Biological Psychology

Question 1

Brain

Answer 1

Regulate body temperature
Language
Co-ordinating
Problem solving and planning

Question 2

Spinal cord

Answer 2

Ensures signals from the brain are transmitted to the rest of the body
Simple reflex actions

Question 3

Occipital lobe

Answer 3

Visual information

Question 4

Temporal lobe

Answer 4

Auditory information

Question 5

Parietal lobe

Answer 5

Integrates information from different senses
Spatial navigation

Question 6

Frontal lobe

Answer 6

High-order functions
Planning, abstract reasoning

Question 7

Somatic nervous system

Answer 7

Facilitates communication between CNS from the outside world
Made up of sensory receptors that carry info to spinal cord and brain
Motor pathways allow the brain to control movement

Question 8

Autonomic nervous system

Answer 8

Transmit and receive information from oragans

Question 9

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 9

Fight or flight

Question 10

Parasympathetic

Answer 10

Slows down heart rate and reduces blood pressure

Question 11

similarities and differences of the brain and spinal cord

Answer 11

similarities
brain stem and spinal cord both control involuntary processes (brain stem controls breathing and spinal cord controls involuntary reflexes)
differences
brain provides conscious awareness and allows for higher-order thinking while spinal cord allows for simple reflex responses
- brain consists of multiples regions responsible for diff functions, whereas spinal cord has one main function

Question 12

similarities and difference of somatic and autonomic and sympathetic/ parasympathetic

Answer 12

similarities
- sympathetic and somatic respond to external stimuli
- sympathetic responds by preparing body for fight of flight and somatic respond by carrying info from sensory receptors to spinal cord and brain
differences
- autonomic consists of 2 sub-components whereas somatic only has one
- somatic has sensory and motor pathways whereas autonomic only has moto pathways
- autonomic contraols internal organs and glands while somatic controls muscle and movement

Question 13

describe synaptic transmission

Answer 13

1. information is passed down the axon of the neuron as an electrical impulse known as action potential
2. at the end of neuron are synaptic vesicles which contains chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters
3. when electrical impulse reaches these synaptic vesicles, they release their contents of neurotransmitters
4. neurotransmitters carry the signal across the synaptic cell that then becomes activated
5. once receptors have been activated, they either produce excitatory or inhibitory effects on the post-synaptic cell
6. excitatory neurotransmitters make the post-synaptic cell more likely to fire
7. inhibitory neurotransmitters E.G. GABA make them less likely to fire

Question 14

hypothalamus effect

Answer 14

stimulates and controls the release of hormones from the pituitary gland

Question 15

pituitary gland hormone released

Answer 15

anterior: ACTH
posterior: oxytocin

Question 16

effect of anterior: ACTH

Answer 16

stimulate adrenal cortex and the release of cortisol during stress response

Question 17

effect of posterior: oxytocin

Answer 17

responsible for uterus contractions during childbirth

Question 18

pineal gland

Answer 18

melatonin, responsible for important biological rhythms, including the sleep-wake cycle

Question 19

thyroid gland

Answer 19

thyroxine, responsible for regulating metabolism

Question 20

adrenal gland main hormone released by

Answer 20

adrenal medulla: adrenaline and nonradrenaline
adrenal cortex: coristol

Question 21

adrenal medulla

Answer 21

fight or flight response

Question 22

adrenal cortex coristol

Answer 22

stimulate the release of glucose to provide the body with energy, while suppressing the immune system

Question 23

ovaries

Answer 23

oestrogen, control the regulation of the female reproductive system, including menstrual cycle and pregnancy

Question 24

testes

Answer 24

testosterone, responsible for the development of male sex characteristics during puberty, while promoting muscle growth

Question 25

fight or flight response

Answer 25

1. person enters stressul situation
2. amygdala is activated which sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus
3. hypothalamus activates sympathomedullary pathway, pathway running to adrenal medulla and sympathetic nervous system
4. SNS stimulates adrenal medulla, part of adrenal gland
5. adrenal medulla secretes hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline into bloodstream
6. adrenaline causes a number of physiological changes to prepare the body for fight or flight

Question 26

Evaluation of flight or fight response

Answer 26

When faced with a dangerous situation our reaction is not limited to flight or fight
Humans engage in an initial ‘freeze’ response
Gray: first response is to avoid confrontation altogether (demonstrated by freeze)
Humans are hyper-vigilant during the response, while they appraise the situation to decide the best course of action for the threat

Question 27

Evaluation of fight or flight

Answer 27

Females adopt ‘tend and befriend’ response
Taylor: women protect offsprings and form alliances with other women rather fight or flight.
May be counterintuitive for women as running may seen as a weakness and put their offsprings to danger

Question 28

Evaluation of Fight or flight response

Answer 28

Androcentrism: conducted on males, researchers assumed results can be generalised to men
Beta bias: researchers assume females responded the same way as males

Question 29

Motor area

Answer 29

• frontal lobe
• voluntary movements
• send signals to the muscles in the body

Question 30

Somatosensory area

Answer 30

• parietal lobe
• sensory info from skin to produce sensations related to pressure,pain, temp

Question 31

Visual area

Answer 31

• occipital lobe
• receives and processes visual information

Question 32

Auditory area

Answer 32

• temporal lobe
• analysing and processing auditory information

Question 33

Broca’s area

Answer 33

• left frontal lobe
• language production

Question 34

Wernicke’s area

Answer 34

• left temporal lobe
• language comprehension

Question 35

-ve of localisation of function

Answer 35

• Lashley proposed the equipotentially theory
• suggest that basic motor and sensory functions are localised but that higher mental functions are not
• intact areas of the cortex could take over responsibility for specific cognitive functions following brain injury
• casts doubt on theories about localisation of functions, suggesting other regions can take over specific functions following brain injury

P - one weakness of LOF is that psychologists have argued it fails take into account individual differences

E- Herastys uses beta bias in his explanation of women having larger Broca’s and Wernickes areas then men - explain greater ease of language use amongst women

E- this is a weakness as the differences between men and women are ignored

L- therefore showing that variations in pattern of activation and size of areas observed are not considered

Question 36

+ve of localisation of function

Answer 36

• wealth of case studies to support Broca’s and Wernicke’s area
• Broca’s aphasia is an impaired ability to produce language, in most case, this is cased by brain damage in Broca’s area
• Wernicke’s aphasia is an impairment of language perception, demonstrating the important role played by this brain region in the comprehension of language
• HOWEVER, although there is evidence from case studies to support the function of the Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, more recent research has provided contradictory evidence.
• Dronkers conducted an MRI scan on Tan’s brain to try to confirm Broca’s findings.
• although there was a lesion found in Broca’s area, they found evidence to suggest other areas may have contributed to the failure in speech production
• suggests Broca’s area may not be the only region responsible for speech productions and the deficits found in patients with Broca’s aphasia could be the result of damage to other neighbouring regions