Biopsych Flashcards
What is the role of the brain?
Receives and processes sensory info, initiates responses, stores thoughts, cerebrum
What is the role of the spinal cord?
Conducts signals, controls reflex’s, acts as a reflex to allow quick reactions
What is the role of the central nervous system?
Is a network f nerve cells that carry messages. Communication and behaviour
What s the role of the autonomic nervous system?
Involuntary responses, reflex movements, organ function, divided into parasympathetic and sympathetic
Explain the steps of synaptic transmission.
An action potential travels along neuron, once it reaches terminal vesicles release neurotransmitters, there travel out the neuron, across the cleft and into receptors, chemical message converted to electrical impulse
Name 2 neurotransmitters
Dopamine (motivation) and acetylcholine (attention)
What are the two types of summation?
Excitatory post synaptic p[potential (total effect excitatory) and inhibitory post synaptic potential (total effect inhibitory)
What is excitation?
When the positive charge in a neuron increases, increasing the chance of an action potential firing
What is inhibition?
When the negative charge in a neuron is increased, decreasing chance of action potential firing.
What is the endocrine system?
A collection of glands that release hormones to regulate growth, sleep, etc. Hypothalamus is the link to the nervous system
What is a hormone?
A chemical messenger that circulates in the bloodstream to reach target cells
What is a target cell?
A specific cell, with receptor sites which respond particular hormones
Describe the role of the pituitary gland.
In the brain, anterior and posterior, controls the release f hormones from glads through negative feedback, FSH used in menstrual cycle
How does the pituitary glad know when to stop secreting a hormone?
The hypothalamus detects the imbalance
What are the two pathways for fight or flight?
Amygdala = Hypothalamus = pituitary gland = adrenal gland = adrenaline
Amygdala = hypothalamus = PNS = Autonomic NS = Fight or flight
What is the issue with fight or flight?
Has gender bias. Female respond to stress by tend and befriend, nurturing, fleeing offspring risky
Define localisation
Different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions. Contralaterilised
Where are the 4 cortex’s and what are their functions?
Motor cortex (frontal) - conscious movement
Somatosensory cortex (parietal) - process sensory info of skin e.g. pressure temp
Auditory Cortex (temporal) - processes acoustic info e.g vol, pitch
Visual Cortex (occipital) - receives and processes visual info
Where are brocas and wernickes area found?
The left hemisphere, brocas frontal lobe, wernickes temporal lobe
What does brocas area do?
is responsible for speech production, brocas aphasia, TAN
What does Wernickes area do?
Is responsible for language comprehension, wernickes aphasia
What is the definition of hemispheric laterilisation?
Each hemisphere of the brain has specific functions.
What is the purpose of the corpus callosum?
Connects the two hemispheres so they can work together, if cut certain functions would be disabled e.g. speech
Describe Sperry’s Split Brain Research
Quasi, Fixate point in middle, stimulus on either side quickly, could verbalize images in RVF, but not on left, Can draw image with left hand
