Question

Christopher and MacDonald compared the working memory capacities of people with and without major depression. They found that, in general, depressed people performeda.better on tasks involving the phonological loop.b.better on tasks involving the visuospatial sketchpad.c.worse on tasks involving the phonological loop, but better on tasks involving the central executive.d.worse on tasks involving either the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, or central executive.

Answer 1

The correct answer is letter D

Depression is much more than a deep sadness. The victims of this disease have changes in the brain neurotransmitters involved in the feeling of well-being. While in people with normal brain chemistry these substances face temporary casualties in times of sadness, in the depressed they are always on the floor. In depression, there are altered levels of norepinephrine and serotonin. And the drugs used in the treatment correct the changes in these neurotransmitters, promoting chemical rebalancing in the brain.

Neurotransmitters are molecules that make communication between neurons. One of them, serotonin, is directly related to mood. To connect the cells, these molecules fall into a space between them, called the synaptic cleft. In depressed people there is less of these messengers among neurons. To make matters worse, a natural mechanism for reusing neurotransmitters pushes some of these molecules back into the cell. Result: their level plummets, also dropping the mood.

Answer 2

Answer: worse on tasks involving either the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, or central executive.

Explanation: Working memory is central to the functioning of the mind. It is the ability to remember and use relevant information while in the middle of an activity. Working memory allows for the manipulation of stored information.

For example, listening to a sequence of events in a story while trying to understand what the story means.

Depression is a state of mind producing serious, long-term lowering of enjoyment of life or inability to visualize a happy future.

One with depression is incapable of utilizing their working memory perfectly well.