biological psychology Flashcards
interactionist (hollistic) approach
uses different approaches -biological, cognitive, and sociocultural- to get a richer understanding
reductionist approach
analyzes a complex behaviour by studying the simplest, most basic mechanisms that are believed to be responsible for the behaviour
localization of function theory
a theory that assumes that every behaviour (aggression, happiness) has a specific place in the brain and is associated with a certain brain area
supported by 2 studies: HM case study, Maguire study
distributive processing theory
a theory that parts of the brain rarely work in isolation, states that several parts of the brain have to work together in order to help us create and retrieve memories.
Some parts of the brain do play specific roles in behaviour, but rarely do they work in isolation
connectome
map of the brain that looks at neural connections
cerebellum
small, wrinkled structure at the back of the brain that coordinates movement and balance
brainstem
connects spinal cord to brain, responsible for autonomic functions, e.g breathing, heart rate
cerebral cortex
outer layer of neurons with folded surface covering the brain: divided into four lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital
frontal lobe
where executive functions and higher cognitive processes take place e.g planning, problem solving
temporal lobe
auditory processing and memory
occipital lobe
visual processing
parietal lobe
perception of stimuli
The limbic system
- amygdala: emotion centre of the brain, especially anger and fear (if it is working properly we should only fear dangerous things)
- hypothalamus: size of a pea- hunger, thirst, sexual arousal and sleep. animals with damage to it either lose all interest in food or eat compulsively: also part of the endocrine system
- hippocampus: important for forming new memories. anterior- responsible for encoding new emotional memories posterior- previously learned spatial memories and navigation. damage to the hippocampus destroys ability to form new long term memories
strict localisation
a clear correspondence between psychological functions and brain areas, all functions can be clearly mapped onto the brain
maguire study
a study to support the theory of localisation
aim: to see whether brains of london cab drivers would be different to people who are not cab drivers as a result of their exceptional knowledge of the city and the many hours that they spend driving in london
procedure: participants- 16 right-handed male london cab drivers compared with 50 right-handed male non-cab drivers’ MRI scans
quasi experiment- IV was not manipulated by the researcher, they wanted to see if there was a relationship between the number of years driving and the anatomy of one’s brain.
single-blind study: (advantage), researcher did not know whether she was looking at the MRI of a taxi driver or control, no researcher bias
Results:
- taxi drivers have a higher volume of grey matter in their posterior hippocampus
- the volume of the posterior hippocampus correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver
- hippocampus may change in response to environmental demands
link to theory of localisation:
this study supports the theory of localisation as the redistribution of grey matter in the brain can be explained by attributing different functions to the two regions. It is now accepted that the posterior hippocampus is involved when previously learned spatial information is used. In this case of the taxi drivers, this is due to their vast experience of navigation, whereas the anterior hippocampus is responsible for learning new information.
