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Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

How is the nervous system arranged?

A

Nervous system: made up of Central and peripheral nervous system
CNS: Made of brain and spinal cord
PNS: made of somatic and autonomic nervous system
Autonomic: Made of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

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2
Q

What dos the CNS consist of

A

Brain and spinal cord

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3
Q

What is the brain

A

Centre of all conscious awareness.
Very developed in humans.
Split into 2 hemispheres
Contains only relay neurones

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4
Q

What is the spinal cord

A

Transfers messages to and from the brain and the whole body
Responsible for reflex arcs
Relay and motor neurones

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5
Q

What is in the peripheral nervous system?

A

The somatic and autonomic nervous system

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6
Q

What is the somatic nervous system?

What receptors and neurones does it have

A

Initiates muscle movement (doesn’t control)
Carries info from world to brain
Made of sensory receptors
Has sensory and motor neurones

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7
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system?

A

Has an important role in homeostasis (Involuntary functions).
Only contains motor pathways

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8
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system made of?

A

The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

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9
Q

What is the sympathetic nervous system?

A

Involved with fight or flight
Prepare us for action in dangerous situation e.g. increase HR

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10
Q

What is the parasympathetic nervous system?

A

Relaxes out body to its original state
It slows HR, breathing rate and reduces BP
Digestion is restarted

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11
Q

What is the process of synaptic transmission

A

Action potential causes vesicles to move towards pre synaptic membrane
Vesicle fuses to cell membrane releasing neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters diffuse down conc. grad. to receptors in the post synaptic membrane
A new action potential is made in the next cell
Enzyme reuptakes the chemicals

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12
Q

What are the 3 types of neuron

A

Motor neurone
Sensory neurone
Relay neurone

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13
Q

How can you identify a Relay neurone? What do they do?

A

Rounder, lots of connections, Nucleus in the middle
They connect motor and sensory neurones together
Only in the CNS

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14
Q

How can you identify a Sensory neurone? What do they do?

A

Are shaped more like an S because the cell body sticks out from the axon
These respond to incoming information from any of your senses.
There are fewer connections to increase transmission speed

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15
Q

How can you identify a Motor neurone? What do they do?

A

Its not either of the others
It sends a message back to the body using a motor neuron.

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16
Q

What is a neurotransmitter

A

Chemicals released from synapses which travel from neurone to neurone

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17
Q

What is the synaptic cleft

A

The gap between the presynamptic membrane and post synaptic membrane

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18
Q

Name 3 neurotransmitters

A

Adrenaline - fight / flight
Dopamine - Pleasure
Serotonin - Mood

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19
Q

What are the 2 types of neurotransmitter?

A

Excitatory and inhibitory

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20
Q

What is an excitatory neurotransmitter? Name one

A

Acetylcholine
Nerone develops an excitatory post synaptic potential - it is more likely to fire - produces a positive charge in a cell

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21
Q

What is an inhibitory neurotransmitter? Name one

A

GABA
Neurone develops an inhibitory post synaptic potential - less likely to fire - generates a negative charge in the cell

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22
Q

What is summation?

A

If a nerve cells receives excitatory and inhibitory potentials at the same time, the sum of each decides if the neurone fires

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23
Q

What are the 2 types of summation

A

Temporal and spatial

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24
Q

What is temporal summation?

A

A large amount of excitatory post synaptic potentials are generated quickly increasing the chance of firing

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25
Q

What is spatial summation?

A

Many different excitatory post synaptic potentials are generated on the same neurone increasing the chance of it firing

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26
Q

Function of endocrine system

A

To secrete the hormones which are required to regulate many bodily functions.

To provide a chemical system of communication via the blood stream.

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27
Q

What is a gland?

A

An organ in the body that synthesises chemicals like hormones and releases them into the blood

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28
Q

What is a hormone?

A

A regulatory substance produced in the body and transported in blood / tissue fluid to stimulate cells

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29
Q

Name some things that happen when fight or flight is initiated

A

HR increases
BP increases
Digestion decreases
Lungs speed up
Muscles tense

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30
Q

Why do we have a fight or flight response?

A

An evolved reaction to perceived threat

To survive

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31
Q

What nervous system activates fight or flight

A

Sympathetic

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32
Q

What does the hypothalamus do?

A

Stimulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland

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33
Q

What does the pituitary gland do?

A

Hormones released from the gland stimulate the release of hormones from other glands

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34
Q

What does the adrenal gland (medulla) do

A

Releases adrenaline and noradrenaline - important in fight / flight

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35
Q

What does the adrenal gland (cortex) do

A

Releases cortisol - stimulates the release of glucose but suppresses the immune system

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36
Q

Role of adrenaline

A

Increases blood flow to brain and muscles

Prepares body for action

Increases oxygen to brain for rapid response

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37
Q

What do the testes do?

A

Release testosterone - Responsible for the development of male sex characteristics during puberty, also promotes muscle growth

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38
Q

What do the ovaries do

A

Controls the regulation of the female reproductive system including the menstrual cycle and pregnancy

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39
Q

What does the thyroid gland do

A

Releases thyroxine - regulates metabolism

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40
Q

What does the pineal gland do

A

Releases melatonin - important for the sleep wake cycle

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41
Q

What are acute stressors?

A

Sources of stress that are short term. They require immediate attention
They may threaten survival
Our ancestors may have experienced them when facing a predator

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42
Q

What is the process of fight/flight beginning

A

Amygdala registers a threat and sends a signal to the hypothalamus

Hypothalamus activate the sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system sends a signal to the adrenal medulla which releases adrenaline

The adrenaline circulates in the blood stream causing increased HR, BP, breathing etc

We are now ready to attack or run

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43
Q

What is a chronic stressor?

A

Long term stressors over weeks or months

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44
Q

What is the HPA axis

A

the bodies response to chronic stress

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45
Q

How does the HPA axis work

A

The Hpothalamus releases CRH into blood stream
The Pituitary gland is activated and releases a hormone targeting the adrenal gland
The Adrenal cortex releases the stress hormone of cortisol

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46
Q

Fight or flight evaluation

A

Human behaviour isn’t limited to just 2 responses - freeze (found by Gray)

Negative affects in the modern day e.g. increased BP and contribution to heart disease

Affects women differently e.g. tend (to children) and befriend (other women) found by Taylor

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47
Q

What is localisation of function

A

The brain is split into different areas controlling different functions

Based on phrenology

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48
Q

Phineas Gage case study

A

25 Year old

An explosive went off and catapulted a large iron rod into his head (frontal lobe)
Phineas survived but experienced large changes in his personality

This tells us the frontal lobe affects mood and personality

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49
Q

What is the frontal lobe involved with?

A

Emotions, decisions, concentration
Contains the motor cortex which controls voluntary movement

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50
Q

What is the parietal lobe involved with?

A

Back top of brain

Processing, orientation, sensory discrimination
Contains the somatosensory cortex which processes sensory info entering the brain

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51
Q

What is the occipital lobe involved with?

A

Back of brain

Visual processing, Interpreting what we see
Contains the visual cortex which sees colour. Damage to his area can result in blindness. Back of brain

52
Q

What is the temporal lobe involved with?

A

Below frontal and parietal lobes

Auditory processing, producing and interpreting speech, memory processing
Contains the auditory cortex which puts together meaningful language.
Damage can cause hearing loss. Behind Wernickes area

53
Q

What is Wernickes area involved with?

A

Below parietal lobe in front of auditory cortex

Speech comprehension

Patients speak with no meaning. W for weird

54
Q

What is Brocas area involved with

A

Left hemisphere between frontal and parietal lobes

Slow and difficult speech.
A case of a person saying only tan

55
Q

Localisation of function evaluation

A

R.S. - from neurosurgery. Dougherty reported on 44 people with OCD who had their cingulate gyruses removed. 30% had a successful response to the surgery 32 weeks later and 14% had a partial response

Opposed by equipotentiality (Lashley) who argued that very basic sensory functions are localised but more complex behaviour is distributed through the brain. the fact the brain still works after damage supports this

T.L - some contradictory research finding (Only 2% of modern neurosurgeons thing that language is localised to Brocas and Wernickes area) - Dick and Tremblay

Nomothetic so can be applied to everyone and rigorous testing has been done but ignores potential differences

56
Q

What is hemispheric lateralisation?

A

The 2 hemispheres of the brain are lateralised. The right side controls the left and visa versa

57
Q

What does ther left brain control?

A

Right side of body
Speech production and comprehension
Logic
Analyser

58
Q

What does the right brain control?

A

Left side of body
Creative abilities
Better drawing ability
Emotion

59
Q

What were Sperry’s split brain patients

A

Patients with sever epilepsy had their corpus callosum severed so neither hemisphere can pass info to the other

60
Q

Sperry

A

An image or word is projected so it only enters with right (processed in left occipital lobe) or left eye (right occipital lobe)

In an normal brain, this information would be shared across the 2 hemispheres however on a spilt brain patient, this doesn’t happen

61
Q

What were the results of Sperry’s study on describing what you see

A

Pictures shown to the right visual field meant left brain processing. The person can say what they see

Pictures shown to the left visual field mean right brain processing so the person struggles to describe what they see

62
Q

What were the results of Sperry’s study on recognition by touch

A

Right hand (left brain processing) - The patient could describe verbally what they felt. Or they could identify the test object presented in the right hand left hemisphere), by selecting a similar appropriate object, from a series of alternate objects.

Left hand (right brain processing) - The patient could not describe what they felt and could only make wild guesses. However, the left hand could identify a test object presented in the left hand (right hemisphere), by selecting a similar appropriate object, from a series of alternate objects.

63
Q

What were the results of Sperry’s study on draw what you see

A

Pictures shown to the left visual field mean right brain processing. If they are given a pen in their left hand, they would be able to draw it
(Creative right brain support)

Pictures show to the right visual field (left brain processing) - right hand would attempt to draw picture but never as clear as left hand

64
Q

Hemispheric lateralisation evaluation

A

It is assumed the main adavantage of lateraliastion is that neural processing capacity increases Rogers found in a domestick chicken, lateraliastion is associated with the ability to do 2 things simultaneously e.g. searching for food and remaining vigilatnt for predators. Provides evidence for advantage of lateralisation

However because this is animal research, we cannot draw same conclusions for humans. Split brain procedures are rarely carried out now - Lack of generalisability (Only 11 split brain patients) (Idiographic approach). These people also had epilepsy however the control group didn’t introducing a confounding variable

Lateralisation may change with age. Szaflarki et al found that language became more lateralised to the left hemisphere with increasing age in children and adolescents, but after the age of 25, lateralisation decreased with each decade of life. This raises questions about lateralisation, such as whether everyone has one hemisphere that is dominant over the other and whether this dominance changes with age

May overestimate the differences between the hemispheres which has spread misconceptions about the brain. It has been suggested that you have a “dominant side” but of 1000 brain scans (Nielsen, it was determined that people use different hemispheres for different things but have no dominance

65
Q

What is plasticity?

A

Refers to the idea that the brain is plastic - it can change and shape itself

66
Q

Who experiences plasticity

A

Everyone - it was previously thought only children but adult brains still do. Localisation of function isn’t permanently set

67
Q

Gopnic

A

2-3 15000 synaptic connections
This declines to half in adult hood

68
Q

How does plasticity occur?
(Synaptic pruning)

A

Synaptic pruning - connections that are strong and used regularly are kept but those that are weak are pruned away to make space for new neural pathways

69
Q

Research Support for plasticity?

A

Maguire
All london taxi drivers must pass “the knowledge” which is very memory based. The hippocampus in taxi drivers is bigger than controls
Draganski
Imaged the brains of med school students 3 months before and after finals. Changes to their hippocampus and parietal cortex

70
Q

What is functional recovery

A

The brain regains functions that may have been lost as a result of damage

71
Q

How does functional recovery work

A

When damage occurs, function is lost
Over time, the damage is repaired and functions recovered
This doesn’t happen in all cases

72
Q

What are the 3 ways your body can undergo functional recovery

A

The opposite side of the brain could take over
Your brain activates dormant path ways (neural unmasking)
Your brain grows new axons

73
Q

Case study of Jody

A

Jody had sever epilepsy so right side of brain removed

This resulted in severe functional deficits immediately after the operation

Within 10 days she walked out of hospital and had regained most movement of her left side

74
Q

Wall

A

Discovered neural unmasking
The brain makes dormant synapses that activate after damage
Their function is blocked but they are their anatomically
They become active when damage occurs so the brain continues communicating

75
Q

What is the difference between plasticity and functional recovery?

A

Plasticity is the brains ability to strengthen itself that are used a lot
Functional recovery is the brains ability to repair itself after damage

76
Q

Plasticity and functional recovery evaluation

A

R.S - Kemperman showed rats brains change size when housed in more stimulating environments
Most research is done off animal studies who have simpler behaviours and brains than us so can’t be generalised

Helped develop neuro-rehabilitation . The spontaneous recovery after and operation slows down so therapy is required to further develop recovery

Nomothetic as plasticity is a general law. This allows greater scientific testing but ignores the role of differences in behaviour. It is possible plasticity may be different in some individuals

Plasticity can be maladaptive e.g. phantom limb syndrome which 60-80% of amputees suffer

77
Q

What are 4 ways of studying the brain

A

fMRI
EEG
ERP
Post mortem

78
Q

What is an fMRI?

A

Detects change of blood oxygenation and flow that occurs as a result of neural brain activity in specific areas
Active parts of the brain use more oxygen
3D images of brain shows where more O2 is being used

79
Q

What is an EEG

A

Measure electrical activity within the brain via electrodes on the scalp
We see the actions of neurones

80
Q

What is an ERP

A

Same as EEG but you are presented with a stimulus
Of interest to cognitive neuroscientists
Isolates specific neural responses

81
Q

What is a post mortem?

A

A scan of the brain after death, often after mental disorders
Areas of damage in the brain are scanned to see why the person suffered
My be scanned with a healthy one for comparison

82
Q

Pros and cons of brain studying techniques

A

fMRI
+ Risk free, easy, high resolution, non invasive
- expensive, patient must be still, can’t see individual neurons (only blood flow)

EEG
+ helpful for epilepsy diagnosis, real time reading
- very generalised activity, low spatial res, hard to see individual parts of the brain

ERP
+ Partly address EEg issues. Multiple types to explain cognitive function
- Lack of standardisation, can be no background noise

Post mortem
+ Gave us the early understanding we needed, improved medical understanding
- Causation is an issue, patients may have not given consent

83
Q

What is an ultradian rhythm

A

Takes less than 24 hours to complete e.g. sleep cycle

84
Q

What are the stages of sleep

A

Stage 1 - light sleep
Stage 2 - Sleep deepens, breathing/ HR slows
Stage 3 (slow wave sleep) - We move into deep sleep. Brain activity begins to be delta waves
Stage 4 (Slow wave sleep) - Very deep sleep, brain activity is slow
REM - We dream, body paralysed, full brain activity

85
Q

Aserinsky and Kleitman
& Dement and Kleitman
(second half)

A

Put EEg’s on people while they were asleep - discovered REM

Woke sleepers at points during sleep and found 80% of people report dreaming when woken in REM

86
Q

Ultradian rhythm evaluation

A

Research replication of Kleitment and Dement consistently report different sleep stages thereby supporting sleep cycles as ultradian rhythms
C.A. However they used a small sample size

R.L - attached to monitors that measure rhythms - may be invasive = end up sleeping in a way that isn’t the same as their ordinary sleep cycle = extremely difficult to study ultradian rhythms as a lack of ecological validity could lead to incorrect conclusions

Ignores individual differences e.g. lucid dreams which not everyone experiences

Only takes biology into account but culture should be too. A research study done on 11-16 Y.O. found that Israelis sleep the least and Swiss slept the most.Culture affects type of sleep

Research into this has been able to explain some decline in old age. Cauter believes that reduced alertness in old age may be a result of lowered amounts of slow wave sleep

87
Q

What is an infradian rhythm

A

Takes longer than 24 hours e.g. menstrual cycle

88
Q

The menstrual cycle (Infradian rhythms)

A

28 days to complete and involves increased levels of oestrogen resulting in an egg being released. Hormones increases throughout the period until the cycle restarts

89
Q

What is an endogenous pacemaker?

A

An internal biological rhythm

90
Q

What is an exogenous zeitgeber

A

An external time giving factor

91
Q

What is the menstrual cycle controlled by?

A

An endogenous pacemaker

92
Q

What is synchronisation

A

Women in close proximity menstrual cycles will line up

93
Q

Stern and McClintlock

A

29 women
Collected sweat from 9 of these
Put it on the lips of the other women
68% experienced a change in menstrual cycle
Therefore can be affected by exogenous zeitgebers

94
Q

McClintlock

A

135 F uni students
Those who spent time together had synched cycles

95
Q

Infradian rhythm evaluation

A

Backed up by evolutionary theory - if females were in synch, offspring at same time. Therefore resources can be shared and they can help each other raise children. This will increase survival rate of babies (especially if mother dies during birth)

Research into seasonal affective disorder has led to treatments such as light therapy where individuals are exposed to certain frequencies of light. However this has been found to be largely the placebo effect

R.S. - stern and McClintlock C.A. - Yang and Shank found no synchronisation between 186 Chinese women

Finally, evidence supports the role of melatonin in SAD. Terman found that the rate of SAD is more common in Northern countries where the winter nights are longer. For example, Terman found that SAD affects roughly 10% of people living in New Hampshire (a northern part of the US) and only 2% of residents in southern Florida. These results suggest that SAD is in part affected by light (exogenous zeitgeber) that results in increased levels of melatonin.

96
Q

What is a circadian rhythm

A

Every 24 hours e.g. sleep wake cycle

97
Q

What is the sleep wake cycle

A

Determines when we feel sleepy and go to bed and when we naturally wake in the moring

98
Q

Siffre

A

205 days isolated in a cave
Got rid of light, temp and electromagnetic factors
No way of knowing outside time
He settled into a 25 hour day

99
Q

Aschoff and Weaver

A

Participants spent a month living underground
Participants could sleep wherever they wanted
They kept a regular cycle of activity
After 2 weeks, they were half a day out of sync with the outside world
25 hour clock

100
Q

Folkard

A

12 people lived underground for 3 weeks.

They went to sleep at 11:45 and woke at 7

During the research, the investigators sped up the clock to be a 22 hour cycle

None of the participants could adjust to this well

101
Q

Circadian rhythm evaluation

A

Application of people who do night shifts.
Shift work has been found to lead to desynchronization of circadian rhythms and can lead to adverse and physiological effects. People are more 3x more like to have heart disease than those who work normal hours (Knutsson) work has been done to reduce impact on shift patterns . Solomon argues stress could be causing these effects have night shift workers have high divoce rates due to sleep deprivation or missing events

Siffre was the only participant. Therefore not generalisable

People have large differences in circadian rhythm. They can reportedly be from 13-65 hours (Czeisler). Age can also play a role for example teens staying up later and getting up later
Duffy - found some people are morning or night people

Research often used artificial light which at the time was believed to have no effect on circadian rhythms however this has now been challenged and could impact the circadian rhythm

102
Q

What is the SCN

A

An endogenous pace maker
Suprachiasmatic nucleus

103
Q

What does the SCN do

A

A bundle of nerves located in the hypothalamus. It receives info about light from eyes that can help wake us up

Melanopsin carries signals to SCN which sends signal to pineal gland which released melatonin

104
Q

Decoursey et al

A

30 chipmunks
SCNs removed
Put back in the wild
Died as had no sleep wake cycle

105
Q

Ralph et al

A

Bred hamsters with a 20 hour sleep wake cycle. Transported SCN cells from the foetal tissue from these into normal hamsters brains and they began a 20 hour sleep wake cycle

106
Q

Where does the scn pass info to

A

The pineal gland which induces sleep. At night, it increases production of melatonin. (the chemical is a cause of seasonal affective disorder)

107
Q

What is a key zeigeber in humans

A

Light

108
Q

How does light act as a zeitgaber

A

Suppresses melatonin from the pineal gland which affects sleep wake cycle

109
Q

Campbell and Murphy

A

Woke 15 people at various points
A light pack was shone on the backs of their knees
This changed cycles by up to 3 hours

110
Q

What are social cues?
(Babies cycles)

A

Human infants don’t have a sleep wake cycle. Circadian rhythms begin at 6 weeks so their schedules will match with parents

111
Q

What is entraining

A

The adjustment of one behaviour either to synchronise or to be in rhythm with another behaviour

112
Q

By what age are babies entrained

A

16 weeks

113
Q

How can you beat jet lag

A

Adapting to local times for sleeping and eating is an effective way of entraining biological rhythms

114
Q

Endogenous pacemakers/exogenous Zeitgebers evaluation

A

Research tries to isolate endogenous pacemakers from zeitgebers and visa versa (e.g. using artificial light to look at pace makers) however in real life, it is impossible to isolate the 2. Furthermore it was blieved artifical light had no impact however we now know this isnt true

Research from Ralph et al however - Mostly animal research - unethical and we can’t assume humans would respond in the same way

Eskimos spent 6 months in total darkness but have the same sleep wake cycle year round (zeitgebers affect people differently)

Skene and Arendt (2007) showed that the majority of blind people who still have some light perception have normal circadian rhythms whereas those without any light perception show abnormal circadian rhythms. shows importance of exogenous zeigabers and their importance on endogenous pace makers
Could lead to light therapies to affect people with disrupted rhythms
Nonetheless the variablity in the blind people idicates the need for further response

Biologically reductionist - the behavioural approach would state that bodily rhythms are influenced by other people and social norms, i.e. sleep occurs when it is dark because that is the social norm and it wouldn’t be socially acceptable for a person to conduct their daily routines during the night

115
Q

Names a similarity and difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous system

A

Somatic is consciously controlled
Autonomic is unconsciously

Both part of peripheral nervous system

116
Q

Why does synaptic transmission only happen in 1 direction?

A

 the synaptic vesicles containing the neurotransmitter are only released from the presynaptic membrane

 the receptors for the neurotransmitters are only present on the postsynaptic membrane

 it is the binding of the neurotransmitter to the receptor which enables the signal to be passed/transmitted on (to the next neurone).

 Diffusion of the neurotransmitters mean they can only go from high to low concentration, so can only
travel from the presynaptic to the postsynaptic membrane.

117
Q

What is the severing of the corpus callosum called

A

Commissurotomy

118
Q

Where is the frontal lobe

A
119
Q

Where is the temporal lobe

A
120
Q

Where is the occipital lobe

A
121
Q

Where is the parietal lobe

A
122
Q

Where is Wernickes area

A
123
Q

Where is Broca’s area

A
124
Q

Describe the structure and function of a neuron.

A
  • Neurons enable communication within the nervous system
  • the cell body (soma) contains the genetic material
  • branch-like dendrites extend from the cell body (often with dendritic spines)
  • dendrites carry functional information towards the cell body
  • dendrites can receive information from other neurons
  • axons carry messages away from the cell body
  • axons can be myelinated to increase speed of nerve transmission (saltatory conduction between
    nodes of Ranvier)
  • terminal boutons are at the end of axons, these make synaptic connections with other cells * axon terminals contain neurotransmitters.
125
Q

Brocas vs Wernickes area

A
  • Broca’s area is responsible for speech production whereas Wernicke’s area is responsible for language comprehension
  • Broca’s area enables speech to be fluent whereas Wernicke’s area enables speech to be meaningful.

Psychology (14 decks)

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