Essay On Alternative Research Activity-Research Summary

*Boyd, C. J., McCabe, S. E., Cranford, J. A., et al. (2008). Heavy episodic drinking and its consequences: The protective effects of same-sex, residential living-learning communities for undergraduate women. Addictive Behaviors, 33, 987-993.
In their article “Heavy episodic drinking and its consequences: The protective effects of same-sex, residential living-learning communities for undergraduate women”, Boyd et. al. examines group differences in alcohol consumption between undergraduate women in for different types of on campus living environments. This is an important research area because alcohol consumption especially heavy episodic drinking (5 or more drinks within a two hour period) is a growing phenomenon on college campuses across the country. Historically college men engage in this type of alcohol consumption at a greater rate than their female classmates. However, there is some recent research that suggests that the difference in alcohol consumption rates in females and males is decreasing. Importantly, females seem to suffer more negative consequences of heavy drinking than men on coeducational college campuses. One factor that seems to be related to heavy alcohol consumption in women is living arrangement. Previous studies have shown that women attending all female colleges engage in heavy drinking significantly less than women attending coeducational institutions. Students living in residential living communities also report lower alcohol consumption. The authors of this study are interested in evaluating alcohol consumption in women and how it relates to living environment because the incidence of heavy drinking by women on coed college campuses is increasing and women are more likely to suffer negative consequences of alcohol consumption such as sexual assault.
This study was conducted using participants selected from over 5000 undergraduate students at who were first semester students during the Fall of 2005 at a large public research university in the Midwest. In total, 2502 full time undergraduate freshman women were initially selected based on their living environment and whether they lived in a single sex or co-ed environment. Ultimately, participants belong to one of four groups: single-sex residential learning communities, co-ed residential learning communities, single sex non-residential learning communities and co-ed non-residential communities. Participants were then asked to fill out a Web survey which assessed alcohol use, maximum number of drinks consumed in a 2 hour period in the last 28 days, the amount of heavy episodic drinking, primary consequences of drinking, and secondary consequences of drinking. In this study, gender (female), student classification (first year freshman) and living environment were independent variables. The dependent variables were the alcohol use, maximum number of drinks, heavy episodic drinking, primary consequences, and secondary consequences.
Results from this study indicate that living environment is related to alcohol consumption in women undergraduates. Participants living in both single sex and co-ed residential learning environments reported significantly lower alcohol consumption compared to their classmates living in mixed-sex, non-residential learning communities. The incidence of heavy episodic drinking in the 2 weeks prior to the survey was highest among women who lived in co-ed, non-residential learning communities (45%). 39% of women living in single sex non-residential learning communities reported heavy episodic drinking in the 2 weeks prior to the study compared to 29% of women who lived in co-ed residential learning communities and only %15 percent of women who lived in same sex residential learning communities. The authors also found that, after precollege drinking was controlled for, the chances of heavy episodic drinking was significantly greater for women living in co-ed, non-residential learning communities compared to women living in mixed-sex and single-sex residential living communities. Women living in residential learning communities in both single sex and mixed sex environments also reported significantly less primary consequences of alcohol consumption.
These findings indicate that living environment can influence lifestyle choices such as alcohol consumption. As the authors indicate, residential learning environments were not specifically designed to curb drinking on college campus, yet, they seem to be effective deterrents of heavy episodic drinking, especially in women. Undergraduate women most at risk for heavy episodic drinking are those living in close proximity to male counterparts. The authors suggest that this may be partly due to the fact that males report higher drinking rates and women who socialize as part of a group that drinks heavily will also drink heavily. The authors also bring up the point that residential living communities may attract student who innately may not be as interested in drinking. Previous work by the authors also indicate that residential learning communities may be successful at deterring heavy drinking by providing its residents with structured programming that may serve as an alternative to heavy drinking.
Overall, the findings of this study would lead one to believe that it would be beneficial for universities and colleges to invest more resources in enriched living environments like residential learning communities for its undergraduate students. While the effort may be costly, it may reduce the incidence of undergraduate heavy drinking and, in kind, decrease incidence of alcohol related assaults and accidents.
*Gazzaniga, M.S., & Freedman, H. (1973). Observations on visual processes after posterior callosal section.Neurology, 23, 1126-1130.
In their article “Observations on visual processes after posterior callosal section”, Michael S. Gazzaniga and Howard Freedman describe the visual processes of two patients that had surgeries that affected their posterior callosal. The corpus callosum is a network of fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Previous research has clearly shown that in cases of callosal sectioning, the hemispheres of the brain act completely independent of each other. Discriminatory tasks such as vision, touch, and smell are learned on one side of the brain and cannot be accessed by the other half of the brain in such cases. Previous case studies have also shown that sectioning of the corpus callosum at the anterior portion of the structure does not affect right-left cerebral hemisphere communication. As such, this case study of two individuals aimed to demonstrate that sectioning the posterior portion of the corpus callosum is necessary for right-left brain disconnect. More specifically they show that damage to the splenium (the posterior, thickest part of the corpus callosum) is necessary to see disconnection of the right and left hemisphere. This study was conducted in the early 1970’s when human neuroanatomy was still being discerned and the functions of regions and structures of the brain were still largely unknown.
This article is not a traditional research article in that it is not reporting findings from an experimental study but instead is reporting results of behavioral tests performed post operatively on patients who had third ventricle tumors removed. The independent variables that can be identified in this study are (1) the condition that required the two subjects to have surgery and (2) the part of the brain where the tumor was removed from (3) and the extent of damage sustained to the posterior corpus callosum as a result of the tumor-removing surgery. The dependent variables are the visual processing abilities assessed by the post operative behavioral testing. While the subjects in this study had similar surgeries, one subject sustained complete sectioning of the posterior callosum while the other experienced almost no damage to the splenium and, thus, had an intact corpus callosum. Another major difference between the two subjects was that the patient that had a completely sectioned corpus callosum was tested shortly after surgery whereas the patient with an intact corpus callosum was operated on at the age of 10 and then tested 9 years later at the age of 19.
This article reports some clear differences in visual processing between the two subjects. Subject 1 was the patient who had a completely transected posterior corpus callosum. When the subject was shown an object in the left visual field, he could successfully identify and describe the object. However, when the object (a picture or a word) was presented in the right visual field, the subject could not identify or describe the object. Subject #2, who had an intact posterior corpus callosum was able to identify and describe objects shown in both the right and left visual field. Subject 2 did show a take longer to identify and describe the object when it was presented in the right visual field. A visual-visual nonverbal matching test performed on subject 1 revealed that when presented with a picture in the right visual field (flashed to the left hemisphere) the subject would report not seeing or registering the picture but would still be able to pick out the picture from a group of pictures presented to him. The authors not that this is very similar to what is seen in subjects who have had complete brain bisections. When presented with two geometric shapes in an inter-intra field-visual matching test, Subject 1 could successfully distinguish between them and determine if they were the same or different regardless of whether they were presented in the right or left visual field. Subject 1 did have some trouble describing the geometric shape when it was presented in the right visual field. Subject 2, could also perform well in the inter-intra field-visual matching test and could successfully distinguish between geometric shapes. He did, however, require more time to reply in portions of the test. Subject 1 performed well on a visual-tactile matching test where he was able to identify an object presented in either the right or left visual field by touching it with his right hand.
The findings described by Gazzaniga and Freedman in this article clearly demonstrate that the splenium, the thickest and most posterior portion of the corpus callosum is crucial for right-left cerebral hemisphere communication. Subject 1, who had a complete splenium transaction displayed visual processing very similar to a person who sustained a complete brain bisection. Subject 2, on the other hand, showed intact interhemispheric communication and only displayed a slowed reaction time when presented with objects in the right visual field. This deficit correlated nicely with the post mortem observation that, while not transected, the splenium was thinned in Subject 2. Another interesting observation made by the authors of this article is that Subject 1, who was left handed seemed to have “flip-flopped” cerebral duties. This was determined by assessing drawing abilities before and after surgery. Subject 1 who had a decent ability to draw before surgery drew significantly worse after surgery. However, when asked to draw with the same pictures his right hand, Subject 1 was able to draw a decent picture despite never drawing with his right hand before. This observation was interpreted by the authors as evidence that the left hemisphere manages the visuo-spatial abilities of left-handed people whose right hemisphere and not the left hemisphere (as seen in right-handed people) is thought to be language-dominant. This article presented findings that were crucial to furthering the understanding of the role of the posterior callosum in right-left cerebral hemisphere communication.
*White, A. M., Kraus, C. L., &Swartzwelder, H. S. (2006). Many collegefreshmen drink at levels far beyond the binge threshold. Alcoholism:Clinical and Experimental Research, 30, 1006-1010.
Drinking by undergraduates on campuses across America is a serious issue that has resulted in numerous injuries and, at times, even death. White, Kraus and Swartzwelder explored the extent of undergraduate drinking beyond the binge threshold in their article, “Many College Freshman Drink at Levels Far Beyond the Binge Threshold.” Binge drinking is defined for females as more than four drinks and more than 5 drinks for males. Research has shown that undergraduates who consume alcohol at or beyond threshold are significantly more likely to experience negative consequences of alcohol consumption. Increased frequency of binge drinking also increases the likelihood of experiencing negative alcohol related consequences. As such, using clearly defined descriptors such as binge threshold can be useful in ascertaining alcohol related risks. The aim of the study described in this article was to explore how much and how frequently undergraduate alcohol consumption occurs beyond the binge threshold. The authors hypothesized that frequent binge drinking occurred more often than infrequent binge drinking on college campuses.
Participants in this study consisted of freshman students at universities and colleges across the United States. Participants were asked to complete a study as part of an alcohol education course at twenty-three schools nationwide. A total of 13,718 freshman took the online survey. Only data from schools that had a survey completion rate greater than 70% was included in the study. In the end, the study included 10,424 completed surveys from 14 schools. 13,618 (99.1%) participants were 18-19 years old with 52% being female and 48% being male. The important independent variables in this study were sex and classification (freshmen). The dependent variable in this study was the number of alcoholic drinks consumed over the 2 weeks before the survey.
The results of this study indicate that more than half (55%) of all those surveyed reported that they drank an alcoholic beverage during the two weeks prior to the survey. Males reported drinking more frequently than females. In addition, males consumed more drinks per occasion than females. A large percentage of males (41%) and females (34%) reported drinking at a level that met or exceeded the binge threshold on at least one occasion during the 2 week reporting period. Surprisingly, 20% of males reported drinking 10 or more drinks on at least one occasion during the reporting period. The study also found that students who reported frequent binge drinking were also more likely to report drinking at or exceeding binge threshold. This finding allowed the authors to conclude that there are distinct alcohol consumption differences between frequent and infrequent binge drinkers.
One of the main points illustrated by the results of this study is that a large percentage of college students are drinking well beyond the binge threshold. The authors argue that this finding illustrates the need to better or further define drinking beyond binge threshold since there are a significant number of students who report drinking 2 times the binge threshold and these students are clumped together with those drinking at threshold. Because the risk associated with drinking 10 alcoholic beverages can be far greater than drinking 5, the two instances should be categorized differently. White et. al. clearly demonstrate that the measures for describing binge alcohol consumption are currently incomplete need to be expanded. A second main finding in this study, is that the frequency of binge drinking does matter in that those students that reported more frequent occasions of binge drinking also reported drinking more beverages on those occasions. This finding was in line with the hypothesis stated by the authors at the beginning of the article.
The authors of the study extensively discuss their results. One interesting point they make is that the amount of alcohol consumption reported in this study may actually be underreported. This, they suggest, may be due to the fact that the surveys in this study required self reporting and previous studies show that students generally pour larger drinks. As a result, more students may actually be drinking at or beyond threshold than reported in the survey. This is a significant point given the large percentage of students in the survey who do report frequent drinking at or beyond binge levels. The findings in this study clearly highlight the need to examine binge drinking patterns among students on college campuses across the nation. Much work is needed to better define drinking beyond the binge thresholds. A better assessment of alcohol consumption patterns will help college administrators better handle and deter the negative consequences associated with undergraduate drinking.