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Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Divisions of Nervous System

A

CNS - brain and spinal cord

PNS - somatic and autonomic

Autonomic - sympathetic and parasympathetic

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2
Q

Brain

A

Centre of all conscious awareness

Cerebral cortex is highly developed and distinguishes is from animals

Hemispheres

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3
Q

Spinal cord

A

Relays info between brain and body

Also contains circuit of nerve cells the enable us to perform reflex actions

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4
Q

Somatic

A

Sensory and motor info to and from CNS

Controls skeletal muscle movement

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5
Q

Autonomic

A

Carries motor info to and from CNS

Controls internal organs and glands

E.g. breathing and heart rate

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6
Q

Sympathetic

A

Responses that help us deal with emergencies

Preparing body for rapid action

Released energy stores, pupil dilation

Slows down bodily processes such as digestion and urination

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7
Q

Parasympathetic

A

Returning to body at rest state after emergency has passed

Slows down heart and breathing rate

Bodily processes inhibited by sympathetic are returned to normal

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8
Q

Neurones

A

Cells that carry info throughout body via chemical and electrical signals

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9
Q

Structure of neurones

A

Dendrites at one end - receive signals from other neurones

Connected to cell body

Axon - impulse carried to axon terminal
Covered in myelin sheath which protects and speeds up transmission

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10
Q

Sensory neurones

A

Carries from sensory receptors in PNS to brain (or spinal cord when reflex)

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11
Q

Relay

A

Carries from one part of CNS to another

Allows communication between sensory and motor

Shorter dendrites and axon

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12
Q

Motor

A

Carries from CNS to effectors

When stimulated, NTs to receptors on muscle which triggers response

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13
Q

Synaptic transmission

A

Impulse reaches end of presynaptic neurone
Triggers release of NTs from synaptic vesicles
Diffuse across synapse
Bind to receptors on dendrites at postsynaptic neurone
Chemical message converted to electrical impulse

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14
Q

Reuptake

A

Some NTs travel back to presynaptic neurone to be stored again

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15
Q

Neurotransmitters

A

Chemical messengers that diffuse across synapse and bind to receptors to convert chemical message to electrical impulse

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16
Q

Inhibition

A

E.g. GABA
Inhibits postsynaptic neurone
Negatively charged
Off switches
Decrease likelihood of neurone firing

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17
Q

Excitation

A

E.g. adrenaline
Excites postsynaptic neurone
Positively charged
On switches
Increase likelihood of neurone firing

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18
Q

Summation

A

Receives both excitatory and inhibitory NTs
Adding up effect for net effect
Either more inhibitory or excitatory

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19
Q

Endocrine system

A

Chemical system of communication that instructs glands to release hormones directly into bloodstream

Regulates bodily functions

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20
Q

Glands

A

Organs in body that produce and secrete hormones

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21
Q

Pitituary

A

Master gland

Regulates many bodily functions

Hypothalamus

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22
Q

Pineal

A

Biological rhythms e.g. sleep cycle

Melatonin

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23
Q

Adrenal

A

Fight or flight

Adrenaline

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24
Q

Testes

A

Testosterone

Male sex hormone

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25
Q

Ovaries

A

Oestrogen and progesterone

Involved in menstrual cycle

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26
Q

Hormones

A

Chemical that circulates bloodstream and influences target organs in order to regulate bodily activity

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27
Q

Fight or flight

A

Aliens ———————— acute stressor
Triggers
Have ————————— hypothalamus
Directs
Somehow ———————- sympathetic branch
Send NTs
Always ——————————adrenal medulla
Releases
Adored —————————- adrenaline
Triggers
Foam —————————-fight or flight
Results in
Parties —————————-physiological response

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28
Q

Localisation of function

A

Specific functions have specific locations in brain

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29
Q

Motor cortex

A

Voluntary movement

Back of frontal lobe

Contralateral

Damage causes loss of control over fine movements

30
Q

Somatosensory cortex

A

Detects sensory info from skin

Front of parietal lobe

Contralateral

Damages causes feeling non existent sensations or not feeling existent sensations

31
Q

Visual cortex

A

Processes visual info from retina transmitted via optic nerve

Occipital lobe

Contralateral

Damage causes blindness

32
Q

Auditory cortex

A

Processes auditory info processed by cochlea transmitted via auditory nerve

Temporal lobe

More extensive damage causes more extensive loss of hearing

33
Q

Broca’s area

A

Speech production

Left frontal lobe

Inability to produce speech - Broca’s aphasia

34
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

Understanding language

Left temporal lobe

Inability to produce coherent speech - Wernicke’s

35
Q

Localisation of function - strengths

A

+brain scans
Patterson - brocas is active during reading task and wernickes is active during listening
Tulving

+Brocas aphasia - Tan
Wernickes aphasia

36
Q

Localisation of function - weaknesses

A

-more complex than suggests
Communication between areas is more important than specific areas
Patients lost ability to read when damage between wernickes and visual

-animal studies that contradict
Lashley - removed 10-50% of rat cortex
Learning a maze no area was more important than another
Learning is too complex to be localised

-brain plasticity
Lashley - brain damaged - particular areas are lost or compromised - reorganises to compensate - stroke victims
More adaptive and holistic than suggested

37
Q

Hemispheric lateralisation

A

Two halves are functionally different e.g. language centres

38
Q

Split brain

A

Sperry
Patients with severe epilepsy who had undergone surgery
Cutting of corpus collosum
Asked to focus on dot in centre whilst words or images are projected to either visual field followed by task

39
Q

Describe what you see

A

Right visual field - can easily describe due to language centre in left

Left visual field - can’t describe due to no language centres in right

In normal brain, info must be related across hemispheres

40
Q

Recognition by touch

A

Left visual field - select matching object with left hand
- can’t verbally identify

41
Q

Composite words

A

LVF - ‘face’ - write word with left hand

RVF - ‘key’ - can say it

42
Q

Hemispheric Lateralisation - strengths

A

+well controlled
Blindfold
1/10th of a second

43
Q

Hemispheric lateralisation - weaknesses

A

-flawed - unusual sample
All received drug therapy for different length of time
Control group didn’t have epilepsy- poorly matched

-language may not be restricted to left
Gazzaniga - JW developed ability to speak out of either

-complicated by age
Changes throughout life
Szflarski - more left as a child and less lateralised later

-differences are overstated
No clear cut distinction
Much messier as both sides in constant communication

44
Q

Brain plasticity

A

Ability to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning

During infancy - 15000 synaptic connections

Synaptic pruning - over time, rarely used are deleted and frequently used are strengthened

Changes can occur at any stage of life
Boyke - 60 years olds taught to juggle
Grey matter in visual increase and then decrease when stop practising

45
Q

Functional recovery

A

When areas are damaged, unaffected areas adapt and compensate - neural plasticity - spontaneous recovery

Secondary neural pathways are activated or unmasked
-axonal sprouting - new nerve endings grow to connect to undamaged nerve cells and form new pathways
-reformation of blood vessels
-recruitment of similar areas on opposite side of brain

46
Q

Brain plasticity - strengths

A

+animal study
Rats in complex environment increased number of new neurones compared to lab cages
Larger hippocampus for navigation

+human study
MRI - London taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus
Longer they’ve been a taxi driver, larger hippocampus

+practical application
Neurorehabilitation
Movement therapy and electrical stimulation
Stroke patients

47
Q

Brain plasticity - weaknesses

A

-more complex
Certain individuals are more able
Adults require more intensive training than children
College education 7x more likely to be disability free one year after damage than someone who didn’t finished high school

-negative consequences
60-80% of amputees suffer from phantom limb diseases
Unpleasant and painful
Due to cortical reorganisation in somatosensory cortex caused by loss of limb

48
Q

fMRI

A

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Detects change in blood oxygenation and flow that occur as a result of neural activity

When a brain area is more active, it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand, blood flow is directed to active area - haemodynamic response

Produces 3D activation maps

49
Q

fMRI strengths

A

+records specific brain activity which can pinpoint specific responses and the exact source
E.g. it shows detail to the mm
Improve understanding of LoF

+detects activity in deeper regions
E.g. hypothalamus
Insight into areas of the brain that other techniques can’t detect

50
Q

fMRI weaknesses

A

-low temporal resolution
5 second time lag
Cannot provide real time recording

-ignored networked nature of brain
Ignores communication between areas
Provides little insight into how brain areas work together to function

51
Q

EEGs

A

Electroencephalogram

Measure electrical activity within the brain via electrodes that are fixed to an individuals scalp using a skull cap

Recording represents brainwave patterns that are generated from the action of millions of neurons

Often used by clinicians as diagnostic tool

52
Q

EEGs strengths

A

+high temporal resolution

+takes account of networked nature

53
Q

EEGs weaknesses

A

-records general brain activity - cannot pinpoint specific responses

-can’t detect deeper regions

54
Q

ERPs

A

Event related potentials

EEG is an overly general measure - but the data contains all the neural responses associated with specific sensory, cognitive and motor events

These specific responses can be isolated using stat averaging technique

Extraneous brain activity is filtered out leaving only ERPs

Types of brainwaves that relate to specific function

55
Q

ERP strengths

A

+records specific responses to specific stimulus
Stat tests used to filter out extraneous activity
Helps improve our understanding of specific brain functioning

+high temporal resolution

56
Q

ERP weaknesses

A

-cannot detect deeper regions

-lack of standardisation between researchers over the way that the data is statistically analysed
Disagreement on how best to filter out extraneous

57
Q

Post-mortem exam

A

Analysis of a persons brain following death

Individuals whose brains are subject to this are likely to be those with rare disorder and have experienced unusual deficits in mental processes and behaviour

Establishing likely cause and comparison with neurotypical brain

58
Q

Post-mortem strengths

A

+deeper regions of brain

+provided vital foundation for our early understanding of brain
Broca and Wernicke both relied on this technique decades before neuroimaging
Other techniques used can build on this early work

59
Q

Post-mortem weaknesses

A

-retrospective
Already dead
Cannot follow up on anything that arises from exam
Limits usefulness

-raises ethical issues
Not able to provide consent
Other techniques are more ethical

60
Q

Biological rhythms

A

Cycles in biological or psychological activity that occur over a certain amount of time

61
Q

Endogenous pacemakers

A

Internal biological clocks

Free running rhythm

62
Q

SCN

A

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Main endogenous

Tiny cluster of neurons located in hypothalamus

Maintains bodily rhythms

Can receive info about light levels and respond to external cues

Keeps rhythm in synchrony with environment

63
Q

Exogenous zeitgebers

A

External time givers

Any external cues

Influence or entrain our biological rhythms

Light, social cues, alarms

64
Q

Circadian rhythms

A

Every 24 hours

Sleep-wake cycle

Endo- SCN - pineal gland - melatonin

Exo- light - influences SCN

65
Q

Circadian strengths

A

+ hamsters - remove SCN - rhythms disappear
reestablished when SCN from foetal implanted

+siffre - underground cave - no exo
Free running - 25 hours
- however not generalisable

+aschoff and Wever - WWII bunkers

+practical app - shift workers

66
Q

Circadian weaknesses

A
  • Folkard - conscious control
    22 hour clock - couldn’t keep up
67
Q

Infradian rhythms

A

Less than 24 hours

Menstrual - endo - SCN -pituitary gland

Exo - pheromones

SAD - light

68
Q

Infradian strengths

A

+ armpits

+ practical app - light therapy

69
Q

Infradian weakness

A
  • Nomothetic - individual differences
70
Q

Ultradian rhythms

A

More than 24 hours

Sleep stages

92 mins

Stages 1 + 2 - light sleep - alpha and theta waves
Stages 3 + 4 - SWS - slow wave sleep - delta waves
Stage 5 - REM - rapid eye movement - dreams

All humans have display similar trend so endo

71
Q

Ultradian strengths

A

+Dement and Kleitman
REM is every 92 mins - likely to have vivid dreams when woken during rem

+ alcohol and drugs - aid sleep acceleration but more fragmented sleep
Reduce time spent in rem
Influenced by exogenous zeitgebers

Psychology (7 decks)

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