Biopsychology

Question 1

What are two strengths of localisation of function in the brain?

Answer 1

• Evidence from neurosurgery- isolating the cingulate gyrus (cingulotomy) improves OCD in 30% of people with OCD (Dougherty et al)
• Evidence from brain scans- Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas (Petersen et al), semantic and episodic areas (Tulving et al)

Question 2

What is the counterpoint to evidence from brain scans for localisation of function in the brain?

Answer 2

Learning in rats is holistic not localised (Lashley)

Question 3

What is one limitation of localisation of function in the brain?

Answer 3

Language localisation questioned- multiple pathways (eg. right hemisphere and thalamus), not just Broca’s and Wernicke’s (Dick and Tremblay)

Question 4

What is one strength of hemispheric lateralisation?

Answer 4

Lateralisation in the normal brain- global elements processed by RH and finer detail by LH

Question 5

What is one limitation of hemispheric lateralisation?

Answer 5

One brain- certain hemispheres dedicated to certain tasks but no dominant RH or LH, eg. no ‘scientists brain’ (Nielson et al)

Question 6

What is one strength of split-brain research?

Answer 6

Research support- split-brain participants faster at some LH tasks (Luck et al) because normally slowed down by inferior RH (Kingstone et al)

Question 7

What is one limitation of split-brain research?

Answer 7

Generalisation issues- epilepsy is a confounding variable when comparing to ‘normal’ controls

Question 8

What is one limitation of plasticity?

Answer 8

Negative consequences- plasticity not always beneficial (phantom limb syndrome, Medina et al)

Question 9

What is one strength of plasticity?

Answer 9

Plasticity continues throughout lifespan, eg. golf training reduced neural activity in over 40s (Bezzola et al)

Question 10

What is one strength of functional recovery?

Answer 10

Real-world application- knowledge of axonal growth leads to eg. constraint-induced movement therapy (massed practice with affected arm, restrain unaffected arm)

Question 11

What is one limitation of functional recovery?

Answer 11

Cognitive reserve- 40% recovery for people with 16 years’ education (more cognitive reserve), 10% for less than 12 years’ education (Schneider et al)

Question 12

What are four strengths of fMRIs?

Answer 12

• Risk-free
• Non-invasive
• No radiation
• High spatial resolution

Question 13

What are two limitations of fMRIs?

Answer 13

• Expensive
• Poor temporal resolution

Question 14

What are two strengths of EEGs?

Answer 14

• Helped research on sleep waves
• Temporal resolution (1 millisecond)

Question 15

What is one limitations of EEGs?

Answer 15

Signal comes from thousands of neurons so can’t identify source

Question 16

What are two strengths of ERPs?

Answer 16

• More specific than raw EEG data
• Higher temporal resolution than fMRI

Question 17

What are two limitations of ERPs?

Answer 17

• No standardised procedures
• Background ‘noise’

Question 18

What is one strength of post-mortem examinations?

Answer 18

Contributed to early research (eg. Broca)

Question 19

What are two limitations of post-mortem examinations?

Answer 19

• Causation is an issue
• Ethical issues over consent (eg. HM)

Question 20

What are two strengths of circadian rhythms?

Answer 20

• Shift work- reduced concentration at 6am, more accidents (Boivin et al), heart disease three times more likely (Knutsson)
• Medical treatment- chronotherapeutics, timing of drugs eg. aspirin at night to reduce heart attacks (Bonten et al)

Question 21

What is the counterpoint to shift work for circadian rhythms?

Answer 21

Studies are correlational, effects may be disrupted social routines (Solomon)

Question 22

What is one limitation of circadian rhythms?

Answer 22

Individual differences- cycle lengths vary (13 to 65 hours, Czeisler et al), ‘larks’ and ‘owls’ (Duffy et al), generalisations may be meaningless

Question 23

What is one strength of infradian rhythms?

Answer 23

Evolutionary basis- synchronisation may have an adaptive function, leads to shared care for babies

Question 24

What is one limitation of infradian rhythms?

Answer 24

Methodological limitations- many factors affect menstrual cycle, so synchronisation may occur by chance (Trevathan et al)

Question 25

What is one strength of ultradian rhythms?

Answer 25

Improved understanding- reduced slow wave sleep in old age explains ageing effects (van Cauter et al)

Question 26

What is one limitation of ultradian rhythms?

Answer 26

Individual differences- variation found in duration of sleep stages, especially 3 and 4 (Tucker et al)

Question 27

What are two limitations of endogenous pacemakers?

Answer 27

• Beyond the master clock- peripheral oscillators, eg. circadian rhythm of liver cells in mice altered but SCN unaffected (Damiola et al)
• Interactionist system- research looks at pacemakers/zeitgebers in isolation, doesn’t represent real life

Question 28

What are two limitations of exogenous zeitgebers?

Answer 28

• Environmental observations- Innuits not affected by EZs (live in darkness in summer and little light in winter)
• Case study- man blind from birth with sleep/wake cycle of 24.9 hours, could not adjust despite social cues (Miles et al)