Individual Project 1 – Research Trends in Biopsychology

The final project is designed to help you connect the information you learned in this course to real-life problems. I would like to see you integrate information you have learned throughout the term to conduct a literature review related to one of the topics discussed below

Consider the discussion question (you may choose more than one, up to 3) and how it applies to daily life. See what you can find in current peer-reviewed research articles to support the ideas you decide to discuss. 

Some examples of the discussion questions found in the Lindberg textbook include:

• What challenges do you see that daily-life researchers may face in their studies? How can they be overcome?
• How do you think smartphones and other mobile electronic devices will change psychological research? What are their promises for the field? And what are their pitfalls?
• Pick a psychological phenomenon that you would like to know more about. What specific hypothesis would you like to test? What psychophysiological methods might be appropriate for testing this hypothesis and why?
• What is behind the expression “use your gray matter,” and why is it not entirely accurate?
• If you were interested in the precise time in which a particular brain process occurred, which neuroscience methods could you use?
• Discuss the role of evolution in understanding what humans call “love” or other forms of prosociality.
• What are common features of the biochemistry of “love” and “safety,” and why are these important to human health?
• Name 3–4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome and describe their effects.
• Do you think omnivores, herbivores, or carnivores have a better chance at survival?
• The extensive network of multisensory areas and neurons in the cortex implies that much perceptual processing occurs in the context of multiple inputs. Could the processing of unimodal information ever be useful? Why or why not?
• Would you rather have a really good memory or really good metacognition? How might you train someone to develop better metacognition if he or she doesn’t have a very good memory, and what would be the consequences of that training?
• Describe the physical state of the genome when genes are active and inactive.
• Often, the physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly different as they age, even at the molecular level. Explain why this is so (use the terms “environment” and “epigenome”).
• Name 3–4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome and describe their effects.
• Explain how the food we eat affects gene expression.
• Can the diets of parents affect their offspring’s epigenome?
• Why is converging evidence the best kind of evidence in the study of brain function?
• If you were interested in whether a particular brain area was involved in a specific behavior, what neuroscience methods could you use?
• If you were interested in the precise time in which a particular brain process occurred, which neuroscience methods could you use?

Use these discussion questions from the textbook to help you explore ideas for your paper. They discuss current trends in biopsychological research and are relevant to our course.

Pick one – three (1-3) of these discussion questions from the text and discuss how you feel this research has added to the area of biopsychology. What answers do you propose to the discussion questions?

Discuss: What implications does the research have for your personal or professional life? What are some ethical, cultural (i.e. gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religious), global, or legal issues related to the research you are discussing?

Use at least two (2) peer-reviewed journal articles for your project from the last 5 years. You will find these articles in the library. If you need assistance finding articles, please consult with the libraries. There are chat options available.

Your paper should be at least 2-3 pages in length. Be sure to use APA formatting in your writing. You can become more familiar with these guidelines by reviewing the following resources: