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A Level Psychology revision (Y1) > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

The divisions of the nervous system

-draw the nervous system

A

Include, peripheral, central, brain, spinal cord, autonomic, somatic, sympathetic and parasympathetic

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2
Q

The divisions of the nervous system

-The somatic nervous system (SNS)

A

-The peripheral nervous system is made up of the SNS and ANS
-The somatic nervous system:
• ‘voluntary’
• We are in control of this system and use it to make our muscles move e.g. walking, eating, moving certain parts of the body
• Regulates voluntary movements

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3
Q

The divisions of the nervous system

-The autonomic nervous system (ANS)

A

-The peripheral nervous system is made up of the SNS and ANS
-The autonomic nervous system (ANS):
* ‘involuntary’
* Regulates the functions of our internal organs, such as the heart, stomach, lungs and intestines
* Regulates involuntary movements e.g. vasoconstriction/ vasodilation of blood vessels
-Control centre = Top of brain stem (hypothalamus and pituitary gland)

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4
Q

The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons
-Sensory neuron (unipolar)

A

-They conduct sensory information to the central nervous system (CNS)
-They convert stimuli such as the 5 senses
+ draw it out

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5
Q

The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons
-Relay neuron (multipolar)

A

-Found in the brain and spinal cord
-Allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate
+ draw it out

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6
Q

The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons
-Motor neuron (multipolar)

A
  • Found in the CNS and control muscle movements

- When they are stimulated, they release neurotransmitters that bind to receptors on muscles to trigger a response

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7
Q

The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons
-The process of synaptic transmission

A
  1. Information is passed down the axon of the neuron as an electrical impulse (known as action potential)
  2. Once the action potential reaches the end of the axon it needs to be transferred to another neuron
  3. It must cross over the synaptic gap between the pre-synaptic neuron and post-synaptic neuron
  4. At the end of the neuron are the synaptic vesicles, known as the neurotransmitters. When the electrical impulse reaches these synaptic vessels, they release the contents of the NT
  5. Neurotransmitters then carry the signal across the synaptic gap
  6. They bind to receptor sites on the post-synaptic cell
  7. The process of synaptic transmission is completed
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8
Q

The structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons
-Excitatory and Inhibitory neurotransmitter action

A
  • If NT’s create excitation of the post-synaptic neuron they create a positive charge and make the neuron more likely to fire. The rise in action potential will increase activity e.g. Glutamate, histamine
  • If NT’s create inhibition of the post-synaptic neuron, they create a negative charge and make the neuron less likely to fire. This fall in action potential will decrease activity e.g. Serotonin, endorphins
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9
Q

The function of the endocrine system

-Endocrine system description

A
  • The endocrine system functions to secrete hormones in the blood stream to regulate many of our bodily functions. For example, the endocrine system releases melatonin from the pineal gland that helps to induce sleep
  • The endocrine system also functions to provide a chemical system of communication via the blood stream. For example, the adrenal glands release adrenaline which instigates the stress response
    -The major endocrine gland is the pituitary gland in the brain (also known as the master gland). This gland controls the release of most hormones around the body e.g. it kicks off the process for puberty
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10
Q

The function of the endocrine system

-Pituitary hormones

A

Pituitary hormone: Target organs and/or effects:
Growth hormone -> Anterior pituitary, general
promotion of cell growth

Prolactin -> Anterior pituitary, mammary gland

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11
Q

The function of the endocrine system

-Endocrine glands

A

-Pineal Gland:
Main hormones released->Melatonin, serotonin
Function/effects-> Helps regulate reproductive hormones + modulate mood

-Adrenal gland (medulla):
Main hormones released->Epinephrine, Norepinephrine
Function/effects->Adrenaline+ Noradrenaline

-Pancreas:
Main hormones released->Insulin + Glucagon
Function/effects->Regulates level of glucose in the blood and somatostatin

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12
Q

The fight or flight response including the role of adrenaline
-Fight or flight response description

A
  • The fight or flight response is a physiological response that humans undergo when they perceive or experience a threat or harmful attack
  • The hippocampus and amygdala try to recognise emotional reactions to stimuli and access stored memories for potential danger. If the situation is appraised as potentially stressful, the hypothalamus is alerted
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13
Q

The fight or flight response including the role of adrenaline
-Fight or flight system

A

Situation perceived as stressful -> hypothalamus alerted
1. SAM system activated
-Immediate response to acute stressor
-The fight or flight response (the body reacts)
OR
2.Pituitary adrenal system (HPA) activated
-Adrenaline released, ready to fight or flight

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14
Q

The fight or flight response including the role of adrenaline
-Body effects

A

The adrenal medulla secretes the hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline, which causes the following bodily effects:

  • Dilated pupils
  • Digestion slows down
  • Blood pressure increase
  • Reduced salivary flow
  • Shallow breathing
  • Increased perspiration
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15
Q

The fight or flight response including the role of adrenaline
-The SAM pathway

A
  • The body’s reaction to acute stress (immediate stress) - the SAM pathway (sympathomedullary):
    1. Situation is perceived as stressful due to memories, emotions or instincts etc. a potential of not surviving the event
    2. Hypothalamus (CNS) is alerted. This recognises the stress is acute so the SAM system is activated
    3. The SAM pathway is activated (this is the sympathetic branch of the ANS that goes directly to the adrenal medulla)
    4. This stimulates the adrenal gland which are situated just above the kidney’s
    5. The adrenal medulla secrets the hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline
    6. These hormones prepare the body for fight or flight and causes; dilated pupils, increased blood pressure, shallow breathing and more
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16
Q

Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation
-Localisation and Lateralisation

A
  • Localisation is the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities
  • Hemispheric lateralisation is the idea that both hemispheres are functionally different and that certain mental processes/behaviours are controlled by one hemisphere, rather than the other
  • The left hemisphere is responsible for; reasoning, number skills + analytic thought
  • The right hemisphere is responsible for; art awareness, creativity + imagination
17
Q

Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation
-Brain division

A
  • The brain is divided into 4 lobes; the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe
  • The brain also works contralaterally

-There are 6 important areas in the brain;
•The primary motor cortex-> responsible for voluntary motor movements (located in frontal lobe)
•Somatosensory cortex->detects sensory events from receptors (located in parietal lobe)
•Visual centre/cortex->processes visual information (located in occipital lobe)
•Auditory cortex->concerned for hearing (located in temporal lobe)
•Broca’s area->speech production
•Wernicke’s area->understanding language

18
Q

Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation
-Split brain research

A
  • Split brain patients are those who have had the connection between left and right hemispheres severed. They also have epilepsy and cutting the corpus callosum has been proved to help epileptic people and their seizures
  • In split-brain patients, the 2 hemispheres don’t share information
  • Roger Sperry conducted many tasks (with 11 participants) to learn more about hemispheric functioning in split-brain patients. He conducted a drawing test, tactile test and a ‘say what you see’. He found that the left hemisphere became responsible for verbal and physical responses and that the right-hemisphere couldn’t perform many tasks
    -Karen Byrne (alien hand)
19
Q

Localisation of function in the brain and hemispheric lateralisation
-Plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma

A
  • Brain plasticity is the brains ability to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning. This can happen in many ways, including: synaptogenesis, neurogenesis and synaptic pruning
  • Individuals who suffer from an infection or stroke may experience loss of brain function including; paralysis, aphasia, memory loss or perception difficulties
  • A number of structural and functional changes allow the brain to adapt after trauma, including; neural regeneration, neuronal unmasking and neural reorganisation
20
Q

Ways of studying the brain

-post-mortem examinations + fMRI’s

A

Post mortem examinations:
-It is when researchers study the physical brain of a person who displayed a particular behaviour when they were alive, that suggested possible brain damage (damage can be physically seen)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI):
-Measure the energy released by haemoglobin after a magnetic field is removed. When a part of the brain is being used, it requires more oxygen and an fMRI can measure this extremely accurately
-Cost - typical range is between £860k to £2.4 million
-They have poor temporal resolution, there is a delay between the activity of the brain and it showing up on a scan (up to 6 seconds)
-Good spatial resolution (there is a very accurate scan) up to 1mm

21
Q

Ways of studying the brain

-EEG + ERP

A

Electroencephalogram (EEG):
-This scan involves placing electrodes on the scalp, which measure the general electrical activity of the cells under each electrode. The more electrodes, the more accurate the measurement
-Typical costs of apparatus - £900 (fewer electrodes) -£20,000

Event-related potentials (ERP’s):
-ERP’s use the same apparatus as the EEG, but ERP scans look for specific brain activity in response to certain stimuli presented to the individual

-They are both non-invasive
-Strong temporal resolution
-Poor spatial resolution
-Cheap apparatus compared to fMRI’s
-Tend to only measure the cerebral cortex

22
Q

Biological rhythms, endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
-Biological rhythms

A
  • A series of bodily functions regulated by your internal clock
  • Circadian=Physical, mental and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle e.g. sleep/waking, body temperature (lasts 24 hours)
  • Ultradian=Any periodic variation in physiological/psychological function e.g. feeding, stages of sleep (less than 24 hours)
  • Infradian=A body cycle that exceeds the circadian rhythm, or daily cycle e.g. menstruation, hibernation, SAD (longer than 24 hours)
23
Q

Biological rhythms, endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
-Endogenous pacemakers+ exogenous zeitgebers

A

Endogenous pacemakers=Internal mechanisms that govern biological rhythms, in particular the circadian sleep/wake cycle e.g. SCN + pineal glans

Exogenous zeitgebers=These are external stimuli from the environment that influence our biological rhythms such as light e.g. sunrise/sunset

24
Q

Biological rhythms, endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
-The role of pacemakers and zeitgebers in controlling the sleep/wake cycle

A

Endogenous pacemakers:
Low level of light-> melatopin-> pineal gland-> melatonin-> sleep

Exogenous zeitgebers:

  • Social cues ( mealtimes, social events/activities)
  • Light
  • Human induced light
25
Q

Localisation of brain function - Research Evidence
-Phineas Gage

A

-Phineas Gage was a railroad worker who survived a horrific accident in 1848, when a metal rod pierced his skull and damaged his brain
-The reported changes in his behaviour post-accident is strong evidence for the localisation of brain function, meaning that specific areas of the brain are associated with certain functions

26
Q

Human research SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus)
-Michael Siffre

A

-Michael Siffre spent 179 days underground without natural EZs (exogenous zeitgebers)
-Days lengthened to 25-30 hrs
-151 ‘days’ has passed on his schedule
-His body temperature had desynchronised (25 hrs)

27
Q

Biological rhythms - Research Evidence
-Ralph et al. (1990)

A

-They took the SCN from a ‘mutant hamster’ who had a circadian rhythm which had mutated to 20 hours
-They transplanted the mutant SCN into the brains of normal adult hamsters
-The normal hamsters took on the circadian rhythms of the mutant hamsters

28
Q

Biological rhythms - Research Evidence
-Folkard et al (1977)

A

-Looked at the learning ability of 12 and 13 year olds who had stories read to them either at 9am or 3pm
-After one week, the afternoon group (higher core temperature) showed both superior recall and comprehension, retaining about 8% more meaningful recall

29
Q

Functional recovery processes;
-Neural regeneration

A

-This is also known as axon sprouting and occurs when new/non-damaged nerve endings grow and connect with damaged areas
-This can compensate for disintegrated areas and enable the recovery of previously damaged functioning. This can be seen as a type of regeneration

30
Q

Functional recovery processes;
-Neuronal unmasking

A

-This occurs when dormant synapses in the brain are open and become functional.
-This can occur when a surrounding brain area becomes damaged as the rate of input to these dormant synapses would activate, opening connections to regions of the brain that are not normally active - allowing the gradual development of neural structures
-This can be seen as a type of functional recovery

31
Q

Functional recovery processes;
-Neural reorganisation

A

-This occurs when the brain transfers functions from the damaged area to undamaged sections of the brain
-For example, if the Broca’s area in the left hemisphere was damaged, then an area on the right hemisphere might take over
-In extreme cases (and extensive therapy) whole areas of the brain can take over the functions of damaged sections

32
Q

Plasticity of the brain research
-Danelli (2013)

A

-Danelli investigated a case of an Italian boy (EB) who had most of his left hemisphere removed aged 2 1/2 to remove a tumor
-With intensive therapy, his right hemisphere was able to take over almost all of the functioning (language, speech etc) that would normally have been done by the left (similar to neural reorganisation)
-This is largely because EB’s brain would have shown maximal plasticity

33
Q

Brain plasticity
-Synaptogenesis

A

-Is the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system

34
Q

Brain plasticity
-Neurogenesis

A

-The production of neurons through the division of non-neuronal cells

35
Q

Brain plasticity
-Synaptic pruning

A

-The process of removing synapses in neural networks. It occurs between birth and continuous into the mid 20’s

A Level Psychology revision (Y1) (16 decks)

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