Transcript Two Effects of the Environment on Physiological Processes

Two Effects of the Environment
on Physiological Processes
By Mr Daniel Hansson
Important Definitions
 Physiological processes: Body and brain
functions and activities
 Neuroplasticity: Changes in the brain due to
environment or changes in behavior
The Effect of Deprivation and
Stimulation on Plasticity
 Neurons can compensate for injury or disease or to adjust
their activities in response to new situations or changes in
the environment.
 The brain is more plastic in early life.
 The brain can rearrange the connections between neurons
 The brain can generate new neurons throughout life
 Learning can increase/decrease neurotransmission
between specific neurons
 It is assumed that as your behavior changes, so does
the underlying neural circuitry.
Research Studies Related to
Plasticity
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Rosenzweig & Bennett (1972)
Goldapple (2004)
Small and Vorgan (2008)
Curtis case study of Genie (1977)
Pascal-Leone (2002)
Maguire et al. taxi driver study (2000)
The Effect of Sunlight on Vitamin D
Production
 Vitamin D is synthesized in our skin when
we are exposed to direct sunlight.
 Vitamin D is thought to activate and
deactivate enzymes in the brain that are
involved with plasticity
 Studies suggest that Vitamin D protects
neurons and reduces inflammations.
Research Studies Related to Vitamin
D and Sunlight
 Kent (2009): A correlational study on 14,474 American participants.
The findings showed that participants with low exposure to sunlight
was associated with a significantly higher cognitive impairment.
 Llewellyn (2009): A correlational study on 1,700 British participants.
The findings showed that the lower the participants vitamin D levels,
the lower their performance on mental tests.
 University of Manchester (2009): A correlational study on vitamin D
levels and cognitive performance 3,100 men aged 40 to 79 in eight
European countries. The findings showed that people with lower
vitamin D levels had slower information-processing speed.