Biopsych Flashcards

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1
Q

function of cerebellum

A

-controls motor skills, balance, coordination of muscles to allow precise movement

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1
Q

function of cerebrum

A

-enables speech, judgement, thinking, problem solving, emotions

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2
Q

function of diencephalon

A

-contains thalamus (relay for nerve impulses between senses and brain) and hypothalamus (temp reg, hunger, thirst, acts as link between endocrine system and nervous system)

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3
Q

function of brain stem

A

-regulates automatic functions eg. breathing, heart rate, swallowing
-motor and sensory neurons travel through brain stem, allowing impulses to pass between brain and spinal cord

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4
Q

what does the spinal cord do

A

-connects brain w peripheral nervous system to relay info between brain + body to allow regulation of breathing, digestion etc
-contains circuits of nerve cells to allow reflex actions

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5
Q

2 parts of peripheral nervous system (brief)

A

-somatic nervous system
-autonomic nervous system

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6
Q

function of somatic nervous system

A

-responsible for relay of sensory and motor info to and from CNS

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7
Q

function of autonomic nervous system

A

-responsible for involuntary actions eg. heartrate, digestion

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8
Q

2 parts of autonomic nervous system

A

-sympathetic nervous system (SNS)
-parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

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9
Q

function of sympathetic nervous system (SNS)

A

-involved in emergency responses (fight or flight)
-increase heartrate, dilate pupils, slows digestion, dilate blood vessels in muscles. increase BP

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10
Q

function of parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)

A

-involved in calming down after emergencies
-decreases heartrate, decreases BP, restarts digestion

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11
Q

structure and function (of parts) of neurons

A

-dendrites - receive signals from other neurons
-axon - carries action potential towards axon terminal, surrounded by myelin sheath
-axon terminal - has vesicles that contain neurotransmitters, connects neuron to others by synaptic transmission

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12
Q

function of sensory neurons

A

-found in sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose etc)
-carry impulses to spinal cord and brain
-impulses translated into sensations (vision, hearing)
-not all reach brain - some stop at spinal cord for reflex actions

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13
Q

function of relay neurons

A

-found in brain and spinal cord
-allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate

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14
Q

function of motor neurons

A

-found in CNS
-control muscle movements
-when stimulated, they release neurotransmitters that bind to receptors on muscles and trigger a response which leads to movement

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15
Q

process of synaptic transmission

A
  1. action potential travels down axon and arrives at axon terminal
  2. AP stimulates synaptic vesicles to release neurotransmitters
  3. neurotransmitters diffuse across synapse and bind to receptor sites on dendrites of post-synaptic neuron
  4. chemical message is converted to an electrical impulse to begin transmission again (if summation allows)
  5. neurotransmitters ‘re-uptaken’ by pre-synaptic neuron
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16
Q

what are excitatory neurotransmitters

A

-make post-synaptic neuron MORE likely to fire as they increase the pos charge
-this results in an excitatory post-synaptic potential (EPSP)

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17
Q

what are inhibitory neurotransmitters

A

-make post-synaptic neuron LESS likely to fire as they cause a more neg charge
-this results in an inhibitory post-synaptic potential (IPSP)

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18
Q

what is summation

A

-the net sum of adding up the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic input
-this determines whether the neuron will fire or not

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19
Q

what is the endocrine system

A

-network of glands that produce and secrete hormones via circulatory system to target organs
-system is regulated by feedback to ensure stable conc of hormones

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20
Q

location and function of the pituitary gland

A

-‘master gland’
-located in brain
-stimulates all other glands to release hormones

21
Q

location and function of adrenal glands

A

-located above kidneys
-release adrenaline/cortisol

22
Q

function of testes

A

-produce testosterone which deepens voice, stimulates growth and sperm production

23
Q

function of ovaries

A

-produces progesterone which maintains uterine lining and oestrogen which stimulates egg production and release

24
Q

function of thyroid gland

A

-releases thyroxine which is responsible for regulating metabolism

25
Q

5 glands (brief)

A

-pituitary
-adrenal
-thyroid
-testes
-ovaries

26
Q

structure and function (of parts) of pituitary gland

A
  1. anterior pituitary (front) - produces ACTH as response to stress - ACTH stimulates adrenal glands to produce cortisol. Also produces LH and FSH
  2. posterior pituitary (back) - releases oxytocin which stimulates uterus contraction in childbirth and is important for bonding
27
Q

structure and function (of parts) of adrenal glands

A
  1. adrenal cortex (outer) - produces cortisol
  2. adrenal medulla (inner) - produces adrenaline and noradrenaline - prepare body for fight or flight
28
Q

what do low cortisol levels lead to

A

-low BP
-poor immune functioning
-inability to deal w stress

29
Q

what is the fight or flight response (brief)

A

-evolutionary survival mechanism that allows animals and humans to respond quickly to life-threatening situations

30
Q

acute stress response

A
  1. Sympathetic NS (SNS) triggered by hypothalamus (after amygdala sends distress signal)
  2. SNS sends signal to adrenal medulla to release adrenaline
    3.adrenaline causes increased heartrate/BP, vasoconstriction etc
    4.when threat has passed, parasympathetic NS (PNS) calms the body down again
31
Q

chronic stress response

A

-HPA axis
1.Hypothalamus activates HPA axis by releasing CRH
2. CRH causes pituitary gland to release ACTH
3. ACTH stimulates adrenal cortex to release cortisol, which causes glucose to be continually released from liver to provide energy

32
Q

what does continual release of cortisol lead to

A

-increased risk of heart attack
-weakened immune system
-increased blood sugar

33
Q

limitations of fight or flight response

A

-gender differences - women have less ‘flight’ response due to being primary caregiver, not wanting to leave children
-not generally needed in modern society and can cause health risks - high BP can cause damage to blood vessels, weakened immune system
-also a ‘freeze’ reaction - Gray - 1st phase of reaction is to avoid confrontation and freeze. allows us to become aware of surroundings and prepare

34
Q

location and function of motor cortex

A

-located in posterior region of (both) frontal lobes on PREcentral gyrus
-responsible for voluntary movement
-works contralaterally

35
Q

location and function of somatosensory cortex

A

-located in (both) parietal lobes on POSTcentral gyrus
-responsible for processing sensory input and locating them to specific parts of body
-works contralaterally

36
Q

location and function of visual cortex

A

-located in (both) occipital lobes
-responsible for processing visual info
-works contralaterally

37
Q

location and function of auditory cortex

A

-located in (both) temporal lobes
-responsible for processing auditory information and speech

38
Q

2 language centres (brief)

A

-brocas area
-wernickes area

39
Q

location and function of brocas area

A

-located in LEFT hemisphere
-posterior region of frontal lobe
-responsible for speech production

40
Q

location and function of wernickes area

A

-located in LEFT hemisphere
-posterior region of temporal lobe
-responsible for understanding language

41
Q

type of aphasia damage to brocas area causes

A

-expressive aphasia
-inability to produce speech

42
Q

type of aphasia damage to wernickes area causes

A

-receptive aphasia
-inability to understand language

43
Q

strengths of localisation of function

A

-Aphasia studies - ppl w damage to brocas had expressive aphasia, ppl w damage to wernickes had receptive aphasia
-Case study - Phineas Gage - personality change after damage to frontal lobe

44
Q

limitations of localisation of function

A

-individual differences - bavelier - diff patterns in activation and gender differences in size of lang centres
-equipotentiality - Lashley - intact areas can take over function for damaged areas
-communication - Dejerine -some behaviours move through diff areas of brain - case study of loss of ability to read = damaged connection between visual cor and wernickes

45
Q

what is meant by hemispheric lateralisation

A

-each hemisphere of the brain is specialised for certain functions

46
Q

what is the left hemisphere specialised for

A

-language

47
Q

what is the right hemisphere specialised for

A

-visual motor tasks

48
Q

what connects the 2 hemispheres

A

-corpus callosum

49
Q

split brain research method

A

-Sperry and Gazzaniga
-11 patients w severe epilepsy who had procedure to sever corpus callosum
-flashed word/image for 1/10 of a second to right or left visual field (means eye wouldnt have time to move)

50
Q

split brain research findings

A

-found that images flashed to left visual field couldnt be talked abt by ppts
-could draw images shown to left visual field w left hand