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Year 12 Psychology > Biological Psychology > Flashcards

Biological Psychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Define brainstem

A

part of the brain which connects the upper brain to the spinal cord

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2
Q

Define Brain

A

the organ in your head, made up of nerves which processes information and controls behaviour

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3
Q

Define hemisphere

A

half of the brain (left/right halves)

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4
Q

Define cortex

A

the outer layer of the brain

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5
Q

Define spinal cord

A

pathway of nerves in the spine, connecting the brain to the rest of the body

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6
Q

What is the CNS made up of?

A

the brain and spinal cord

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7
Q

What is the PNS made up of?

A

nerves that connect the CNS to the skin, muscles and organs

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8
Q

Where is the spinal cord connected to?

A

connected to the brain by the brainstem

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9
Q

What is the brain responsible for?

A

reflex actions and conscious awareness, where decision making takes place

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10
Q

What are the two hemispheres of the brain connected by?

A

The corpus callosum

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11
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A

a bundle of nerve fibres

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12
Q

What does the corpus callosum allow the hemispheres to do?

A

allows the halves to communicate with each other

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13
Q

What is brain lateralisation?

A

the left and right hemispheres have different specialised functions

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14
Q

Which side of brain controls the right side of the body?

A

left

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15
Q

Which side of the brain controls the left side of the body?

A

right

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16
Q

What does the right side of the brain control?

A

spatial skills, creativity and musicality

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17
Q

What does the left side of the the brain control?

A

language, speech and writing skills

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18
Q

Where is the frontal lobe?

A

front of the brain

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19
Q

What does the frontal lobe do?

A

problem solving, attention control and impulse control

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20
Q

Where is the parietal lobe?

A

Top of the brain

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21
Q

What does the parietal lobe do?

A

perception, face recognition, touch sensations

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22
Q

Where is the occipital lobe?

A

back of the brain

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23
Q

what does the occipital lobe do?

A

vision and making sense of images

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24
Q

where is the cerebellum?

A

between the brain and spinal cord

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25
Q

what does the cerebellum do?

A

connects the two parts of the central nervous system and regulates motor movements

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26
Q

what does the brainstem do?

A

connects the two parts of the CNS

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27
Q

Where is the temporal lobe?

A

sides of the brain

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28
Q

what does the temporal lobe do?

A

controls hearing, sounds, speech, memory

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29
Q

What is the amygdala known as?

A

the centre of emotion in the brain

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30
Q

what does the amygdala control?

A

instinctive feelings and reactions to the environment, including aggression.

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31
Q

what is the hypothalamus?

A

maintains internal homeostasis by regulating hormone release from the pituitary gland, including hormones that regulate sexual functions

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32
Q

what is the hypothalamus linked to?

A

linked to aggressive behaviours in males via production of testosterone.

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33
Q

what does the prefrontal cortex do?

A

the very front of the brain that governs interaction and behaviour regulation. it governs control and makes us double think our actions

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34
Q

what is the prefrontal cortex connected to?

A

the amygdala and hypothalamus

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35
Q

what does damage to the prefrontal cortex cause?

A

inability to control impulses and consequently is related to aggression

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36
Q

Define neuron

A

nerve cell in the nervous system that transmit and receive chemical messages, through the release and uptake of neurotransmitters

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37
Q

define cell body

A

main part of the cell where the nucleus sits, contains mitochondria

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38
Q

define nucleus

A

houses genetic material for that particular neuron

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39
Q

define dendrites

A

branches at the top end of the neuron that receive messages from other neurons

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40
Q

define axon

A

long branch from the cell body that passes electrical impulses down to the end of the neuron to allow it to communicate with others

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41
Q

define myelin sheath

A

fatty deposit that provides electrical insulation for an axon and allows electrical nerve impulses to be passed along

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42
Q

define nodes of ranvier

A

gaps between adjacent myelin sheaths

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43
Q

define axon terminals/terminal buttons

A

the very end of a neuron where the nerve impulse becomes a chemical message that can be passed to the dendrite of another neuron

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44
Q

define neurotransmitter

A

chemicals within the nervous system that pass chemical messages from one neuron to the next, across a synapse

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45
Q

define excitatory

A

making a neuron more likely to trigger an action potential

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46
Q

define inhibitory

A

making a neuron less likely to trigger an action potential

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47
Q

define synapse

A

the gap between two neurons (axon terminal of the pre-synaptic neuron) where neurotransmitters pass on their chemical messages

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48
Q

define action potential

A

the process where an electrical impulse is triggered by the change in electrical potential of the neuron, causing release of a neurotransmitter

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49
Q

what is stage 1 of action potential?

A

neutrons are negatively electrically charged at about -70mV

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50
Q

what is stage 2 of action potential?

A

a neuron is stimulated by another neuron, causes excitatory postsynaptic potential, making it more positively charged

51
Q

what is it called when a neuron becomes more positively charged?

A

depolarisation

52
Q

what is stage 3 of action potential?

A

when neuron has received enough messages to reach the threshold level, an action potential is triggered. this is usually when the neurons charge reaches about -55mV

53
Q

what is stage 4 of action potential?

A

action potential sends an electrical impulse along the axon, towards the axon terminals. This triggers the release of a neurotransmitter

54
Q

what is synaptic transmission?

A

process where neurotransmitters are released by one neuron that travel across a synapse and are taken up by another neuron

55
Q

describe the steps of synaptic transmission

A

action potential is triggered

electrical impulse travels along axon to axon terminals

axon terminals release neurotransmitter molecules into synapse

molecules travel across the synapse towards dendrites of post-synaptic neuron

action potential may be triggered in post-synaptic neuron

some neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the pre-synaptic neuron in a process called reuptake

56
Q

supporting evidence for the biological cause of addiction

A

rat experiments- rats placed in isolated cages and starved. Rats had the choice whether to push a lever to inject heroin. rats would overdose suggesting addiction is biological

57
Q

opposing evidence for biological cause of addiction

A

Rat Park experiment by Alexander. lots of space for rats to run around and socialise. there were two water bottles, one with water and the other with morphine solution. all rats would drink normal water, suggesting addiction is not purely biological, but is driven by individuals’ environment

58
Q

different theory for biological cause of addiction

A

Freud suggests that addiction occurs due to childhood traumas and conflicts. he suggested that drugs can be used as a way to repress feelings

59
Q

application for biological cause of addiction

A

drug replacement therapy which gives a substitute drug that produces similar euphoria and then they are slowly weaned off it

60
Q

supporting evidence of brain functioning as an explanation for aggression

A

Charles Whitman killed his family, a dozen others and himself. it was found that he had a tumour pressing on his amygdala, the centre of emotion

61
Q

opposing evidence for brain functioning as an explanation for aggression

A

we cannot Whitmans tumour to check for reliability. his aggression may have arisen by other factors in his life

62
Q

different theory for brain functioning as an explanation for aggression

A

freud’s psychodynamic explanation- he suggests that aggression is caused by internal drives within the unconscious mind, such as Thanatos (the death instinct) which projects outwards onto others in the form of aggression

63
Q

application for brain functioning as an explanation for aggression

A

early intervention- brain scans can be done to detect potential violent offenders. anger management can be provided

64
Q

what are hormones?

A

chemical messengers that carry information around the body

65
Q

what is testosterone?

A

a hormone linked to aggression

66
Q

why is testosterone linked with aggression?

A

males are more aggressive as they have higher levels of testosterone. testosterone is produced in spurts so levels can rise and fall suddenly and have an effect on behaviour

67
Q

supporting evidence for animal experiments

A

Wagner et al- castrated rats showed less aggression, when injected with testosterone, they showed aggression levels had risen to pre-castration levels

68
Q

opposing evidence for animal experiments

A

lack generalisability to humans as animals lack the cognitive complexities of the human brain e.g. no consequences

69
Q

different theory for animal experiments

A

freud’s psychodynamic explanation- aggression is caused by drives within the unconscious mind

70
Q

application for animal experiments

A

hormone therapy- MPA decreases functioning of testosterone and lower aggression. however she effects include growth of breasts so many decline

71
Q

claim of evolution and natural selection

A

aggression is caused by structure and function of our brain having evolved to serve an adaptive function

72
Q

define natural selection

A

where organisms become better adapted to their environment

73
Q

supporting evidence for natural selection

A

townsend- women find dominant men more attractive

74
Q

opposing evidence for natural selection

A

post hoc- theory been developed to fit the facts

75
Q

different theory for natural selection

A

freud- internal drives that project aggression outwards

76
Q

Application for natural selection

A

socially sensitive- offenders can’t be held accountable for their actions, as the theory suggests males should be more aggressive

77
Q

Freud’s claim

A

aggression is caused by internal drives within the unconscious mind

78
Q

components of freud

A

id
ego
superego

79
Q

what is the id

A

has no thought of consequences, wants it now

80
Q

what is the ego

A

delays the id’s urges. doesn’t understand the difference between right and wrong

81
Q

what is the superego

A

becomes aware of societal rules and understands difference between right and wrong

82
Q

what age does the id develop

A

at birth

83
Q

what age does the ego develop

A

2

84
Q

what age does superego develop

A

3-6

85
Q

what is eros

A

life instinct

86
Q

what is Thanatos

A

self-destruction

87
Q

supporting evidence for freud

A

case studies- rich in depth data

88
Q

opposing evidence for freud

A

can’t operationalise- they are theoretical concepts that cannot be measured

89
Q

different theory for freud

A

biological explanations- aggression is caused by structural differences in the brain

90
Q

application for freud

A

catharsis- reduces aggression, sport or video games

91
Q

claim of hormone theory

A

aggression is caused by the release of hormones e.g. testosterone

92
Q

supporting evidence for hormone theory

A

Wagner et al- castrated rats showed less aggression, but when injected with testosterone again aggression rose

93
Q

opposing evidence for hormone theory

A

animal experiments- lack generalisability to humans s we are more cognitively complex

94
Q

different theory for hormone theory

A

Freud- aggression is caused by internal drives within the unconscious mind

95
Q

application for hormone theory

A

hormone therapy, female hormone MPA lowers testosterone and aggression

96
Q

what is kety

A

adoption study

97
Q

aim of Kety

A

investigate the genetic basis of schizophrenia by comparing adoptive and biological families of patients with and without schizophrenia

98
Q

procedure of kety

A

opportunity sample

recruited from Danish adoption register

34 with schizophrenia
33 without

used Danish family records to identify 459 relatives in total after 4 were dropped

4 psychiatrists used to ‘diagnose’ schizophrenia amongst the relatives

this was done based on their medical records

99
Q

results of Kety

A

more signs of schizophrenia in biological family

biological families 5 times more likely to get schizophrenia (8.7% and 1.9%) prevalence

100
Q

conclusion of kety

A

there is a genetic component to schizophrenia

101
Q

Generalisability of kety

A

large sample of relatives

not generalise to mental health disorders outside of Denmark due to cultural differences

102
Q

Reliability of Kety

A

4 psychiatrists to ensure inter-rater reliability

diagnostic criteria used were vague and subjective e.g. borderline

103
Q

Application of Kety

A

lead to early diagnosis and early intervention

104
Q

validity of Kety

A

diagnostic criteria used were vague e.g. borderline, which limits validity

105
Q

what is Raine?

A

classic study

106
Q

aim of Raine

A

to see if there is brain abnormality in murderers pleading NGRI compared to non-murderers

107
Q

procedure of Raine

A

41 murderers- 41 non murderers used as control

all ppts kept medication free for 2 weeks

ppts injected with a glucose tracer

required to do continuous performance task for 32 mins

given a PET scan

108
Q

results of Raine

A

murderers showed lower activity in prefrontal cortex which is an area associated with self-restraint

109
Q

conclusion of Raine

A

dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex has been linked to impulsivity and lack of self-control

dysfunction in the amygdala has been linked to lack of fear

110
Q

generalisability of Raine

A

sample consists of only 41 murderers

111
Q

reliability of Raine

A

standardised procedure e.g. 2 weeks medication free

112
Q

application of Raine

A

PET scans can be used to identify those at risk of this behaviour- early interventions

113
Q

validity of Raine

A

high control of extraneous variables (2 weeks meds free)

objective measure of brain function using a PET scan

114
Q

ethics of Raine

A

ppts may have been persuaded into participation of experiment by lawyers to reduce their sentence

115
Q

what is brendgen

A

contemporary study

116
Q

aim of brendgen

A

investigate whether physical and social aggression are genetically or socially caused

117
Q

procedure of brendgen

A

234 twin pairs recruited from Quebec newborn twin study

ppts were 6 yrs old

teachers completed questionnaires, rating children on a 3 point scale on 6 statements e.g. gets into fights

3 questions about social, 3 questions about physical aggression for teachers

children peers shown photos of classmates and asked to circle photos of 3 children who best fit statements e.g. gets into fights.

2 statements of physical, 2 statements of social for children

118
Q

results of brendgen

A

correlation between physical aggression ratings between identical twins was twice as high as non-identical twins (MZ and DZ)

roughly 50-60% of physical aggression can be explained by genetic causes, only 20% of social aggression can b explained by genetics

119
Q

conclusion of brendgen

A

children who are physically aggressive are more likely to be socially aggressive, but not the other way round

as children age, they show more social aggression

120
Q

generalisability of brendgen

A

large sample of 234 twin pairs

ppts were 6 years old, can’t generalise to older peoples aggression

social aggression develops fully at 8 yrs

121
Q

reliability of brendgen

A

standardised 3 point scale and the same 6 statements given to teachers e.g. gets into fights

122
Q

application of brendgen

A

early intervention programmes to prevent social aggression

123
Q

validity of brendgen

A

objective, 3 point scale means aggression ratings are objective and quantitative

Year 12 Psychology (17 decks)

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