Race sampling for neuropsycological study?

[cgallaga]

I am a westerner and member of the Hong Kong Chefs association. We were contacted by a local university Neuropsychology department doing a study on human brain and behaviour regulation. They were especially looking for volunteers with high olfactory sensitivity, they assumed chefs would be one such group who would qualify.

I volunteered only to be told that the study was for Chinese people only.

Given that Neuropsychology is an attempt to study brain structure and function is it odd that they would select a particular ethic group of people?

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

And?

 

[cgallaga]

And what?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I believe neuropsychological studies often seek to limit variation in factors other than the specific one they are studying. It makes the results easier to interpret.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

And what?

What Professor Yaffle said.

 

[cgallaga]

Yes of course all studies try to eliminate confounding factors but one would think that the structure and function of the brain and psychological processes does not vary by ethnicity. Unless of course they were trying to study a particular phenomena of a given ethnic group, but even then would they not want a. to be blinded and b. to have a control group?

Doesn't selecting only a given ethnic group generally spoil the results?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Well I don't know the design or aims of the study, so I can't exactly comment on it.

 

[blutoski]

I am a westerner and member of the Hong Kong Chefs association. We were contacted by a local university Neuropsychology department doing a study on human brain and behaviour regulation. They were especially looking for volunteers with high olfactory sensitivity, they assumed chefs would be one such group who would qualify.

I volunteered only to be told that the study was for Chinese people only.

Given that Neuropsychology is an attempt to study brain structure and function is it odd that they would select a particular ethic group of people?

Smell and taste have a nontrivial genetic variation (think: cilantro), so it might be reasonable to confine to one race to avoid eliminate as much genetic diversity as possible.

I think we'd need to know more about the study. I'm not sure what smell would have to do with behavior regulation, much less race.

 

[cgallaga]

Makes sense, sorry but I don't have any further details. My guess is that they are concerned with language issues, although they did not say Chinese language (or Cantonese) but Chinese ethnicity. I was just surprised to hear a study selecting for a particular race/ethnicity, having learned how important random selection and blinding can be, and being a geek I was of course very interested to be studied. The reply was somewhat terse (perhaps worthy of a pith award). So my curiosity piqued, I thought someone here might know more about neuropsychological study in general, and if this was a common thing. Cest la vie.

the wiki says:

Normative studies frequently provide data stratified by age, level of education, and/or ethnicity, where such factors have been shown by research to affect performance on a particular test. This allows for a person's performance to be compared to a suitable control group, and thus provide a fair assessment of their current cognitive functioning.

Maybe they are studying if a chef has better olfactory sense than the average population. Given this is China the average population would no doubt be Chinese.

 

[Dancing David]

Yes of course all studies try to eliminate confounding factors but one would think that the structure and function of the brain and psychological processes does not vary by ethnicity. Unless of course they were trying to study a particular phenomena of a given ethnic group, but even then would they not want a. to be blinded and b. to have a control group?

Doesn't selecting only a given ethnic group generally spoil the results?

Depends on the study, some groups of people, Hong Kong citizen's would not be one of them, tend to have a limited gene pool. This can effect the neurochemistry.

I bet there are other reasons for, for one they are preloading thier sample bias by looking for the assumption that chefs have a higher olfactory sense. bad science in sampling.

 

[Dancing David]

Smell and taste have a nontrivial genetic variation (think: cilantro), so it might be reasonable to confine to one race to avoid eliminate as much genetic diversity as possible.

I think we'd need to know more about the study. I'm not sure what smell would have to do with behavior regulation, much less race.

It why i won't eat liver, well maybe if I was starving. I can taste the uric acid.

 

[matty.the.damned]

It why i won't eat liver, well maybe if I was starving. I can taste the uric acid.

Liver or kidneys?

I like both, but I agree kidneys have a particular piquancy that can have only one explanantion. As kids we called kidneys "piss nuggets".

MtD