BLOA Key Study: Martinez and Kesner (1991)
Aim: To determine the role of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine on memory
Methodology: Laboratory experiment
Participants: A group of lab rats
Procedure: Rats were trained to go through a maze and when they got to the end, the received food. Once the rats were able to go through the maze, the researchers split the rats into three groups. Group 1 was injected with scopolamine (which blocks acetylcholine receptor sites, thus decreasing available acetylcholine). Group 2 was injected with physostigmine (which blocks the production of cholinesterase, or the “clean-up” of acetylcholine). The third group was the control group and not injected with anything. The rats were then taken through the same maze.
Results: The rats that were injected with scopolamine were slower at finding their way through the maze and made more errors than both the control group and the physostigmine group. The physostigmine group ran through the maze and found the food even more quickly than the control group and took less wrong turns.
Conclusions: Researchers concluded that acetylcholine played an important role in creating memories
Limitations:
it is questionable to what extent these findings can be generalized to humans.
Low ecological validity
Animal treatment ethics
Strengths:
Obvious cause-and-effect relationship
Easily reproduced