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Biological Area (Sperry (Aim: To study effects of hemispheric…
Biological Area
Sperry
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Procedure: Visual test: One eye covered, gaze at fixed point on projection screen, visual stimuli projected onto screen on L/R at high speed. Tactile test: Objects placed in hands, when under a screen.
Results: Object placed in left hand/visual field could be identified by left hand only. Object in right hand/visual field could be identified by right hand and named.
Conclusions: Left hemisphere controls language. Corpus callosum is needed to pass info from hemisphere to the other.
Casey
Aim: To see if delay of gratification in children same when adults (40's). Exp2: To see if high and low delayers have different brain activity.
Sample: Exp1: 59 (23male & 36 female) from USA (32 high delayers & 27 low delayers). Exp2; 27 (15 high& 11 low). Original sample 562 in late 60's, marshmallow test.
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Procedure: Exp1: Pp's completed 4 go/no-go tasks on laptop. Cool task- male/female stimuli. Hot task- happy/fearful faces stimuli. Exp2: Pp's completed hot go/no-go tasks whilst having fMRI scan.
Results: Exp1: LD&HD same for go trials. LD made more errors on hot (happy face) no-go trials. Can't resist hot stimuli. Exp2: LD less activity in inferior frontal gyrus (control) & more activity in ventral striatum (reward).
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Blakemore & Cooper
Aim: To investigate the development of primary visual cortex (in cats) and to find out if orientation selectivity are innate or learned.
Sample: Kittens (birth-7.5 months old.) Two of kittens (one reared in horizontal and one in vertical environment) used for neurological examination.
Method: Lab experiment, matched pairs design
Procedure: From age of 2 weeks put into special apparatus for 5 hours a day. Kitten stood on clear glass platform inside a tall cylinder entire inner surface covered with high contrast black-white stripes -vertical/horizontal. Stopped when kittens reached 5 months old. Kittens then taken for several hours each week from dark cage to small, well-lit room, furnished with tables and chairs. Visual reactions were observed and recorded. 7.5 months, 2 kittens (one horizontal and one vertical) anaesthetised so neurophysiology could be examined.
Results: The kittens initially extremely visually impaired: horizontal plane recognition cells didn't fire off in kitten from vertical environment and vertical plane cells didn't 'fire off' in kitten from horizontal environment. Difficulty moving around the room (no startle response, visual placing, struggle with paw placement).
Conclusions: Brain development is determined by functional demands made upon it, rather than genetic factors; demonstrating brain plasticity.
Maguire
Aim: To see if the hippocampus is associated with spatial memory and navigation. To see if brain has plasticity.
Sample: 16 London taxi drivers. All male, right handed, all passed knowledge, 50 non-taxi drivers.
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Procedure: Data collected using structural MRI scans, analysed using VBM & Pixel counting. Compared grey matter vol of hippocampus between taxi drivers and non taxi drivers. Correlated length of time as TD and volume of grey matter in hippocampus.
Results: Taxi drivers larger volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus. Also greater volume for more experienced taxi drivers.
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Key studies
Sperry, Casey, Blakemore&Cooper and Maguire
Debates
Reductionism, Determinism, Individual, Nature, Psychology as a science.