role of either an investor or a trustee. Each round of the game (each with a new partner) consists of three steps. Step 1 the experimenter gives both the investor and the trustee and endowment of 12 monetary units. Step 2 to the investor needs to decide how much of that to send to the trustee. ( there are four options: 0, 4,8,12). the experimenter triples whatever is sent to the trustee for example if the investor sends 4 units, the trustee receives 12, if the investor sends 12 units the trustee receives 36 and so on. Step 3 the trustee decides how much of the now available money to send back to the investor. the idea is that if I (the investor) completely trust you (the trustee) will send you 12 monetary units it will turn into 36, and trust that you will send me back at least 18 and maybe more. Can I trust you, though? we only interact onc during this experiment, so you have a temptation of keeping the whole sum with you. In order to trust you, I need to overcome aversion towards this risk. participants play the game four times in the same role est time. randomly with a new partner. at the end of the experiment the total earned monetary units earned exchanged for real money

romero et al (2014) methods Hormones & Love

Participants: 16 dogs sprayed intranasally with either oxytocin or a placebo • Procedure: Dogs were placed with their owner and another dog in the same room and their behavior was recorded by four cameras for one hour. -The room was empty with the exception of a chair on which the dog owner sat. -The dog owner was instructed to move the chair to pre-designated positions every 10 minutes, but otherwise sit quietly and not actively interact with the dog. repeated measures, double-blind, counterbalanced design

Caspi *results* Behavioral Epigenetic: Depression

People who had inherited one or more short versions of the allele demonstrated more symptoms of depression and suicidal idealization in response to stressful life events. The effect was strongest for those with three or more stressful life events. Simply inheriting the gene was not enough to lead to depression, but the genes' interaction with stressful life events increased one's likelihood of developing depression. In a later study by Wilhelm et al (2006), the researchers looked at DNA samples from 127 people who are part of a longitudinal prospective study looking at mental health. The sample had been monitored for over 25 years. At five-year intervals, scientists recorded any major life events and signs of depression. They found that 80 percent of those with two short 5-HTT genes became depressed after three or more negative life events in a year, whereas those with two long genes appeared resilient - only 30 percent developed the illness in similar situations. They also found that childhood maltreatment predicts adult depression only among individuals carrying a short allele and not among those carrying the longer allele. However, much more research is needed before a clear relationship between a gene and a depression can be established.

mchgaugh & cahill (1995) methods Stress Hormones and Memory: Adrenaline

Procedure: Participants were divided into two groups. Each group saw 12 slides which were accompanied by a very different story. -In the first condition, the participant heard a rather boring story about a woman and her son who paid a visit to the son's father in a hospital where they witnessed the staff in a disaster preparation drill of a simulated accident victim. -In the second condition the participant heard a story where the boy was involved in a car accident where his feet were severed. He was quickly brought to the hospital where the surgeons reattach the injured limbs. Then he stayed in the hospitals for some weeks and then went home with is mother Two weeks after participating in the experiment the participants were asked to come back and their memory for specific details of the story were tested. -The test was a recognition task that consisted of a series of questions about the slides with three options for them to choose from. -For example, what was the job of the father of the boy in the story? A. janitor B. lab technician C. surgeon. The researchers then did a follow-up study. In the follow-up study the above procedure was repeated, but this time the participants in the "traumatic story" condition were injected with a beta-blocker called propranolol. -This is a drug which is used to treat heart disease because the beta-blockers interfere with the release of adrenaline on the body so that the heart will pump more slowly and efficiently. -However, in this study it was used to prevent activation of the amygdala. Background: If you experience a traumatic event like a car crash the physiological stress system automatically gets going. The body's "fight or flight" response kicks in and your heart starts beating faster. This is because stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released from the adrenal gland. -When adrenaline reaches the brain it activates the amygdala to send a message that something important or dangerous has happened. The amygdala is believed to play an important role in emotional aspects of memory in that it attaches emotional significance to otherwise neutral stimuli. -Generally, researchers believe that an "emotional memory" is better remembered and they argue that this is because the amygdala is in communication with other brain regions when a memory is created. The following experiment is evidence of the important role that the amygdala plays in the creation of flashbulb memories.

curtis, aunger, and rabie (2004) methods

Survey published on BBC science website and advertised in a BBC documentary; completed by 77,000 people from 165 countries - after data clearing, the sample was slightly less than 40,000 participants. Those that watched the documentary were excluded from the study as they may have been exposed to the hypothesis of the study. *procedure:* 1) participants were asked a set of demographic questions on age, sex, country, etc. 2) they were asked to rate 20 photographs that appear one-by-one on separate screens for disgust on a scale from 1(not disgusting) to 5(very disgusting); of the 20 photos, 14 compromised 7 pairs of disease vs. less salient stimuli

Scarr & Weinberg (1983) Adolescent Adoption Study HERITABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE:

The IQ correlations of the biologically related siblings were similar to those in the transracial adoption study: 0.35. However, the IQ correlation of adopted children who were reared together for 18 years was zero. researchers concluded that observed results may be due to niche-picking. young children reared in the same family are similar to each other, no matter whether they are genetically related or not, because they share similar rearing environment.on the other hand,older adolescents are similar only if they share genes.this may mean that they have escaped the influences of the family and are now free to select their own environment. the fact that biologically related children select similar environments (which may explain the observed correlation of 0.35) is an example of niche-picking. In this way, genetically related people become more and more similar with age as the genetic programme "unfolds" and the child begins to pick is or her "niches" in the environment. this process can either strengthen or weaken the effects of the environment.

newcomer et al (1999) aim Stress Hormones and Memory: cortisol

The aim of the research was to investigate whether high levels of the stress hormone cortisol interfere with verbal declarative memory

Rogers & Kesner (2003): Results

The findings were that the scopolamine group took longer and made more mistakes in the learning of the maze - that is, there was a higher average number of mistakes made on the last five trials on Day 1. However, it did not appear to have an effect on retrieval of memories that had already been created. It appears that acetylcholine may play an important role in the consolidation of spatial memories

zak (2009) results oxytocin and Trust

The participants were 27% stingier when they had received the testosterone gel than when the received the placebo. The findings suggest that men with naturally high testosterone levels would be expected to be more selfish and also more likely to punish others for violations of social norms. When compared to the findings in Baumgartner's study, it appears that testosterone has the opposite effect of oxytocin - a rise in distrust and an increase in selfish behavior

HM (milner) Results

The researchers concluded that the hippocampus plays a critical role in converting memories of experiences from short-term memory to long-term memory. Since HM was able to retain some memories for events that happened long before his surgery it indicates that the hippocampus is not the site of permanent storage but rather plays a role in the organization and permanent storage of memories elsewhere in the brain. • After the operation HM remembered his childhood very well. His personality appeared largely unchanged. However, HM suffered from anterograde amnesia - he was no longer able to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory. • HM could not acquire new episodic knowledge (memory for events) and he could not acquire new semantic knowledge (general knowledge about the world). This suggests that the brain structures that were removed from his brain are important for long-term explicit memory. • Memories in the form of motor skills, i.e. procedural memories, were well maintained, for example he knew how to mow a lawn. He also showed improvements on the performance of new skills such as reverse mirror-drawing in which he had to acquire new eye-hand coordination. • he had the ability for working memory, able to carry on normal conversation.it requires minimal level of retention of what has just been heard and said. asked to recall number 584, HM was able to do so even 15 minutes later, by means of constant rehearsal. but later he could not be able to recall the number.

meaney et al (1988) results Hormones & love

The researchers found that high levels of glucocorticoids - stress hormones - in the early life of a rat resulted in changes that affected the rats in old age. Increased exposure to adrenal glucocorticoids accelerated hippocampal neuron loss and cognitive impairments in aging. one can see that the rats taken away from their mothers at a young age and were not groomed by the researchers took a much more circuitous route to get to the platform when they reached old age Hippocampal cell loss and pronounced spatial memory deficits emerged with age in the neglected rats, but were almost absent in the rats groomed by the researchers. So, what has happened? -It appears that the extra stroking that the rats received led to an activation of genes which are responsible for the reaction to the stress response. This is an example of epigenetics - the grooming process "turns on" the genes which help the young rat cope with stress - which then leads to a longer and healthier life. -Epigenetics: the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.

fisher, araon, & brown (2005) results (neurotransmitter & Love)

The researchers found that using photographs of participants' beloveds was an effective method for eliciting feelings of romantic passion, so they used these in their study. The fMRI results showed that distinctly different parts of the brain were activated when the participants viewed photos of their beloveds versus acquaintances. When viewing photos of their beloveds,an area of the brain known as the right ventral tegmental area (VTA) was activated. This is a dopamine rich area of the brain and is part of the brain's "reward system". Prior research has shown this area of the brain is associated with "pleasure, general arousal, focused attention and motivation to pursue and acquire rewards."

Baumgartner et al (2008) results oxytocin and trust

The researchers saw that the feedback had different results. Participants who had received a placebo before they started playing were more likely to decrease their rate of trust after they had been briefed that their trust had been broken. Participants who had received oxytocin in the nasal spray continued to invest at similar rates. Apparently, it did not matter to them that their partner had broken their trust. The researchers could also see different brain areas were active in the two groups. Participants in the oxytocin group showed decreases in responses in the amygdala and ******caudate nucleus.******The amygdala is involved in emotional processing and fear learning. It has many oxytocin receptors. The caudate nucleus is associated with learning and memory; it plays a role in reward-related responses and learning to trust. The researchers hypothesized that oxytocin may have a role in decreasing fear reactions (via the amygdala) that may arise as a consequence of betrayal and our reliance on positive feedback that can influence future decisions (via caudate nucleus). -It seems that oxytocin may facilitate the expression of trust even after trust has been violated by potentially lowering defense mechanisms associated with social risk.This seems to happen by ignoring the negative feedback, which is important for adapting behavior in the future. An interesting finding was that the researchers could only observe these behavioral and neural results when participants played the trust game but not when they played the risk game against a computer. According to the researchers, this suggests that oxytocin's effect on trust only comes into play in interactions with real people.

Squire(1992) Results

The results of AMI The accuracy of all his responses was verified by at least two family members. For the recent time period, EP performed extremely poorly. He did better at answering questions about his early adult life, but his scores were still below the control scores. In contrast, EP performed normally when answering questions about his childhood, scoring nearly as high as the highest-scoring control subjects. results of cardboard rectangles:However, he couldn't remember which objects were correct. The experiment was repeated twice a week for months. On each day that the experiment was repeated, there were 40 pairings. The findings were surprising. After 28 days he was choosing the correct object 85% of the time; after 36 days he was right 95% of the time. He would even turn the objects over on his own, even though he didn't remember that there would be a sticker there, as he could not recall ever doing the task. the MRI found that the anterior temporal lobe was the most damaged - including the amygdala and hippocampus.it also found that the basal ganglia was undamaged. The Basal Ganglia is associated with procedural memory. Finding the basal ganglia undamaged explains why EP could find the kitchen and the bathroom. it also explains why he was able to make breakfast and other tasks that were routine. of course this also explains squires experiment with the pairing of objects. It also explains why he could take a walk around the block by himself, because his wife had taken him on daily walks after his surgery, after doing so many times it became routine,if there was an obstruction of the sidewalk then he could not continue the walk since it was out of routine.

Atri (2004): Method Neurotransmission and Memory

The sample was made up of 28 participants (9 men, 19 women) from a local university.All were native English speakers. In phase 1 of the experiment, participants were read a list of 18 related pairs of words (robber-jail) intermixed with 18 unrelated pairs (stereo-fudge). There were also six pairs of words at the beginning and the end of the list that were not tested, but were there to prevent primacy and recency effect. They were tested for recall by providing the first word in the pair. Participants then had a delay period of 30 to 50 minutes, during which the participants performed distractor tasks. They were then read a new list of word pairs. 18 of the pairs used the same first word as in the first list, but changed the second word. These are called the overlapping pairs. The other 18 pairs were new pairs of words, not used in the first list. These were referred to as the non-overlapping pairs. They were cued with the second word in the pair to see if they could recall the other word in the pair. In phase 2 of the experiment, the same procedure was used as in phase 1, except that each participant was randomly allocated to one of three conditions: no injection, a glycopyrrolate injection which excites acetylcholine receptor sites, or a scopolamine injection, which inhibits acetylcholine receptor sites.

newcomer et al (1999) results Stress Hormones and Memory: Cortisol

The study seems to clearly indicate an effect of stress related hormones on recall of declarative memory. Errors tended to be of omission rather than commission, indicating that the results are not due to attention impairment, but impairment of recall. - In the placebo treated group, paragraph recall performance improved over the course of the four days, most likely do to a practice effect. - In contrast, the cortisol treated participants did not show an overall improvement. The results indicated that high cortisol levels impaired performance in the memory task since the participants who received the highest level of cortisol also showed the worst performance in verbal declarative memory. - The effect was not permanent, however. The performance of participants in the high cortisol condition returned to normal after they stopped taking the hormone tablet. -According to the researchers, these results demonstrate a clear link between levels of cortisol and remembering. It appears that cortisol interferes with the transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory that takes place in the hippocampus. This makes sense as there are several cortisol receptor sites on the hippocampus.

sharot et al (2007) methods

This quasi-experiment was conducted three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan. The sample was made up of 24 participants who were in New York City on that day Participants were put into an fMRI. While in the scanner, they were presented with word cues on a screen The list of words is listed in the chart below. In addition, the word "Summer" or "September" was projected along with this word in order to have the participant link the word to either summer holidays or to the events of 9-11. Participants' brain activity was observed while they recalled the event The memories of personal events from the summer served as a baseline of brain activity for evaluating the nature of 9/11 memories. After the brain scanning session, participants were asked to rate their memories for vividness, detail, confidence in accuracy and arousal. Participants were also asked to write a description of their personal memories

*Antonova et al* (2011): *aim* Neurotransmission and Memory

To determine how blocking the acetylcholine receptors in the brain affects spatial memory

HM (Corkin) Aim

To investigate the extent of the hippocampal and medial temporal lobe damage to H.M.'s brain and to determine whether this could be sufficient to have resulted in the drastic memory loss suffered by H.M.

Squire(1992) Aim

To investigate the impact of damaged amygdala and hippocampus on memory creation and to discuss the biological factors on memory

Atri (2004): aim Neurotransmission and Memory

To test the role of acetylcholine in memory formation in preventing proactive interference

CARRION ET AL (2009) Method

Twenty-seven adolescents between the ages of 10-17 years (16 with PTSS and 11 healthy controls) encoded and retrieved visually presented nouns (Verbal Declarative Memory Task) while undergoing fMRI scanning.

kosfeld et al (2005) results Oxytocin and Trust

_____________ of the experiment showed that the level of trust in those participants who received a dose of oxytocin was higher than in the control group. the median transfer of investors was 10 in the oxytocin group and 8 in the control group. forty-five percent of subjects in the oxytocin group showed the maximum trust level (12 monetary unit), whereas only 21% in the placebo group showed the maximum trust level the authors suggested two alternative explanations for this findings -oxytocin reduces risk aversion in general -oxytocin increases people's trust in other humans In order to clarify, they designed a follow-up study in which an independent group of subjects played a similar trust game, but this time against a random mechanism (software). the algorithm in software was modeled after decision of real people (trustees) in the previous experiment, so the investors feed exactly the same risks as in the "human" experiment, only this time they knew they were playing against machines. No difference was observed in this experiment between the oxytocin and placebo groups. the median transfer was eight monetary units in both conditions. the researchers concluded that oxytocin specifically affects trust in interpersonal interactions.

meaney et al (1988) methods Hormones & love

carried out a study on the role of hormones on memory in rats. More importantly, the study showed that the mother's touch or grooming of her offspring actually lead to gene expression, which helps in the regulation of stress. Meaney and his team used an independent samples design. The rats were randomly allocated to one of two conditions. Treatment group: Newborn rats were handled daily by the researchers for three weeks - from the day of their birth until the day of weaning. During this time they were taken away from their mothers for 15 minutes and placed in a plastic container lined with a paper towel. They were then brushed for an intense 15 minutes to simulate the grooming of the mother rat. -The rats in the control group were taken away from their mother but there was no handling by the researchers. This group served as the control condition. To test the effect of these elevated rates of stress hormones over their lifetime, two-year old rats were put into a pool of milky water. In the pool was a platform. Meaney and his team tracked the route of the rats as they sought out the platform based on the rats' memories of previous attempts to escape the water. Background: rat's stress circuit. When the rat is stressed, stress signals travel from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland and then to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands then release the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is released from the adrenal glands and travels to hippocampus, where it binds to glucocorticoid receptor sites. When cells in the hippocampus detect cortisol, which binds to the receptor sites, a message is sent to the hypothalamus that shuts down the Fight or Flight response. Long term exposure to cortisol causes neurons to admit more calcium through channels in their membrane. This leads to over-stimulation which then leads to hippocampal cell death. This is a problem when it comes to our ability to create memory as the hippocampus is the location of acetylcholine receptor sites. Loss of hippocampal cells correlates with lower levels of acetylcholine. Research shows that there is a correlation between high levels of glucocorticoids, low levels of acetylcholine and Alzheimer's

lundstorm & olsson (2005) results pheromones

first thing of note is that the participants were not able to discriminate between the two smells - the placebo and the androstadienone solution (so any demonstrated effects would be without conscious awareness). women had a significantly stronger overall positive mood when exposed to androstadienone; women also felt more focused during exposure to androstadienone; in addition, there was a stronger positive mood and reported focus in the experimental group when the experimenter was Male

Lashley (Method)

in a typical study he would train a rat to run through a maze without errors in search of food. after learning occurred, he would remove a area from the cortex. then he would place the rat back at the start of the maze and register the change in behaviour. removed varying portions of the cortex in different rats, ranging from 10% to 50%.the idea was that if memory of the maze is localized somewhere, then by removing area after area you will finally be able to pinpoint the specific region in the cortex responsible. • In a typical study he would train a rat to run through a maze without errors in search of food. After learning occurred, he would remove an area from the cortex, then place the rat back at the start of the maze and register the change in behavior.

Lashley (Results)

it was found that memory is not as evenly (and unfairly) distributed in the cortex as Lashley had thought the search for localization of function of Learning and memory failed, so lashley abandoned his initial hypothesis. •he concluded that memory was distributed rather than localized. the conclusion supported the following observations •principle of mass action:based on a correlation observed between the percentage of cortex removed and learning abilities. - the less cortex, the slower and more inefficient the learning. the key idea here is that performance deterioration depends on the percentage of cortex destroyed but not on the location of the destroyed cells •equipotentially: this refers to the ability of one part of the cortex to take over the functions of another part of the cortex

Rosenzweig (Method)

male rats from the same litter were randomly allocate into one of two types of stimulating environments and the control environment: •Control Environment: there were three rats in the cage •Impoverished Condition: the researchers placed each rat in individual cages. the individual cages lacked the toys and the maze which where in the enriched environment •Enriched condition: the researchers placed 10-12 rats in a cage containing different stimulus objects to explore and play with. All groups had free and adequate access to food and water. The rats typically spent 30 to 60 days in their respective environments before they were killed in order for the researchers to study changes in the brain's anatomy.

bouchard & mcgue (1981) methods

meta-analysis off 111 studies correlational study done of: -MZ twins (share 100% of their genes because they develop from the same egg) -DZ twins (share 50% of their genes because they developed from two different eggs that were fertilized at the same time); just like siblings and just like parents with their biological children; (children take roughly half of their genes from each of the parents). there is no genetic similarity between adopting parents and their adopted children. assumptions made on the imagination that genes were the only thing causing IQ differences between people.In this case we should observe the following pattern: -MZ twins have a perfect correlation of 1(irrespective of whether they are reared together or apart.) -DZ twins , siblings and parents with their biological children have the second largest correlation, and adopting parents and offspring a correlation of zero. However, environment also contributes to the variability of IQ, so MZ twins reared together are expected to have a higher correlation than MZ twins reared apart due to the exposure to a common environment. taking this into account, the expected degree of correlations obtained from summary of 111 studies follows the following predicted pattern. note the FOLLOWING POINTS -even MZ twins reared together do not have a perfect correlation of their IQ scores. this probably shows the influence of individual environments on the development of IQ -at the same time, a correlation with an effect size of .85 is large. -if you put two of the values - correlation between MZ twins reared together and correlation between DZ twins reared together - into falconer's formula (see above), you obtain the estimate of heritability of IQ: 2x(.85-.58)=2x0.27=54%

sperling (2002) Method Neurotransmission and Memory

participants were shown a grid of 3x4 letters and numbers for 50 milliseconds and asked to recall as many as possible. this was repeated with three tones that correlated to a specific row and participants were asked to recall as much as possible of the row associated with the tone they heard IV: time before the tone (0.1-0.3 seconds) DV: letters and numbers recalled they were either asked to write down all 12 items or hear a tone after the exposure an write down that row (partial-report) -high tone-top row, medium tone-middle row, low tone - bottom row

lundstorm & olsson (2005) methods pheromones

participants: -37 hetrosexuala women (mean age 25) thermal menstrual cycle, absence of nasal congestion and infection, olfactory dysfunctions, use of tobacco products, and use of any hormonal substances, including oral contraceptives, during the last 6 months -participants respond to flyers placed on campus; experiment was double blind, within groups design, and was counterbalanced - participants were exposed to androstadienone or control solution in the presence of either a male or female experimenter (age 30,28) procedure: -at the start of the season, a baseline mood test was administered; then, electrodes for the psychophysiological recordings were attached filled by a 2 min. psychophysiological baseline recording phase (the test was repeated 9 times to define any differences in smell sensitivity among participants). next a discrimination test was given, then the attention task. the attention task was explained to each participant and they were allowed to train on the task for 2 min. -directly after training, the solution was applied above the upper lip with a cotton swab. the participants then performed the 20 min attention task that was accompanied by the psychophysiological recordings. after completion of the attention task, attractiveness ratings of the male faces together with the response times for the ratings were collected. the session ended with the second mood test. each session took approximately 60 min with the experimenter present in the room during the whole session.

*Antonova et al* (2011): *results* Neurotransmission and Memory

the researchers found that when participants were injected with scopolamine, they demonstrated a significant reduction in the activation of the hippocampus compared to when they received a placebo. -there is a high concentration of acetylcholine receptor sites in the hippocampus. -it appears that acetylcholine could play a key role in the encoding of spatial memories in humans.

freed et al (2001) methods Dopamine & Parkinson's Disease

participants: sample consisted of 40 patients who were 34-75 years old and had severe parkinson's disease, with the mean duration of 14 years. the sample was randomly divided into two groups: -the experimental group received a transplant of nerve cells and the control group underwent sham surgery. -in the transplant group, nerve tissue containing dopamine-producing neurons was taken from embryos aborted 7-8 weeks after conception and transplanted into the patients' putamen- a structure of the limbic system involved in movement regulation all surgeries were performed with the patient awake. local anesthesia was administered to the skin of the forehead and four holes were drilled through the frontal bone, after which the tissue was transplanted through long needles. in the sham surgery group, holes were drilled in the skull but the dura (a thick membrane that surrounds the brain) was not penetrated. otherwise, the procedure was identical -triangulation was used before and after surgery with clinical observations and interviews and PET scans. -the a participants in the __________ et al study were followed longitudinally in a double-blind manner for 1 year following the surgery

Hare et al (2017) methods pheromones

participants: self-reported heterosexual,non-smoking, adult Caucasian participants (43 male and 51 female; mean age=23.7) were recruited from the university of Western Australian camps Two tasks were administered. -task 1: tested perceptions of gender. -lasted approximately 2-5 min, excluding a 2 MIN buffer for the treatment to take effect, showed participants five gender netural morphed faces for 2 secs each and required the participant to assign a gender, either male or female, to each face.the portion of faces perceived as female was recorded on each day, and a difference score was created for each participant by subtracting scores in the control condition from scores in the treatment condition. when choosing faces from the dataset for morphing, bald or bearded men were excluded to prevent distinctly gendered visual cues appearing in the morphs. other than this stipulation, faces were selected randomly from the dataset. (a pilot study had also been completed previously) -task 2: assessed perceptions of attractiveness and unfaithfulness. -lasted approximately 10-25MIN and continued directly from the first task. participant were shown front-view color photographs of opposite- sex Caucasian adult faces with neural expression for 2sec. Each. Oval masks hid most of the hair of the faces. participants recorded attractiveness and predicted unfaithfulness scores, each on a scale from 1(low) to 10(high), for each face. difference scores(treatment minus control) for average attractiveness and average unfaithfulness were created for each participant. Of the 94 participants, 46 completed the gender task, and 94 completed the two ratings tasks To control for individual differences in ratings, each participant completed the same task twice, on consecutive days, and received different olfactory stimuli on each day. participants were assigned one of the two pheromone treatments ( AND or EST, masked with clove oil) pseudo-randomly to ensure balance, and every participant received the control (clove oil only). stimulus order was randomized to counterbalance any effects of learning or familiarity. treatments were administered by a cotton ball taped under the nose, so that participants were exposed to the assigned stimulus throughout each of the computer sessions

romero et al (2014) results Hormones & Love

recordings were analyzed using a checklist of dog behaviors. showed that dogs sprayed with oxytocin showed higher affiliation towards their owner. Affiliation was operationalized as sniffing, licking, gentle touching with the nose or paw, play bouts and body contact. They also spent significantly more time in close proximity to their owner. Similar results were shown for the dog partner - affiliation and approach were more frequent in the oxytocin condition. • The effects of oxytocin were found to be bi-directional -subsequent blood tests showed that the more often the dog interacted with the owner and the dog partner, the higher the levels of endogenous oxytocin it had. • So oxytocin triggers social interaction, and social interaction affects the release of more oxytocin. • The researchers concluded that oxytocin performs the function of maintaining close social bonds in mammals.

Fisher, Aron, & Brown (2005) hypotheses (neurotransmitter & Love

that when people in love saw images of their beloveds (the person they're in love with), the dopamine in their brains would increase in areas of the brain associated with motivation. they predicted that romantic love was not an emotion, but rather a motivation system that leads to emotions. they tested the hypothesis by using fMRI.

CARRION ET AL (2009)Results

the PTSS group demonstrated reduced activation of the right hippocampus during the retrieval component of the task. Further, severity of symptoms of avoidance and numbing correlated with reduced left hippocampal activation during retrieval. • Conclusions: decreased activity of the hippocampus during a verbal memory task may be a neurofunctional marker of PTSD in youth with history of interpersonal trauma.

Merzenich et al (Results)

the first mapping showed that there were 5 distinct areas in the brain, each responsible for one finger, and adjacent fingers were represented in adjacent areas in the cortex. what happens to the area responsible for the third finger after this finger is amputated?it was found that adjacent areas ( those responsible for sensitivity from digits 2 and 4) spread and occupied part of the now unused area. the areas responsible for digits 2 and 4 became larger while the areas responsible for digits 1 and 5 stayed the same.

Hare et al (2017) results pheromones

there were no significant differences between the control group and the experimental group during the gender classification task, in the attractiveness ratings, or in unfaithfulness ratings. the researchers concluded that androstadienone and estratetraenol do not act as signals of gender, attractiveness, or unfaithfulness

romero et al (2014) aim Hormones & Love

to demonstrate that oxytocin promotes social bonds between mammals in a non-reproductive manner

kosfeld et al (2005) aim Oxytocin and Trust

to determine if oxytocin increases trust in humans

meaney et al (1988) aim Hormones & love

to determine the effect of glucocorticoids (stress hormones) on memory

Hare et al (2017) Aim pheromones

to examine the effects of androstadienone

Draganski et al (2004) Aim

to find out whether the human brain can really change structure in response to environmental demands.

Lashley (Aim)

to find the part of the brain where learning and memory are localized in the cortex

weaver et al (2004) aim BEHAVIORAL EPIGENETICS: REGULATING STRESS RESPONSES

to investigate the epigenetics mechanism in the influence of nurturing of vulnerability to stress

CARRION ET AL (2009) Aim

to investigate the function of the hippocampus in adolescents with post-traumatic stress symptoms during a memory processing task

Baumgartner et al (2008) Aim oxytocin and trust

to investigate the role of oxytocin following breaches of trust

Ferguson et al (2000) aim Hormones & love

to investigate the role of oxytocin in social memory in rodents (mice)

sperling (2002) aim Neurotransmission and Memory

to look at the limited duration of sensory storage and to prove the existence of iconic memory

BREMNER ET AL (2003) Aim

to measure both hippocampal structure and function in women with and without early childhood sexual abuse and the diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Maguire et al. (2000) Aim

to see whether the brains of London taxi drivers would be somehow different as a result of the exceptional training they have to do to be certified.

Merzenich et al (Aim)

to study neuroplasticity on the level of cortical remapping

zak (2009) aim oxytocin and Trust

to study the effect of testosterone on a male's generosity and sense of agression

lundstorm & olsson (2005) aim pheromones

to study the effects of androstadienone (derivative of testosterone and one of te chemical components of sweat) on women's

fisher, aron, & brown (2005) aim (neurotransmitter & Love)

to study the neural mechanisms of romantic love

Freed et al (2001) aim Dopamine & Parkinson's Disease

to study the role of dopamine in Parkinson's disease

Mcgaugh & Cahill (1995) Aim Stress Hormones and Memory: Adrenaline

to study the role of emotion on the creation of memories.

HM (milner) Aim

to study the role of memory function in regards to the hippocampus,and also to see the extent of the damage caused by the surgery

Caspi *aim* Behavioral Epigenetic: Depression

to study the role that gene mutation and epigenetics may play in major depressive disorder. specifically the role of 5-HTT gene in depression.

curtis, aunger, and rabie (2004) *aim*

to test the hypothesis that disgust is primarily an adaptation for disease avoidance

sharot et al (2007) aim

was to determine the potential role of biological factors on flashbulb memories

Rogers & Kesner (2003): Aim

was to determine the role of acetylcholine in the formation of spatial memory

Rosenzweig (Aim)

was to investigate whether environmental factors such as a rich or an impoverished environment would affect the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex.

sperling (2002) Results Neurotransmission and Memory

when asked to report the whole grid, their recall was poorer, on average (4 items, 35%) than when asked to give one row only (3 items, 75%) conclusion - this shows that information decays rapidly in the sensory store and if attention is not paid to something, it will not be remembered To test this idea, he conducted another experiment in which he sounded a tone immediately after flashing the image on the screen, a high tone directed subjects to report the letters in the top row, a medium tone directed subjects to report the middle row, and a low tone directed subjects to report letters in the bottom row, Sperling found that subjects could accurately recall the letters in each row most of the time, no matter which row the tone specified

Rosenzweig (Results)

•Post-mortem studies of their brains showed that those that had been in the stimulating environment had an increased thickness in the cortex as a result of increased dendritic branching compared to the rats in the deprived environment. •The frontal lobe, which in humans is associated with thinking, planning, and decision making, was heavier in the rats that had been in the stimulating environment. •The combination of having company and many interesting toys created the best conditions for developing cerebral thickness. •This raises the question of the importance of stimulation and education in the growth of new synapses. • If learning always results in an increase of dendritic branching, then the findings from animal studies that show increased dendritic branching in response to environmental stimulation are important for the human cortex as well.

BREMNER ET AL (2003) Method

• 33 women participated in this study, including women with early childhood sexual abuse and PTSD (N=10), women with abuse without PTSD (N=12), and women without abuse or PTSD (N=11). • The researchers used an MRI to measure the volume of the hippocampus in all of the participants, and a PET scan to measure its level of function during a verbal declarative memory test.

MAGUIRE ET AL (2000) Method

• All potential taxi drivers must learn "the Knowledge" - that is, they must form a mental map of the city of London. • The participants for the quasi-experiment were 16 right-handed male London taxi drivers. • The brain of the taxi drivers were MRI scanned and compared with the MRI scans of 50 right-handed males who did not drive taxis (control group). • In order to take part in the study, the participants had to have completed the "Knowledge" test and have their license for at least 1.5 years. The controls were taken from an MRI database. • The sample included a range of ages so that age would not be a confounding variable. • The study is correlational as the IV was not manipulated by the researcher, but naturally occurring. • The researchers were looking to see if there was a relationship between the number of years of driving a taxi and the anatomy of one's brain. • It was also a single-blind study - that is, the researcher did not know whether he/she waslooking at the scan of a taxi driver or a control.

DRAGANSKI ET AL (2004) Results

• Comparison of the brain scans in the two groups prior to the start of the experiment showed no differences in the brain structure. • Comparison of the second scans showed the juggler group had significantly more grey matter in some areas of the cortex - most notably the mid-temporal area in both hemispheres(areas associated with coordination and movement). • The third scan showed a decrease in the differences between the two groups, but the amount of grey matter in these areas in jugglers was still greater than at the time of the first scan. • Also there was a correlation between juggling performance and the amount of change: brain changes in participants who trained better were more pronounced.

DRAGANSKI ET AL (2004) Method

• Researchers used random sampling design and a self-selected sample. They randomly allocated volunteers into one of two groups: jugglers and non-jugglers. • They made sure the groups had no experience of juggling before the start of the experiment. • Whole brain MRI scans were performed before the start of the experiment. • Participants in the juggler group then spent 3 months learning a classic juggling routine with 3 balls. Another brain MRI was performed. • Participants spent another 3 months where they were instructed not to practice juggling. A third MRI scan was completed. • The control group (non-jugglers) just lived their daily lives and had their brains scanned 3 times on the same schedule as the jugglers.

MAGUIRE ET AL (2000) Results

• There were two key findings of the study: 1) The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control subjects and the anterior hippocampus were significantly smaller 2) The volume of the right posterior hippocampus correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver. • No differences were observed in other parts of the brain. • Maguire argues that this demonstrates that the hippocampus may change in response to environmental demands.