Biological Psych Flashcards
What are the roles of the hemispheres
Left - verbal functions, speaking, reading, writing, understanding language, reasoning, interpreting info
Right - non-verbal functions, spatial tasks, drawing, doing puzzles, recognizing faces and drawing maps
What are the structures of the old brain
Thalamus Medulla Reticular formation Cerebellum Brainstem Pons
Nervous system structure
CNS - spinal cord and brain
PNS - somatic and autonomic
Somatic- sensory and motor
Autonomic - Sympathetic and parasympathetic
The main role of the Peripheral Nervous system (PNS) and an example?
Main job: sends sensory info to the brain and acts on motor impulse from CNS
E.g. Hand in shower - sensory info in skin - message to PNS to spinal cord to brain - “turn on cold” to spine - to hand (motor impulse)
2 sections: Somatic and Autonomic
Somatic nervous system - part of PNS
Main job:
- Sensory - transmit sensory info to spine (input)
- Motor - control voluntary muscles by receiving motor message from CNS and transporting to body region (output)
Autonomic Nervous system - Part of PNS
Main job - control involuntary internal activities
- Nerves connected to CNS and involuntary muscle that control internal gland e.g. heart rate, digestion and sweat
Operates outside brain
Dominates during time of high emotions
2 types: Sympathetic and parasympathetic
Sympathetic - Part of Autonomic system
- Release fat/sugar into blood for extra energy
Effect: heart rate increase, blood flow increase to muscle and skin, pupils dilate and stops digestion and bladder
Adrenaline - First hormone and fight or flight mode
Noradrenaline - Stays longer in body and increases blood to muscle and effect amygdala
Parasympathetic - Part of autonomic system
Main job: calm us down after high emotion/danger
Returns body to normal modes and maintain homeostasis
Takes longer than sympathetic
Forebrain
Hypothalamus Thalamus Cerebrum - Processes sensory info - reasoning and problem solving ]regulate autonomic - regulate hormones - regulate motor function Most complex and developed part of brain
What is the role of the Thalamus
Sensory info eg hearing seeing
What is the amygdala
two almond shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system
linked to emotion and fear
Hypothalamus
Helps govern autonomic and hormones (eating drinking and body temperature)
helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland
linked to emotion
Cerebrum
Two hemispheres and corpus collasumn between them Largest and most developed part Outer layer consists of cerebral cortex High cognitive function Voluntary movement
Midbrain
Regulate movement (motor) Process auditory and visual sensory info Reticular structure - on top of brain stem
Reticular formation
Arousal of the brain
Maintaining consciousness and attention
Functions in sleep and arousal from sleep
Hindbrain
- Involuntary vital functions
- Relay sensory info
- Coordinate movement
- Maintain homeostasis
Brainstem
Cerebellum
Pons
Medulla
Medulla
Heart rate and breathing
Connects brain to spinal cord
Brain stem
Where spinal cord swells, involuntary vital function
What is the limbic system
Acts as a bridge from old brain to complex areas
Hypothalamus - body temp, hunger, helps govern endocrine system
Amygdala - memory consolidation and emotion
Hippocampus - central to learning and memory
Cerebellum
Coordinates voluntary movement and balance
Four lobes of cerebrum
Frontal lobe: planning, decision making damage: personality change
Parietal lobe: sensory damage: bodily senses
Temporal lobe: Auditory damage: language
Occipital lobe: vision damadge: vision
Neuron types
Sensory neuron
Motor neuron
Interneuron
Sensory neuron
Detect/respond to sound, light and pressure
Motor neuron
carry the motor message and relevant info to from CNS to body and to relevant body organ
Interneuron
Involunatary reflex
Don’t communicate with brain
Activate when sensory neuron directly communicate with motor neuron with intense sensation
E.g. hand away from hot flame
Neuron structure types
Unipolar - sensory neuron only
Multipolar - 1 axon multiple dendrite all in CNS
Bipolar - retina and inner ear
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemicals affect way messages are passed from neurons
- carry messages across synapses between neurons to receptor site
- excess neurotransmitters are reabsorbed = reuptake
- excess = mood boost
Types of neurotransmitters
Dopamine - pleasure and released by brain reward center (inhibit)
serotonin - mood, appetite, and sensory perception (inhibit)
GABA - major neurotransmitter in brain
Drugs and neurotransmitters
Meth: Dopamine increase in synaptic gap, more happy BAD: crash after dopamine levels drop and dopamine axons die
Nicotine: Dopamine increase
Alcohol: Serotonin and GABA increase (inhibit neuron and hyperpolarises it) diminish neuron activity = sedative
What is corpus collasumn
Large bundle of nerve fibres that allows communication between hemispheres
Left Hemispshere
Controls voluntary movement in right side of body
Receives sensory info from right side
Verbal and analytical functions
Comprehension of language
Left brain
Controls voluntary movement in right side of body Receives sensory info from right side Verbal and analytical functions - Speaking Writing
Right hemisphere
Controls left side of body Receives sensory info from left side of body Damadge might not understand jokes or sarcasm Non verbal function - Spatial tasks - Patterns - Recognising faces - Detecting emotions
Language processing: Broca’s area
Is the left frontal lobe
If damaged person may not be able to produce clear and articulate speech
Language processing: Werincke area
Primary auditory cortex
If damaged cant create comprehend language and form meaningful sentences
Langauge processing: Geshwind’s territory
Assist Wernicke to comprehend spoken or written language to integrate different properties of a word
