BIOLOGICAL APPROACH

Question 1

Techniques used to study the brain in relation to behaviour

Answer 1

Factors affecting choice of technique (CAT, MRI, PET, EEG, fRMI) to study the connection between brain and behaviour including opportunity, available technology and costs

Question 2

CAT scan

Answer 2

A procedure that uses a computer linked to an x-ray machine to make a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body. (Study:Wei (2015))

Question 3

MRI scan

Answer 3

uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body. (Maguire et al (2000))

Question 4

PET scan

Answer 4

that uses a tracer which is a radioactive substance in order to look for disease in the body. (Tierney et al. 2001)

Question 5

EEG scan

Answer 5

A medical test used to record the brain’s activity by measuring the electrical activity in the brain. (Leuchter et al. (2002))

Question 6

fMRI

Answer 6

A type of imaging used to measure small changes in the blood flow that occur in response to a neural activity. (Sharot et al (2007))

Question 7

Localisation of function

Answer 7

The idea that certain areas within the brain are responsible for controling certain functions. (HM case study→ Milner and Soville 1957)

Question 8

Neuroplasticity

Answer 8

the brains ability to adapt and form new connection as a result of to injuries. (Maguire et al (2000) or/and Tierney et al. 2001)

Question 9

synaptic plasticity

Answer 9

the ability of the neuron to form new synaptic connections and break up the old ones

Question 10

cortical remapping

Answer 10

the phenomenon when brain area X assumes the functions of brain area Y

Question 11

Axonal Sprouting

Answer 11

When healthy axons ‘sprout’ new nerve endings with either damaged ones to repair the connection or with healthy ones to enrich and enhance the connection.

Question 12

Synaptic Pruning

Answer 12

When nerve cells make connections with one another in order to transmit impulses in the brain.

Question 13

Selective Destruction

Answer 13

Destroying specific parts of brains of live patients & seeing resulting behavioural effects. This is highly unethical (HM CASE STUDY)

Question 14

Brain Imaging

Answer 14

Scanning the brain using technology to determine its structure or function

Question 15

MRI Advantages

Answer 15

-Non-invasive, little risk
-High resolution

Question 16

MRI Disadvantages

Answer 16

-Doesn’t indicate function

Question 17

fMRI Advantages

Answer 17

-Non invasive, little risk and easy to carry out
-Can show cause and effect relations

Question 18

fMRI Disadvantages

Answer 18

-The setting is unnatural, results may not have ecological validity

Question 19

Theory of Evolution (Darwin, 1859)

Answer 19

Organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.”

Question 20

neurons

Answer 20

consists of three parts: the body (soma), dendrites and axon

Question 21

Dendrites

Answer 21

Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.

Question 22

Soma

Answer 22

the cell body of the neuron responsible for maintaining the life of the cell

Question 23

Axon

Answer 23

A threadlike extension of a neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.

Question 24

myelin sheath

Answer 24

sheath that forms around nerves, including those in the brain and spinal cord

Question 25

action potential

Answer 25

occurs when a neuron sends information down an axon, away from the cell body

Question 26

neurotansmitters

Answer 26

chemical messengers. They are constantly synthesized in the neuron and moved to the axon terminal to be stored there

Question 27

.

Answer 27

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Question 28

Threshold of excitation

Answer 28

the level of neural depolarization that is necessary to generate an action potential.

Question 29

Excitatory neurotransmitter

Answer 29

binds to receptor sites and increases the chances of the post-synaptic neuron firing (sending a signal)

Question 30

Inhibitory neurotransmitter

Answer 30

A neurotransmitter that binds to receptor sites and reduces the chances of the post-synaptic neuron firing (sending a signal).

Question 31

Agonists

Answer 31

substances that bind to synaptic receptors and increase the effect of the neurotransmitter (Passamonti et al.’s study)

Question 32

Antagonists

Answer 32

bind to synaptic receptors but they decrease the effect of the neurotransmitter. (Lapidus et al. 2014)

Question 33

Hormones

Answer 33

Chemicals released by glands in the body to regulate medium & long term changes in the body (e.g. mood, attention, etc.)

Question 34

Difference between hormones and neurotransmitters

Answer 34

neurotransmitters are produced by neurons when triggered by an electrical impulse, hormones are chemical messengers that are secreted (given out) by glands in the endocrine system. They enter directly into the bloodstream, while neurotransmitters are secreted at nerve synapses.

Question 35

what is effect of hormones on behavior?

Answer 35

Hormones are an important type of chemicals that influence how we think, feel, and act

Question 36

How do neurotransmitters influence behavior, and how do drugs and other chemicals affect neurotransmission?

Answer 36

Neurotransmitters influence behavior by releasing several types of neurotransmitter molecules in response to certain situations. Drugs and other chemicals affect brain chemistry at synapse, often by either exciting or inhibiting neurons’ firing. Drugs may also cause the brain to stop producing its own natural opiates.

Question 37

Serotonin

Answer 37

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal (neurotransmitter)

Question 38

Dopamine

Answer 38

Influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Question 39

Acetylcholine

Answer 39

Enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Question 40

Norepinephrine

Answer 40

Helps control alertness and arousal

Question 41

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

Answer 41

A major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Question 42

Glutamate

Answer 42

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

Question 43

testosterone

Answer 43

a male sex hormone and the most potent of the androgens produced by the testes. (Goetz et al, 2014)

Question 44

What effects do pheromones have on human behavior?

Answer 44

It increases brain activity in areas known for social cognition, boosts cortisol levels—the stress hormone, and can even alter a person’s mood.

Question 45

Pheromones

Answer 45

Pheromones are airborne chemical messengers released by the body (for instance, through sweat and urine). Pheromones have physical or emotional effects on other members of the same species.

Question 46

Genes

Answer 46

Genes are segments of DNA inherited by the offspring from the parent. Genes are considered responsible for the development of behavioural characteristics.

Question 47

Genome

Answer 47

The total of all the genetic information in an organism

Question 48

Genotype

Answer 48

Set of traits as coded in an individual’s DNA

Question 49

Phenotype

Answer 49

the set of traits that actually manifest in an individual’s body, appearance, or behavior; the physical traits that appear in an individual as a result of its gentic make up

Question 50

What is the link between gene and behavior?

Answer 50

Genes influence each individual’s behavioral and psychological characteristics, including intellectual ability, personality, and risk for mental illness—all of which have bearing on both parents and children within a family.(CASPI ET AL)

Question 51

Genetic similarity

Answer 51

a measure of the genetic relatedness among individuals.

Question 52

monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins

Answer 52

monozygotic twins are identical twins and dizygotic twins are fraternal twins (Gottesman and Goldsmith (1994))