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a level psycology > (Abby) bio psychology - brain + behaviour (T1) > Flashcards

(Abby) bio psychology - brain + behaviour (T1) Flashcards

1
Q

what are some of the key assumptions in biological psychology

A
  • the central nervous system is a major influence
    on behaviour
  • behavioural & psychological development is assumed to be based on changes in the brain and general biology
  • genes influence behaviour
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2
Q

what is the role of the brain and the spinal chord in the CNS

A

brain- draws together information from all over the body and sends information back out to the body in response
spinal chord- contains the nerves that carry messages between the brain and the body

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3
Q

define the CNS

A
  • a central processor of information and the control centre for human behaviour
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4
Q

define the PNS

A
  • branches out from the spinal chord and is a web of nerves carrying information to and from the CNS to the rest of the body
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5
Q

what are the 4 lobes of the brain from left to right and the acronym to remember them

A
  • frontal lobe
  • parietal lobe
  • temporal lobe
  • occipital lobe
  • Funny Parrots Often Talk
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6
Q

what is the major function of the frontal lobe

A
  • higher emotions and personality
  • discission making and voluntary movement
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7
Q

what is the major function of the parietal lobe

A
  • processing sensory information
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8
Q

what is the major function of the occipital lobe

A
  • visual cortex and main function is vision
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9
Q

what is the major function of the temporal lobe

A
  • venter for memory and learning
  • hearing and language
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10
Q

describe what the pre frontal cortex is

A
  • part of the frontal lobe and sits behind the forehead
  • late to fully develop and only full functional in out 20s
  • has executive functions like inhibiting inappropriate responses, decision making and motivational behaviour
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11
Q

give some info on the case study of phineas gage

A
  • how the structure of the brain affects behaviour
  • a series of case studies was done on people who suffered damage to the brain
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12
Q

name the left and right brain functions

A

left- analytic thought
- logic
- language
- science and math

right- holistic thought
- intuition
- creativity
- art & music

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13
Q

what is the corpus callosum and what’s its role

A
  • massive bundle of neurons joining the 2 hemispheres together and its main function is to ensure communication between the 2
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14
Q

what are the ventricles in the brain

A
  • a linked system of cavities that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid
  • this fluid bathes and cushions the brain and ensures the chemical stability of the brain
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15
Q

what is the limbic system

A
  • a complex system of structures and nerve networks deep inside the brain
  • linked to instinct and mood
  • some of the oldest parts of the brain in evolutionary terms and play a role in survival
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16
Q

what are the 6 parts of the limbic system

A
  • frontal lobe
  • thalamus
  • temporal lobe
  • amygdala
  • hypothalamus
  • olfactory bulb
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17
Q

define what a neuron is and its main role

A
  • a specialised cell within the nervous system
  • function is to communicate with thousands of other cells at a time in huge networks
  • these networks adapt as we have new experiences
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18
Q

what is the main function of a synapse

A
  • it is a small gap between the pre and post synaptic cleft
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19
Q

fill out a diagram of a synapse from left to right

A
  • synaptic cleft
  • vesicle
  • pre-synaptic neuron
  • protein receptors
  • neurotransmitters
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20
Q

what is the role of a neuron

A
  • make chains with each other forming a passage way that allows messages to be sent from one part of the brain to another
  • they form new or pre existing connections every time we learn something new
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21
Q

what are 3 examples of neurotransmitters

A
  • serotonin
  • dopamine
  • noradrenaline
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22
Q

what is the 1st step of synaptic transmission

A
  • an action potential moves down the pre-synaptic neuron and causes the vesicles filled with neurotransmitter to move close to the terminal membrane
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23
Q

what is the 2nd step of synaptic transmission

A
  • the vesicles fuse with the terminal membrane in a process called exocytosis
  • this causes the neurotransmitter to be released into the synaptic cleft
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24
Q

what is the 3rd step of synaptic transmission

A
  • the neurotransmitter binds with protein receptors in the post synaptic neuron and the pre-synaptic neuron on both:
  • activation of receptors on the post synaptic neuron causes it to increase the probability of producing an action potential
  • activation of the auto receptors on the pre-synaptic neuron causes the pre-synaptic neuron to stop releasing neurotransmitter
25
Q

what are the 3 ways in which the neurotransmitters from synaptic transmission can be removed

A
  • re-uptake
  • broken down/degraded by enzymes
  • diffusion
26
Q

what are the strengths of the research on synaptic transmission when evaluating

A
  • most of the research is done using brain scans such as pet scans which provide objective, reliable evidence of brain functioning, increasing the scientific credibility
27
Q

what are the weaknesses of the research on synaptic transmission when evaluating

A
  • much of the evidence in this field has come from studying animals which is hard to generalise to humans
  • individual differences ae not taken into account as its assumed that everyone’s brains uses synaptic transmission the same way
28
Q

what are recreational drugs and give an example

A
  • drugs that are not taken for medicinal purposes like cocaine or LSD
29
Q

what are reward pathways in the brain

A
  • circuits of structures and nerves that are linked to the activities of a certain neurotransmitter, in particular dopamine
30
Q

describe the dopamine pathway

A
  • activated by natural rewarding behaviours like eating which stimulates the normal release of dopamine
  • they are releases in certain areas of the brain like the nucleus, accumbens, VTA in the limbic system and the frontal cortex
31
Q

define euphoria

A
  • an intense pleasurable feeling often referred to as a high
32
Q

what is the info we need to know about cocaine

A
  • a highly addictive CNS stimulant extracted from the leaves of a coco plant
  • it disrupts the normal functioning of the dopamine pathways in the brain
33
Q

how does cocaine work/ what does it do

A
  • it works by blocking the transporter receptors on the presynaptic dopamine neurons in the VTA
  • as a result, the pre-synaptic neurons do not reuptake dopamine meaning it remains in the synaptic cleft for longer
  • this prolongs and intensifies the stimulation of the post synaptic neuron
  • because the VTA activates another area of the brain that is associated with the euphoric feeling , the user experiences a high
34
Q

define dysphoria

A
  • an intense dissatisfaction, anxiety and discomfort
35
Q

how does drug addiction occur (cocaine)

A
  • the effects are not limited to reward pathways in the brain
  • there ability to alter dopamine neurotransmission in the VTA is the most important
  • the brain is a self regulating system and reacts to this over production of dopamine by reducing how much dopamine you naturally produce
  • this plasticity of the brain allows it to adapt to the changes imposed by the drug however not function normally without it
  • the MOTIVATION to self administer becomes overpowering due to dysphoria
  • this leads to repeated use and a high tolerance
36
Q

what is heroin ?

A
  • a drug made from morphine
  • very effective pain relief, usually associated with chronic diseases
  • highly addictive
37
Q

what is the aim of the contemporary study, van den oever et al

A
  • to investigate changes in synapses in the medial pre frontal cortex upon re exposure to heroin cues after long-term abstinence from self administration
38
Q

describe stage 1 of van den oever et al study for experimental and control group

A
  • experimental- placed in skinner style box and trained to self administer heroin by an audio visual cue

control- also placed in skinner style box however trained to self administer a sucrose solution by audio visual cues

39
Q

describe stage 2 of van den oever et al study, abstinence and extinction

A
  • abstinence- experimental group split into 2, half placed in a separate cage for 21 days during a period of forced abstinence
  • extinction- other half of experimental group placed in self administration box for 21 days but no heroin during forced extinction
40
Q

describe stage 3 of van den oever et al study re-exposure to drug associated cues

A
  • half of each group was placed into a self administration box and re exposed to drug associated cues for 60 mins but no heroin
  • the other half of each group was placed in self administration boxes but no drug associated cues and no heroin
41
Q

describe stage 4 of van den oever et al study

A
  • all rats decapitated and brains frozen and analysed using the mass spectrometry technique
  • this allowed detection of subtle changes in receptors proteins in the synapse
42
Q

what was the first result of van den oever et al study

A
  • after a period of forced abstinence or extinction from heroin, rats that WERE associated with drug associated cues demonstrated a significantly higher amount of drug seeking behaviour
43
Q

what was the 2nd results of van den oever et al study

A
  • used mass spectrometry to study brains of rats
  • rats that were exposed to drug associated cues had significantly lower than normal level of AMPA receptors
44
Q

what was the 3rd result of van den oever et al study

A
  • rats that hadnt been injected with the drug to prevent endocytosis showed significantly greater amount of drug seeking behaviour compared to those that had
45
Q

what does deterministic mean

A
  • suggests that relapse is beyond the control of the addicts meaning they have no free will
46
Q

GRAVE of van den oever et al study GENERALISABILITY

A
  • white wister rats were used which arent typical of the target population as the brain is similar but not identicle

+ reward pathways between the midbrain and prefrontal cortex that exist in humans and rats are alike

47
Q

GRAVE of van den oever et al study RELIABILITY

A

+ all rats were trained with the same audio and visual cues and all had the same amount of time in abstinance

48
Q

GRAVE of van den oever et al study APPLICATION

A

+ drug therapy for humans can be created such as needles and friends associated with the drug

49
Q

GRAVE of van den oever et al study VALIDITY

A

+ the control group were trained to self administer sucrose and upon re exposure did not produce any changes in the synapse

  • the study explained relapse by looking at changes in the synapse but did not consider other factors such as social factors
50
Q

GRAVE of van den oever et al study ETHICS

A

+ the study cannot be done on humans as it would require them to be trained to self administer heroin and the brains would need to be removed for analysis

  • catheters were inserted into the blood stream, they were trained to become addicted to heroin and they were killed
51
Q

define hormones

A
  • chemical substances produced in specialised glands and transported in blood to stimulate specific cells or organs into action
52
Q

what role do hormones play in the role of human development in the womb

A
  • in the womd the development of the brain is influenced by reproductive hormones
  • the reproductive hormones impact on sex differences causing female and male brains to develop slightly differently
53
Q

what role do hormones play in the role of human development in early childhood

A
  • when a child is exposed to a stressful environment they release the stress hormone cortisol
  • cortisol represses the immune system resulting in high levels of arousal
54
Q

what role do hormones play in the role of human development in puberty and adulthood

A
  • during puberty hormones influence changes in out bodies and mood
  • the brain is also still changing during adulthood meaning hormonal imbalances in adulthood can result in brain changes making them more susceptible to things like depression
55
Q

why have humans evolved to have a prolonged childhood

A
  • longer childhood allows for more brain growth as we are the most complex creatures
  • dont have to dedicate as much energy to growth so more can go to the brain
56
Q

define evolution

A
  • the gradual development of different kinds of living organisms from earlier forms throughout the history of earth
57
Q

define natural selection

A
  • gradual process by which hereditarian traits become more common or less common in the environment
58
Q

what is evolutionary psychology

A
  • a branch of psychology that looks at explaining human behaviour in terms of how any particular behaviour has aided us to survive

a level psycology (8 decks)

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