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Psychology Degree > Biological psychology > Flashcards

Biological psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What makes up the nervous system?

A
  1. Central nervous system (CNS)
    - Brain
    - Spinal cord
  2. Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
    - Nerves
    - Motor/sensory pathways
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2
Q

The brain: 3 parts

A
  1. Cerebrum
  2. Cerebellum
  3. Brain stem
    - Two hemispheres (left and right)
    - Contralateral: opposite side
    - Ipsilateral: same side
    - Receives a constant flow of blood (approx. 20% of blood flow from heart)
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3
Q

Anatomical directions: 4 types

A

a) Superior/ Dorsal (Top)
b) Posterior/ Caudal (Back)
c) Inferior/ Ventral (Bottom)
d) Anterior/ Rostral (Front)
- Medial: towards the middle
- Lateral: towards the side

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4
Q

Planes and sections: 3 types

A

a) Frontal – parallel to forehead
b) Sagittal – ‘arrow’
c) Horizontal – parallel to ground

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5
Q

What is the difference between grey and white matter?

A
  1. Grey matter – cell bodies and dendrites
    e.g. cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus
  2. White matter – myelinated axons
    e.g. corpus callosum (the largest fibre bundle that connects the two hemispheres of the brain)
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6
Q

What are some protections of the nervous system?

A
  • Meninges: 3 layers of tissues that protect the brain and spinal cord
  • Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF): a clear liquid that fills the subarachnoid space (Function = shock absorber, buoyancy)
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7
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7
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7
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8
Q

What is the ventricular system and function?

A
  • Ventricles: hollow cavities filled with CSF
  • Function = exchange of materials between blood vessels and brain tissue
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9
Q

What is the blood-brain barrier and purpose?

A
  • A semipermeable barrier
  • Lipid soluble substances can pass through but substances with large molecules (e.g. glucose) must be actively transported through the walls
  • Purpose = maintain stable environment and protection from potentially damaging chemicals
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10
Q

Features of Cerebral Cortex

A
  • Outer surface of cerebrum
  • 3mm thick and folded to allow a bigger surface area
  • Clefts/cracks/grooves = Sulci
  • Folds/bulges = Gyri
  • Major grooves = Fissures
  • 4 lobes: Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal
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11
Q

Frontal lobe: and function

A
  • The anterior area of the cortex, rostral to parietal lobe, dorsal to temporal lobe
  • Divided from parietal lobe by the central sulcus
  • Function = motor and cognition
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12
Q

Parietal lobe: and function

A
  • Caudal to frontal lobe, dorsal to temporal lobe
  • Function = somatosensory
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13
Q

Occipital lobe: and function

A
  • Caudal to parietal and temporal lobes
  • Function = vision
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14
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15
Q

Temporal lobe: and function

A
  • Rostral to occipital lobe and ventral to parietal and frontal lobes
  • Function = hearing, vision, cognition, emotion
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16
Q

Primary areas in the brain

A
  • Primary somatosensory, visual & auditory cortex receive info from the senses
  • Primary motor cortex is connected to muscles in the body
  • All contralateral
  • Sensory association areas receive and analyse info from primary regions
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17
Q

What structures are in the brains subdivisions?

A
  1. Telencephalon:
    Cerebral cortex
    Basal ganglia
    Limbic system
  2. Diencephalon:
    Thalamus
    Hypothalamus
  3. Midbrain:
    Tectum
    Teamentum
  4. Metencephalon:
    Cerebellum
    Pons
  5. Myelencephalon
    Medulla oblongata
18
Q

Telencephalon: Basal ganglia

A
  • Collection of nuclei (a group of cell bodies)
  • Important for control of movements, reward systems
  • Lesions in basal ganglia can cause disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s
  • Main structures: caudate nucleus, putamen (both make up striatum) & globus pallidus
19
Q

Telencephalon: The limbic system

A
  • Limbic cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, fornix, mammillary bodies
  • Important for emotion and learning/memory
  • Hippocampus is important for consolidating memory (e.g. classic case study of H.M.) and spatial navigation
20
Q

Diencephalon: Thalamus

A
  • Two lobes separated by massa intermedia
  • Receives info from and sends info the cortex
  • Divided into nuclei including lateral geniculate nucleus, medial geniculate nucleus, ventrolateral nucleus
21
Q

Diencephalon: Hypothalamus

A
  • Controls autonomic nervous system
  • Connected to pituitary gland
22
Q

Mesencephalon (mid brain)

A
  • Tectum: superior colliculi, inferior colliculi
  • Tegmentum: reticular formation, periaqueductal grey matter (involved in animal fighting and mating), red nucleus (limb movement), substantia nigra (connect to basal ganglia and initiate movement)
23
Q

Rhombencephalon (hindbrain)

A
  • Metencephalon: pons and important for sleep and arousal. Relays info from cortex to cerebellum
  • Cerebellum is important for coordination of movement
  • Myelencephalon: medulla oblongata. Regulation of cardiovascular system, respiration, and skeletal muscle tonus
24
Q

The nervous system: 3 types of neurons

A
  • CNS: brain & spinal cord
  • PNS: all other nerves
  • Neurons do all the information processing and information transmitting
  • Many different types of neurons
  • 86 billion neurons
    1. Sensory neurons = info from the body
    2. Interneurons = link sensory and motor neurons
    3. Motor neurons = info to the body
25
Q

Structure of a neuron

A
  • Soma (cell body): contains nucleus
  • Dendrites: receive messages
  • Axon: carries info from soma to terminal buttons (axon potential)
  • Myelin sheath: wraps around axon
  • Terminal buttons: at the end of the axon branches
26
Q

Supporting cells: Glia

A
  • Includes: astrocytes (star-shaped cells and provide structural support, provide nutrients to neurones, surround synapse)
  • oligodendrocytes (produce the myelin sheath that insulates axons)
  • microglia (provide support, waste services, supply of nutrients and chemicals)
  • Nodes of Ranvier: naked axon
27
Q

Transmission within a neuron

A
  • An electrical process
  • All cells have an electrical charge
  • They have more negative on the inside than the outside
  • This results in a resting potential (a store of energy)
  • Neurones can reverse their electrical charge
28
Q

Cell membrane and ion channel structures

A
  • All cells are covered in a membrane
  • Two layers of phospholipid molecules (hydrophobic tail, hydrophilic head)
  • Ion channel: spans the membrane
  • Cations: positively charged
  • Anions: negatively charged
  • Intercellular fluid contains potassium ions and anions
  • Extracellular fluid contains sodium and chloride ions
29
Q

The membrane potential: 4 ions

A
  • The membrane potential is the difference in electrical potential inside and outside the cells
  • Balanced by diffusion and electrostatic pressure
  • Organic anions (concentrated inside the cell): cannot cross the membrane
  • Potassium ions (more concentrated inside the cell): wants to move out by diffusion, electrostatic is attracted to inside = overall forces balance so potassium doesn’t move
  • Chloride ions (more concentrated outside the cell): wants to move out by diffusion, electrostatic is repelled from inside = overall forces balance so chloride doesn’t move
  • Sodium ions (more concentrated outside the cell): wants to move in by diffusion, electrostatic attracted to inside = overall both forces sodium into cell but is kept under control by sodium-potassium pump (3 sodium out, 2 potassium in)
30
Q

Resting potential

A
  • Inside = negative
  • Outside = positive
  • The resting potential of a neurone is -70mV
  • Maintain the resting potential is important so the neurone can respond rapidly to a stimulus
  • An action potential is a reversal in the potential and is how information is sent through an axon
31
Q

Action potential: depolarisation & hyperpolarization

A
  • Is a rapid change in the membrane potential
  • Is an ‘all or none’ process
  • Depolarization: decrease from normal resting potential (brings membrane closer to 0)
  • Hyperpolarization: increase relative to resting potential (more negative)
32
Q

Action potential: 6 steps

A
  1. sodium channels open, sodium begins to enter the cell
  2. potassium channels open, potassium begins to leave cell
  3. sodium channels become refractory, no more sodium enters cell
  4. potassium continues to leave cell, causes membrane potential to return to resting level
  5. potassium channels close, sodium channels reset
  6. extra potassium outside diffuses away
33
Q
A
34
Q

What is propagation?

A
  • The action potential is transmitted down an axon via propagation
  • The action potential is regenerated at points along the axon due to the entry of sodium ions at the neighbouring point
35
Q

What is salutatory conduction?

A
  • Action potential regenerated along the axon at Nodes of Ranvier
  • The electrical conduction ‘jumps’ between the Nodes of Ranvier
  • Benefits: fast conduction, more energy efficient
36
Q

Transmission between neurons

A
  • neurons send messages via synaptic transmission
  • neurotransmitters are released from one neuron and attach to another neurone
  • this initiates a reaction that ultimately results in postsynaptic potentials
37
Q

What is synapse?

A
  • the junction between two neurons (terminal buttons & membrane)
  • synaptic vesicles contain neurotransmitters made in the stoma
  • synaptic cleft is 20nm wide
38
Q

Synaptic transmission: 7 steps

A
  1. action potential arrives at the terminal buttons
  2. calcium channels open and calcium ions enter the neuron
  3. vesicles fuse with membrane and the pores opens
  4. the vesicles release the neurotransmitters into the synapse (exocytosis)
  5. neurotransmitters diffuse across the synapse and bind to the postsynaptic membrane
  6. postsynaptic channels open
  7. ions flow into the neurone which either results in an excitatory or inhibitory post-synaptic potential
39
Q

Binding of the neurotransmitter

A
  • neurotransmitters bind to binding sites on post-synaptic membrane (lock and key)
  • postsynaptic potential depends in which ion channel is opened
  • EPSP – excitatory postsynaptic potential
  • IPSP – inhibitory postsynaptic potential
40
Q

Receptors: 2 types

A
  • ionotropic receptor: contains a binding sit and an ion channel. This opens when molecule attaches to binding site. This a direct method
  • metabotropic receptor: contains a binding site. Initiates a chain reaction that eventually opens ion channels, and this requires energy. PSPs slower than those produced by ionotropic receptors
41
Q

Termination of neurotransmitters: 2 ways

A
  1. Reuptake – transmitter is taken back by the presynaptic terminal vis transporter molecules
  2. Enzymatic deactivation – transmitter broken down by an enzyme (e.g. acetylcholinesterase breaks down Ach into choline and acetic acid
42
Q

Neural integration

A
  • excitatory: increases likelihood of neuron firing
  • inhibitory: decreases likelihood
  • integration: summation of PSPs in control on neuron firing
43
Q

Drugs and neurotransmitters

A
  1. Antagonist – a drug that blocks a neurotransmitter (e.g. Botox blocks the release the release of acetylcholine and prevents muscle contraction so paralyses muscles)
  2. Agonist – a drug that mimics a neurotransmitter and enhances synapse function (e.g. muscarine imitates acetylcholine)
44
Q

Examples of neurotransmitters: 5 examples

A
  1. GABA – most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS (reduces chance of neuronal firing)
  2. Glutamate – most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in CNS. Can bind to several receptors. Learning and memory
  3. Acetylcholine – first neurotransmitter discovered. Focus on neuromuscular junction. Working primarily in muscles
  4. Serotonin – regulation of mood, eating and sleep
  5. Dopamine – motor control. Reward and addiction

Psychology Degree (13 decks)

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