6. Biopsychology EQs Flashcards
Martha was telling her friend Sanya about her recent frightening experience.
’I was walking home by myself in the dark. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me and I realised
that someone was getting closer to me. I saw a bus at the bus stop and decided to run. I don’t
think I have ever moved with such speed. I leapt on the bus – shaking, sweating and my heart
was beating so fast I nearly collapsed.’
Outline the role of the central nervous system and autonomic nervous system in behaviour.
Refer to Martha’s frightening experience in your answer. (4 marks)
CNS = Brain / cerebral cortex in higher mental functions / conscious awareness (I realised that…);
decision making (…I decided to run.); auditory cortex / temporal lobe in processing auditory
information (… I heard footsteps behind me…); visual cortex / occipital lobe in processing
visual information (I saw a bus…).
ANS = sympathetic division of ANS and to fight / flight
response: increased heart rate in emergency action (…my heart was beating so fast…);
increased action of adrenal glands and energising effect (…moved with such speed /
shaking); blood vessels to limbs dilate (… sweating).
Briefly evaluate the use of EEGs as a way of identifying cortical specialisation in the brain. (3 marks)
- safe way of measuring brain activity; there is no surgery or invasive process;
- helps to identify activity in various regions of brain; its use as a diagnostic tool eg epilepsy;
- lacks precision in measuring individual action potential of
neurons / electrodes not sensitive enough
Outline one difference between the EEG and ERPs. (2 marks)
EEG is a recording of general brain activity
usually linked to states such as sleep and arousal, (1) whilst ERPs are elicited by specific
stimuli presented to the participant. (1)
Briefly explain one function of the endocrine system. (2 marks)
To secrete the hormones (1) which are required to regulate many bodily functions. (1)
Briefly evaluate research using split brain patients to investigate hemispheric lateralisation of
function. (4 marks)
- small sample size
- some patients had experienced drug therapy for much longer than others
- the comparison groups were not considered to be valid as they were often people
with no history of epileptic seizures - the disconnection between the hemispheres was greater in some patients than others
Outline the role of adrenaline in the fight or flight response. (4 marks)
- Adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla in response to activation of the
sympathomedullary pathway. - Adrenaline has a range of effects on the body
- Direct effects of adrenaline
– increase heart rate
– constricts blood vessels, increasing rate of blood flow and raising blood pressure
– diverts blood away from the skin, kidneys and digestive system
– increases blood to brain and skeletal muscle
– increases respiration and sweating - The general effects of adrenaline
– prepare the body for action, fight or flight,
– increase blood supply/oxygen, to skeletal muscle for physical action
– increase oxygen to brain for rapid response planning
Sam is a police officer. She has just started working the night shift and after a week, she finds that she has difficulty sleeping during the day and is becoming tense and irritable. Sam is also worried that she is less alert during the night shift itself.
Using your knowledge of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers, explain Sam’s experiences.
(Total 4 marks)
- endogenous pacemakers – internal biological rhythms
- exogenous zeitgebers – external factors, eg light
- moving to night shift means pacemakers try to impose inbuilt rhythm of sleep, but are now
out of synchrony with the zeitgeber of light - disruption of biological rhythms has been shown to lead to disrupted sleep patterns,
increased anxiety and decreased alertness and vigilance.
Split brain patients show unusual behaviour when tested in experiments. Briefly explain how unusual behaviour in split brain patients could be tested in an experiment.
[2 marks]
- plausible experimental situation/set-up – eg split visual field, dichotic listening
- plausible stimulus – visual, faces, words, auditory, digits, music etc
- plausible task for patient – verbal or visuospatial response, eg drawing, matching etc.
Information can only travel in one direction at a synapse.
Explain why neurons can only transmit information in one direction at a synapse.
[3 marks]
- Diffusion of the neurotransmitters mean they can only go from high to low concentration, so can only
travel from the presynaptic to the postsynaptic membrane. - the synaptic vesicles containing the neurotransmitter are only released from the
presynaptic membrane - the receptors for the neurotransmitters are only present on the postsynaptic membrane
The fight or flight response enabled our ancestors to survive but can be less helpful in response to more modern stressors.
Explain how the body responds during fight or flight and why this could be unhelpful in a driving test situation.
[4 marks]
the fight or flight response causes adrenaline to be released (1) which can cause an increased
production of sweat and faster heart and breathing rate (1) which could be off putting and unhelpful
during a driving test (e.g. sweaty hands may make it harder to grip the steering wheel).
the fight or flight response enable a quick reaction (1) to fight the threat or run away from it but
neither of these options would be helpful in a driving test as if you ran away or attacked the
instructor you would fail the test. (1)
Which method of studying the brain would most accurately identify specific brain areas
activated during a cognitive task? (1 mark)
fMRI
The adrenal gland is part of the endocrine system that produces adrenaline to help the body prepare for the fight or flight response.
Using an example of a gland and hormone, outline the function of the endocrine system. Do not use the adrenal gland/adrenaline as your example. (4 marks)
- the endocrine system helps to regulate the activity of cells and organs in the body
- the endocrine system communicates chemical messages to the organs of the body
- the thyroid gland produces thyroxine, which increases heart rate and metabolic rates
- the pineal gland produces melatonin, which may help regulate the wake-sleep cycle
Explain one difference and one similarity between Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) as ways of studying the brain. (4 marks)
- fMRIs have poor temporal resolution whereas ERPs have good temporal resolution
- fMRIs have good spatial resolution whereas ERPs have poor spatial resolution
- fMRIs provide indirect measure of neural activity whereas ERPs offer a direct measure of neural
activity - fMRIs are more expensive than ERPs.
Describe the structure and function of a neuron (6 marks)
- Neurons enable communication within the nervous system
- the cell body contains the genetic material
- branch-like dendrites extend from the cell body
* dendrites carry functional information towards the cell body
* dendrites can receive information from other neurons - axons carry messages away from the cell body
* axons can be myelinated to increase speed of nerve transmission
* axon terminals contain neurotransmitters.
Describe two or more functions of the peripheral nervous system. (4 marks)
- the peripheral nervous system is responsible for transmitting messages to and from the central nervous system
- mention a sub-system from it!
