Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay Example for Free

Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay This study was conducted to see the consequences for listening comprehension by examining the effects of a glucose drink on performance. The researchers predicted a hypothesis. The hypothesis being that listening span will be sensitive to glucose consumption. Students who fasted overnight would improve after drinking a glucose drink, where the placebo drink would not improve performance after fasting. The hypothesis was supported. There was an alternate/ research hypothesis used in this study. The independent variable was the glucose and the placebo that was being used in the study. It also shows that there was a difference between the two groups being tested. The numbers show that the glucose level was higher when real sugar drinks were being used. The data was collected by physical measures. They took a convenience sampling of eighty A- level students from two colleges. Within the sample there were 44 males and 36 females. The participants were asked to report to a specific room at 9 a. m. No more than 10 were in each room within a particular college. They were randomly assigned either the glucose or placebo group (they were unaware of any distinction). They were administered a version of the Listening Span Test. The students listened to a series of sentences. Then on a response sheet, they would record whether the preposition in each sentence was true or false. Then the students were required to write down, in forward serial order the last word in each sentence. After completion there was a twenty minute interval. Students were given orange juice to drink. One group got real orange juice; the other was given a placebo drink to emulate orange juice. They were then given a different version of the Listening Span Test. Researchers took ten samples of blood; five from placebo and five from glucose group. There wasn’t a difference in the taste of the beverages that was given to the students, even though one drink had 50 grams of glucose and the placebo contained the 2 grams of sweetex in place of the glucose. There was a clinically trained staff member that handled all of the sampling as well as the disposal of the materials that was being used to conduct the study. The students that took part of this study gave three blood samples before the drinks were consumed, and three more samples of blood was required 20 minutes after the Listening Span Test was given for the second time. They used the experimental method to analyze the data, using the glucose drink and placebo drink as an independent variable compared to the test scores as the dependent variable. The researcher controlled as much as possible to determine the cause and effect relationship exists between the variables being studied. The research design was quantitative due to the data analysis and cannot take place until all data had been collected. The researcher starts with a hypothesis for testing, observes and collected the data, analyzes the data, and drew conclusions. There was a statistical significance found when comparing listening span test score of 2. 4 before the drink to 3. 1 after the drink. In examining the data collected, the corollary effects shown were the scores showed improvement in the glucose group after receiving the drink compared to no performance difference before the drink was consumed. Controlling blood sugar is very important because sugar is used as a fuel, but cannot be stored; it is broken down and released into the blood stream. Every person’s glucose levels are different; this test was done on healthy students that had never been diagnosed with having any problems with high glucose/sugar levels. If it had been done on some people that had been diagnosed with diabetes and some that are in good health, the results would have been much higher. There was a factor that could affect the internal validity of the study. The pancreas could affect blood glucose levels; because when blood sugar drops it releases glycogen from the liver. So after the fasting the body its self would release glycogen into the bloodstream. Therefore they could not present a clear relationship between blood sugar level and cognitive capacity. What we did learn was the brain uses glucose as its fuel. The glucose levels of the students that did participate in the study stayed the same, and the listening span did improve after the consumption of the glucose drink. There was no difference or change in the listening span of the students that had beverages containing saccharine. Fasting also played a role in this study; it helped improve the listening span after the students received drinks that contained real sugar (glucose). The purpose of using the Listening Span Test was to measure the capacity of verbal memory. Sentences were read to the students the longest was six sentences long. This was done to determine how much the students could comprehend in a short period of time. In conclusion the research showed a modest increase in listening span performance after a glucose drink was taken. It was preferable for students to eat a nutritious breakfast but if not the students could consume a convenient form of glucose to elevate blood sugar levels that suggests a relationship between glucose drink and improvement level of performance. This conclusion falls into explanatory use. It meets guidelines such as having a dependent and independent variable, a control group and experimental group. This study showed a clear cause and effect relationship due to the increase in listening span after drinking the glucose. All students were given guidelines to follow before the test was administered and was randomly selected from their local colleges. While the study had merit, the potential threat to the internal validity needs to be addressed. How much did the pancreas contribute to raising the glucose levels in the body?