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Intro 1 > Biological Psychology > Flashcards

Biological Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What are motor neurons?

A

Passes information from the brain to parts of the body (e.g. muscles)

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2
Q

What are sensory neurons?

A

They are activated by sensory input and send signals to the brain.

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3
Q

What are resting ion channels?

A

They are always open

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4
Q

What are voltage gated ion channels?

A

They’re activated by changes in the membrane potential near the channel

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5
Q

What are ligand gated ion channels?

A

Open to let certain ions in after bonding with a chemical messenger, e.g. a neurotransmitter.

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6
Q

What are mechanically gated ion channels?

A

They open because of physical distortion to the cell membrane (e.g. touch).

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7
Q

What’s the name for negatively charged ions?

A

Anions

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8
Q

What’s the symbol for every organelle in the cell that can’t move?

A

A-

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9
Q

What’s the equilibrium potential of K+?

A

-90mv

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10
Q

What’s is the sodium potassium pump?

A

3 sodium(NA+) ions out of the cell and 2 potassium(K+ ions) into the cell

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11
Q

What is the resting membrane potential?

A

Approximately-65/-70mv

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12
Q

What is the amount of action potential needed for the signal to be passed to another neuron (sodium channel threshold)?

A

A net change of +15mv is needed to get cell to 50mv

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13
Q

What are the 3 stages of action potential?

A

Depolarisation,
Repolarisation (& hyperpolarization)
Refractory period

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14
Q

Where is myelin produced?

A

Glial cells - known as oligodendrocytes or Schwann cells.

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15
Q

When can a second action potential occur?

A

Once the preceding potential has finished.

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16
Q

What denotes the strength of a stimulus (in terms of action potential)?

A

An increased firing rate.

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17
Q

What is the name of the gap in the synapse?

A

The synaptic cleft.

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18
Q

What is ACh?

A

A chemical messenger to propagate nerve impulses across neuromuscular junctions.

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19
Q

What is calcium’s role in neuronal communication?

A

Ca2+ binds with synaptic vesicles and causes them to release neurotransmitters.

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20
Q

What are ionotropic neurotransmitter receptors?

A

One part binds to the neurotransmitter and the other part is an ion channel (lignant gated)
They are on dendrites.

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21
Q

What are metabotropic neurotransmitter receptors?

A

Indirectly influence ion channels. When they bind with a neurotransmitter, a subunit detaches and opens the ion channel
They take longer to generate the signal but allow more sensitivity & the response outlasts the stimulus.

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22
Q

Type I synapses

A

Release excitatory neurotransmitters & leads to an influx of positive ions (Na+).

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23
Q

Type 2 synapses

A

Release inhibitory neurotransmitters that lead to an influx of negative ions (Cl-).

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24
Q

How is postsynaptic potential integrated?

A

Spatially and temporally

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25
Q

What is glutamate?

A

Brain’s major excitatory neurotransmitter. Vital in forming links between neurons that are the basis of learning & memory

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26
Q

What is GABA?

A

the brain’s main inhibitory neurotransmitter

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27
Q

What is dopamine?

A

a neurotransmitter involved in movement control & reward circuits

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28
Q

What is serotonin

A

a neurotransmitter that has a profound effect on mood & anxiety

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29
Q

what is acetylcholine?

A

the neurotransmitter used at the neuro-muscular junction.

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30
Q

What causes Parkinson’s disease?

A

a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain stem (causing rigidity & trembling movements)

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31
Q

What’s a treatment for Parkinson’s disease?

A

the drug levo-dopa mimics the action of dopamine (an agonist) & temporarily relieves the symptoms.

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32
Q

what’s an agonist?

A

binds to a receptor and activates the receptor to produce a biological response (works in the same way as a neurotransmitter would)

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33
Q

what can toxins do?

A

poison ion channels, affect transmitter release or block neurotransmitter receptors

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34
Q

What’s the effect of psychoactive drugs?

A

mimic the effect of neurotransmitters, or affect the uptake of neurotransmitters. There is an association between drug-taking & reward circuits (releasing dopamine). this could explain addiction

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35
Q

What are the parts of the central nervous system?

A

the brain & the spinal cord

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36
Q

What are the parts of the peripheral nervous system?

A

Somatic nervous system & autonomic nervous system (has a sympathetic & parasympathetic division)

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37
Q

gyri

A

‘hill tops’ on the brain surface

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38
Q

sulci

A

‘valleys’ on the brain surface

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39
Q

cerebrospinal fluid

A

the cushion between the skull & the brain

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40
Q

lateral sulcus

A

separates the 2 hemispheres

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41
Q

central sulcus

A

separates the frontal & parietal lobe

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42
Q

what is the cerebral cortex?

A

a layer of nerve cells that covers the outer layer of the brain. the number & variety of neurons varies in different parts of the cortex

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43
Q

what is the occipital lobe’s role?

A

visual processing

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44
Q

What is the parietal lobe’s role?

A

touch, balance, & movement

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45
Q

What is the temporal lobe’s role?

A

hearing, speech, comprehension, memory, & visual recognition

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46
Q

What is the frontal lobe’s role?

A

movement, thinking, & planning

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47
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A

part of the brain in cerebral hemispheres. it’s involved in the control of voluntary movement.

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48
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

part of the brain involved in our navigation in space, memory formation, & emotional processing.

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49
Q

What is the brainstem?

A

controls the brain’s general level of alertness & regulate processes (e.g. breathing, heartbeat, & blood pressure). It evolved more than 500 million years ago.

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50
Q

What are the areas of the brainstem?

A

Hindbrain (including cerebellum), midbrain, diencephalon (including hypothalamus & pituitary)

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51
Q

What are the cranial nerves?

A

allow the brain to communicate with the muscle & sense organs of the head & neck.

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52
Q

What are the main cranial nerves?

A

Olfactory (smell), Optic (vision), Trigeminal (mastricatory movements & facial sensation), glossopharyngeal (tongue, pharynx movement, & sensation), & vagus (heart, blood vessels, & viscera movement of larynx/pharynx)

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53
Q

How is sensory information about touch/pain relayed to the brain?

A

via the spinal cord. the brain sends motor commands back via the spinal cord to the muscles to produce movement

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54
Q

in the sympathetic division of the ANS, what is released when a threat is seen?

A

ACh (pre-ganglion) & noradrenaline (post-ganglion)

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55
Q

In the parasympathetic division of the ANS, what is released when a threat has passed?

A

ACh pre & post ganglion

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56
Q

anterior meaning

A

located near/toward the front of the head

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57
Q

dorsal meaning

A

on/towards the back (or located above the brain nuclei)

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58
Q

frontal meaning

A

‘of the front’, or viewing the brain sections from the front

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59
Q

inferior meaning

A

located below

60
Q

lateral meaning

A

towards the side of the body

61
Q

posterior meaning

A

located near/towards the tail

62
Q

superior meaning

A

located above

63
Q

ventral meaning

A

on/towards the belly/side of the animal in which the belly is located, or located below the brain nuclei

64
Q

medial meaning

A

middle

65
Q

what are the senses?

A

somatosensation (touch), vision, taste, smell, audition (hearing)

66
Q

what is sensation?

A

the registration of physical stimuli from the environment by the sensory organs

67
Q

what is the perception of sensation?

A

the interpretation of sensations by the brain

68
Q

what is hapsis?

A

touch

69
Q

what is nocioception?

A

pain & temperature

70
Q

what is proprioception?

A

body awareness

71
Q

what is unilateral damage?

A

part of the spinal cord is damaged

72
Q

what does ipsilateral mean?

A

stays on the same side

73
Q

what does contralateral mean?

A

changes to the other side

74
Q

what is touch?

A

mechanical stimulation

75
Q

what is pain?

A

heat, chemical, or mechanical stimulation

76
Q

What is limbic proprioception?

A

muscle or joint simulation

77
Q

what does receptor field mean?

A

the area of skin covered by 1 sensory neuron & all it’s dendrites. the smaller the receptor field, the more sensitive it is

78
Q

what is glabrous skin?

A

hairless (no hair receptors, so more sensitive to touch)

79
Q

what is olfaction?

A

sense of smell

80
Q

how do we perceive taste?

A

taste stimuli/tastants are chemicals detected by taste receptors on the tongue

81
Q

what are our basic tastes?

A

salty, sour, sweet, & bitter (new flavour discovered = unami)

82
Q

what is gourmand syndrome?

A

damage to the frontal lobe in the right hemisphere can make people seek fine food.

83
Q

what is flavour?

A

taste & olfaction combined. mastication allows for more flavour

84
Q

what are orthonasal & retronasal odours?

A

orthonasal = through nose & retronasal = from the back of the throat

85
Q

what is synesthesia?

A

mixing up certain senses (could be caused by the cross-talk of neurons)

86
Q

what are sound waves?

A

changes in the air pressure caused by vibrating air molecules. no sound’s perceived unless someone’s there to convert them into an electrical signal

87
Q

what is the frequency?

A

the rate at which air molecules vibrate (pitch)

88
Q

What is the amplitude?

A

the number of air molecules that are vibrating (loudness). this is denoted by the frequency of action potentials

89
Q

what are the main parts of the ear?

A

the outer ear (pinna), the middle ear (eardrum), and the inner ear (cochlea)

90
Q

what are the ossicles bones?

A

in the middle ear- the hammer, anvil, & stirup

91
Q

what is the basilar membrane?

A

in the cochlea. it has auditory receptor neurons that respond to different frequencies depending on where they are on the basilar membrane.

92
Q

what are auditory receptor cells?

A

inner hair cells

93
Q

where are sounds processed in the brain?

A

signals from one ear are processed in both hemispheres, but the opposite hemisphere received preferential input

94
Q

what is sound localization?

A

integrating information from the 2 ears. this is done by the neurons in the brainstem & midbrain.

95
Q

what is an audition tonotopic map?

A

neurons that respond to high-frequency tones are grouped together in primary auditory cortex (and same for low-frequency tones)

96
Q

what is aphasia?

A

an inability to understand or produce language (caused by damage to language regions of the brain)

97
Q

what is Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

an inability to understand/produce meaningful language

98
Q

where is Wernicke’s area?

A

in the left temporal lobe

99
Q

what is Broca’s aphasia?

A

the inability to speak fluently

100
Q

Where is Broca’s area?

A

the inferior frontal gyrus

101
Q

where is language in the brain?

A

the left hemisphere (develops in both hemispheres, but moves at 5yrs)

102
Q

circannual rhythms

A

annual rhythm

103
Q

ultradian rhythms

A

fluctuate throughout the day

104
Q

circadian rhythms

A

fluctuate throughout the day

105
Q

what are zeitgebers?

A

environmental/external cues

106
Q

whats an explanation for SAD?

A

the lack of light during winter signals hibernation

107
Q

what is the endogenous circadian clock?

A

the suprachiasmatic nucleus (in the hypothalamus)

108
Q

how is melatonin related to the sleep/wake cycle?

A

during the dark phase of the day/night cycle, the pineal gland secretes melatonin

109
Q

what happens during NREM sleep?

A

body temp lowers, heart rate lowers, more growth hormones

110
Q

what sleeping disorders occur during NREM sleep?

A

sleepwalking, restless leg syndrome, insomnia, & sleep apnea

111
Q

what are brain waves like when someone’s sleepwalking?

A

there’s a combination of delta waves & higher frequency wakeful waves. the cerebellum’s active (controls automatic movement & coordination)

112
Q

what happens during REM sleep?

A

become paralyzed, body temp increases and EEG resembles the waking pattern. more likely to report dreaming

113
Q

what disorders occur during REM sleep?

A

sleep paralysis, narcolepsy, cataplexy

114
Q

why do we dream during REM sleep?

A

high activity in occipital areas (but low in inferior frontal areas)- may explain the high visual imagery & chaotic organisation of dreams.
the cerebral cortex gets signals from the brainstem that generate random images from memory stores.

115
Q

the 3 main functions of sleep

A

biological adaptation, body restoration, & memory consolidation

116
Q

what are the biological adaptations of sleep?

A

conserving energy, & prey sleep less

117
Q

what happens when rats are sleep deprived?

A

there’s an increase of Nitric Oxide Synthase (a predictor of heart disease) & show an immune response similar to stress.

118
Q

what part of the brain puts us to sleep?

A

the anterior hypothalamus (preoptic area) promotes sleep. the posterior hypothalamus promotes wakefulness through the reticular activating system

119
Q

what neurons control our sleep?

A

regulatory neurotransmitter system- NE, serotonin, & ACh neurons fire during waking. ACh also enhances REM events. descending activity’s needed to inhibit motor neurons during dreaming (may be caused by regulatory hormones)

120
Q

what are promotors of sleep?

A

Muramyl peptides (present in sleep-deprived goats), Interleukin-1 (synthesised in glial cells & stimulates the immune system), adenosine (neuromodulator & has inhibitory effect of neurons), melatonin from the pineal body, proteins from gene expression (changes according to sleep pattern)

121
Q

what is a genotype?

A

the full set of genes that an organism possesses. genes are organised into chromosomes (23 pairs)

122
Q

what are the sex chromosomes?

A

Male genome - XY & female genome - XX

123
Q

what are the sex (gonadal) hormones)

A

Androgens (testosterone), estrogens (estradiol) & progesterone

124
Q

what is Mullerian inhibitory hormone?

A

inhibits the formation of the Mullerian ducts & retains Wolffian ducts (makes foetus male). Androgens are released pre-natal & 1st-week post-natal to develop the testes

125
Q

size of the preoptic nucleus in male/female rats

A

same size at birth, but the male nucleus grows to several times the size

126
Q

what is sexual dimorphism?

A

two sexes of the same species exhibit different characteristics

127
Q

size of INAH3 in males/females

A

twice as large in males than females

128
Q

differences in SCN of males/females

A

male SCN has 2x as many neurons as the female SCN

129
Q

what are some genetic mutations that result in an ambiguous sexual phenotype?

A

turners syndrome (XO), congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)

130
Q

what is turners syndrome?

A

ambiguous sexual phenotype (XO)- results in short stature & lack of sexual development in women

131
Q

what is congenital adrenal hyperplasia?

A

ambiguous sexual phenotype (CAH)- high levels of circulating androgens results in a masculine phenotype of XX individuals

132
Q

what is androgen insensitivity syndrome?

A

ambiguous sexual phenotype (AIS)- not responsive to circulating levels of androgen, resulting in the feminization of XY individuals

133
Q

what areas of the brain are involved in sexual behaviour

A

the hypothalamus is for sexual behaviour, and the amygdala for sexual motivation (from a study on lesioned rats), frontal lobe mediates sexual desires (lesions = aggressive)

134
Q

What is the reward for completion of sexual behaviour?

A

the release of the excitatory neurotransmitter dopamine & then oxytocin (relaxing & promotes pair bonding)

135
Q

what are pheromones?

A

not perceived consciously as smell, but directly activate the amygdala & hypothalamus

136
Q

2008 Savic & Lindstrom study

A

gay women have asymmetric brains like straight men & gay men have symmetric brains like straight women

137
Q

case study of a patient with amygdala damage

A

SM - impaired at recognising fear & anger, but not positive emotions

138
Q

James-Lange theory

A

emotions result from changes to the body state

139
Q

the role of the cerebral cortex/frontal lobe in emotions

A

animals with lesions to the cerebral cortex but intact hypothalamus are aggressive to external stimulus (cerebral cortex mediates emotion from the hypothalamus)

140
Q

the higher a sever on the spinal cord…

A

the less fear & anger one feels (interrupts the connection between ANS & brain)

141
Q

what is a frontal lobotomy?

A

Moniz- create lesion to frontal lobe to make a person less emotional

142
Q

why do children have tantrums?

A

the connections between the frontal lobes & limbic system haven’t developed yet (if the connections don’t develop, it can lead to phobias)

143
Q

affective (mood) disorder

A

abnormal regulation of sadness & happiness - linked to decreased levels of serotonin & the link between the amygdala & prefrontal cortex

144
Q

role of the right hemisphere in emotions

A

important in the expression & comprehension of emotional aspects of speech, and negative emotions

145
Q

role of the left hemisphere in emotions

A

positive emotions

146
Q

what controls muscles in the face (i.e. when smiling)

A

neurons that receive input from the cerebral cortex & limbic system (natural smile). a fake smile activates the motor cortex

147
Q

What does Tibetan monks meditation do?

A

3x gamma wave activity in frontal & parietal-temporal regions. synchronised gamma waves are associated with binding neural components into a perceptual construct

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