localisation of function is the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities

hippocampus is responsible for converting stm to ltm and the frontal lobe is responsible for movement, the occipital lobe regulates vision

to investigate whether the structure of an adult human brain alters in response to environmental demands as a result of learning a new motor skill

done in the everyday environment of the participants, the experimenter still manipulates the iv but in a real life setting

24 volunteers (21 female, 3 male), control mri scan, taught a 60 secs juggling routine for 3 months (new motor skill), 2nd mri to identify differences, 3 months not juggling and 3rd mri

increase in two regions (frontal and occipital lobe) after 2nd mri, 2 areas shrunk again after 3rd mri

draganski demonstrates the frontal lobe and that it is responsible for motor skills. for example, after 3 months of learning to juggle, the mri showed an increased size of the frontal lobe which then decreased when the participants stopped juggling for another 3 months. this is important because while learning the motor skill, the frontal lobe was consistently in use, causing it to increase in size. when participants stopped juggling, the lobe is no longer used, resulting in volume of the area decreasing, highlighting its true function (motor skills). therefore ...

to investigate the effect of ptsd on hippocampus volume and matter

studying one person or a group of people for a reason unique to them

33 women, 3 groups; early childhood sexual abuse and ptsd (10), abuse without ptsd (12), no abuse or ptsd (11). mri to measure volume of hippocampus, pet scan to measure level of functioning during verbal declarative memory test

abused women with ptsd had 16% smaller hippocampus volume compared to women with abuse and no ptsd, showed lack of activity when doing memory task

bremner demonstrates the effect of ptsd on hippocampus volume. for example, the hippocampus of women with abuse and ptsd had a 19% smaller hippocampus than the women with no abuse or ptsd. this is important because the difference in hippocampus size displays the lack of need for the hippocampus, which is responsible for converting stm into ltm. as the women have ptsd, they would be actively trying to suppress their memories, meaning the hippocampus would be less active, explaining the difference in volume and lower results on the verbal declarative memory test. therefore, areas of the brain are localised with specific function.

control groups, increases reliability that IV is sole influence on DV

reduces generalisability across a target pop, important to use men too