Biopsych Flashcards
Nervous system pic
Nervous system pic
Central Nervous System
Controls life function and psychological processes e.g emotion and movement
Peripheral Nervous System
Transmits info to and from central nervous system
Brain
Regulates bodily function and higher psychological processes ( thinking & emotion)
Spinal Cord
Transmits info between brain and peripheral nervous system
Autonomic Nervous System
Responsible for vital functions like breathing & heart rate
Somatic Nervous System
Directs voluntary movements e.g walking
Sympathetic Nervous System
Fight or Flight
Increase bodily function in response to stress to give adaptive advantage
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Rest & Digest
Decrease bodily function to relax and recover
Endocrine System
System of glands that secrete hormones into the blood stream to regulate bodily function
Fight or Flight
Survival mechanism increasing bodily function to allow increased survivability in life threatening situation
Stages of fight or flight
- Body senses stressor
- Hypothalamus triggers increased levels of activity
3.adrenaline released from adrenal medulla in adrenal glands
4.Fight or flight response
5.Stressor dealt with, hypothalamus triggers less activity (rest and digest)
Sympathetic response
Increased HR & BR
Rectum contract
Pupil dilate
Inhibit saliva and digestion
Sweat production
Parasympathetic Response
Pupils restrict
Decrease HR & BR
Rectum relax
Stimulates digestion & saliva
AO3 : Fight or Flight
• Ignores freeze response. Over simplified. Consider all 3
• Ignore gender differences. Females follow more “tend and befriend” beta bias
• Ignores positive response to stress. Dawans et al, acute stress leads to greater cooperation (fire fighters). Oversimplified
• Physical consequences. Lead to damage of blood vessels or heart disease. Dangerous impact on body
Adrenaline from
Parathormone (calcium in blood)
Oxytocin is from
Testosterone
Oestrogen
Thyroxine(regulate metabolism)
Melatonin
Adrenal Gland
Parathyroid
Pituitary
Testies
Ovaries
Thyroid
Pineal
Hypothalamus
Connected to pituitary. Controls release of hormones from pituitary
Pituitary gland
Master gland. Releases hormones that control other glands
What is a neuron?
Chemical and electrical messenger for the nervous system
Structure of neurons
•N,D,A,M,NoR,T
Nucleus: Contains genetic information
Dendrites: Branch structure carries nerve impulses
Axon: Carries impulses from cell body down neuron
Myelin Sheath: Fatty layer protects neuron and speeds up transmittion
Nodes of Ranvier: Gap between myelin sheaths speed up transmittion
Terminal Buttons: End of axon, communicates with next neuron
The 3 types of nerve cell
Sensory, relay and motor
Sensory neuron
Carry nerve impulses from receptors to brain and spine
Found usually in sensory organs
Long dendrites and short axons
Cell body coms off of axon
Relay neuron
Found between sensory and motor to connect input and output
Allow sensory and motor to communicate
Short dendrites and short or long axon
Motor neuron
Neurons in CNS. Project axons outside the CNS.
Control muscles
Short dendrites and long axons
Release neurotransmitters through synapses to contract muscle
Synaptic Transmittion
Chemical impulses between neurons
Chemical impulse
Chemical that crosses synapse between neurons
Action potential
Electrical impulses that transforms axon from negative to positive channel
Electrical impulse
Travels down neuron to cause chemical impulse
Direction of electrical impulse
Received by dendrites and cell body, continue down axon to axon terminal
How does synaptic transmittion occur
- Action potential reaches axon terminal
- Calcium channel opens
- Ca2+ causes vesicles to release neurotransmitters.
- Transmitters bind to neuroreceptor
- Trigger signal in post synaptic neuron, to cause response
Excitatory response
On switch
Excitation for post synaptic neurons - more likely to fire
E.g adrenaline
Inhibitory
Off switch
Inhibition of post synaptic neuron, less likely to fire
E.g Serotonin / GABA
Localisation Theory?
Different areas of brain are responsible for different functions
Frontal lobe
Decision making/emotion
Temporal lobe
Sounds & speech
Spinal cord (lateralisation)
Reflexes
Corpus callosum
Connects left and right hemisphere
Parietal lobe
All sensory info
Brain stem
Regulate important life function
Occipital lobe
Visual info
Left hemisphere
Control right side of body
Right hemisphere
Controls left side of body
Cerebral cortex
Cover inner part of brain. Separates us from animals as ours is more developed
Motor cortex
In frontal lobe. Control voluntary movement.
Damage = loss of control of movement
Somatosensory cortex
Parietal lobe
Processes sensory info from skin.
Damage = more / less pain sensitivity
Visual cortex
Occipital lobe.
Receives / processes visual info
Damage = poor vision/ blindness
Auditory cortex
Temporal lobe
Analyses speech and auditory info
Damage = hearing loss / inability to comprehend language
Broca’s area
Frontal lobe
Left hemisphere involves in speech recognition
Damage = broca’s aphasia / difficulty speaking
Wernicke’s area
Temporal lobe.
Left hemisphere only for language comprehension.
Damage = wernicke’s aphasia / inability to understand language
AO3: Localisation Theory
• Supportive research. Brain scans. Petersen et al, brain scan prove wernicke’s and broca’s active during listening and reading.
• Oversimplified + contradict research. EB had left hemi removed but still had language ability.
• Contradict research. Lashley, remove 10-50% of rat brain. No diff in maze learning ability
• Individual diff. Gender diff women larger broca’s and wernicke’s than men.
• Case studies. Phineas Gage had brain damage which lead to personality change. Calm and reserved ~> rude & quick tempered. Suggest frontal lobe with emotion
Hemispheric lateralisation
Brain slit into 2 hemispheres.
Lateralisation
Focus on one hemisphere
Localisation
Focus on particular part of the hemisphere
Visual pathways
Left visual field processed from right side of brain.
Right visual field processed by left side of brain
Who did Split brain research?
Sperry and Gazzaniga
What is split brain?
Cut the corpus callosum in epilepsy patients to reduce attacks and seizures.
Aim of split brain research
To demonstrate that hemispheres have different functions
Procedure of split brain function
11 commissurotomy (split brain) patients to do visual and tactile task
Visual: look at white screen with dot in middle (tachistoscope)
then image or word to one visual field.
Ptsps say what they see
Tactile: feel object with left or right hand
Results of split brain research
If pic presented to LVF (left visual field) ptsps couldn’t describe as no language ability in right hemi.
Pic presented to RVF ptsps could describe as language ability in left hemi.
Tactile: same but felt objects instead of see picture
Conclusion of split brain research
Left hemi responsible for speech and language
Right hemi responsible for visual- motor task. (could draw but not speak what they saw)
AO3 : Split Brain Research
• Prac application. Educators can use to present info in more creative ways to improve quality of education
• Overstated. Language not restricted to left hemi. Turk at al found JW could speak in right hemi. Inv diff + contradict
• oversimp. Changes with age szaflarski find language become lateralised to left with age in children then less in adult hood.
• Sperry and Gazza small sample. Atypical sample. Lack pop validity. Unable to draw conclusion.
Post-Mortem Examination
Analysis of dead person brain.
Examined for cause of deficiency or disorder
E.g Tom - speech problems - lesion in Broca’s
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Detective change in blood oxygen and flow due to neural activity in certain areas.
Increase activity = more oxygen
Produces 3D image showing brain part and activity
Electroencephalogram
Electrodes placed on scalp with scull cap.
Detect small electrical changes from brain activity.
Signals graphed over time.
Detective sleep patterns, used as diagnostic tool.
Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)
Electrodes on scalp
ERPs show specific brain activity.
Brain waves triggered by stimulus presented
Study attention and perception.
Ao3 of fMRI
•Non-invasive. Safe and no radiation.
•High res Images. Clearer localisation.
•Expensive
•Poor temporal res. 5s lag between image and activity.
Ao3 of EEG
•Useful in epilepsy diagnosis. Contributed to understanding if sleep.
•High Temporal resolution. 1ms
•only produces generalised signal from neurons.
•Difficult to know exact source of neural activity.
