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Biology B4, B5, B6 > B6 - Brain and mind > Flashcards

B6 - Brain and mind Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is a stimulus?

A

A change in the environment of an organism

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2
Q

What are 3 features of simple reflexes?

A
  1. Rapid
  2. Automatic
  3. Involuntary response to stimuli - doesn’t require you to think
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3
Q

Why are reflex actions important to simple animals?

A

Reflex actions ensure that they respond to a stimulus in a way that is most likely to result in their survival, i.e. finding food and sheltering from predators

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4
Q

What are 3 examples of NEWBORN reflexes?

A
  1. Automatically suckle from their mothers
  2. Grasp when their palms are touched
  3. Take steps when there feet are put on a flat surface
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5
Q

What are 3 examples of simple reflexes in humans?

A
  1. Pupil reflex (the pupil in the eye retracts to allow less light to enter the eye)
  2. Knee jerk
  3. Dropping a hot object
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6
Q

What are 3 requirements needed in nervous co-ordination (i.e. in simple reflexes)?

A
  1. RECEPTORS to detect stimuli
  2. PROCESSING CENTRES to receive information and coordinate responses
  3. EFFECTORS to produce the response
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7
Q

What is an example of a receptor in our body that can form part of complex organs?

A

Light receptor cells in the retina of our eye

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8
Q

What are 2 examples of effectors in our body that can form part of complex organs?

A
  1. Hormones secreting cells in a gland

2. Muscle cells in a muscle

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9
Q

What does the nervous system do to produce short-lived responses, e.g. simple reflexes?

A

Electrical impulses

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10
Q

What are hormones?

A

Chemicals that are produced in glands, travel in the blood and bring about slower, longer-lasting responses.

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11
Q

What are 2 examples of hormones?

A
  1. Insulin - produced by the pancreas. It acts on the liver, muscles and body cells to take up glucose from the blood.
  2. Oestregen - produced by the ovaries. It’s a sex hormone that controls the development of the adult female body at puberty, and the menstrual cycle.
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12
Q

What did the development of nervous and hormonal communication systems depend on?

A

The evolution of multicellular organisms.

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13
Q

What is the nervous system made up of? Which 2 types of cells does it link together?

A

The nervous system is made up of neurons (nerve cells) linking receptor cells (e.g. in eyes/ear/skin) to effector cells (in muscles/glands).

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14
Q

When neurons are stimulated, what happens?

A

They transmit electrical impulses

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15
Q

What is an axon?

A

A long extension of the cytoplasm and is surrounded by cell membrane

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16
Q

What are SOME axons surrounded by? What is the function of this structure?

A

Fatty sheath, which insulates the neuron from neighbouring cells and increases the speed of transmission of a nerve impulse.

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17
Q

What is the Central Nervous System made up of in humans and other vertebrates?

A

The SPINAL CORD and the BRAIN

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18
Q

In the mammalian nervous system, how is the Central Nervous System (CNS) connected to the body?

A

Via the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) which consists of sensory and motor neurons

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19
Q

How does the CNS coordinate an animal’s response?

A

Via:

  1. Sensory neurons carrying impulses from RECEPTORS to the CNS
  2. Motor neurons carrying impulses from the CNS to the EFFECTORS
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20
Q

Within the CNS, how are the impulses passed on from sensory neurons to motor neurons?

A

Through RELAY Neurons

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21
Q

What is the pathway for a SPINAL REFLEX ARC?

A

Stimulus → Receptor → Sensory Neuron → Relay Neuron in CNS → Motor Neuron → Effector (muscle)

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22
Q

What does the arrangement of neurons allow in a fixed pathway?

A

Allows reflex responses to be AUTOMATIC and so very rapid, since no processing of information is required.

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23
Q

What are synapses? What goes on here?

A

Synapses are the gaps between adjacent neurons.

Impulses are transmitted across them.

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24
Q

What happens to the impulse as it is triggered at a synapse?

A

An impulse triggers the RELEASE OF CHEMICALS (transmitter substances) from the first neuron into the synapse, which diffuse across and bind to receptor molecules on the membrane of the next neuron.

25
Q

Only ______ chemicals bind to the receptor molecules, initiating a nerve impulse in the next neuron

A

Only specific chemicals bind to the receptor molecules, initiating a nerve impulse in the next neuron

26
Q

What are 3 examples of toxins/drugs that affect the transmission of impulses across synapses?

A

Ecstasy, Beta Blockers, Prozac

27
Q

How does Ecstasy (MDMA) affect the transmission of impulses across synapses?

A

It blocks the site in the brain’s synapses where the transmitter substance, serotonin, is removed.

28
Q

What does the effects of Ecstasy in the nervous system lead to in terms of the serotonin concentration?

A

A subsequent increase in serotonin concentration

29
Q

What is the main part of the brain that is required to know in this module?

A

The CEREBRAL CORTEX

30
Q

What 4 features/factors is the Cerebral Cortex concerned with?

A

Intelligence, Memory, Language and Consciousness

31
Q

What is the job of Neuroscientists?

A

They map the regions of the brain using invasive and non-invasive methods.

32
Q

What are 2 invasive methods of studying the brain?

A
  1. studying how a person is affected when a certain part of the brain is damaged.
  2. during brain surgery, using electrodes to stimulate parts of the brain electrically, and seeing how patients are affected, including reporting memories and sensations.
33
Q

What are 2 non-invasive methods of studying the brain?

A
  1. comparing non-diseased brains with the brains of people with brain disease, e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease
  2. looking at activity in the brain when it’s stimulated (e.g. by music, language or images)

These can be done through scanning techniques, e.g. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

34
Q

How can a reflex response to a new stimulus be learned?

What is this method called?

A

By introducing the secondary (new) stimulus in association with the primary stimulus.
This is called CONDITIONING

35
Q

What are the 2 examples of conditioning?

A
  1. Pavlov’s dogs

2. John B Watson’s study with Albert

36
Q

Describe and explain the conditioning of Pavlov’s Dogs.

A

Dogs produce saliva (salivate) in response to the smell, sight and taste of food. This is a SIMPLE REFLEX in response to a PRIMARY STIMULUS (the smell of food).

Pavlov rang a bell immediately before given dog food. This process was repeated. Soon, the dogs would produce saliva at the sound of the bell, even if not given food. They responded to a secondary stimulus (the bell). They had learned to associate the sound of the bell with the food.

This is a conditioned reflex. The final response (drooling) has no direct connection to the secondary stimulus.

37
Q

Describe and explain the conditioning of John B Watson’s study with eight-month-old Albert.

A

Albert liked, and showed no fear of a white lab rat. Albert was then shown the rate while Watson made a loud noise which made Albert cry. Later, when Albert was shown the rat, he showed signs of distress even where there was no loud noise.

38
Q

How can the brain allow a person keep hold of a hot object without unintentionally dropping it?

A

In some circumstances, the brain can modify a reflex response via a neuron to the motor neuron of the reflex arc (by overriding an action).

39
Q

What did the evolution of a larger brain enable the humans to have?

A

A better chance of survival.

40
Q

What do the billions of neurons in our complex brain allow us to do?

A

To learn by experience - e.g. social behaviour.

41
Q

During development, what does the interaction between mammals and the environment result in?

A

Neuron pathways forming in the brain

42
Q

Learning results from experience where:

A
  1. New neuron pathways form (and other pathways may be lost).
  2. Certain pathways in the brain become more likely to transmit impulses than others.
43
Q

Because we learn from experience, how can we learn skills more effectively?

A

By using repetition

44
Q

What does the variety of potential pathways in the brain make possible for animals?

A

To ADAPT in new situations

45
Q

What might result in children not being presented with new, appropriate stimuli, or those isolated during development?

A

They may not progress in their learning.

46
Q

What does evidence suggest in terms of children and the acquiring of skills?

A

That they can acquire certain skills at a particular age.

47
Q

What are feral children?

A

Children who have lived away from human contact since a very early age

48
Q

When feral children return to civilisations, what happens?

A

They develop only limited language skills

49
Q

What is Memory?

A

The STORAGE and RETRIEVAL of information

50
Q

What can memory be divided into?

A

Short-term memory and long-term memory

51
Q

What is Short-Term memory?

A

Involves information from our most recent experiences, which is only stored for a brief period of time.

52
Q

What is Long-Term memory?

A

Involves information from our earliest experiences, that can be stored for a long period of time.

53
Q

What are 3 situations when humans are more likely to remember information?

A

a. They can see a pattern to it.
b. There is the repetition of the information, especially over an extended period of time
c. there is a strong stimulus associated with it, e.g. strong colours / light / smell / sound

54
Q

How does the multi-store model work?

A

It splits memory into sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory, and shows how these work together.

55
Q

If information arrives in a memory store that is not passed on or retrieved, what happens?

A

The information is lost (forgotten).

56
Q

What links sensory memory and short-term memory together?

A

Paying attention

57
Q

What links short-term memory and long-term memory together?

A

Rehearsal

58
Q

What causes the loss of information (forgetting) ?

A

Biological factors or antecedent process

59
Q

What are 4 reasons as to why models are limited?

A
  1. Memory is more complicated than shown in the model
  2. No models have an exact explanation of how long-term memory works.
  3. The multi-store model is too linear, and doesn’t provide sub-divisions of short term and long-term memory.
  4. The model does not differentiate between different types of stimulus and the difference in performance of individuals.

Biology B4, B5, B6 (3 decks)

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