Essay On Dark Chocolate

A correlation test is done to show the correlation between the manipulated and responding variables of this experiment.

The purpose of this study was to test context-dependent memory, which refers to a pattern where recall is improved when the environment of recall is the same as the environment of learning. To study context-dependent memory, psychologists conducted two experiments. One experiment required divers to learn a list of words either underwater or on land. These divers then had to recall the list of words either in the same environment or the alternative environment. The second experiment tested whether the disruption caused by changing environments influences recall. Two groups of divers learned a list of words on land, changed environments, and returned to land to recall the list of words. These results were compared to the results of two groups of divers who learned the list on land and recalled the list on land without interference.

Additionally, to further support these theories, researchers tend to conduct studies on the famous patient case, HM, to propose the consolidation deficit theory, in which those with amnesia cannot turn short-term memories into long-term memories (Dewar et al., 2010). However, researchers Dewar, Della Sala, Beschin, and Cowan (2010), mentioned that HM’s case does not fully explain why a patient with anterograde amnesia has the ability to get better at cognitive tasks despite being unable to recall having performed those tasks at a previous time. On the same hand, Duff, Wszalek, Tranel, and Cohen (2008) mentioned that most individuals with anterograde amnesia experience heightened intelligence, attention, skill, and reasoning levels (procedural memory).

It has been shown that the development of the ability to combine events that share common information is supported by the improvement of episodic memory behaviors (Martin-Ordas et al., 2014). Further, age-related memory differences can be attributed to the development of hippocampal subregions (DeMaster et al., 2016). In particular, Cornu ammonis fields 1(CA1) functionally contribute to the encoding and generalization of related events (Schlichting et al., 2014). The improvement in associative memory inference from childhood to adulthood is also related to the developmental changes in CA1 volume (Schlichting et al., 2016).

Much psychological research suggests that new memories require time to stabilize and transfer to long-term memory and that these newly acquired memories are disposed to to interference by competing stimuli. Memory consolidation is the processes involved in the stabilization of a long-term memory after it’s initial acquisition (Dudai, 2004). Consolidation is described by two distinct theories: synaptic consolidation, which transpires in the first few hours after learning and systems learning where memories are stabilized over a period of weeks to years (Dudai, 2004).

A group of aged mice had 100µl of young or aged plasma eight times over the course of 3 weeks before testing. The fear conditioning evaluation involved mice learning to link fear conditioning chamber with an unwanted stimulus (mild foot shock) that was paired with a light and tone signal. The conditioned fear was shown as freezing behavior and mice that had young plasma injected had an increased freezing behavior. In addition, the RAWM involved a mouse locating, in one of the arms, a platform that remained constant throughout the trials ( the start arm was changed in each trial). It was revealed that aged mice injected with young plasma expressed better learning and memory when locating the hidden platform. Together, these pair of tests verify that young blood reestablishes cognitive traits in aged

Following treatment with 1g/L MPL for 5 days animals still show an intact ability to learn, this is clearly demonstrated in both the novel object location task and the novel object preference task. In both these tasks with a 1-hour delay between the acquisition and the test phase, animals are able to distinguish between the novel and familiar objects. This establishes that processes required for learning are intact. The supplementary data illustrates that in these adult animals treated with 1g/L MPL for 5 days LTP is still intact, therefore the molecular basis for the early phase of memory acquisition is intact. Treatment with MPL does not impair the ability to learn and remember previously observed objects in the shorter term. At the

This may be why women report to prefer chocolate to sex. However, tests have shown that most of the phenylethylamine in chocolate is broken down before it reaches the brain. So, the amount of phenylethylamine that actually reaches the brain is unknown (1), (3).

Episodic memory is the ability to remember incidents in one individual’s life with detached information and then recall it later as conscious re-experiences. It is said that this trait is unique to humans, acting as a distinguishing criteria between human beings and other animals. Many use this information to justify some of the studies and experiments that use animals as subjects, such as the chimp raising studies like the one written about in Fowler’s we are all completely beside ourselves. However, Fowler’s character, Fern the chimp, displays the ability to remember pieces of her early life with the Cooke family, and reacts to multiple family members later on the novel. It is also no secret that animals who are rescued often show signs of PTSD, occasionally having flashbacks when put in situations that remind them about their life before rescue.

Child maltreatment can lead to pathology through a biological avenue via epigenetics. The stress, both emotional and physical involved in any form of maltreatment, have the potential to trigger various epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression. These mechanisms are of course not limited to the nervous system, but for the sake of argument in psychopathology, these are what we are

Since hippocampus plays an important function in the brain, it has become a great topic for many conducted research not only on human but also animals, specifically primates and rodents. In primate model of amnesia, the experiment is performed through three main tasks – delayed nonmatch to sample, object discrimination paradigm and motor skill learning across multiple trials (Eichenbaum et al, 1992). In delayed non-matching test, both amnesic and intact monkey show nearly same performance rate in remembering objects across delayed in short period of time (Eichenbaum et al, 1992). In contrast, amnesic monkeys show a great impairment for longer delayed conditions, hours, in picking the right non-matched samples (Eichenbaum et al, 1992). Likewise, in object discrimination task, amnesic monkeys are unable to recognize objects, as compared to control monkeys (Eichenbaum et al, 1992).These tests suggest the importance of hippocampus in acquisition of new information and recollection old events from episodic memory. Additionally, hippocampus also contributes largely to relational representation, as a characteristic of declarative memory (Eichenbaum et al, 1992). This can be shown through odor discrimination and place

While dendritic spines help the brain communicate with neurons, synaptic plasticity enables people to learn and remember things. Secondly, the scientists discovered that the old mice who were exposed to blood from young mice had higher levels of long-term potentiation (LTP) for a longer period of time compared to the old mice who were exposed to blood from other old mice. Since it is general knowledge in the scientific community that LTP is correlated with learning and memory, Villeda and his colleagues inferred that exposure to blood from young mice improves these cognitive abilities. Thirdly, the scientists found that the old mice who were exposed to blood from young mice performed better on certain fear conditioning tasks. They excelled in fear conditioning tasks that involved environmental context rather than cues. Since environmental fear conditioning tasks are used to test hippocampal involvement, this experiment demonstrated that changes due to young blood occurred in the

Learning is a very important aspect of humans and creatures alike. Not only is it essential to the survival and adaption into this world but it also defines who we are as individuals (Schiller et al, 2010; Tronson & Taylor, 2007). Memories from past experiences shape the people that we are today. A crucial element to learning is memory, without it we would not be able to retain information. The process of memory is very distinct and consists of several different stages: acquisition of memory, consolidation, retrieval and then either reconsolidation or extinction (Debiec & Ledoux, 2004; Diergaarde, Schoffelmeer & De Vries, 2008). As memory is such a critical aspect of learning, it is no wonder that its distinct process has become the topic of much research in the neurobiological universe (Hupbach et al, 2007; Nader & Hardt, 2009).

This impairment correlated with a deficit in learning-induced gene expression that is linked to H4K12 (Histone 4 Lysine 12) acetylation in 16-month-old Mus musculus (house mice). Restoring the acetylation marks reinstates the expression of the learning genes and results in unimpaired cognitive abilities. The researchers were able establish a causal link between age related memory impairment and H4K12 (Histone 4 Lysine 12) acetylation. However, histone acetylation is not the only epigenetic mark shown with effects on aging, learning and memory. It has been shown that pharmacologically disrupting DNA methylation prevents formation of fear memory. In the hippocampus, inhibiting DNA methyltransferase (DNMT), the enzyme responsible for DNA methylation, can lower levels of histone acetylation. Histone acetylation is necessary for long term potentiation (LTP), the consolidation of long term memory. These effects can also be reversed by pharmacologically increasing histone acetylation before inhibiting DNMT. Much of the previous research on epigenetics and aging has focused on learning and long term memory. However, aging also effects working

for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at UC Irvine, California. They conducted a study where a