Biopsych Flashcards
1
Q
Divisions of the Nervous System
A
- Central NS
Brain & Spinal C - Peripheral NS
Autonomic & Somatic
^ Sympathetic & Parasympathetic
2
Q
Brain (NS)
A
Cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon; brain stem
3
Q
Spinal Cord (NS)
A
Relays info between brain and rest of body.
Allows brain to monitor & regulate bodily functions
4
Q
Autonomic NS
A
Unconscious automatic responses, e.g., heart beat
Internal processes/changes
5
Q
Somatic NS
A
Contains sensory & motor neurons
S back to CNS; M from the CNS
6
Q
Sympathetic NS
A
Fight/flight
7
Q
Parasympathetic NS
A
Rest & digest
8
Q
Sensory neuron
A
Carries signals to brain to activate sensory input from environment
Long dendrites; short axons
9
Q
Motor neuron
A
Part of the CNS; transmit impulses from SC to muscles (controls movement)
Short dendrites; long axons
10
Q
Relay neuron
A
Found in brain & spinal cord. Allows S and M to communicate. Passes signals
Short dendrites; short axons
11
Q
Dendrites
A
Receive signals from other neurons
12
Q
Cell membrane
A
Controls what substances go in and out of neuron
13
Q
Nucleus
A
Contains DNA allowing processes to occur
14
Q
Soma/cell body
A
Provides structure for the body
15
Q
Axon
A
Carries electrical impulses
16
Q
Myelin sheath
A
Insulating layer
Allows electrical impulses to transmit quickly
17
Q
Nodes of Ranvier
A
Gaps where axon is left uncovered
Speeds up transmission
18
Q
Terminal buttons
A
Sends signals to other neurons
19
Q
Synaptic transmission process
A
AP –> axon –> terminal buttons in pre-synaptic cell –> neurotransmitters released from vesicles –> through synapse –> bind to receptor sites on post-synaptic neuron. + charge = excitation: AP reached; - charge = inhibition: AP not reached
20
Q
Summation
A
Whether the neurotransmitter is more or less likely to fire
21
Q
Endocrine system
A
Hypothalamus, Pituitary, Pineal, Thyroid, Adrenal (medulla & cortex), Ovaries, Testes
22
Q
Hypothalamus
A
Stimulates and controls the release of hormones from the PG
23
Q
Pituitary gland
A
‘Master gland’
Releases ACTH
Controls and stimulates the release of hormones from other glands
24
Q
Pineal gland
A
Releases melatonin
Responsible for important biological rhythms (sleep-wake)
25
Thyroid gland
Releases thyroxine
Regulates metabolism
26
Adrenal Cortex
Releases cortisol
Breaks glycogen into glucose to provide the body with energy
27
Adrenal Medulla
Releases adrenaline & noradrenaline
Key hormone in fight/flight
28
Ovaries
Releases oestrogen
Controls regulation of female reproductive system, including menstrual c and pregnancy
29
Testes
Releases testosterone
Responsible for development of male sex characteristics during puberty
30
AAH
Attack, Amygdala, Hypothalamus
31
Sympathomedullary Pathway (SMP)
Short-term, fast acting, electrical activity
1. Hypothalamus activates SMP branch of autonomic NS
2. Adrenal M releases adrenaline
Prepares body for f/f
3. Leads to sympathetic changes
E.g., Increased HR, BF, dilated pupils; DS processes pause
32
Pituitary adrenal system (PAS)
Response to ongoing stressful situations
1. Hypothalamus signals PG
2. Pituitary releases ACTH
3. Detected by Adrenal C (releases cortisol = breaks glycogen to glucose to provide energy)
4. Leads to parasympathetic changes
E.g., Normal HR, BF, pupils; DS back in tact
33
F/F AO3 1: Protects us from situations
(+) Makes us more alert & prepared to decide
Creates physiological changes, e.g., increased HR
Enables humans to protect themselves quickly from threat
34
F/F AO3 2: Doesn't apply to females
(-) Taylor suggested F adopt a tend & befriend response
F protect offspring and form alliances w/ other F's
Highlights beta bias: assumption that F respond in same way
35
F/F AO3 3: Human behaviour not limited to 2 responses
(-) Gray suggested first response to danger is to avoid confrontation
Freeze response
Humans are aware and evaluate situation for threat
Reductionist
Doesn't explain cog factors
36
Localisation of function
Specific areas in the brain have specific functions associated w/ them
37
Frontal lobe
Problem solving, concentration; personality
38
Temporal lobe
Hearing, language; memory
39
Parietal lobe
Body awareness, sensations; attention
40
Occipital lobe
Vision and perception
41
Broca's area
Frontal lobe
Speech control
42
Wernicke's area
Temporal lobe
Speech and language comprehension
43
Somatosensory cortex
Parietal lobe
Skin sensations (temp/pain)
44
Motor cortex
Frontal lobe
Control of voluntary muscles
45
Visual cortex
Occipital lobe
Processor of visual info (colour/shape)
46
Auditory cortex
Temporal lobe
Processor of sound
47
LOF AO3 1: Case study
(+) Tan
Unable to produce any coherent words but 'Tan'
PME after death by Broca
Discovered lesion in left frontal lobe
Assumption = area responsible for speech production
47
LOF AO3 2: Equipotentiality theory
(-) Suggests fixed localisation is false
Supports plasticity
In tact areas can replace damaged ones
Lashley
48
LOF AO3 3: RWA
(+) Objective technique
Allows issues with brain to be identified from fMRI and other brain scans
Speech and language therapies
49
LOF AO3 4: Gender differences
(-) Fails to take individuals diff into account
Women = larger Broca's & Wernicke's areas than men
May explain greater ease of lang
Beta bias
50
Left-hemisphere
Logic
Language
Problem-solving
Abstract thinking
51
Right-hemisphere
Creativity
Holistic thinking
Intuition
52
Corpus callosum
Nerve fibers connecting the two hemispheres, allowing interhemispheric communication
53
Sperry method
11 epileptic patients with commissurotomy's
54
Sperry - recognition by touch
Patients shown object in left VF can pick up object with left hand but can't verbalise selection.
Left hand able to select object closely associated with object presented.
55
Sperry - drawing
Picture shown to left/right VF; patient asked to draw. Drawing consistently better when drawing with left hand
56
Hemispheric/S-BR AO3 1: Tan case study
(+) Broca - post-mortem after death (could only say 'Tan')
Lesion in left frontal lobe - LH language-linked function
57
AO3 Hemispheric/S-BR 2: Equipotentiality
(-) Sperry's study - L&R have one function only (contrasts plasticity)
Turk: patient suffering damage to LH developed capacity to speak in RH
58
AO3 Hemispheric/S-BR 3: RWA
(+) Brain-scanning techniques & speech and language therapies
59
AO3 Hemispheric/S-BR: Gender differences
(-) Fails to consider ID. W have better functioning in left hem (B/W area larger) - greater ease of lang
60
Plasticity/functional recovery key concepts
Brain areas can take over functions of others after damage
Brain can adapt quickly to new situations
Different life experiences affect diff areas
61
Neural plasticity
Structural change
Recruitment of homologous areas
E.g., if Broca's was damaged, the right-side equivalent would take over
62
Bridging
New connections are created due to use/new stimulus
63
Pruning
Connections are lost due to lack of use
64
Video games + plasticity
Ptpts played Super Mario for at least 30m per day over 2m
Compared brain with control - increase in grey matter
65
Plasticity AO1 1: Tan case study
(-) Broca - PME after Tan's death - could only say Tan
Lesion in left frontal lobe. Language-linked function only
66
Plasticity AO1 2: Contradictory research
(-) Sperry - picture shown to l/r vf: patient asked to draw. Drawing consistently better when drawn by left hand
67
Plasticity AO1 3: Equipotentiality
(+) Lashley
Other areas have equal potential to overtake damaged
Trained mice to run through maze; sliced brain sections
68
Plasticity AO1 4: RWA
(+) Understanding processes led to development of neurorehabilitation
Therapy of brain after trauma
SLT
69
Electroencephalogram
Electrode hat
Measures brain waves/patterns generated from action of millions of neurons
Overall account of brain activity
Areas of no activity/unusual pattern = neuro abnormality
70
Electroencephalogram AO3
+ Contributed to understanding of sleep (brain activity in diff sleep stages)
- Produces generalised info - not useful for pinpointing neural activity
71
Event-related potentials
Similar basis to EEGs (procedure/activity patterns)
Way of isolating specific neural responses
Of interest to cog neuroscientists
Statistical averaging techniques - filters out extraneous brain activity
Leaves responses relating to task performance
72
ERPs AO3
+ High temporal resolution
- Background noise/extraneous material must be eliminated - not always easy
73
Functional MRI
Detects changes in blood oxygenation/flow
Active brain area consumes more oxygen
3D images - activation maps
Neurons most active during task being performed/measured
74
FMRI AO3
+ Produces images with high spatial resolution - detail by the mm
- Expensive, can only capture clear image if still
- Can only measure blood flow
75
Post-mortems
Analysis of brain following death
Brains subjected to PMEs most likely to have rare disorder
May involve comparison with neuro-typical brain
Detailed examination
76
PME AO3
+ Broca/Wernicke relied on PMEs to establish links between language/behaviour
- Ethical issues of consent
77
Circadian rhythm
Biological rhythms occurring around a 24-hr cycle
78
Sleep-wake cycle
1. Lack of light- optic nerve
2. Suprachiasmatic nucleus (EP)
3. Pineal gland - melatonin > sleep
4. Light increase (EZ)
5. Melatonin stops
6. Cortisol - Adrenal Cortex
Cyclical nature
79
Endogenous pacemakers
Internal body clocks that regulate bio rhythms
80
Exogenous zeitgebers
External cues that influence bio rhythms
81
Circadian AO3 1: Individual differences
(-) Duffy - 'morning people' prefer to rise and go to bed early (6am-10pm); 'evening people' prefer to wake and go to bed later (10am-1am)
82
Circadian AO3 2: Research support (Siffre)
(+) Absence of external cues altered CR
When returning from underground stay with no clocks/light, he believed date to be earlier than it was
83
Circadian AO3 3: Animal studies support for EP
(+) Free-living eastern chipmunks
30 = SCN targeted lesions, 24 = surgical controls
More SCN-lesioned than surgical control/intact chipmunks killed by weasel predation during first 80 days
Relentlessness of SCN-lesioned animals acted as a clue to predator for locating prey
