Biopsychology Flashcards
What are the 4 types of lobes in the brain?
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe
What are the functions of the frontal lobe?
- Control of voluntary movements
- involved in attention
- short-term memory tasks
- motivations
- planning
- speech
What are the functions of the parietal lobe?
In general, the parietal lobe is a major interpreter of the sensory world around the body. In fact, the parietal lobe is a primary sensory area, which means that it is the starting point of sensory processing within the brain.
The parietal lobe deals with many sensations, including:
touch
pressure
pain
heat
cold
tension
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
- Decoding sensory input (visual and auditory) into derived meanings for retention of visual memory and language comprehension
What are the functions of the occipital lobe?
- The centre for visual processing
Wernicke´s area
Location:
In the left hemisphere of the brain, specifically near the back of the temporal lobe
Functions:
- language comprehension
- language production
- making sure language makes sense
- believed to be the receptive language centre of the brain
Broca´s area
Location:
In the frontal part of the left hemisphere of the brain
Functions:
- responsible for taking chosen words and generating movements needed to vocalise them
- Helps to ensure that language is produced in a fluent way
- Involved in motor-related activities associated with hand movements
Motor cortex
Location:
Bilateral in each of the frontal lobes
Functions:
Involved in the planning, and execution of voluntary movements
Somatosensory cortex
Location:
Parietal lobe
Functions: receiving and processing sensory information from across the body. This information is then carried to the brain via neural pathways to the spinal cord, brainstem, and thalamus.
Auditory cortex
Location:
Found bilaterally in the temporal lobes
Functions:
to analyse and decode auditory information collected by the ears and relayed along the auditory nerves.
Visual cortex
Location:
It is found bilateral in the occipital lobes
Functions:
To process visual information received from the eyes.
Explain Lashley´s (1950) study
He wanted to find out if the functions of the brain are localised or hostile.
He put a rat in a maze and they had to find the way out. After that, he created a lesion in the rat´s brain where he assumed to be the memory store (cerebral cortex).
Findings show that even with the removal of a brain area, the rats are still able to finish the maze but with a lower pace.
This suggests that the memory is hostile.
Explain Tulving´s (1989) Gold Memory Study
He wanted to provide evidence that there are two different cognitive processes (semantic & episodic).
He used a PET scan to see which regions of the brain work when participants are asked to recall semantic and episodic memory.
Findings show that episodic memories produce higher activity in the frontal and temporal lobes.
Semantic memory produce higher activity in the parietal and occipital lobe.
This provides evidence for different stores of LTM and a localisation of functions.
Explain Herasty´s (1997) research
He wanted to find out the sex differences in language-associated regions of the cerebral cortex.
He examined 10 men and 11 women.
He found that women have a significantly larger superior temporal cortex and a 20% larger Borca´s area and Wernicke´s area.
The findings suggests that the anatomical differences may correlate with superior language skills in females.
Dendrite
These are branch-like structures that receive messages from other neurons and allow the transmission of messages to the cell body.
Axon terminal
The ending of one neuron, this is separated from the next neuron by a small gap called synapse.
Soma
The main part of the neuron in which the dendrites branch off from.
Schwann cell
These cells produce the myelin sheath
Myelin sheath
Cover the axon and work like insulation to help keep electrical signals inside the cell, which allows them to move more quickly.
Node of Ranvier
These speed up the transmission of the impulse by forcing it to jump across gaps in the axon.
Nucleus
Contains the cell´s DNA
Axon
A long thread-like part of a nerve cell along which impulses are conducted from the cell body to the axon terminal.
What are the 3 types of neurons
- Sensory
- Relay
- Motor
Functions of the sensory neurons
Carry messages from the PNS to the CNS. The have long dendrites and short axons.
Functions of the relay neurons
Connect the sensory neurons to the motor or other relay neurons. They have short dendrites and short axons.
Functions of the motor neurons
Connect the CNS to the effector such as muscles and glands. They have short dendrites and log axons.
Outline the nervous system part´s
Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Spinal Cord
- Brain
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Somatic Nervous System
- Autonomic Nervous System
–> Sympathetic Nervous System
–> Parasympathetic Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The PNS transmits messages, via millions of neurons, to and from the central nervous system
Somatic Nervous System
The SNS governs voluntary movements and receives information from sensory receptors. Connects the central nervous system. It is a unitary nervous system.
Autonomic Nervous System
The ANS governs vital (involuntary) functions such as breathing, heart rate, sexual arousal & stress responses. It consists of two sub-sections:
Sympathetic nervous system = thy sympathetic branch of the ANS causes physiological changes in responses to an acute stressor (fight or flight)
Parasympathetic nervous system = returns the body to its resisting state (rest and digest)
Central Nervous System
The CNS is made up of the brain and spinal cord.
The brain = the brain is the centre of conscious awareness
The spinal cord = the spinal cord is responsible for reflex actions. It passes messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the PNS
