B6 - Brain and Mind

Question 1

What are the risks of Electrical Stimulation?

Answer 1

• It is invasive (e.g: Cut skull, insert electrodes).
• Higher risk than other brain mappers such as MRI scans.
• Risk of damage to the brain.

Question 2

What is a change in an organism’s environment called?

Answer 2

The stimulus.

Question 3

What is the nervous chain? Also, label with parts are the PNS and CNS.

Answer 3

Question 4

Explain how neuron pathways are strengthened.

Answer 4

The areas that are stimulated the most in the brain develop more synapses between neurons, strengthening the pathway.

Question 5

Explain with a diagram what synapses are and how they work.

Answer 5

Question 6

What is a reflex action?

Answer 6

A fast, automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus.

Question 7

Give 4 examples of baby reflexes found in humans.

Answer 7

• Stepping reflex.
• Grasping reflex.
• Rooting reflex.
• Sucking reflex.

Question 8

Give 3 examples of adult reflexes found in humans.

Answer 8

• Knee-jerk reflex.
• Dropping a hot object when gripped.
• Blinking when an object comes near your face.

Question 9

What is a conditioned reflex?

Answer 9

An association between the primary stimulus (The natural stimulus) and the secondary stimulus (The new stimulus).

Note: In a conditioned reflex, the final response has no direct connection to the stimulus.

Question 10

What is conditioning?

Answer 10

The process of associating the stimuli.

Question 11

Give an example of when a conditioned reflex would be useful.

Answer 11

A frog eating a wasp and then associating the yellow and black colour with danger.

Question 12

How can we modify reflex actions?

Answer 12

By sending a signal, via a neuron, to the motor neuron in the reflex arc.

Question 13

Name and explain 3 ways of mapping the cerebral cortex.

Answer 13

• PHYSIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES:
• Damage to different parts of the brain can cause different problems (e.g: Memory loss/speech loss).

We can study which parts of the brain cause which problems to gain an understanding.

• ELECTRONIC TECHNIQUES:
• Placing electrodes on the scalp through EEG and stimulating a patient’s receptors, we can map the parts of the brain that respond.
• MRI SCANS:
• MRI produces images of cross-sections of the brain, using colour to represent different levels of electrical activity.

The activity in the brain changes based on what the patient is doing or thinking.

Question 14

Name the way we generate a 3D image showing neuron activity in the brain.

Answer 14

PET scan.

Question 15

Name two ways of checking if babies are undergoing normal development.

Answer 15

• At three months, babies should be able to lift their heads when held to someone’s shoulder.
• At twelve months, babies should be able to hold and drink from a cup.

Question 16

What are feral children, and what have they taught us about humans?

Answer 16

Feral children are children that have been isolated from society, and don’t ever gain the ability to talk. This shows that children only learn some skills at particular stages in their development.

Question 17

Give an example of how animals can adapt to new situations.

Answer 17

Dogs can be trained to respond to commands or dolphins in captivity can be trained to collect food from a hand.

Question 18

What does the cerebral cortex deal with?

Answer 18

Intelligence, memory, language and consciousness which are some of the skills than enable human survival.

Question 19

What do Ectasy/MDMA and Prozac do to synapses?

Answer 19

• Block reuptake channels.
• Build up serotonin concentrations.
• Give the user feelings of elation.
• Harms neurons.
• Can cause memory loss.
• Increases ADH production.
• Causes severe dehydration.

Question 20

What do Beta blockers do to synapses?

Answer 20

• Block receptor sites.
• Prevent impulses from passing.