Researchers investigated the neurological impact of chronic sleep restriction on reactive aggression. Healthy young adults were restricted to 4 hours of sleep per night for 5 consecutive days (sleep-restricted group), while controls slept 8 hours per night. On day 6, participants completed a competitive reaction time task where they could administer blast noise to an opponent. fMRI scans during the task revealed that sleep-restricted participants showed a 35% reduction in functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala, alongside a 3-fold increase in high-intensity noise blasts (reactive aggression) compared to controls.
Explain one practical application of the findings of this study.
Practise Edexcel A Level Psychology Content with exam-style questions for A Level Psychology. 1,059 questions covering Biological explanations of crime, Social explanations of crime, Cognitive and ethical interview techniques, Psychological formulation of offending, Cognitive-behavioural treatment for offenders, Biological treatment for offenders, Factors influencing eye-witness testimony, Factors influencing jury decision-making, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology, matched to the Edexcel A Level Psychology (9PS0) specification and written in Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.
