Fix It Dr. David Snowden Started the "Nun Study" in 1986 in 1986

Essay

Fix It
Dr. David Snowden started the "Nun Study" in 1986 in Minnesota. It is an ongoing study that tracks a group of nuns whose incidence of Alzheimer's disease is significantly lower than that of the general public. According to Dr. Snowden, the nuns may have been protected against cognitive decline because their lifestyles have been physically and mentally stimulating. After reading about Dr. Snowden's study, Fred decides to use an animal model to examine the effect of lifestyle on cognitive function. To that end, he divides rats into two treatment conditions. In the control condition rats are raised individually in standard laboratory cages. In this type of environment rats have no social interaction and are limited in their ability to engage in physical activity. In the other group rats are house communally where they have access to running wheels and a variety of objects to explore. After 30 days in their respective conditions, Fred examines how well the animals are able to learn a maze. Performance on the maze is indicative of cognitive function. Fred finds that rats in the environmentally rich environment learn the maze significantly faster than rats in the control condition. Based on these results, Fred concludes that stimulus-rich environments improve cognitive function and protect against age-related decline.
Identify and describe the variables that are manipulated and measured in this study. What type of research design was used and how should the data be analyzed? What more evidence might you need to convince you that a stimulus-rich environment is advantageous?