Some recent research reported here suggests the fMRI studies may present a misleading picture of brain activity. Such studies are used to provide evidence that certain areas of the brain are active when a person is engaged in a target task. However the new research has demonstrated that, while certain areas may be especially active, it isn’tt a question of them being the only active areas – they are simply more active than the rest of the brain. This means that conclusions that link a specific area of the brain to a specific behaviour may be unjustified, because many other areas are also involved.
Posts tagged with AO2
I have received a few questions recently about the synoptic aspect of the A2 papers and thought I would pass on my views!
SYNOPTICITY
The synoptic criteria has been dropped from the mark scheme. It is essentially equivalent to IDA.
ISSUES, DEBATES AND APPROACHES (IDA)
- The AO2 mark scheme includes a criterion regarding IDA.
- IDA is not credited in Psychopathology, nor in AO1 (if a question is parted and a student puts IDA in the AO1 part there is no credit). Read the rest of this entry »
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The Placebo Effect… the A02 point that just keeps getting bigger….
October 17, 2009 by Adrian Frost.
“Some products that have been on the market for decades, like Prozac, are faltering in more recent follow-up tests. In many cases, these are the compounds that, in the late 90s, made Big Pharma more profitable than Big Oil. But if these same drugs were vetted now, regulators might not approve some of them. Two comprehensive analyses of antidepressant trials have uncovered a dramatic increase in placebo response since the 80s. One estimated that the so-called effect size (a measure of statistical significance) in placebo groups had nearly doubled over that time. It’s not that the old meds are getting weaker, drug developers say. It’s as if the placebo effect is somehow getting stronger.”
Read whole article here
Picture link here