Impact of Aerobic Fitness on Brain Tissue Quantity in Aging Individuals
Term papers should be submitted electronically (as .doc/.docx, .rtf files) on UBLearns. Undergraduate students are expected to produce a term paper of between 5-8 pages in length. You have two written paper options. For your term paper, choose ONE (1!) of the paper format options below.
Term Paper Option 1: Paper Critique
Paper critiques require you to read one or more journal articles in detail as though you are reviewing for publication or commenting on the empirical support for a theoretical position. A critique is a document that:
Explains the significance of the paper or body of work (Why is this issue important?)
Briefly outlines what procedures were done, what was found, what the paper or body of work centrally claims, and how well the claims are supported
Describes the strengths of the paper or body of work
Describes the paper’s weaknesses (note: “the sample size was small” is insufficient)
Indicates whether or how this paper or body of work has impacted subsequent research (e.g., what papers have subsequently cited this paper? What do others think of it?)
A list of papers from which you might choose appears at the end of this syllabus. These papers are seminal papers appearing in reading lists for graduate study in cognitive psychology. If there is a particular paper not appearing in this list that you would like to critique instead, let me know by email and I will try to accommodate your interests.
Written Paper Option 2: Research Proposal
For those who are or will be pursuing research in the future, you might instead wish to propose some research that has not already been done. A research proposal is a document that:
Explains the research to be addressed, and why it is important to address it
Describes previous related research that suggests a particular hypothesis
The experimental procedures that would be used to test the hypothesized, taking care to explain how your measures would indeed relate to what it is you’re trying to test
Alternative explanations for your hypothesized results, or potential ways that your experiment might fail, even if you have a sufficiently large sample size and your experiment was conducted exactly the way you envision it.
Writing in these papers should follow 7th Edition APA format for student papers. Papers should be concisely written. If you have written all you had to say, but continue to write an extra page of text because “more is better”, you will probably receive a much worse mark than had you simply stopped writing. Note that obtaining more than a minimal passing grade on term papers will require you to find and read other unlisted journal articles on your own.
A note on online resources
Wikipedia
Though Wikipedia is a fantastic resource for quickly learning about a topic, it is not a primary source. Students are welcome to do some background Wikipedia reading on a topic if they feel it will be helpful, but should not rely on it as a main source of information. As a general rule, unless the paper appears in a resource listed in the UB library catalog, it probably does not qualify as a primary source. In any case, if you wish to use a Wikipedia-like site for learning about psychology, I would recommend checking out scholarpedia.org, which only allows submissions from established domain experts (despite this recommendation, Scholarpedia does not count as a primary source!). Unfortunately, the range of topics on Scholarpedia is rather limited, but does include some material related to memory.
Term Paper Option 1: Paper Critique
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
Course Name and Number
Due Date
Term Paper Option 1: Paper Critique
The article by Colcombe et al. (2003) investigates the impact of aerobic fitness on the brain tissue of aging individuals. The researchers’ primary purpose in this study was to demonstrate that engaging in aerobic fitness triggers significant reductions in the rate of tissue damage, maintaining the integrity of brain cells in specific areas. As a result, they conducted experimental research to investigate and confirm these effects. The background underscores the gradual changes in the tissue content in human beings as they advance in age. It reveals that tissue degeneration accelerates once individuals reach their third decade and above. Such transformation in the brain triggers unique reductions in a person’s cognitive capabilities, increasing the demand for assisting care in specific domains. Awareness about these cognitive declines has drawn the attention of psychologists to determine appropriate techniques for rescinding these adverse effects or slowing them down. Thus, this paper critiques the research process employed by Colcombe and colleagues in investigating the impact of aerobic fitness on brain tissue quantity in aging individuals.
Significance of the Body of Work
Research exploring the strategies for reducing cerebral deterioration has gained significant recognition globally. For instance, researchers publishing articles exploring a similar area as Colcombe et al. (2003) reveal that brain changes in aging persons can have far-reaching ramifications. For example, Peters’s (2006) journal emerged three years later, highlighting the likely vasculature, brain size issues, and cognition problems commonplace with aging. The shrinking has stirred attention among researchers and psychologists struggling to identify mechanisms for reducing these natural impacts. A converging aspect between Peters (2006) and Colcombe et al. (2003) is that the shrinking effects devastate the quality of life among the elderly population. For instance, results in the two studies confirm that aging people lose fundamental mental and physical capabilities that make them dependent on other younger people. These changes also increase the need for sustained geriatric care, which triggers rising care costs and stretches healthcare resources. As a result, focusing on tactics that can prevent the aging impacts on the brain and cognitive functionalities has gained significant public health attention.
Many other studies have made significant milestones in determining healthcare providers’ strategies to address the cognitive decline problem.