Ch4 Outline Psychobiology

Chapter 4: Methods and Ethics of Research

Outline and Key Terms

1. Science, Research, and Theory

a. Distinguished by its method of acquiring knowledge

b. Theory and Tentativeness in Science

i. A theory integrates and interprets diverse observations to explain some phenomenon

ii. Dopamine theory: drugs that decrease dopamine activity would improve functioning in schizophrenics

c. Experimental versus Correlational Studies

iii. A naturalistic observation is when groups are observed with no modification

iv. A case study is based on results from a single individual

v. Experiments are studies where researcher manipulates an independent variable to produce a change in one or more dependent variables

vi. In a correlational study, the researcher does not control an independent variable, but observes whether two variables are related to each other. However, we cannot infer cause and effect with these studies

2. Research Techniques

d. Staining and imaging neural tissue makes it possible to visualize neurons, glia and connections in the brain

vii. Golgi stain- randomly stains a small number of neurons

viii. Myelin stains identify connections by staining the fatty insulation on axons and dendrites

ix. Nissl stains identify neuron cell bodies

x. Anterograde and retrograde stains are taken up at the synapse and transported to the cell body (fluorogold)

e. Labeling techniques

xi. Autoradiography reveals both neuronal anatomy and function

(1) Radioactive sugar is injected, which is taken up by active neurons and therefore are seen on x-ray devices

(2) Radioactive molecules such as neurotransmitters are injected and bind to receptors, and are seen on scans

xii. Immunocytochemistry- antibodies are labeled with markers and attach to receptors on neurons

xiii. In situ hybridization labels...