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Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

divisions of the nervous system

A

central nervous system and peripheral nervous system

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2
Q

division of the central nervous system

A

spinal cord and brain stem

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3
Q

divisions of the peripheral nervous system

A

somatic nervous system (voluntary) and autonomic nervous system (involuntary)

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4
Q

divisions of the autonomic nervous system

A

sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest)

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5
Q

role of the sensory neuron

A

carry information from the environment to the relay neuron (receptors)

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6
Q

role of the relay neuron

A

passes electrical signals from the sensory to the motor neuron

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7
Q

role of the motor neuron

A

receive signal from relay neuron so the muscle acts accordingly

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8
Q

where are sensory, relay and motor neurons found

A

sensory and motor in the peripheral nervous system, relay in the central nervous system

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9
Q

describe the path of the reflex arc

A

stimulus -> receptor -> coordinator -> effector -> response

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10
Q

what is the difference between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters

A

excitatory increase the likelihood of a message being sent, inhibitory decrease the likelihood

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11
Q

what effect do excitatory neurotransmitters have on the post synaptic neuron

A

increase the neuron’s positive charge (depolarisation) and increase the number of action potentials being sent

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12
Q

what effect do inhibitory neurotransmitters have on the post synaptic neuron

A

results in the neuron becoming negatively charged (hyperpolarisation) and decreases the number of action potentials being sent- when a message no longer needs to be sent or the neuron ‘calmed’

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13
Q

describe the process of synaptic transmission

A

action potential at presynaptic terminal -> release of calcium ions, creation of neurotransmitters, vesicles fuse to presynaptic membrane -> vesicles release neurotransmitter into synaptic cleft -> neurotransmitter diffuse across synapse, bind to receptor sites -> new action potential created if threshold reached -> action potential down next neuron -> neurotransmitter released from receptor site -> remaining neurotransmitter either diffuses or is reuptaken, broken down and recycled by enzymes

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14
Q

define summation

A

synaptic firing is determined by adding up the excitatory and inhibitory input

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15
Q

describe spatial summation

A

large epsp/ipsp made by many different synapses

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16
Q

describe temporal summation

A

large epsp/ipsp made by one synapse firing at a higher/lower firing rate

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17
Q

what is the purpose of the endocrine system

A

to control and regulate the hormones in our bodies in order to communicate messages chemically

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18
Q

describe the significance of the thyroid, pituitary, adrenal glands, the pancreas and the ovaries

A

thyroid gland - thyroxin - metabolism
pituitary gland - LH, FSH, ACTH - master gland, hormones which affect other glands
adrenal gland - adrenaline - fight or flight
pancreas - insulin - regulating blood sugar
ovaries - oestrogen, progesterone - female sex hormones, menstruation

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19
Q

what is the function of the adrenal cortex

A

necessary for life, produces cortisol, low cortisol = low blood pressure, low immune system, inability to deal with stress

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20
Q

what is the function of the adrenal medulla

A

not necessary for life, releases adrenaline and noradrenaline (fight or flight), helps respond to stress

21
Q

describe how an acute stressor acts on the brain

A

acute stressor -> acts on hypothalamus -> activates sympathetic branch -> stimulates adrenal medulla -> releases adrenaline -> increases heart rate, blood pressure

22
Q

describe how a chronic stressor acts on the brain

A

chronic stressor acts on hypothalamus -> activates pituitary gland -> releases ACTH -> stimulates adrenal cortex -> releases corticosteroids -> suppresses immune system

23
Q

weakness of the fight/flight response (1)

A

incomplete, gray suggested the freeze response, hyper vigilance, beneficial, allows us to make decisions and think rationally, fight/flight reductionist without freeze response

24
Q

weakness of the fight/flight response (2)

A

gender biased, taylor et al suggested females ‘tend and befriend’, females have oestrogen and higher levels of oxytocin than males, these reduce cortisol and create a sense of bonding, males may fight/flight due to testosterone and less oxytocin, androcentric to assume we all fight/flight

25
Q

weakness of fight/flight response (3)

A

unnecessary in modern day, useful for ancestors in short term life threatening situations, modern life stressors are chronic, HPA response to stress is longer lasting and suppresses immune system, detrimental to health

26
Q

role of the frontal lobe

A

social processing, decision making, personality

27
Q

role of the temporal lobe

A

auditory processing

28
Q

role of the occipital lobe

A

visual processing

29
Q

role of the cerebellum

A

motor behaviour

30
Q

role of the parietal lobe

A

somatosensory processing

31
Q

role of broca’s area

A

speech production

32
Q

role of wernicke’s area

A

language comprehension

33
Q

strength of localisation (1)

A

research support with high ecological validity, broca’s research on lebon, only said ‘tan’, after death brain was examined, chunk of prefrontal cortex missing

34
Q

strength of localisation (2)

A

case study, phineas gage, pole through prefrontal cortex, functioning fine, personality differences

35
Q

weakness of localisation

A

brain is not naturally localised, lashley argued basic motor and sensory functions localised, higher mental functions are not, areas of the brain can take over after injury, neuroplasticity

36
Q

describe sperry’s method

A

11 split-brain ppts with severed corpus callosum, 11 control, blindfolded in one eye, hands hidden, fixation point, 1/10th second, tested language, drawing and creativity, facial recognition

37
Q

describe sperry’s results

A

projected to rvf could be named, projected to lvf faces could be matched, language in lh, facial recognition in rh

38
Q

strength of lateralisation (1)

A

research support from animal studies, rogers chickens, enhanced ability to multitask, looking for food and predators

39
Q

strength of lateralisation (2)

A

partial research support for lateralisation, szaflarski, language increasingly in lh, after 25 decreases

40
Q

describe maguire’s method

A

16 male right-handed london taxi drivers, compared to 50 right handed control, mri scans, correlational analysis between scan results and time as a taxi driver

41
Q

describe maguire’s results

A

posterior hippocampus of taxi drivers larger compared to control, size correlated to time as taxi driver

42
Q

define plasticity

A

they brain’s ability to alter its structure and function in response to changes in the environment, experience and new learning

43
Q

define functional plasticity

A

brain functions move from damaged to undamaged area

44
Q

define structural plasticity

A

experiences or memories change the brain’s physical structure

45
Q

define recruitment of homologous areas

A

equal but opposite area of the brain takes over to perform a lost function

46
Q

define neuronal unmasking

A

the brain’s ability to rewire and reorganise itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage

47
Q

define axonal sprouting

A

the brain’s ability to grow new nerve endings entirely which connect with others to form new neuronal pathways

48
Q

define functional recovery

A

where unaffected areas of the brain are able to adapt and compensate for damaged areas by taking over their functions

Psychology (9 decks)

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