biological psychology Flashcards
what does frontal lobe do
motor activity
speech
impulse control
planning
function of parietal lobe
integrates sensory information
spatial tasks
function of temporal lobe
memory
emotion
function of occipital lobe
visual perception
what does CAT scan use and is it invasive or not
- x rays
-checks tissue density
-uses radiation
what does a MRI scan consist of
-radio waves
-generates images of brain tissue
-more accurate detail than CAT scan
what is an EEG scan
-patient wears cap
-cap has electrodes which record electrical currents in brain activity
what is a PET scan, 4 things
-use of injecting radioactive isotope tracer
-based that areas with high radio activity have the highest brain activity
-correlates w blood flow in brain
-invasive technique
whats an fMRI scan
-gives extreme high res.
-looks at structure and where activity takes place in brain
-detects between oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
-non invasive
whats an MEG scan
- accurate and high res
-non invasive
-measures small bursts of magnetic activity induced in coil bethed in lipid helium above subjects head
-when brain engages in activity small magnetic field forms - is very sensitive and finds what parts of brain involved in brain activity
whats a TMS
-tempoarily turns off a part of patients brain
what are the 3 disorders of consciousness
-coma
-vegetative state
-locked in syndrome
what experiment was done with an fMRI scanner
- 2 imagery tasks
-motor imagery: told to imagine to swing an arm to a ball in a tennis court with an instructor
-spatial imagery: to imagine walking from room to room in their own house - results showed brain activity in different places to responding questions
what does left hemisphere control
-language
-computation (storing and transferring data)
-logical reasoning
what does right hemisphere control
-spatial reasoning (understanding objects from different perspectives)
-face recogntion
-music
what connects two hemispheres together
the corpus callosum
what does contralateral organisation consist of
- visual processing
-reflects on retina and sends signal to opposite side of brain to process
-muscle and limb control organised contralaterally
what does the somatic nervous system consist of and what are their functions
-efferent nerves, carrying signals from the CNS
-afferent nerves, carrying signal from the body to the CNS
what 3 parts of brain make up the basal ganglia
-caudate nucleus
-putamen
-globus pallidus
what part of brain is damaged in Parkinsons disease
basal ganglia
what part of brain is involved in the control of movement
the basal ganglia
what does the autonomic nervous system consist of
-efferent nerves (CNS to internal organs)
-regulates bodies internal enviornments
-e,g: dialtes pupils, relaxes bronchi
how does sympathetic system work
- simultanously all at once (fight or flight)
how does the parasympathetic system work
-focuses on one organ at a time (rest and restore system) relaxes body
what does a polygraph measure?
- skin response (how much ur sweating)
-heart rate
-blood pressure
what is a problem with the polygraph test
reliability ranges from 25 to 75 percent
what side did iron rod go into Phineas gage’s face
- left cheek through skull
what happened to Phineas Gage?
-hit frontal cortex that caused his mentality to change
what does cortex do?
- inhibition of emotions directing emotions appropriately
what do sub cortical structures produce
production of emotional responses collectively known as limbic system
what can amygdala damage do: name 4 things
- creates problems with recognition
-problems with facial expressions of fear - block fear conditioning
- creates lack of fear
what may abnormalities in psychopaths be linked to?
- linked to deficent or weakened input from limbic system
whats the function of dendrites
receive information from other neuron’s to conduct signals into the body for further processing
what is function of axon
-long fibre
-sends signals towards other neurons
whats function of axon terminals
- synaptic sites
-end close to other neurones
what is the process called for the electrical conduction from neurones to dendrites of another neuronal
electrochemical process
name stages of electrical conduction
- when neurone resting axon is NEGATIVELY charged compared to outside
-action potential when stimulus applied, causes membrane permeality
-depolarisation: positive sodium ions cause potential to decrease - repolarisation, when -40mv reached sodium channels close and potassium channels open, potassium goes out of cell and charge goes back to original.
what is myelination
-speeds action potential
-allows nerve to travel faster
- speeds it up as nerve impulse as gap allows a.p to jump from one nose to another
what does dopamine consist of?
- in parkinsons disease
-voluntary movement
-pleasure
-schizophrenia
what does serotonin consist of
-mood,sleep, depression
- obsessive- compulsive disorder
what is endorphin an example of?
- a neuromodulator to pain
what disease is acetylcholine in?
- alzheimers disease
what disease happens if theres too little dopamine?
parkinsons disease
what are the two mechanisms of neurotransmitter deactivation in synapses
- neurotransmitter reuptake
-enzymatic degradation of neurotransmitter
what happens when neurotransmitter reuptake occurs
- neurotransmitter is absorbed into synaptic cleft and reused
what happens when enzymatic degradation of neurotransmitter occurs
- in synaptic cleft
neurotransmitter broken down and dissipates
what cell bodies of neurons for dopamine are in two midbrain nuclei, name the 2
-substania nigra
-ventral tegmental area
what two pathways are involved in pleasure
-mesocortical pathway
-mesolimbic pathway
what 2 ways can drugs affect synaptic transmission
- agonist
-antagonist
whats an agonist
drug that facilitates action of a neurotransmitter
whats an antagonist
drug that reduces action of a neurotransmitter
what do depressents do with an example
- suppress bodily processes
-alcohol
what do opiates do
-pain reliever
-morphine
what do stimulants do with example
-increase alertness
-cocaine
what do hallucinogens do with example
-produce sensory or perceptual distortions
-LSD OR CANNABIS
why does repeated drug use cause tolerance
- decreased responsiveness due to less receptors
-decreased binding of receptors
-receptors less responsive
what 3 things can be done to improve brain function
-smart drugs
-brain training to improve function
-brain stimulation use of constant low currents
