Biological Psychology Flashcards
Brain hemispheres
In general, the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body (e.g. the right hand) and vice versa. The left side also controls language.
sulcus (sulci (pl))
The grooves of the brain folds
gyrus (gyri (pl))
the folds of the brain surface
cerebellum
Part of the brain at the back of the skull which coordinates and regulates muscle activity
cerebrum
the main part of the brain (consists of the hemispheres) that handles conscious thoughts and actions and more.
brain stem
the bottom, stalklike portion of the brain. connects brain with spinal cord
synapse
a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter
neuron
fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, sending motor commands to our muscles and transforming and relaying electrical signals
action potential
A sudden, fast, transitory, and propagating change of the resting membrane potential. sending signals (information)
Prosopagnosia
Neurological disorder characterised by the inability to recognise faces
Capgras syndrome (CS)
A syndrome characterised by a false belief that an identical duplicate has replaced someone significant to the patient.
double dissociation
A situation in which a lesion of brain area A impairs function 1 but not function 2 while a lesion of brain area B produces the reverse patterns
Mirror neurons
A type of brain cell that responds equally when we perform an action and when we witness someone else perform the same action
Polysomnography (PSG)
A test used to measure sleep. Records brain waves, oxygen levels in blood, hear rate, breathing, eye movement, leg movement during sleep
EEG (brain activity) + EOG (eye movement) + EMG (muscle behaviour)
Perfect storm model
The addition of multiple factors severely impacting sleep (bioregulatory pressure, psychosocial pressure and societal pressure)
circadian rhythm
physical, mental and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. Respond primarily to light and dark.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM)
stage of sleep associated with dreaming and memory consolidation
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
specialised group of hypothalamic cells, receives information about light exposure from ganglion cells in retina and activates melatoniin secretion by pineal gland
Sensation
the process of the sensory organs transforming physical energy into neurological impulses the brain interprets as sensesq
Perception
The organisation, identification and interpretation of sensory information
Phenomenology
study of subjective experiences
Psychophysics
psycho - related to mind and brain
physics - scientific study of matter or energy
Absolute Threshold
The smallest amount of stimulus energy necessary for an observer to detect a stimulus
Psychometric Function
an inferential psychometric model applied in detection and discrimination tasks
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
the smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect
Weber’s Law
quantifying the perception of change in a given stimulus
the ratio of the JND and to the standard stimulus is constant
= 0.1
Retina
a layer at the back of the eyeball that contains cells sensitive to light, triggers nerve impulses that pass via the optic nerve to the brain, where a visual image is formed
Retinal Stabilisation
images that remain immobile on the retina fade –> in order to reduce visual clutter
Cornea
The transparent layer forming the front of the eye
Pupil
the dark circular opening in the centre of the iris of the the eye, which varies in size to regulate the amount of light reaching the retina
Crystalline Lens
the transparent elastic structure behind the iris which is focused on the retina of the eye
Fovea
a small depression within the neurosensory retina where visual acuity is the highest
Optic Nerve
a nerve compromised of millions of nerve fibres that send visual messages to your brain to help you see
Astigmatism
A defect in the eye or in a lens that causes a deviation from the the spherical curvature, which results in distorted images, as light rays are prevented from meeting at a common focus
Photoreceptor
A structure within the eye that responds to light falling on it
Rod
A type of photoreceptor in the retina that are sensitive to light levels and give us good vision in low light
Cone
A type of photoreceptor cell in the retina that gives us our colour vision. They are concentrated in an area called the macula and help us see fine details.
Phototransduction
The sensory transduction process of the visual system by which light is detected to yield nerve impulses in the rod cells and cone cells in the retina
Bipolar Cell
Interneurons in the retina which transfer visual information from photoreceptors to amacrine and ganglion cells
Retinal Ganglion Cell
A type of neuron located near the inner surface of the retina of the eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and amacrine cells
Duplex Theory
an explanation for the ability of humans to localise sounds by time differences between the sounds reaching each ear and differences in sound level
Scoptic vision
night vision
through rods
Photopic Vision
day vision
through cones
Tympanic Membrane
A thin, circular layer of tissue that separates the outer ear from the middle ear.
Middle Ear
The air-filled central cavity of the ear, behind the eardrum
Ossicles
the three small bones in the middle ear that transmit air vibrations from the outer ear to the inner ear to be processed as sound
Inner Ear
part of the ear that contains organs of the senses of hearing and equilibrium
Cochlea
the spiral cavity of the inner ear containing the organ of Corti which produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations
Transduction
the transportation or transformation of something from one form, place, or concept to another
Hair Cell
the primary sensory receptor cells within the inner ear that convert and transduce mechanical stimuli evoked by sound and head movements into electrical signals which are transmitted to the brain
Place Theory
An explanation of how human beings perceive pitch
hair cells and nerve fibres of the cochlea are divided into different regions that detect specific sound frequencies
Basilar Membrane
A stiff structural element within the cochlea of the inner ear which separates two liquid-filled tubes that run along the coil of the cochlea, the scala media and the scala tympani
Olfactory Bulb
the structure located in the forebrain of vertebrates that receives neural input about odours detected by cells by cells in the nasal cavity
Mechanoreceptor
type of somatosensory receptor which relay extracellular stimulus to intracellular signal transduction through mechanically gated ion channels
Proprioception / kinaesthesia
the body’s ability to sense movement, action and location
Vestibular System
system functions to detect the position and movement of our head in space
Interoception
the collection of senses providing information to the organism about the internal state of the body
Subtractive Colour Mixture
light will be reduced when more colour is added, creating darker colours
Additive Colour Mixture
the mixing of coloured light by adding spectral ranges. the primary colours of additive colour mixing are the complementary colours: red, green and blue, all of which combined generate white light
Trichromatic theory / Young-helmholtz theory
A theory of trichromatic colour vision, the manner in which the visual system gives rise to the phenomenological experience of colour
opponent-process theory
One member of a colour pair suppresses the other colour
achromatopsia
A condition characterised by a partial or total absence of colour vision
dichromat
a person whose vision can only distinguish two colours
protanope
a state in which red cones are absent, leaving only cones that absorb blue and green light.
deutorenaope
green cones are lacking and blue and red cones are functional
tritanope
a person who cannot distinguish the colour blue
anomalous trichromat
possess three types of cones but one of the three types of cones has an abnormal spectral sensitivity compared to normal cones
synaesthesia
a phenomenon that causes sensory crossover, such as tasting colours or feeling sounds
cognitive neuroscience
understand how cognitive processes are shaped by neural circuits and their electrical and chemical patterns of activity in the brain
soup vs spark debate
A debate about the nature of connectivity in the nervous system. Some scientists supported a sole mode of connection of the electrical transmission and others the chemical one.
cardio-centrism vs encephalo-centrism
Encephalocentrism is the theory that the mind is in the brain and cardiocentrism holds that the mind is in the heart
localisation vs aggregate field
Localisation: specific parts of the brain control specific aspects of brain function
aggregate: all areas of the brain participate in every mental function
recticular theory vs neuron doctrine
Advocates of the neuron doctrine claimed that the nervous system was composed of discrete cellular units. Proponents of the alternative reticular theory, on the other hand, argued that the entire nervous system was a continuous network of cells, without gaps or synapses between the cells.
Computerised Tomography (CT)
1970
A non-invasive, imaging machine that scans the body or the brain using a series of x-rays and then creates a 3D image
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
1973
non invasive imaging technology that produces detailed images of the brain. They use large magnets and radio waves in order to create images of the body
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
1973
a method for characterising microstructural changes or differences with neuropathology and treatment.
It detects the diffusion of water molecules in the brain tissue
Structural Imaging
Imaging technique that lets us see the structures and composition of the brain -> how does the brain looK?
Functional imaging
Imaging technique that lets us understand processes of the brain –> how does the brain work
Hemodynamic methods
Measurement and analysis of changes in blood flow and blood oxygenation levels in the brain during neural activity
Single Cell Recording
an invasive technique used to monitor single neuron activity
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
1985
a non invasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain
transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
a non invasive brain stimulation method used to send weak electrical currents to modulate neural excitability
Electro Encephalography (EEG)
a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs
Event Related Potentials (ERP)
event-related voltage changes in the ongoing EEG activity that are time-locked to sensory, motor and cognitive events.
Magneto-Encephalography (MEG)
1993
a non invasive measurement of the magnetic field generated by the electrical activity of neurons
Lesion
A region in an organ or tissue which has suffered damage through injury or disease.
positron emission tomography (PET)
a type of nuclear medicine procedure that measures metabolic activity of the cells of body tissues
functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
1991
a non invasive technique that measures the small changes in blood flow which occur with brain activity
functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (1989)
Assesses brain activity by measuring changes in the properties of light as it shines through the skull and is refracted back to a specialised detector
a hemodynamic neuroimaging technology that indirectly measures neuronal activity in the brain’s cortex via neuro-vascular coupling
Temporal Resolution
Level of detail and precision to capture changes in brain activity over time –> timing of neural processes (When?/How long?)
Spatial Resolution
Level of detail and precision to capture where specific brain activity occurs and differentiate between neural structures or functional areas –> Localise areas/functions within the brain (Where)
Electromagnetic Methods
Measurement and analysis of the electrical and magnetic signals produced by neurons during various cognitive processes
sagittal plane
a vertical plane which passes through the body longitudinally. It divides the body into a left section and a right section
coronal plane
A vertical plane which passes through the body longitudinally, but perpendicular to the sagittal plane. Divides the body into a front and back section.
transverse
A horizontal plane. It is perpendicular to both the sagittal and the coronal planes and parallel to the ground. Divides the body into an upper and lower section.
Brain plasticity
The brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming new neural connections throughout life
Affective Neuroscience
Understanding how emotions interact with cognitive processes, shaping our perceptions, decisions and behaviour
Constructed Emotion Theory
Emotions are not innate but categories constructed through a dynamic process: Bodily sensations, core affect, conceptual knowledge
Central Executive Network (CEN)
a fronto-parietal system and is crucial for actively maintaining and manipulating information in working memory, for rule-based problem solving and for decision making.
Default mode Network (DMN)
a functional brain activity across different regions at rest, when a person is being introspective or not interacting with the world
Hemispatial neglect
A syndrome characterised by reduced awareness of stimuli on one side of space, even though there may be no sensory loss
