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Biopsych Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the nervous system

A

A specialised network of cells in the human body, and our primary internal communication system.

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2
Q

What are the two main functions of the nervous system

A

Collect, process and respond to information in the environment
Co-ordinate workings of different organs and cells in the body

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3
Q

What are the two subsystems of the nervous system

A

Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system

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4
Q

What is the CNS made up of

A

The brain and spinal cord

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5
Q

What is PNS made up of

A

Autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system

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6
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system do

A

Govern vital functions in the body like breathing, digestion and stress responses
Contains sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Involuntary system

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7
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do

A

Controls skeletal muscles
Is voluntary

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8
Q

What do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems do

A

Sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for emergencies, and slows non-essential functions like digestion.
Parasympathetic nervous system reverses these changes once threat has passed

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9
Q

How does the sympathetic nervous prepare a body for emergencies

A

Increases heart rate
Dilation of pupils
Sweating
Relax bladder

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10
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do

A

Governs muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors

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11
Q

What is the endocrine system

A

Instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream, which are carried towards target organs

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12
Q

Give an example of a hormone and its use

A

Thyroxine, released from thyroid gland, increases heart rate and metabolic rate, affecting growth rates.

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13
Q

What is the pituitary gland

A

“Master gland” controls release of hormones from all the other endocrine glands

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14
Q

Describe the process of entering fight or flight

A

Part of the brain called hypothalamus activates pituitary gland, triggering the sympathetic nervous system. Adrenaline releases from adrenal gland, causing physiological changes of increased breathing and heart rate and relaxing bladder. Once threat has passed, parasympathetic nervous system reverses the changes.

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15
Q

What is a neuron

A

Building blocks of central nervous system. Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through chemical and electrical signals.

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16
Q

What are the three types of neuron and their functions

A

Sensory neuron - carry messages from PNS to CNS.
Long dendrites and short axons.

Relay neuron - Connect sensory neurons to motor neurons.
Short dendrites and long axons.

Motor neuron - Connect CNS to effectors like muscles and glands.
Short dendrites and long axons

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17
Q

What are the parts of a neuron

A

Cell body (contains nucleus)
Dendrites (extend from cell body carrying nerve impulses)
Axon (carries impulses away from cell)
Myelin sheath (fatty layer protecting axon)

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18
Q

What is synaptic transmission

A

Process by which neighbouring neurons communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap (synapse) that separates them.

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19
Q

How are signals transmitted in a neuron vs between them

A

Within the neuron = electrically
Between neurons = chemically

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20
Q

What are neurotransmitters

A

Chemicals that diffuse across a synapse to the next neuron in a chain.

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21
Q

What happens when a neurotransmitter crosses the synapse

A

Picked up by a postsynaptic receptor site on dendrites of next neuron. Chemical message is converted to an electrical signal, where it is taken along the axon to the synapse where the process repeats.

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22
Q

What are the two effects neurotransmitters can have

A

Excitatory - increases positive charge of post-synaptic neuron, increasing chance that the neuron will pass on electric signal

Inhibitory - increases the negative charge of the postsynaptic neuron, decreasing chance of electric signal passing on

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23
Q

What is the localisation theory

A

That different parts of the brain carry out different functions

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24
Q

What and where is the motor area

A

Region in the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement

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25
Q

What and where is the somatosensory area

A

Area in the parietal lobe that processes sensory information like touch

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26
Q

What and where is the visual area

A

Part of occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information

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27
Q

What and where is the auditory area

A

Located in temporal lobe and concerned with analysis of speech based information

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28
Q

What and where is Broca’s area

A

Area of frontal lobe in LEFT hemisphere responsible for speech production

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29
Q

What and where is Wernicke’s area

A

Area of the temporal lobe in LEFT hemisphere responsible for language comprehension

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30
Q

What are three strengths of localisation theory

A

Neurosurgery
Brain scans
Phineas Gage

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31
Q

How does neurosurgery support localisation theory

A

Neurosurgery is used as a last resort in treating some mental illnesses, by targeting regions of the brain associated with the illness’ behaviours.
Dougherty et al (2006) reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone neurosurgery, and 30% had a successful response, and another 14% had a a partial response. This suggests that behaviours associated with these illnesses may be localised.

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32
Q

How do brain scans support localisation theory

A

Petersen et al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task, and Broca’s area active during a reading task.

33
Q

Who was Phineas Gage and how did he support localisation

A

In 1848, Phineas Gage was in an accident and an iron bar went through his head, removing most of his left frontal lobe. He survived, but went from being a calm and reserved person to quick tempered and aggressive. This suggests that mood regulation is localised to the left frontal lobe.

34
Q

What are two challenges to the localisation theory

A

Lashley (1950)
Dick and Tremblay (2016)

35
Q

How did Lashley’s experiment weaken localisation, and what was the experiment

A

Removed 10-50% of different areas of the cortex of rats learning a maze. No area was proven to be more important than any other in terms of the rats’ ability to learn the route. Learning appeared to use every part of the cortex rather than one specific area, suggesting higher cognitive processes like learning were more holistic.

36
Q

Who was Phineas Gage and how did he support localisation

A

In 1848, Phineas Gage was in an accident and an iron bar went through his head, removing most of his left frontal lobe. He survived, but went from being a calm and reserved person to quick tempered and aggressive. This suggests that mood regulation is localised to the left frontal lobe.

37
Q

What did Dick and Tremblay do and how does it weaken localisation

A

Found only 2% of researches believe language is localised to Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas. fMRIs found that language in the brain is distributed holistically and that “language streams” have been identified across the cortex.

38
Q

What is plasticity

A

The brains ability to adapt and change due to environment, e.g damage or learning new skills

39
Q

What is functional recovery

A

Brains ability to move functions from damaged areas of the brain to other undamaged areas

40
Q

What is synaptic pruning

A

Synapses that are frequently used get stronger over time, while unused synapses are lost, to increase the brain communication efficiency

41
Q

What did Boyke et al find (2008)

A

Found evidence for plasticity in the brain
Taught 60 year olds a new skill (juggling).
Found increased grey matter in the visual cortex, but these changes reversed when the Ps stopped practising

42
Q

What is grey matter

A

Contains most of the brains neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control and sensory perception like seeing hearing and memory making.

43
Q

What is neural unmasking

A

Part of functional recovery
Some synaptic connections are physically intact but ‘dormant’.
Normally input rate too low to activate them, but if input rises, for example surrounding area gets damaged, then these neural connections would be unmasked.

44
Q

What is Maguire’s study (name, process and findings)

A

Taxi driver study
MRI of 16 male taxi drivers compared to MRI of 16 non taxi drivers (matched on age/gender).
Posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers significantly larger than controls, suggesting physical brain structure is plastic and adaptable.
Research support of plasticity

45
Q

What are two strengths of plasticity

A

RWA for rehabilitative therapy - stopping patients from using coping methods like body language can help them improve via functional reorganisation

Maguire taxi driver study - research support

46
Q

What 3 ways can stem cells help recovery

A

Implanted stem cells could be used to replace dead or dying cells
Transplanted stem cells could secrete growth factors that rescue the injured cells
Transplanted stem cells could form a neural network that links an uninjured brain site (where new stem cells are made) with the damaged region of the brain.

47
Q

What does contralateral mean

A

Each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.

48
Q

What is the function of a motor cortex

A

Voluntary muscle movements across the body

49
Q

What can happen if motor cortex is damaged

A

Loss of muscle function
Paralysis in severe cases

50
Q

What does the somatosensory cortex do

A

Receive info from the senses

51
Q

What happen if somatosensory cortex is damaged

A

Loss of sensation in opposite side of body to damage

52
Q

What is the auditory cortex

A

Receive sound information from ears

53
Q

Where is the visual cortex

A

Occipital lobe

54
Q

What does visual cortex do

A

Take in visual information from eyes from opposite visual field

55
Q

Outline Sperrys split brain research

A

Quasi-experiment with 11 patients that underwent corpus callosotomy
Projected info to each visual field so that info to each hemisphere was controlled.
Participants told to either say or draw what they had seen

56
Q

What were the results of Sperrys split brain research

A

Picture presented to right visual field (processed by left hemisphere) could be described. Left visual field was not as clear or could not see anything.

Picture presented to left visual field (processed by right hemisphere) could be drawn well and clearly, while right visual field had poor drawing.

57
Q

What does Sperrys study suggest

A

Both hemispheres can act independently
Language centres in left side of brain

58
Q

Who conducted split brain research and when

A

Sperry (1968)
Gazzanigas (1983)

59
Q

How did Gazzanigas conduct split brain research

A

Corpus callosotomy patients
Presented each hemisphere of the brain with faces
The right hemisphere was much better at recognising the faces, suggesting facial recognition is specialised in right hemisphere

60
Q

Evaluate split brain research - limitations

A

Small samples of varying degrees of surgical alteration - varying amounts of connection cut and all had undergone drug therapy.

Lacks mundane realism, in real world head will move side to side and use other cues to pass information to both hemisphers. Low validity.

61
Q

Evaluate split brain research - positive

A

Fundamantal impact on psychological understanding of consciousness and identity. Suggests brain is a combination of separate intelligent units working together.

62
Q

What is Maguire’s study (name, process and findings)

A

Taxi driver study
MRI of 16 male taxi drivers compared to MRI of 16 non taxi drivers (matched on age/gender).
Posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers significantly larger than controls, suggesting physical brain structure is plastic and adaptable.
Research support of plasticity

63
Q

What is a circadian rhythm

A

A biological rhythm lasting around 24 hours

64
Q

What are examples of circadian rhythms

A

Regulating sleep
Release of hormones
Body temperature

65
Q

What is an endogenous pacemaker

A

Internal body clocks that keep biological processes to time

66
Q

What is an exogenous zeitgeber

A

External cues that change endogenous pacemakers to match the environment

67
Q

What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus

A

The EP for sleep wake cycle

68
Q

What did Siffre do to support circadian rhythms

A

Lived in a cave for 6 months with no natural light or other potential exogenous zeitgebers. Siffres body clock maintained a regular cycle of around 25 hours.
However, was criticised for having artificial lights which could have disrupted the circadian rhythm

69
Q

What did Vetter do to support circadian rhythms

A

Found 27 office workers who were exposed to strong blue light shifted the timing of their circadian rhythms to match the office lighting, suggesting artificial light is a strong EZ for sleep wake cycle.

70
Q

What are 3 supports for circadian rhythms

A

Siffres cave study
Vetter blue light office study
RWA - understanding how blue light from devices affects sleep, combat effects of jet lag and shift work.

71
Q

What is an infradian rhythm

A

A biological rhythm that takes longer than 24 hours to complete a cycle

72
Q

What is an example of an infradian rhythm, and what are its endogenous pacemakers

A

Menstrual cycle
Oestrogen (pre ovulation)
Progesterone (post ovulation)

73
Q

What did Stern and McClintlock do to support infradian rhythms

A

20 women given pads from armpits of donor women to wipe on their top lip
Found women would shorten or extend their menstrual cycle to match the donor.
Suggests synchronisation due to pheromones acting as EZs
However, not widely accepted humans can detect pheromones

74
Q

What is an ultradian rhythm

A

Takes less than 24 hours to complete

75
Q

What is an example of ultradian rhythms

A

Sleep stages

76
Q

How long is a sleep stage cycle

A

90 mins

77
Q

What is the process of one sleep stage cycle

A

NREM
NREM
NREM
REM

78
Q

What did Dermot and Kleitman study to support sleep cycle

A

EEG to record brainwaves of 33 participants during one nights sleep.
Followed a cyclic activation pattern, with NREM being slow-wave and REM during high activation.

79
Q

What are two benefits to ultradian rhythms

A

RWA - devices based on sleep improvement founded due to knowledge of sleep stages. Makes a happier and more economically productive society

Dermot and Kleitman sleep study

Psych (10 decks)

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