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Inleiding in de Psychologie > 04. Important Information > Flashcards

04. Important Information Flashcards

1
Q

How big is the human brain?

A

About the size of a cantelope

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2
Q

What is the research specialty that studies the brain?

A

Neuroscience

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3
Q

Name the subfield that studies the relation between the brain and bahaviour

A

Behavioural neuroscience

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4
Q

The human brain is what percentage of body weight?

A

2%

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5
Q

How much of the metabolic rate of the human body is taken up by the brain?

A

20%

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6
Q

How many nerve cells (neurons) does the human brain have?

A

86 billion

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7
Q

How do neurons communicate with each other?

A

Through synapses

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8
Q

How many synapses does the human brain have?

A

100 trillion

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9
Q

List the parts of the central nervous system

A

Brain and spinal cord

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10
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system comprised of?

A

Nerves which extend from the central nervous system

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11
Q

What do nerves connect the central nervous system to?

A

the body’s sensory organs, muscles and glands

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12
Q

List the 3 basic parts of a neuron

A
  1. Cell body, 2. Dendrites, 3. Axon
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13
Q

What is the cell body

A

The widest part of the neuron, contains the nucleus and other basic machinery common to all bodily cells

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14
Q

What are dendrites

A

Thin tube-like extensions that function to receive input from the neuron

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15
Q

What is difference between dendrites in interneurons and motor neurons and those in sensory neurons?

A

Dendrites in motor neurons and interneurons branch out from the cell body and dendrites in sensory neurons branch out from one end of the axon rather than the cell body

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16
Q

What is an axon

A

Thin tubelike extention that carries messages to other neurons or muscle cells

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17
Q

How can neurons convey varying degrees of intensity in a message via (all-or-none action potentials)

A

By varying the rate of producing acton potentials

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18
Q

What influences the action potentials in motor and sensory neurons

A

Sensory- sensory stimuli acting on dendrites
Motor- other neurons acting on the axon at its junction with the cell body

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19
Q

How do action potentials move along an axon

A

Once an action potential occurs along one part of an axon, it depolarises the area just ahead of it, triggering another action potential there. And so, over and over, it moves along the axon.

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20
Q

List 2 determining factors for the speed at which an action potential moves

A
  1. the diameter of the axon (larger= faster)
  2. If there is a mylelin sheath (present=faster)
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21
Q

Which is the last area to be myelinated?

A

The frontal cortex

22
Q

Who has more neurons in their brains adults or new borns?

A

new borns

23
Q

What are three methods used to identify the functions of specific brain areas

A
  1. observing behavioural deficits (part of brain destroyed or temporarily inactivated)
  2. Observing behavioural effects (artificially stimulating part of the brain)
  3. recording changes to neural activity (person/ animal engaged in specific mental/ behavioural task)
24
Q

How can TMS be used for the study of brain activity

A

The magnetic stimulation can be used to study the effect of temporary activation or inactivation of a specific brain area

25
Q

How can EEC patterns be used

A

They can be used as an index to determine if a person is highly aroused, relaxed, or asleep and can identify various stages of sleep

26
Q

How is the nervous system organised?

A

Heirarchically

27
Q

What is the function of the sensory perceptual hierarchy?

A

Data processing

28
Q

What is the direction of flow in the sensory perceptual hierarchy?

A

Bottom (sensory receptors) to top (perceptual centres of the brain)

29
Q

What is the function of the motor-control hierarchy?

A

Control of movement

30
Q

What is the direction of flow in the motor-control hierarchy?

A

top to bottom

31
Q

Do nerves exist in pairs?

A

Yes

32
Q

How many pairs of cranial and spinal nerves do humans have?

A

cranial= 12
spinal= 31

33
Q

How can the nervous system control behaviour?

A

Through action potentials along motor neurons which send messages out to the muscles and glands

34
Q

What are the two broad classes of structures which motor neurons act upon?

A
  1. Skeletal muscles (attached to bones)
  2. Visceral muscles (e.g. wall of heart/ stomach) and glands
35
Q

Which neurons act on skeletal muscles, and which on visceral muscles and glands

A

skeletal= somatic portion peripheral motor system
visceral/glands= autonomic portion of per. motor system

36
Q

What is the difference (in terms of activity) between somatic/ skeletal and autonomic neurons?

A

Skeletal= initiate activity
Autonomic= modify activity

37
Q

Most visceral muscles and glands receive two sets of neurons from the autonomic system

A

sympathetic and parasympathetic

38
Q

The spinal cord contains ascending and descending tracts, what do they do?

A

Ascending= somatosensory information from spinal nerves to brain
Descending= motor control commands down from the brain

39
Q

How does the limbic system’s connection to the basal ganglia function?

A

The limbic system receives input from all the sensory organs. Its connection to the basal ganglia helps to translate emotions and drives into actions

40
Q

Describe the cerebral cortex (divisions, and lobes)

A

Two divisions (hemispheres) right and left, each hemisphere has 4 lobes (from back to front)- occipital, temporal, parietal, and frontal

41
Q

List the 3 categories of functional regions/ areas or the cerebral cortex

A
  1. primary motor area
  2. primary sensory area
  3. association areas
42
Q

What is the portion of the cerebral cortex that has expanded the most in human beings compared to other animals?

A

prefrontal cortex

43
Q

How do hormones influence behaviour?

A
  1. They affect the growth of peripheral bodily structures (muscles, bones) which influences behavioural capacity.
  2. They impact metabolic processes (influence amount of energy available).
  3. Act in the brain in a way that influences drives and moods.
44
Q

Where is the pituitary located and what does it do?

A

It sits at the base of the brain and is sometimes called the master endocrine gland because it produces hormones that in turn stimulate the production of other hormones by other glands.

45
Q

The hormone that has the most influence on male animal’s sex drive is?

A

Testosterone

46
Q

What is the term used for the menstrual cycle in non-human mammals?

A

Estrous cycle (strongly controls sex drive in most mammals)

47
Q

What is the most obvious distinciton between the two cortical hemispheres in human brains?

A

Left= language
Right= non-verbal, visuospatial analysis of information

48
Q

How can neurons change over time?

A

They can change their size, shape, excitability, and patterns of connections in ways that help their possessor to adapt to life’s ever-changing circumstances

49
Q

Name one factor that can change the structure of the brain

A

experience

50
Q

Where is the main area shown to generate new neurons in the brain

A

hippocampus (associated with learning and memory, especially of spacial locations)

51
Q

What is the change in the brain that has most clearly been linked to learning

A

strengthening of synaptic connections between already existing neurons

52
Q

What is the evidence that LTP is actually involved in learning

A

Experiments that show that disturbing the brain’s normal capacity for LTP interferes with the animal’s ability to learn

Inleiding in de Psychologie (22 decks)

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