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psychology paper 2 > biopsychology > Flashcards

biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

the nervous system

A

a specialised network of cells in the human body which is our primary internal communication system
- localised on chemical and electrical signals, whereas the endocrine system is based on hormones

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2
Q

functions of the nervous system

A
  • to collect, process and respond to information in the environment
  • to co-ordinate the working of different organs and cells in the body
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3
Q

spinal chord

A

part of the central nervous system, along with the brain
- a bundle of nerve fibres which connects nearly all parts of the body to the brain

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4
Q

peripheral nervous system

A

transmits messages via millions of neurons , to and from the CNS

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5
Q

somatic nervous system

A

controls muscle movements and receives information from sensory receptors
- carries commands from the motor cortex and has motor and sensory pathways

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6
Q

autonomic nervous system

A

controls vital automatic functions in the body
- controlled by the brain stem and only has motor neuron pathways

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7
Q

parasympathetic nervous system

A

calms you down (the rest and digest response)
- heart rate slows, breathing returns to normal, pupils shrink, digestive system works

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8
Q

sympathetic nervous system

A

gets you ready for action
- adrenaline, heart rate increases, pupils get wider, breathing deepens, digestive system stops

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9
Q

neurons

A

cells that make up the nervous system
- they conduct electrical impulses which transmit messages around the body

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10
Q

structure of a neuron

A

neurons vary in size
- the cell body includes a nucleus which contains genetic material

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11
Q

structure of a neuron (dendrites)

A

branch-like structures which protrude from the cell body
- they carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body

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12
Q

structure of a neuron (axon)

A

carries impulses away from the cell body down the length of a neuron

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13
Q

structure of a neuron (myelin sheath)

A

the axon is covered in a fatty layer of myelin sheath which protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmission of the impulse
- it is segmented by gaps called nodes of ranvier

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14
Q

structure of a neuron (terminal buttons)

A

at the end of an axon are terminal buttons which communicate with the next neuron in the chain across a gap known as the synapse

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15
Q

transmission within a neuron

A

action potential is how information is transmitted within the neuron
- the dendrites of neurons receive information from sensory receptors
- this excited the neuron causing sodium ions to enter the membrane
- this information is then passed down to the cell body and on to the axon
- once the information has arrived at the axon, it travels down its length as an electrical signal (action potential)

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16
Q

relay neuron

A

between sensory and relay neurons
- located in the brain and visual system
- dendrite length is short
- axon length is short

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17
Q

sensory neuron

A

from sensory receptors to CNS
- located in the PNS
- dendrite length is long
- axon length is short

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18
Q

motor neuron

A

from CNS to effectors to promote movement
- located in the cell body of CNS and in the axons of the PNS
- dendrite length is short
- axon length is long

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19
Q

reflex arc

A
  • receptor in the skin detects a stimulus
  • sensory neuron sends electrical impulses to a relay neuron which is located in the spinal cord of the CNS
  • relay neurons connect sensory neurons to motor neurons
  • motor neurons send electrical impulses to an effector
  • the effector produces a response
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20
Q

synaptic transmission

A
  • an electrical impulse travels along the axon of the presynaptic neuron
  • this triggers the nerve-ending of the pre-synaptic neuron to release chemical messages called neurotransmitters from vesicles
  • ## these chemicals diffuse across the synapse and bind with receptor molecules on the membrane of the next neuron
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21
Q

synaptic transmission

A
  • an electrical impulse travels along the axon of the presynaptic neuron
  • this triggers the nerve-ending of the pre-synaptic neuron to release chemical messages called neurotransmitters from vesicles
  • these chemicals diffuse across the synapse and bind with receptor molecules on the membrane of the next neuron
  • the receptor molecules on the second neuron bind only to the specific chemicals released from the first neuron. This stimulates the second neuron to transmit the electrical impulse
  • reuptake: the neurotransmitter is re-absorbed in the vesicles of the pre-synpatic neuron after it has performed its function of transmitting a neural impulse
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22
Q

excitation

A

neurotransmitter: adrenaline
charge produced: positive
potential produced: exciting
effect: increases the likelihood that the neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse to the next neuron

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23
Q

inhibition

A

neurotransmitter: serotonin
charge produced: negative
potential produced: calming
effect: decreases the likelihood that the neuron will fire

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24
Q

endocrine system

A

works alongside the nervous system to control vital functions in the body
- regulates cells and organs
- acts more slowly than the nervous system but has very widespread and powerful effects

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25
Q

endocrine system function

A
  • works by a signal from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland (known as releasing hormone)
  • this causes the pituitary gland to secrete a stimulating hormone into the bloodstream
  • as levels of blood rise, hormones stop releasing and so the pituitary gland stops releasing the stimulating hormone which then stops the secretion of the target gland, until the hormone drops to a certain level which restarts the cycle again
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26
Q

hypothalamus

A

located in the brain
- control system
- regulates the endocrine system

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27
Q

pituitary gland

A

located in the brain
two parts:
- anterior
- posterior (releases oxytocin which is associated with childbirth)

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28
Q

pineal gland

A

located in the brain
- melatonin (responsible for biological rhythms)

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29
Q

thyroid gland

A

located in the neck
- thyroxine (regulates metabolism which converts food into energy)

30
Q

pancreas

A
  • releases insulin and glucagon (controls blood glucose levels)
31
Q

testes

A
  • releases testosterone (responsible for male sexual characteristics)
32
Q

ovaries

A
  • females
  • releases oestrogen (involved in the menstrual cycle and pregnancy)
33
Q

adrenal gland

A
  • adrenal medulla (adrenaline and noradrenaline which is associated with fight or flight)
  • adrenal cortex (cortison and release of glucose and provides the body with energy)
34
Q

fight or flight response

A
  • used to deal with threats from the environment
  • to produce this response, the hypothalamus activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system.
35
Q

heart rate increases

A

adaptive because it helps oxygen to circulate the body and reach target areas

36
Q

digestion slows

A

adaptive because less energy is wasted digesting food (so it is targeted to more useful areas)

37
Q

pupils dilate

A

adaptive as it improves vision

38
Q

production of sweat

A

adaptive as it cools down the body

39
Q

muscles contract

A

adaptive because we can respond quicker

40
Q

breathing increases

A

adaptive as it helps us take in more oxygen

41
Q

evaluation of flight or fight response - limitation

A

gender bias
- Taylor (2000) suggests that the female response is to a threat is tend and befriend not fight or flight

42
Q

evaluation of fight or flight - limitation

A
  • increasing production of adrenaline may be harmful to the body, putting the cardiovascular system under considerable strain and increasing the likelihood of serious illness
43
Q

evaluation of flight or fight response - strength

A

Gray (1988) suggests that the first response of most species when threatened is to freeze and assess the situation before acting. If appropriate, we may then use fight or flight

44
Q

localisation

A

refers to the idea that different parts of the brain perform different tasks and are involved with different parts of the body

45
Q

hemispheric lateralisation

A

each hemisphere is responsible for specific functions

46
Q

hollistic view

A

purposed that all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of thought and action

47
Q

motor function

A

located in the frontal lobe
- involved in planning, control and execution of voluntary movements
- one in each hemisphere (controls the muscles on opposite side of the body)

48
Q

somatosensory function

A

located in the parietal lobe
- responsible for receiving and processing sensory information from across the body
- sensory information is then carried to the brain via neural pathways to the spinal chord, brainstem and thalamus

49
Q

visual function

A

located in the occipital lobe
- receives, integrates and processes visual information relayed from retinas
- each hemisphere has its own visual cortex which receives information from the contralateral eye

50
Q

auditory function

A

located in the temporal lobe
- processes auditory information

51
Q

language centres; broca’s area

A

located in left frontal lobe
- deals with speech production
- Broca’s aphasia (slow speech + lack fluency)

52
Q

language centres; Weirnicke’s area

A

located in the left temporal lobe
- responsible for understanding language
- Weirnicke’s aphasia (nonsense words)

53
Q

limbic system

A

controls emotions

54
Q

cerebral cortex

A

outermost layer of the cerebrum
- appears grey due to location of cell bodies

55
Q

cerebrum

A

regulates our hither intellectual process
- each of our sensory systems sends a message to and from this cerebral cortex (made up of left and right hemispheres connected by corpus colosseum)

56
Q

frontal lobe

A
  • responsible for higher functions such as memory and processing emotions
57
Q

parietal lobe

A
  • processes sensory information relating to touch, taste and temperature
58
Q

occipital lobe

A

process visual information

59
Q

temporal lobe

A

processes auditory information

60
Q

language localisation

A

language areas are focused in the left hemisphere of the brain

61
Q

evaluation of language localisation

A

Peterson et al (1988) scanned brains to demonstrate Weirnicke’s area being active during a listening task, and Broca’s area being active during a reading task
- this suggests that these two areas have different functions

62
Q

case study evidence of localisation

A

Phineas Gage
- whilst at work, Gage got into an accident involving explosives which ended up launching a meter length iron pole through his head. It passed behind his left eye, and exited his brain and skull from the top of his head
- after months of recovery he wanted to regain his job, however no one would employ him as his personality had changed from kind and reserved to someone who was rude.

63
Q

hemispheric lateralisation

A

the brain is divided into two symmetrical halves: left and right hemisphere
- the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body

64
Q

corpus colloussum

A

nerve fibres that allows communication between the left and right side of the brain

65
Q

Sperry (1968) hemispheric lateralisation
(describing what you see)

A

participants: 11 patients who had undergone hemispheric deconnection to reduce crippling epilepsy
- when a picture was shown to an individuals right visual field, they could easily draw what was seen. however, if the same picture was shown on the left visual field, they could not describe what was seen and reported that there was nothing there (this is because language is processed in the left hemisphere which means the right visual field will have to see it)

66
Q

Sperry (1968) hemispheric lateralisation
(recognition by touch)

A

although individuals could not attach verbal labels to objects projected in the left visual field, they were able to select a matching object with their left hand

67
Q

evaluation of Sperry’s study (1968) - limitation

A
  • effect only occurs in a tightly controlled lab environment. this lacks mundane realism because in everyday life they are able to move their eyes and heads to send information to both hemispheres
68
Q

evaluation of Sperry’s study - limitation

A
  • a small and unusual sample of people was used therefore findings cannot be applied to general society
69
Q

individual differences of hemispheric lateralisation (gender differences)

A

gender differences
- women show less lateralisation than men, this is because women are more bilateral compared to the males being unilateral

70
Q

individual differences of hemispheric lateralisation (age)

A

functions become more bi-lateralised with age
- Szaflarski (2006) found that in children and adolescents, language becomes more lateralised in the left hemisphere but after age 25, lateralisation decreased

psychology paper 2 (3 decks)

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