Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

psychology paper 2 > biopsychology > Flashcards

biopsychology Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Psychology 101 flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards AP® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

what happened in Phineas gage case study?

A
  • metal rod went through his skull (frontal lobe) and survived
  • still able to walk and talk just changes in personality
  • criticises the holistic view
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is localisation of function?

A

-looks at certain individual areas of the brain and what is specifically linked to that area

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what are the 2 brain hemispheres joined by?

A

-corpus collosum - allows communication between both hemispheres

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is the corpus collosum made up of?

A

bundles of nerve fibres

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what does contralateral mean?

A
  • left side of body is controlled by right side of brain

- right side of body is controlled by left side of brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what is the motor cortex?

A
  • controls voluntary movement
  • damage will cause loss of motor skill
  • each area controls a different body part

found in frontal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what is the somatosensory?

A
  • where sensory information is processed
  • each area is devoted to a different body part
  • hands and face make up majority of this cortex

found in parietal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what is visual cortex?

A
  • has different areas for processing different types of visual information
  • right hemisphere= receive input from left hand side of visual fields from both eyes
  • left hemisphere+ receives input from right hand side of visual fields from both eyes.

found in occipital lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is auditory cortex?

A
  • linked to sound and hearing
    damage can lead to hearing loss

found in temporal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what are the language centres of the brain?

A
  • wernickes

- Broca

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is Wernickes area?

A
  • in charge of language comprehension
  • damage can cause lack of language understanding (wernickes aphasia)
  • LEFT HEMISPHERE ONLY
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is Broca’s area?

A
  • in charge of speech production
  • damage to this area can cause slow speech which lacks fluency (brocas aphasia)
  • LEFT HEMISPHERE ONLY
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what does lateralised mean?

A

process in the brain is specific to one hemisphere only

eg. Broca is lateralised to the left

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what’s the Localisation of the brain supporting evidence ?

A

TULVING- found that semantic and episodic memories are focused in different sides of the pre-frontal cortex
-shows localisation of different types of LTM
INCREASED RELIABILITY

PHINEAS GAGE
only affected one function of the brain (personality from damage in frontal lobe)
-he was still able to walk and talk normally which shows different areas control different functions
INCREASED VALIDITY

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what are some conflicting evidence for localisation of the brain?

A

LASHLEY- removed 10-50% of rats cortex and made them complete a maze learning task.
-no removals resulted in failure to complete maze
-suggests a more holistic view of the brain
DECREASED VALIDITY

DICK AND TREMBLY - modern scans eg. FMRI shows that language isn’t completely localised
-findings suggest language is across the right hemisphere also (more holistic)
DECREASED RELIABILITY

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what did Sperry do?

A
  • split brain research
  • studied patients that had had their corpus callosum cut to control epileptic seizures
  • looked at hemispheres seperately
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what were Sperry’s findings ?

A
  • split brain participants cannot name objects that are presented to left visual field as info is processed by RH
  • split brain participants can recognise and choose items presented to their left visual field with their left hand as left hand is controlled by RH
  • found that the right hemisphere is dominant for facial recognition.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

how is the nervous system divided?

A

divided into the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is the central nervous system?

A
  • made up of 2 core sections (brain and spine)

- the CNS in encased in bone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system?

A
  • made up of all the nerves outside of the CNS
  • the PNS sends info to the CNS from the environment
  • the PNS sends information from CNS to muscles/glands
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what are the differences between CNS and PNS?

A

CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cords

PNS is made up from nerves

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what is a neuron?

A

a specialised cell which carries information around the body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what are the 3 types of neurones

A

sensory
relay
motor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what is the autonomic nervous system?

A

controls automatic responses/ vital functions such as breathing, heart rate, sexual arousal

-works with the endocrine system in the fight or flight response

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what is the sympathetic nervous system?

A

when the body is in flight or fight

  • used in response too danger/ stressful situations
  • gets body ready by increasing heart rate
26
Q

what is the parasympathetic nervous system?

A
  • normal resting state of the body
  • calms the body after a stressful event
  • opposite to sympathetic nervous system
27
Q

what is a sensory neuron?

A
  • found in receptors eg.eyes/ears and detects stimuli

- carries messages from the PNS to CNS

28
Q

what is a sensory neuron?

A
  • found in receptors eg. eyes/ears and detects stimuli

- carries messages from the PNS to CNS

29
Q

what is a relay neuron?

A

qq

30
Q

what is a motor neuron?

A

qq

31
Q

what is a sensory neuron?

A
  • found in receptors eg. eyes/ears and detects stimuli
  • carries messages from the PNS to CNS

-long dendrites, short axons

32
Q

what is a relay neuron?

A

connects the sensory neuron to the motor neuron in order for them to communicate.

short dendrites, short axons

33
Q

what is a motor neuron?

A

connects the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands where action needs to be carried out

short dendrites, long axons

34
Q

what is an electrical transmission?

A

when a neuron is activated by a stimulus the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a split second
-this causes an action potential which causes an electrical impulse that travels towards the end of the neuron.

35
Q

what is a synaptic transmission?

A

the way in which neurones communicate with other neutrons and parts of the body

-transmission of the impulse occurs through the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse

36
Q

what are excitatory effects of synaptic transmission?

A
  • the neurotransmitter will increase the neighbouring neurones positive charge and make it more likely to fire.
    eg. adrenaline
37
Q

what are inhibitory effects of synaptic transmission?

A
  • the neurotransmitter will increase the neighbouring neurones negative charge and make it less likely to fire.
    eg. serotonin
38
Q

what is the endocrine system?

A
  • instructs certain glands (organs that produce hormones) to release hormones (chemical messengers) into the blood stream
  • communicates to produce the correct amount of hormone and then shuts off when enough has been produced.
39
Q

what are some differences between the nervous system and endocrine system?

A
  • nervous system has a rapid response whereas the endocrine system takes longer to respond
  • duration of effect in nervous system is very short whereas in the endocrine system duration is longer as continues until hormones are broken down.
40
Q

what is the fight or flight response?

A

a response that is triggered when someone is in a dangerous situation .

41
Q

what are the 4 lobes in the brain?

A

frontal lobe
temporal lobe
occipital lobe
parietal lobe

42
Q

what are some strengths of lateralisation/ Split brain research?

A

research support
Gereon fink used PET scans to identify which areas off the brain were active during visual task.
-normal brain Ps had a more active right hemisphere when asked to focus on broad image
-normal brain when asked to focus on smaller detail had a more active left hemisphere
-shows lateralisation is present in visual processing
VALIDITY

split brain research support
luck et al
showed that split brain participants perform better on certain tasks eg. identify odd object out
-this is because in a normal brain the left hemisphere is better at cognitive strategies but is weakened by right
-in split brain it isn’t weakened
RELIABILITY

43
Q

what are some weaknesses of lateralisation/ split brain research?

A
  • lack of realism in Sperry research
  • tasks were artificial such as covering blocking visual fields
  • in real life both hemispheres would have access to information by moving head
  • DECREASED EXTERNAL VALIDITY

small sample size
-only 11 people were used
-Ps were compared against non-epileptics
-different amount of connection cut
-suggests results are down to participant variables and are inaccurate
LOW POPULATION VALIDITY

44
Q

what is plasticity?

A

when the brain changes or adapts functionally and physically

-changes as a result of new learning and experience

45
Q

what is functional recovery?

A
  • the brain changes, redistributes or transfers functions from one area to another
  • brain changes due to damage and trauma
46
Q

what is some evidence to show brain plasticity?

A

-Maguire London taxi drivers
-studies the brain of London taxi drivers
-found more volume of grey matter in hippocampus of taxi drivers compared to control group (this area is associated with navigation)
-learning experience had altered the structure
the longer in work= more change in brain

47
Q

what is spontaneous recovery?

A

when there is very quick recovery shortly after the trauma

48
Q

how does the brain recover itself?

A

axonal sprouting -growth of new nerve endings

reformation of blood vessels- these help support other changes

recruitment of homologous area - equivalent on other side of brain can take over

denervation super-sensitivity- axons that do similar Jons to those that are damaged become more sensitive to compensate

49
Q

what are some strengths of plasticity and functional recovery?

A 
practical application 
-contributed to neurorehabilitation 
-can help aid new therapies
eg. constraint induced therapy ( when patients that have had a stroke repeatedly practice using damaged side of body whilst other side is restrained.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION

plasticity may be a life long ability
- studies have shown that 40 hours of golf has shown changes in the neural representations of movement in 40-60 year olds.
-was more efficient compared to control group
INCREASED VALIDITY

50
Q

what are some weaknesses of plasticity and functional recovery?

A

plasticity can have negative consequences
eg. brains adaptation to drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning in later life
eg. most amputees have developed phantom limb syndrome (sensations in missing limb which causes pain)
LACKS VALIDITY

level of education may effect recovery rates
-those who spent longer in education had higher chance of recovery
-this shows that recovery will not be effect for everybody
LOW APPLICATION

51
Q

what are the 4 ways of investigating the brain?

A

post mortem examinations
EEG (electroencephalogram)
ERP (event related potentials)
FMRI

52
Q

what is an FMRI?

A
53
Q

what is an FMRI?

A
  • measures changes in blood oxygen that result from brain activity
  • when an area is more active , blood flow is directed there (haemodynamic response)
54
Q

what is an EEG?

A
  • uses electrodes attached to the scalp to measure electrical activity/brainwaves patterns made by neurones
  • provides an overall account for brain activity
55
Q

what is an ERP?

A

filters all activity found from EEG scan to those that are relevant (event related potentials remain)
ERP are brainwaves that are triggered by specific events

56
Q

what are post mortem examinations?

A
  • analysis of brain after death
  • usually undertaken on those that have rare disorders
  • ares are examined too try establish cause
  • involves comparison with a typical brain
57
Q

what are positives and negatives of FMRI?

A

produces images with high spatial resolution which produces a clear image of localisation.
INCREASED VALIDITY

-5 second time lag
-doesn’t truly represent moment to moment activity
(poor temporal resolution)
DECREASED VALIDITY

58
Q

what are positives and negatives of EEG?

A

-useful in diagnosing conditions such as epilepsy through looking at activity bursts in the brain.
INCREASED APPLICATION

-high temporal resolution which means no time lag
-more true to time
INCREASED VALIDITY

-not useful for localisation
-cant help researchers distinguish between areas that is causing the activity (only a general measure)
LOW VALIDITY

59
Q

what are positives and negatives of ERP?

A
  • more specific than a raw EEG when measuring neural processes.
  • deeper understanding
  • INCREASED VALIDITY

lacks standardisation
-difficult to confirm findings against other researchers
LOW RELIABILITY

60
Q

what are positives and negatives of post mortem examinations?

A

-very useful in early understanding of key processs in the brain eg. broca and wernicke , HM
-have helped with psychology development
INCREASED VALIDITY

  • causation is an issue and hard to distinguish
  • some unusual things found may be from decay/ damage
  • LOW INTERNAL VALIDITY

-patient cant always give consent before death
ethical issues
LOW ETHICS

psychology paper 2 (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions