Researchers are investigating the impact of a novel probiotic supplement on test anxiety in VCE students. One group receives the probiotic, while a control group receives a placebo. After the trial, students complete an anxiety questionnaire and provide a stool sample for gut microbiota analysis.
Which outcome would BEST support the claim that the probiotic reduces test anxiety via the gut-brain axis?
Students taking the probiotic report lower anxiety levels, but their gut microbiota composition remains unchanged compared to the placebo group.
Students taking the probiotic report lower anxiety levels, and their stool samples show an increase in specific beneficial bacteria known to influence neurotransmitter production.
Students taking the placebo report lower anxiety levels, and their stool samples show an increase in specific beneficial bacteria known to influence neurotransmitter production.
Students in both groups report similar anxiety levels, but the probiotic group shows a significant decrease in overall gut microbiota diversity.
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Create Free Account Log inThis is a free VCE Units 3 & 4 Psychology practice question worth 1 mark, testing your understanding of Gut–brain axis. It falls under How does the nervous system enable psychological functioning? in Unit 3: How does experience affect behaviour and mental processes?. Submit your answer above to receive instant AI-powered marking and personalised feedback.
In this unit students investigate the contribution that classical and contemporary research has made to the understanding of the functioning of the nervous system and to the understanding of the biological, psychological and social factors that influence learning and memory. Students examine how the human nervous system enables a person to interact with the world around them and explore how stress may affect a person’s psychological functioning. Students investigate how mechanisms of learning and memory lead to the acquisition of knowledge and the development of new and changed behaviours. A student-designed scientific investigation involving the generation of primary data related to mental processes and psychological functioning may be undertaken in either Unit 3 or Unit 4, or across both Units 3 and 4, and is assessed in Unit 4 Outcome 3.
In this area of study students explore the role of different subdivisions of the nervous system in enabling a person to integrate, coordinate and respond to internal and external stimuli. Students examine neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in the transmission of neural information. They investigate stress as a psychobiological process and consider the ways in which stress can affect psychological functioning. Students explore models that describe stress and consider strategies for coping with stress and improving mental wellbeing.
the gut–brain axis (GBA) as an area of emerging research, with reference to the interaction of gut microbiota with stress and the nervous system in the control of psychological processes and behaviour
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