Biological Psychology

Question 1

What is an axon?

Answer 1

The part of a neurone that transports information from the cell body to the end of the axon terminals.

Question 2

What is a dendrite?

Answer 2

They are extensions that receive the messages from other neurones to take the cell body in order to trigger action potential.

Question 3

What is the myelin sheath?

Answer 3

The fatty substance that surrounds an axon to protect the nerve. This helps speed up the transmission of information and protect the cell.

Question 4

What is a Schwann cell?

Answer 4

They are the cells that produce the myelin (for the sheath). It is located within the myelin sheath.

Question 5

What is the node of Ranvier?

Answer 5

They are gaps between the myelin sheath. They allow the electric messages to transmit across the neurone more effectively. This is done by charging the ions (+/-).

Question 6

What is the axon terminal?

Answer 6

They are hair-like strands. They connect to other neurones like a spiders web to pass information from neurone to neurone.

Question 7

What is action potential?

Answer 7

Neurones are either in resting potential or active potential.
As an active potential travels down the axon, the polarity (+/- charge) changes across the membrane.
The nodes of Ranvier and myelin sheath help with the transmission, and without these, the transmission is slower. However m some cells do not have myelin sheath, such as hair cells.

Question 8

2 examples of neurotransmitters.

Answer 8

Serotonin - controls over mood, appetite, aggression, impulse control, depression, wake up cycle, etc.
Dopamine - reward, learning, muscle control, motivation, euphoria, psychosis, etc.

Question 9

Describe the frontal lobe.

Answer 9

Contains prefrontal cortex (decision making & empathy) and motor cortex (movement).
Damage to this area can cause changes in personality, cognitive functions and muscle control.
Most evolved part of the brain.
Finishes developing at about 25 years (females develop prefrontal quicker).

Question 10

What happened to Phineas Gage (1848)?

Answer 10

Metal pole through his head.
Left frontal lobe almost completely destroyed.
Caused him to become violent and impulsive.
HIs friends and family said he was “no longer Gage”.

Question 11

Describe the parietal lobe.

Answer 11

Involves attention and motor control.
Processes spatial location, perceiving pain, touch, temperature and numbers.
Damage to this area can cause people to lose senses, inability to recognises objects or distances.
Amazingly, blind people with this area in tact cannot see, but can sense when something is close by.

Question 12

Describe the temporal lobe.

Answer 12

Involved in face recognition, language, memory and perception.
Stimulation of this area can cause people to see ghosts.
It contains two regions: Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area.
Damage to Wernicke’s area causes aphasia.

Question 13

Describe the occipital lobe.

Answer 13

Responsible for eyesight.
Damage to this area can lead to blindness.
Synaesthesia is a condition in which people see sounds as colour due to issues with this area of the brain.

Question 14

Describe the hypothalamus.

Answer 14

Essential for making the body adapt to change.
Maintains regulation of hormones, such as testosterone.
Responsible for your appetite, sex drive, pleasureable activities and regulating aggression.
Low levels of serotonin and high levels of dopamine in this area can cause aggressive behaviour.

Question 15

Describe the hippocampus.

Answer 15

Important in memory.
Helps us create new memories and store them in our minds.
Clive Wearing had a virtually destroyed hippocampus - couldn’t form new memories.
London taxi drivers have a larger right side hippocampus.

Question 16

Describe the amygdala.

Answer 16

Responsible for Fight or Flight response.
Fear.
Aggression.
Overreaction of amygdala’s can cause people to be more aggressive.
If under-active or damaged, it can cause people to ha e no fear at all.

Question 17

An example of class A drugs.

Answer 17

Crack cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA).
Possession - up to 7 years in prison/unlimited fine/both.
Supply/Production - up to life in prison/unlimited fine/both.

Question 18

Example of class B drugs.

Answer 18

Cannabis, codeine, ketamine.
Possession - Up to 5 years in prison/unlimited fine/both.
Supply/Production - Up to 14 years in prison/unlimited fine/both.

Question 19

Example of class C drugs.

Answer 19

Anabolic steroids, diazepam, piperzines (BZP).

Possession - Up to 2 years in prison/unlimited fine/both (except for anabolic steroids - not an offence to posses them for personal use).
Supply/Production - Up to 14 years in prison/unlimited fine/both.

Question 20

Describe the reward pathway in terms of recreational drugs.

Answer 20

Our brains are wired to experience pleasure when we complete tasks and achievements.
It encourages us to repeat these processes.
Repetitive behaviour and repeated reward can become adaptive behaviour.
If drugs, lead to this, they can become addictive.
Dopamine is involved in the reward pathway.

Question 21

Freud’s theory of aggression AO1.

Answer 21

Aggression according to Freud can come from Ego Defence: Projection, Displacement and Regression.
The denial of pleasure for the Id can lead to aggression.
The Self is protected from Thanatos (Death instinct) by directing it outwards as aggression.
Catharsis is the release of this aggression and it may be through sport, watching violence on screen or playing video games.

Question 22

Freud’s theory of aggression AO3.

Answer 22

Credibility — it has high face validity because if people release their pent up feelings of aggression, they will feel better (catharsis).
Objections — Freud’s theories are very hard. to falsify, if psychology wants to be a science, we must distance ourselves from Freud.
Differences — Biological psychology suggests that aggression is due to hormones (cortisol) and specific regions of the brain (amygdala). It takes a more scientific and objective view than Freud.
Applications — Psychoanalysis is based off Freud’s theories and helps people by treating emotional mental health disorders by exploring their unconscious minds.

Question 23

Explain Freud’s theory of aggression.

Answer 23

The Id — the innate part of us, based on pleasure principle (eat, sleep, survive, reproduce), develops from ‘oral stage’, if the individual is deprived from oral pleasure it can lead to oral fixation.
The Ego — the part that mediates your conscious and unconscious mind, develops around 2-4 years in ‘anal’ stage of development, ego is always attempting to balance needs if Id and Superego.
The Superego — the social empathic part part of unconscious mind, concerned with our affect on the world and society, develops around 6-8 years, struggling to transition into this period may lead to depression or anxiety.

Question 24

What is the Oedipus/Electra conflict?

Answer 24

Freud stated that we become aware of our genitals during the development of the superego.
We develop stronger feelings (sexual) towards our mother/father.
It is based off the Greek story of Oedipus.
However, we fear that if we make an advancement we will be punished by our mother/father.
The correct resolution is that we take on the attributes of our parent we fear and search for a partner like the one we desire.

Question 25

Hormones and aggression AO1.

Answer 25

1. Hormones secrete into the bloodstream and act very similar to neurotransmitters, however they take a longer time to make changes, but last a lot longer.
2. Cortisol and Adrenaline - stress hormones (fight or flight response).
3. Vance (1988) injected female rats with a single injection of testosterone. Some became more aggressive, but he concluded it’s down to genotype, not just testosterone.
4. Van Goozen (1997) conducted a natural experiment on transgender sex-change patients. Findings revealed testosterone levels governed aggression. Males receiving testosterone suppressants became less aggressive. females receiving testosterone became more aggressive.

Question 26

Raine et al. (1997) AIMS

Answer 26

To find out if there is a difference in the structure of brain activity between people who have committed murder (NGRIs) and non-murderers.

Question 27

Raine et al. (1997) SAMPLE

Answer 27

41 offenders pleading NGRI to murder, 39 men and 2 women (mean age of 34.3); 23 had a history of brain damage, 3 with a history of drug abuse, 6 suffered from schizophrenia, 2 with epilepsy and 7 with other emotional or learning disorders.
41 controls, matched with age, sex, no history of crime or mental illness, except 6 controls who has schizophrenia.
NGRIs were an opportunity sample.

Question 28

Raine et al. (1997) PROCEDURES

Answer 28

Each participant was injected with glucose tracer, then performed a continuous performance task for 32 minutes.
Then the PET scan was carried out.
Participants were allowed to practice CPT 10 mins before the glucose tracer was injected to make sure they were all equally familiar with it.
Raine made sure none of the participants were on medication; NGRIs had been medication-free for 2 weeks before the PET scan.

Question 29

Raine et al. (1997) RESULTS

Answer 29

NGRIs showed less activity in the frontal lobe, especially the prefrontal cortex (associated with rational thinking, self-restraint and memory).
Also less activity in the parietal lobe (associated with abstract thinking).
But more activity in the occipital lobe (vision).
In the sub-cortical region, NGRIs had less activity in the corpus callosum.
Also, there was wan imbalance of activity between the left and right hemispheres in the limbic system - less activity on the left and more on the right of the amygdala and hippocampus.

Question 30

Raine et al. (1997) CONCLUSIONS

Answer 30

Prefrontal deficits might make someone more impulsive and emotional.
Deficits in the corpus callosum make it harder for the brain’s hemisphere’s to communicate, making it difficult to think through long term consequences and make decisions.
Raine concludes that findings from animal studies into aggression can be generalised to humans and there is a link between brain structure and aggression.
Raine is optimistic that these brain deficits can be prevented if they are identified early enough.

Question 31

Recreational Drugs and Aggression EVALUATION

Answer 31

Credibility — The effects of drugs and the reward pathway can be directly observed through brain scanning techniques (PET, fMRI). There is lots of evidence to show that neurotransmitters are key in the synthesis and development of addictions (this is also supported by the use of substitutes such as nicotine replacement and methadone).
Objections — It has been shown that the chemical properties are not the only thing that effect addiction; such as social situations, cognitive issues and learned behaviours have almost greater effects than the chemicals themselves. This was highlighted by Bruce Alexander (1981) with his Rat park experiments that showed how rats cured their addiction through socialising.
Differences — Freud suggests that addictions are due to our upbringing; we are trying to replace with the maternal and paternal affection and understanding that we were not given as children.
Applications — Knowledge in this area has helped many addicts recover by developing rehabilitation facilities, and synthetic substances (e.g., methadone, nicotine replacement such as vaping).

Question 32

Evolution and Aggression AO1

Answer 32

Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations.
These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parents to offspring during reproduction.
Variation tends to exist within any given population as a result of genetic mutation.
Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more common or more rare within a population.
The evolutionary pressures that determine whether a characteristic is common or rare within a population constantly change, resulting in heritable characteristics arising over successive generations.

Question 33

What is sexual jealousy?

Answer 33

The key to survival and evolution is procreation (involved mating between two partners).
Aggression by both men and women can help to enable this.
Two men fighting over a women.
A female being jealous of another female.
Buss (1989) A cross-cultural study on attraction and mate preference.

Question 34

What is social aggression?

Answer 34

It has two components:
Indirect aggression — covert, such as spreading malicious gossip.
Relational aggression — overt, but non-physical, such as breaking off a friendship, pulling faces or “bitchiness”.
Aggressive behaviour helps an animal protect itself and prosper, but only up to a point.
If it is too aggressive, it may be rejected by the group or even attacked.
Therefore, social aggression has more survival value than physical aggression; it has the same benefits without the risks.

Question 35

Hormones and Aggression AO1.

Answer 35

Testosterone is an androgen which is dominant in males (may be why men are more physically aggressive, and why people become aggressive when they take steroids).
This may also explain why women with higher testosterone levels are more aggressive.
Van Goozen (1997) conducted a natural experiment on transgender sex-change patients. This is one of the few cases where research was actually carried out on humans.
Findings revealed testosterone levels governed aggression.
Males receiving testosterone suppressants became less aggressive.
Females receiving testosterone became more aggressive.

Question 36

Hormones and Aggression AO3.

Answer 36

There is a lot of scientific research to back up the theory of hormones.
All of this research is observable and measurable.
Treatment on humans has shown changes to levels of aggression with testosterone replacement and suppression.
It can help us understand why men are more likely to commit crimes and be more violent than women.
It can also help us treat offenders and sexual offenders.

The majority of this research is done on animals, it is a big leap to compare them to humans.
It ignores the cognitive and social factors that make people human, we all have free will and decision over our actions.
There are serious implications to society and individuals, if people are just more natural aggressive. Are we allowed to keep them in prisons is they can’t help it?

Question 37

Gottesman & Shields (1966) AIMS

Answer 37

To find out if there’s a genetic basis for schizophrenia.

Question 38

Gottesman & Shields (1966) SAMPLE

Answer 38

62 schizophrenia patients, 32 male, 32 female.
All aged between 19-64.
All participants had been patients at a large London hospital between 1948 and 1964 and all had a twin.

Question 39

Gottesman & Shields (1966) PROCEDURE.

Answer 39

The researchers assigned each twin pair to MZ or DZ conditions (blood testing, fingerprint testing, physical resemblance) - differences meant DZ.
24 twin MZ pairs and 33 DZ twin pairs were identified.
Mental health was measured in many ways: hospital notes, personality testing, psychometric testing to measure disorganised thinking, etc.

Question 40

Gottesman & Shields (1966) RESULTS

Answer 40

For severe schizophrenia (involving 2+ years in hospital), the concordance rate for MZ twins was 75%, but only 24% for DZ twins.
IN every category, there was a significant difference between MZ and DZ twins, with MZ twins being more likely to share a similar diagnosis of mental illness.
The concordance was stronger for female twins than male twins, and also stronger with more severe schizophrenia.

Question 41

Gottesman & Shields (1966) CONCLUSIONS

Answer 41

There seems to be a genetic component to schizophrenia because the closer the genetic link, the more likely both twins are to show schizophrenic symptoms.
However, the MZ concordance rate was significantly lower than 100%. This means that, despite their shared genotype, MZ twins do not always share schizophrenic symptoms - 21% of MZ twins with a schizophrenic brother or sister were perfectly healthy.

Question 42

Li et al (2013) AIMS

Answer 42

To investigate if the PCC is activated when given drug related cues and to investigate if PCC activation is stronger in heroin addiction compared to controls suggesting possible brain damage being caused.

Question 43

Li et al (2013) SAMPLE

Answer 43

14 male heroin users, who were in a drug rehab centre in the detoxifying stage of treatment - mean age of 35 years - previously had used heroin for an average of 89 months and had to be heroin free.
Control group had 15 males who matched the experimental group on handedness, educational level and age.
All participants were smokers, had no head trauma, psychiatric disorder and gave written informed consent.

Question 44

Li et al (2013) PROCEDURE

Answer 44

Scan 1 - structural scan to identify different brain areas.
Scan 2 - 5-minute resting fMRI scan & they had to focus on a cross hair.
Scan 3 - fMRI that lasted 490 secs, 48 pictures, half neutral and the rest heroin related to measure cue-reactivity.
Each picture was presented for 2 seconds, average interval of 8 seconds between pictures.
Before and after the cue presentation the participants were asked to complete a self-report to assess their craving on a 0-10 scale.

Question 45

Li et al (2013) RESULTS

Answer 45

Heroin users scored higher on the cravings scale (3.21) compared to controls (2.23) after presentation.
PCC was more active in heroin users than the control group when shown drug related images.
In the controls there was no brain activity that showed more connectivity with the PCC.
The drug related images activated the brain in heroin users explaining the higher cravings, but not in the control group.

Question 46

Li et al (2013) CONCLUSIONS

Answer 46

PCC activity in heroin users is different than in non-users and activity levels are linked to the length of time a person had used heroin for suggesting that for heroin user’s environmental cues can trigger habitual reactions for the brain.
This can explain why heroin users can relapse when exposed to certain environmental cues such as imagery they associate with drug taking.