Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay Example for Free

Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay This study was conducted to see the consequences for listening comprehension by examining the effects of a glucose drink on performance. The researchers predicted a hypothesis. The hypothesis being that listening span will be sensitive to glucose consumption. Students who fasted overnight would improve after drinking a glucose drink, where the placebo drink would not improve performance after fasting. The hypothesis was supported. There was an alternate/ research hypothesis used in this study. The independent variable was the glucose and the placebo that was being used in the study. It also shows that there was a difference between the two groups being tested. The numbers show that the glucose level was higher when real sugar drinks were being used. The data was collected by physical measures. They took a convenience sampling of eighty A- level students from two colleges. Within the sample there were 44 males and 36 females. The participants were asked to report to a specific room at 9 a. m. No more than 10 were in each room within a particular college. They were randomly assigned either the glucose or placebo group (they were unaware of any distinction). They were administered a version of the Listening Span Test. The students listened to a series of sentences. Then on a response sheet, they would record whether the preposition in each sentence was true or false. Then the students were required to write down, in forward serial order the last word in each sentence. After completion there was a twenty minute interval. Students were given orange juice to drink. One group got real orange juice; the other was given a placebo drink to emulate orange juice. They were then given a different version of the Listening Span Test. Researchers took ten samples of blood; five from placebo and five from glucose group. There wasn’t a difference in the taste of the beverages that was given to the students, even though one drink had 50 grams of glucose and the placebo contained the 2 grams of sweetex in place of the glucose. There was a clinically trained staff member that handled all of the sampling as well as the disposal of the materials that was being used to conduct the study. The students that took part of this study gave three blood samples before the drinks were consumed, and three more samples of blood was required 20 minutes after the Listening Span Test was given for the second time. They used the experimental method to analyze the data, using the glucose drink and placebo drink as an independent variable compared to the test scores as the dependent variable. The researcher controlled as much as possible to determine the cause and effect relationship exists between the variables being studied. The research design was quantitative due to the data analysis and cannot take place until all data had been collected. The researcher starts with a hypothesis for testing, observes and collected the data, analyzes the data, and drew conclusions. There was a statistical significance found when comparing listening span test score of 2. 4 before the drink to 3. 1 after the drink. In examining the data collected, the corollary effects shown were the scores showed improvement in the glucose group after receiving the drink compared to no performance difference before the drink was consumed. Controlling blood sugar is very important because sugar is used as a fuel, but cannot be stored; it is broken down and released into the blood stream. Every person’s glucose levels are different; this test was done on healthy students that had never been diagnosed with having any problems with high glucose/sugar levels. If it had been done on some people that had been diagnosed with diabetes and some that are in good health, the results would have been much higher. There was a factor that could affect the internal validity of the study. The pancreas could affect blood glucose levels; because when blood sugar drops it releases glycogen from the liver. So after the fasting the body its self would release glycogen into the bloodstream. Therefore they could not present a clear relationship between blood sugar level and cognitive capacity. What we did learn was the brain uses glucose as its fuel. The glucose levels of the students that did participate in the study stayed the same, and the listening span did improve after the consumption of the glucose drink. There was no difference or change in the listening span of the students that had beverages containing saccharine. Fasting also played a role in this study; it helped improve the listening span after the students received drinks that contained real sugar (glucose). The purpose of using the Listening Span Test was to measure the capacity of verbal memory. Sentences were read to the students the longest was six sentences long. This was done to determine how much the students could comprehend in a short period of time. In conclusion the research showed a modest increase in listening span performance after a glucose drink was taken. It was preferable for students to eat a nutritious breakfast but if not the students could consume a convenient form of glucose to elevate blood sugar levels that suggests a relationship between glucose drink and improvement level of performance. This conclusion falls into explanatory use. It meets guidelines such as having a dependent and independent variable, a control group and experimental group. This study showed a clear cause and effect relationship due to the increase in listening span after drinking the glucose. All students were given guidelines to follow before the test was administered and was randomly selected from their local colleges. While the study had merit, the potential threat to the internal validity needs to be addressed. How much did the pancreas contribute to raising the glucose levels in the body?

Imaging Techniques and Cognitive Function Essay examples -- Medicine

Neuroimaging is a multidiscipline science and experts from the field of psychology, statistics, physics and physiology all contribute to its further development (Poldrack et al., 2007). In the last 20 years the imaging techniques developed from single proton emission tomography (SPET) to positron emission tomography (PET) and finally to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (Page, 2006). Their applications are numerous in experimental and cognitive psychology. However, at one level they can constitute another dependent variable (brain activity) as a response to an independent variable (stimulus manipulation) and at the other level, understanding the structure and processes of the brain can shed light on ‘normal’ cognitive functioning (Kaye, 2010). Therefore, this essay will argue that imaging techniques not only tell us about the brain structure but also try to explain its cognitive functions. Two non-invasive imaging techniques will be put forward, namely, electr oencephalogram (EEG) that measures electrical activity and gives excellent temporal resolution and fMRI that is based on changes in blood supply and provides excellent spatial resolution. The claim will be evaluated in the light of their basic assumptions, methodology and contribution to examining the brain function. Relevant evidence of studies with healthy adults will be provided. Finally, technologies that can only show the brain structure will be introduced. First, let us look at the electroencephalogram (EEG), which is based on recordings of electrical brain activity with millisecond temporal resolution and it provides â€Å"the most direct measure correlate of ongoing brain processing that can be obtained non-invasively (Johnsrude and Hauk, 2010, p. 28). The ba... ...12 from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b047404-ffff-413f-b018-a4213e391053%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=110 Page, M. A. (2006). What can't functional neuroimaging tell the cognitive psychologist?. Cortex: A Journal Devoted To The Study Of The Nervous System And Behavior, 42(3), 428-443. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0010945208703757 Poldrack, R.A., Fletcher, P.C., Henson, R.N., Worsley, K.J., Brett, M. and Nichols, T.E. (2007). Guidelines for reporting an fMRI study. NeuroImage, 40 (2), 409-414. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811907011020 Whatson, T. (2006) Studying the brain: Techniques and technology. In Exploring the Brain (2nd ed.), 11-41, The Open University, Milton Keynes.

Compare Contrast Fall of Han China and Roman Empire

The Roman and Han Empires were the most powerful empires among the Classical Empires. The Han Dynasty and Roman Empire were similar in their falls because they both fell to nomadic invaders, and because they both fell because of a decline in economic trade. The Han and the Roman Empires were different in their falls because the Han suffered from serious revolts whereas the Romans did not; also the effects of their falls were different because China was able to make a fairly quick comeback whereas Rome was never able to do so. The Roman and Han empires were similar in their falls because of they both fell to nomadic invaders. Nomads attacked the empires to try and conquer them. The Romans were attacked by Germanic tribes and Han China was attacked by the Huns. Because both empires borders were so large, they were unable to fully protect their borders making it easy for their invaders to defeat them. The Han and the Roman Empires failing due to nomadic invaders is similar to the fall of the Gupta because one of the main reasons they fell was because of nomadic invaders conquering them and then splitting them up into regional kingdoms. The Roman and Han empires falls’ were similar because of their decline in economic trade. Trade was extremely important for the Romans and Chinese so when it began to decline, so did the rest of the empire. As both empires borders expanded, they had to take more of the military to defend the borders rather than the trade routes, so the trade routes became compromised. People began stealing goods from merchants making the routes extremely dangerous. Because their was much less trade, the taxes to the government were greatly reduced so they had to tax the people more. Most people could not afford the hike in taxes so the government was still unable to get all of their money, thus resulting in decline. This is similar to the decline of the Qin Dynasty because the Qin Dynasty had to raise taxes on peasants to try and support the government, causing it to decline as well. The fall of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire are different because the Han fell to revolts whereas it was not a major cause in the fall in the Roman Empire. The Han Dynasty had many revolts; an example is the Yellow Turban Revolt, caused by frustration in the government. In Rome there were not many revolts because the government provided the peasants with bread and circuses in order to boost morale and keep them loyal to the government, which worked fairly well. The effects of the falls of the Han and the Roman Empires are different because China was able to make a comeback whereas Rome was not. After the Han fell, China was able to pull together, largely due to the economic and culture unity, whereas Romans were unable to do so. The Roman empire fell separately so the people in the eastern and western halves were very different, along with the economies. They were so different they could not come together, the government was far to fractured and the people were no longer united.

United States Involvement in the Vietnam War - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 562 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/03/26 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Vietnam War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? The Vietnam War was created by Cath Senker, an experienced author who specializes in modern history. The origin of the book was created by Heinemann Library publications in 2012. It was written to inform readers about the United States involvement in the Vietnam war. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "United States Involvement in the Vietnam War" essay for you Create order The book is composed of chapters which are broken down into subtitles. Each section describes happened and it emphasizes what they were trying to show. Students are the intended audience for Senkers book because its easy enough to read and understand but has more than enough information to learn a lot about the Vietnam War. The content in this book establishes the connections between the Vietnam War and how the United States aided in the process. Learning about the Vietnam War through this book is useful because it demonstrates how much the U.S. contributed in the war. The value of the origin makes the circumstances unconditional because the author wrote the book about four decades after the event happened. During and after are two different perspectives because even if you study and study on the topic of the Vietnam War, it wont be the same as living during the war and having first-hand experience. One positive value is that Cath Senker keeps an open-mind dur to her writing about both sides and not choosing to be one sided. When this was created (2012), there was the presidential election, gay marriage, and Syria, with these events it still doesnt accurately reflect the Vietnam War. The limitations of the origin is that Senker studied modern history but didnt live through it which makes the book limited by experience. The consultant; Andrew Farrow, was able to verify the content because he studied several major conflicts including Vietnam. The limitations of the purpose is that even though it is to inform the book lacks how it affected the women and children. Gregory Feifer, The Great Gamble The Great Gamble by Gregory Feifer, who is a National Public Radios Moscow correspondent. Published by Ross Intellectual properties and created in 2009. The purpose of this book is to inform leaders how soldiers lived, how the Soviet and United States invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, and the relevance it is to modern time as well. The Great Gamble is broken down into large broad sections which are then divided into small sections to give greater detail of each topic. The content of the book involves real interviews given during the Soviet military mission in Afghanistan. The value of the content illustrates what people went through during the war in Afghanistan. It was created decades after it happened even though the thing in Afghanistan still had conflicts. The limitation of Feifers book is that he focuses mainly on the Soviet soldiers point of view on the war instead of focusing on both sides which includes the United States army. During this time in history, 2009, the United States diminishes the role in Iraq and all the soldiers withdrew from the cities, it accurately reflects how Afghanistan and Iraq had relevance at the time of publication of the book. The limitation of the origin is that Gregory Feifer wasnt a Soviet soldier at that time he is a Moscow correspondent, who is someone that will have contact with all things Russian. Interviews are first-hand which makes the book reliable because without the interviews The Great Gamble wouldnt be a primary source.