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Psychology A-level > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Nervous System?

A

The human nervous system is divided into the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).

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2
Q

What is the Central nervous system (CNS)?

A

The CNS is made up of the brain and the spinal cord.

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3
Q

What is the Peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

A

The PNS transmits messages to and from the CNS. It is made up of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the somatic nervous system (SNS)

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4
Q

What is the Autonomic nervous system (ANS)?

A

The ANS governs vital functions in the body e.g. heart rate and breathing. It is split into the sympathetic branch and parasympathetic branch

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5
Q

What is the endocrine system?

A

The endocrine system consists of a number of glands that send chemical messages called hormones throughout the bloodstream. The pituitary gland controls the other glands throughout the body, the adrenal gland emits adrenaline during the fight or flight response.

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6
Q

What is fight or flight?

A

During stress, the endocrine system and sympathetic branch of the ANS work together to produce the fight or flight response (physiological changes such as increased heart rate).

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7
Q

What is rest and digest?

A

This is where the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in when the body is not stressed. The body is relaxed, able to digest and heart rate is ‘normal’.

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8
Q

What are the different types of neuron?

A

Motor (carry messages from CNS to muscles and glands).
Sensory (carry messages from PNS to CNS).
Relay neurons (carry messages from sensory to motor neurons, or other relay neurons)

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9
Q

What is the structure of the neurons?

A

Each neuron contains a cell body (or ‘soma’), dendrites which carry nerve impulses towards the cell body, an axon covered in myelin sheath to speed up the message, and terminal buttons that communicate with the next neuron in the chain. (Make sure you can label these on a diagram)

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10
Q

What is a synapse?

A

Neurons do not physically touch each other but are separated by a gap called the synapse. Neurotransmitters can pass through this gap and reach the neuron on the other side - the specific neurotransmitter will send on a specific message about what it wants that neuron to do.

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11
Q

What is a neurotransmitter?

A

When the electrical signal reaches the end of a neuron synaptic vesicles release neurotransmitters which relay the signal across the synapse

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12
Q

What is excitation and inhibition (referring to neurons)?

A

Some neurotransmitters are excitatory (they make it more likely the next neuron will fire) and some are inhibitory (they make it less likely the next neuron will fire).

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13
Q

What does ‘localisation of function’ mean?

A

Different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities.

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14
Q

What is the motor area of the brain responsible for?

A

Frontal lobe, involved in regulating movement.

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15
Q

What is the Somatosensory area of the brain responsible for?

A

Parietal lobe, processes sensory information such as touch.

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16
Q

What is the visual area of the brain responsible for?

A

Occipital lobe, receives and processes visual information.

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17
Q

What is the auditory area of the brain responsible for?

A

Temporal lobe, analyses speech-based information

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18
Q

Where are the Language areas in the brain?

A

Broca’s area, frontal lobe in the left hemisphere, speech production.
Wernicke’s area, temporal lobe in the left hemisphere, language comprehension

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19
Q

What evidence is there for localisation of function?

A

The case study of Phineas Gage, the American railway worker who got a pole through their left eye/brain and personality changed -showing that area of the brain was responsible for personality

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20
Q

Problem with using Phineas Gage as evidence of localisation of function?

A

It is difficult to generalise from the case of Gage as he is one individual, so all other people might not react or show the changes that he did following such an incident. He suffered an infection as a result of the injury so it could have been this which damaged the brain further or the fact that he had significant scarring could have changed the way people treated him and thus affected how he acted. If a person today suffered the same injury they may not display the same behaviours as Gage.

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21
Q

Evidence against localisation of function?

A

The plasticity of the brain lends support to the holistic theory because people who damage part of the brain through, for example, having a stroke, are able to recover function that has been lost. Basically another part of the brain takes over the function. The brain physically adjusts the location of function if damage occurs, which suggests that localisation is not fixed to specific areas. The brain is working as a whole unit rather than specific areas for specific functions

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22
Q

What is plasticity?

A

Brain’s tendency to change and adapt (functionally and physically) as a result of experience and new learning.

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23
Q

What is Functional recovery?

A

A form of plasticity, the brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions: following damage through trauma

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24
Q

What is Synaptic pruning?

A

As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened.

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25
Q

What is Axonal sprouting?

A

Undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links were injured or severed.

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26
Q

What is Recruitment of homologous areas?

A

Regions on opposite sides of the brain take on functions of damaged areas

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27
Q

Evaluation - when it comes to functional recovery not everyone recovers in the same way

A

Other factors that may affect how a person recovers after brain injury may be the severity of the injury, the age of the person, how quickly they are treated, how they respond to treatment, if they have any other pre-existing conditions.

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28
Q

Support for plasticity . . .

A

Maguire et al (2000) - taxi drivers who took ‘the knowledge’ had greater amount of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus compared with a control group.

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29
Q

Age and plasticity

A

Brain deterioration begins well before old age. Scientists believe that changes in plasticity and the loss of neurons may be responsible for a decline in function. Researchers have found links between brain plasticity and healthy aging: a rich, stimulating environment can enhance and maintain brain plasticity and reduce the onset of dementia. This has application for care homes and encouraging elderly patients to participate in activities that engage the brain.

30
Q

What is Hemispheric lateralisation?

A

Certain mental processes and behaviours are controlled or dominated by one hemisphere rather than the other (as in the example of language).

31
Q

What are Split-brain studies?

A

Corpus callosum cut in patients with severe epilepsy, allowing researchers to investigate the extent to which brain function is lateralised

32
Q

What happened in the split brained studies?

A

Image/word is projected to right visual field (RVF) or left visual field (LVF)
Pictures shown to RVF could be described but not those to LVF because no language centres in left hemisphere (connected to RVF).
Pts could not describe objects projected to LVF, but able to select a matching object from a selection of different objects using their left hand.

33
Q

Evaluation of Split-Brain studies

A

The comparison group used by Sperry was non-epileptic people with an intact corpus callosum. In other words, they differed in two ways from the experimental group of split-brain patients.
It could be argued that a much more valid group would be epileptic people who had not had the operation. The epilepsy or the drugs used to treat the epilepsy may have affected the patients’ brains irrespective of the split-brain procedure and could be responsible for the results.

34
Q

Sperry used standardised procedures . . .

A

The procedure Sperry used effectively looked at how one side of the brain worked, whilst the other side was made dormant. And was non invasive. Therefore the results can be used to make valid conclusions about brain lateralisation

35
Q

What is a fMRI?

A

Functional magnetic resonance imaging - Measures brain activity in specific areas by detecting associated changes in blood flow

36
Q

What is an EEG

A

Electroencephalogram - A record of the brain wave patterns produced by millions of neurons, producing characteristic patterns.

37
Q

What are ERPs?

A

Event-related potentials - Isolating specific responses of neurons to specific stimuli or tasks.

38
Q

What are post mortem examinations?

A

Correlating behaviours before death with brain structures after death.

39
Q

Strengths of fMRI . . .

A

low risk
does not use radiation
non invasive
clear images

40
Q

Weaknesses of fMRI . . .

A

Expensive compared to other techniques
Person needs to stay still
Looks at blood flow rather than neurons - cannot give a detailed account of brain activity

41
Q

Strengths of EEGs . . .

A

Valuable in detecting conditions such as epilepsy

High resolution - can show brain activity accurately

42
Q

Weaknesses of EEGs . . .

A

Cannot pinpoint exact source of neural activity - so harder to distinguish where exactly the problem is

43
Q

Strength of ERPs

A

More specific that EEGs - can pinpoint areas of brain where neural activity is occurring and can be therefore be used to investigate cognitive functioning

44
Q

Weaknesses of ERPs

A

A lack of standardisation in ERP methodology - difficult to confirm findings
Background noise and extraneous variables need to be eliminated in order to get accurate results which is hard to achieve

45
Q

Strength of Post mortem

A

Technique that has been around a long time - we have gained a lot medical knowledge about the brain from post mortems and continue to do so

46
Q

Weaknesses of Post mortem

A

Difficult to be accurate about neurological activity
Difficult to gain informed consent (for obvious reasons) so has ethical issues - however people do donate their bodies to science

47
Q

What are Biological Rhythms?

A

Distinct patterns of changes in biological activity that conform to cyclical time periods.

48
Q

What is a Circadian Rhythm?

A

About a day, a 24-hour cycle such as the sleep/wake cycle and changes in core body temperature.

49
Q

What happened in Siffre’s study?

A

Spent periods underground. His biological rhythm settled down to one that was just beyond the usual 24 hours

50
Q

What happened in Aschoff and Wever’s Study?

A

Participants spent 4 weeks in a WWII bunker deprived of natural light. All but one of the participants displayed a circadian rhythm between 24 and 25 hours

51
Q

What happened on Folkard et al’s study?

A

12 people lived in a cave. Researchers speeded up the clock so a 24-hour day lasted 22 hours. No participants were able to adjust to the new regime

52
Q

Evaluation of studies into Circadian Rhythms - Individual Differences

A

Individual differences exist in sleep/wake cycles, for example Duffy et al.’s (2000) research showed early rising individuals prefer 6am to 10pm, whereas late risers prefer 10am until 1pm, therefore the findings from studies may not apply to
all individuals.

53
Q

Evaluation of studies into Circadian Rhythms - Extraneous Variables

A

Artificial light may affect the circadian rhythm in the same way as actual daylight, and in these early studies, artificial light sources were not eliminated so these may have influenced the biological rhythm. Siffre, for example, used artificial light when he was awake and this was turned off when he was asleep, it is likely that this could have stimulated the production of cortisol and melatonin. Therefore, artificial light is a confounding variable that possibly has an impact on the findings

54
Q

Application of Circadian Rhythm studies

A

Shift work - research has shown that mistakes and accidents happen at around 6 in the morning
People who do night shift work are 3 times more likely to have heart disease - studies can help overcome these problems
Research into circadian rhythms has helped with medication - there are times in the day where the body makes optimum use of certain drugs - this helps with timings and doses given

55
Q

What is an Infradian Rhythm?

A

Frequency of less than one cycle in 24 hours, such as menstruation and seasonal affective disorder.

56
Q

What is an Ultradian Rhythm?

A

Frequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours, such as the stages of sleep.

57
Q

What is an endogenous factor in the menstrual cycle?

A

Occurs in females about every 28 days, endogenous control by the hormones oestrogen and progesterone

58
Q

What exogenous factor that could affect the menstrual cycle?

A

McClintock showed that female cycles synchronised through exposure to odour donors’ pheromones.

59
Q

What is SAD?

A

Depression associated with seasonal changes, usually the onset of winter and decreased darkness

60
Q

What are the Stages of sleep?

A

90-minute cycles during sleep brain, sleep escalator from stage 1 to 5 and REM. Brain wave activity changes

61
Q

Evaluation - Evolutionary reason why menstrual cycles synchronise

A

Women’s cycles would synchronise so childbirth would also be synchronised and newborns would be cared for collectively, increasing survival

62
Q

Evidence for the existence of sleep cycles

A

Dement and Kleitman - monitored the pattern of 9 adult participants in a sleep lab. Brainwave activity was measured on an EEG - participants were woken at various stages to see if they could recall dreaming - REM activity was highly correlated with the experience of dreaming

63
Q

What are Endogenous pacemakers?

A

Internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythms

64
Q

What are Exogenous zeitgebers?

A

External cues in the environment that entrain our endogenous rhythms.

65
Q

What is the sleep/wake cycle?

A

A daily cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period (circadian rhythm).

66
Q

What is Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)?

A

Tiny bundle of nerve cells located in the hypothalamus in each hemisphere of the brain. The primary endogenous pacemaker in mammals

67
Q

What is Melatonin?

A

Produced by pineal gland at night, governs sleep/wake cycle. Production inhibited during periods of wakefulness

68
Q

How is light a Zeitgeber?

A

A zeitgeber in humans that can reset the main endogenous pacemaker (SCN) and plays a role in the sleep/wake cycle.

69
Q

How do social cues affect human cycles?

A

Schedules created by others, e.g. mealtimes and bedtimes

70
Q

Application of knowledge of exogenous zeitgebers

A

Social factors may also play a role in resetting biological rhythms and so knowledge of these could be used to alleviate some of the symptoms of jet lag. For example a period of fasting before travel followed by eating at times relevant to the new time zone was found to be effective. This could be because alongside the ‘master’ clock in the SCN there is a ‘feeding clock’. In mice, research showed this feeding clock seems to over-ride the master clock and keeps them awake until food has been found.

Melatonin is reportedly used by American military pilots to adapt to differing time zones. Melatonin aids sleep. If taken prior to bedtime in the new time zone, melatonin has been shown to be effective in allowing sufferers of jet lag to get to sleep sooner than their body clock would normally allow

71
Q

Evaluation - endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers work together

A

Both endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers (external cues – in this case light) help to maintain and control the sleep/waking cycle. Endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers work together in the sleep/wake cycle. There must be internal control of the circadian rhythm, since even in the absence of external cues we are able to maintain a regular daily cycle. There also must usually be some external cue that keeps this cycle to 24 hours. When this is removed we adopt a 24.5 or 25 hour cycle.

Psychology A-level (11 decks)

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