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Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

2 sub systems of the nervous system

A
  • central nervous system

- peripheral nervous system

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2
Q

Central Nervous System

A
  • Brain and spinal cord
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3
Q

Peripheral Nervous System

A
  • autonomic nervous system

- somatic nervous system

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4
Q

Autonomic Nervous System

A
  • controls involuntary vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion, sexual arousal and stress responses
  • Is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
  • Sympathetic: physiologically aroused –> increased heart and breathing rate, inhibits digestion and inhibits saliva production
  • –> prepares for action/stress
  • Parasympathetic: physiologically resting –> decreases heart and breathing rate, stimulates digestion and stimulates saliva production
  • –> clams body and helps conserve energy
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5
Q

Somatic Nervous System

A
  • carries sensory info from sensory organs to CNS
  • controls muscle movement
  • (voluntary movement)
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6
Q

Neurons

A

> process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals

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7
Q

Sensory Neurons

A

> carry messages from the PNS to the CNS
long dendrites
short axons

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8
Q

Relay Neurons

A

> connect sensory Neurons to Motor or other relay Neurons
short dendrites
short axons

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9
Q

Motor Neurons

A

> connect the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands
short dendrites
long axons

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10
Q

Neurons: Cell Body (soma)

A

> contains nucleus which contains genetic material

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11
Q

Neurons: Dendrites

A

> carry nerve impulses from neighbouring Neurons towards the cell body

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12
Q

Neurons: Axons

A

> carry impulses away from the cell body down the neuron

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13
Q

Neurons: Myelin sheath

A

> fatty layer that covers and protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmission of the impulse

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14
Q

Action potential

A

> neuron testing state = negatively charged compared to outside
neuron is activated by stimulus —> insideof cell becomes positively charged for a split second
causing an action potential
this creates an electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron

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15
Q

Synaptic transmission

A

> each neuron is separated from the next by synapses
the synapse includes:

  • the space between: synaptic gap
  • presynaptic terminal
  • post synaptic receptor site

> signals WITHIN Neurons = electrical
signals BETWEEN Neurons = chemical by synaptic transmission

> electrical impulse reaches presynaptic terminal –> triggers the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles

> neurotransmitters (chemicals) diffuse across synaptic gap

> then reaches the post synaptic receptor sites (dendrites)
chemical message is converted back to electrical impulse and the transmission begins again for the next neuron

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16
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

> chemicals that diffuse across the synapse to the next neuron

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17
Q

Excitatory Neurotransmitter

A

> increases the likely hood that a neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse

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18
Q

Inhibitory Neurotransmitter

A

> decreases the likely hood that a neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse

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19
Q

Summation

A

> determines whether or not a postsynaptic neuron fires
excitatory and inhibitory influences are summed

> excitatory = sum of influences causes neuron to become positively charged - action potential is created - then released

—> must reach a threshold in order for action potential to fire

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20
Q

Localisation of function

A

> different area of the brain are responsible for different behaviours

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21
Q

cerebral cortex

A

> outer layer of both hemispheres
grey matter
each hemisphere is split into: frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe

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22
Q

Frontal lobe

A

> the back has the motor area which controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body

> Damage = loss of control over fine movements

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23
Q

Parietal lobes

A

> at the front is the: somatosensory area where sensory information from the skin is received

24
Q

Occipital lobes

A

> visual cortex
right visual field sends info to left visual cortex and visa versa
damages: vision impairment

25
Q

Temporal lobes

A

> auditory area
analyses speech based info
damage: extensive hearing loss

26
Q

Language is found…

A

in the left hemisphere only

27
Q

Broca’s area

A

> small area in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production
damage = Broca’s aphasia: speech is slow, laborious and lacking in fluency
A man called Tan

28
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

> small area in the left temporal love responsible for language comprehension (understanding)
Wernicke’s aphasia: patient produce nonsense words neologisms as part of their speech

29
Q

Evaluation: Localisation of function

A

P - Brain Scan evidence for localisation of function
E - Peterson et al brains scans showed:
- Broca’s area active during a reading task
- Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task –> suggests they have different functions
C - valid scientific evidence that supports the theory = increases the reliability of the theory

P - Case Study evidence
E - Phineas Gage: pole through frontal lobe—> personality changes calm to bad tempered
- frontal lobe may be responsible for mood regulation
C - suggests that theory is correct and that damage to certain areas cause specific behaviours/processes
H - it is a case study and a unique case of a brain damaged individual so it may not generalise to all brains

P - gender differences
E - Harasty: women have proportionally larger Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas than men,
- resulting in greater use of language
C - weakness - suggests female and male brains operate in a different ways and don’t always follow the general laws of brain structure as suggested by early research.

30
Q

Hemispheric lateralisation

A
  • some physical and psychological functions are controlled or dominated by a particular hemisphere
31
Q

Plasticity

A

the brain’s tendency to change and adapt (functionaly or physically) as a result of experience or new learning

32
Q

Functional Recovery

A

> a form of plasticity
following damaged through trauma
the brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions
usually from damaged are to an undamaged

> following brain damage such as stroke unaffected / healthy areas of the brain are often able to adapt and compensate for those that are damaged
neural pathways are rewired and new synaptic connections are made or activated

33
Q

Plasticity Maguire (2000)

A

> Taxi drivers
have to navigate more
more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group
this area is associated with navigation and spatial skills in humans
the longer they’d been in the job –> the more pronounced the structural difference

34
Q

Plasticity: Evaluation

A

> research has allowed us to develop knowledge and understanding into plasticity of the brain and functional recovery

P - has lead to applications in brain rehabilitation
E - e.g., movement therapy and electrical stimulation –> to counter deficits caused by injury e.g. stroke
C- The brain has the ability to fix itself - but this greater understanding allows us to take this to its full potential - helping hand

P - other research support
E - Kuhn et al - increase in grey matter after participants played video games for 30 minutes a day over a two-month period.
C - such extensive research support for the theory increases its validity

35
Q

Functional recovery: evaluation

A

P - functional recovery ability can deteriorate with age
E - Elbert: - younger people have more ability to redistribute functions than older
C - we must consider individual differences when assessing the likelihood of functional recovery after trauma

36
Q

Sperry split brain research method

A

> removed corpus callosum - which connects the two hemispheres (allows them to communicate)
11 male epileptic patients

> seeing tasks: stared at fixation point and image was flashed for 1/10 of a second (so only the visual field it was presented to would process it)

> describe what you see task: a picture was presented to either the left or right or both visual fields and the participant had to describe what they saw

> tactile test: an object was placed in the patient’s left or right hand and they had to either describe what they felt, or select a similar object from a series of alternate objects.

> drawing task: participants were presented with a picture in either their left or right visual field, and they had to simply draw what they saw

37
Q

Sperry split brain research: findings describe what you see task

A

1️⃣- picture presented to right visual field: could easily describe what they could see

  • picture presented to left: could not & often said there was nothing there
    —> language is processed in the left hemisphere so things in the right visual field could be described
    but those processed by the right hemisphere could not (the left could not send messages to the right)
38
Q

Sperry split brain research: findings touch task

A

2️⃣- object presented to left hand or visual field:

  • could not verbally label it but could identify matching items from a bag with their left hand
  • could also identify closely associated objects w left hand
    e. g. shown cigarette - selected ashtray
  • right hand or visual field: could verbally describe and use hand to identify
39
Q

Sperry split brain research: findings draw task

A

3️⃣- drawing task:
- shown to left visual field:
left hand could draw the object more clearly
(right hemisphere is superior for visual motor tasks)

  • shown to right visual field:
    right hand could draw the object but not as clear as the right hand
40
Q

Sperry split brain research: findings both visual fields

A
  • wrote the word in the left visual field with their left hand
  • said the word in the right visual field
41
Q

hemisphere control

A
  • generally:
    left-hand side of the body: right hemisphere
    right-hand side of the body: left hemisphere
42
Q

motor area

A
  • controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
  • back of frontal lobe in both hemispheres
  • Damage = loss of control over fine movements
43
Q

Somatosensory area

A
  • at the front of the parietal lobes
  • where sensory information from the skin is received
    e. g. touch, heat, pressure
44
Q

Sperry: Evaluation

A

P - good methodology
E - standardised procedures
- fixation point
- image only flashed for 1/10 of a second - patient didn’t have time to move their eyes and process image in both VF
C - means the research was highly controlled - increasing the validity of the results

P - small, unique sample
E - small sample - (only 11 took part in all procedures)
- all epileptic - brains may have been affected by epileptic seizures which could impact the findings
C - Therefore, it is hard to generalise the findings from the studies to the general population.

P - increased knowledge and understanding of lateralised brain functions
E - large body of research findings
- shows us that the left hemisphere: analytical and verbal tasks
- right: spatial tasks and music
C - this is a key contribution to our understanding of the brain processes

45
Q

EEG

A
  • measures electrical activity within the brain via electrodes
  • skull cap
  • scan recording represents the brainwave patterns generated from neurons
  • can indicate abnormalities relating to epilepsy, tumours or disorders of sleep
46
Q

EEG strength

A
  • Non-invasive:
  • No insertion of instruments and no exposure to radiation
  • excellent temporal resolution - detect in almost real-time - in a millisecond
47
Q

EEG weakness

A
  • Not highly accurate – electrical activity detected in several regions of the brains simultaneously
    –-> Very hard to pinpoint and distinguish differences in activity between 2 closely adjacent areas.
48
Q

Event related potentials (ERPs)

A
  • ERP’s are very small voltage changes in the brain triggered by specific events or stimuli which are measured using an EEG.
  • Measures small voltages of electrical activity when a stimulus is presented
49
Q

ERP strengths

A
  • excellent temporal resolution
  • Non-invasive - No insertion of instruments unlike PET and no exposure to radiation
  • Far more specific
50
Q

ERP weaknesses

A
  • only monitor electrical activity in outer layers of the brain - cannot reveal electrical activity in deeper brain sites
  • Extraneous stimuli must be eliminated in order to collect pure data, the participant may react to background noise or a difference in temperature
51
Q

Post-mortem

A
  • analyses the brain after death

- determines whether certain behaviours during life can be linked to abnormalities in the brain

52
Q

Post-mortem strengths

A
  • Allow for detailed examinations and measurement of deep brain structures (e.g. the hypothalamus) not measurable by brain scans.
53
Q

Post-mortem weakness

A
  • causation issues: behavioural difference a patient displays during their lifetime may not be linked to the deficits found in the brain - may be the result of another illness (correlation not causation)
54
Q

fMRI

A
  • measures increased blood flow to brain sites
  • when asked to perform cognitive/physical tasks
  • Increased blood flow indicates increased demand for oxygen in that area (location of function)
  • produces 3D images
55
Q

fMRI strength

A
  • Non-invasive - No insertion of instruments unlike PET and no exposure to radiation
  • high spatial resolution: details to the millimetre very clear picture
56
Q

fMRI weakness

A
  • Expensive – Other neuroimaging techniques such as EEG may be cheaper
  • low temporal resolution - 5 second lag

Psychology (11 decks)

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