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biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

2 key features of the nervous system

A
  1. to collect, process and respond to information in the environment
  2. to co-ordinate the working of different organs and cells in body
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2
Q

structure of the CNS

A

-made up of brain and spinal cord
-brain is centre of consciousness
-outer layer is cerebral cortex which distinguishes higher functions
-divided in to 2 hemispheres

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3
Q

function of the CNS

A

-spinal cord is extension of brain responsible for reflex actions
-passes messages to and from brain, connecting nerves to PNS

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4
Q

2 sub units structure of PNS

A

subdivided into;
1. autonomic nervous system (ANS) governs vital function in body such as breathing digestion and sexual arousal
2. somatic nervous system (SNS) governs muscle movement and receives info from sensory receptors

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5
Q

key features of endocrine system

A

-works alongside nervous system to control vital functions through hormones
-works more slowly than nervous system

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6
Q

endocrine system- glands

A

-organs which produce hormones
-key endocrine gland is pituitary gland located in brain
-it controls release of hormones from all other glands in body

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7
Q

endocrine system- hormones

A

-secreted in the bloodstream
-effects any cell in body that has receptor for that particular hormone

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8
Q

fight or flight- part 1

A

-stressor perceived by hypothalamus which activates pituitary
-sympathetic nervous system is aroused

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9
Q

fight or flight- adrenaline

A

-the stress hormone
-released from adrenal medulla in to bloodstream
-this delivers aroused state
-increased heart rate, dilated pupils, decreased saliva

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10
Q

fight or flight- part 2

A

-response is immediate and automatic
-parasympathetic nervous system takes over once threat has passed, returns body to its resting state

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11
Q

neurons

A

-transmit signals electrically and chemically to communicate

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12
Q

sensory neurons

A

-carry messages from the PNS to the CNS.
-they have long dendrites and short axons

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13
Q

relay neurons

A

-connect sensory neurons to motor neurons
-short dendrites and axons
-most are in brain and visual system

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14
Q

motor neurons

A

-connect CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands
-short dendrites and long axons

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15
Q

structure of a neuron

A

-cell body (includes nucleus)
-dendrites (carry nerve impulses from other neurons to the body)
-axon (carry electrical impulses away from cell body) covered in myelin sheath
-terminal buttons (at end of axon to communicate with next neuron across synapse)

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16
Q

electrical transmission- firing of a neuron

A

-when activated, inside of cell becomes positively charged for a split second causing action potential
-this creates the electrical impulse

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17
Q

synapse

A

-extremely tiny gap between 2 neurons

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18
Q

events that occur at synapse

A

-signals transmitted chemically across synapse
-electrical impulse reaches end of neuron (presynaptic terminal) it triggers release of neurotransmitter from synaptic vesicles
-after gap, it is taken up by postsynaptic receptor site on next neuron
-converted back in to electrical message

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19
Q

neurotransmitters

A

-chemicals which diffuse across synapse to next neuron
-each has its own specific molecular structure that fits in to postsynaptic site like lock and key

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20
Q

types of neurotransmitters

A
  1. acetycholine- found where m neuron meets muscle, causing muscle to contract
    2.serotonin- affects mood and social behaviour
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21
Q

adrenaline

A

-excitatory effects, increasing positive charge of postsynaptic neuron, making it more likely to fire

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22
Q

serotonin

A

-generally inhibitory effects, increasing negative charge, making it less likely to fire

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23
Q

dopamine

A

-unusual as it has equally inhibitory and excitatory effects

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24
Q

summation- excitatory and inhibitory

A

-excitatory and inhibitory influences are summed and must reach threshold for postsynaptic neuron to be triggered

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25
Q

holistic theory

A

-19th century holistic theory suggested all parts of brain were involved in all processing

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26
Q

holistic theory replaced by localisation

A

-specific areas of the brain are linked to specific physical and psychological functions
-if an area of the brain is effected function of that area is too

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27
Q

lateralisation

A

some physical and psychological functions are controlled by a particular hemisphere

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28
Q

hemispheres

A

LH (speech)- controls right side of body
RH (visual and emotion)- controls left side of body

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29
Q

cerebral cortex (outer layer)

A

-highly developed area

30
Q

cerebral cortex- motor area

A

-at back of frontal lobe in both hemispheres
-controls voluntary movement
-damage may cause loss in fine motor movement

31
Q

cerebral cortex- somatosensory area

A

-at front of parietal lobes
-processes sensory info from skin
-amount of somatosensory area devoted to a body part determines its sensitivity

32
Q

cerebral cortex- visual area

A

-in occipital lobe at back of brain
-right visual field sends info to left visual cortex and vice versa

33
Q

cerebral cortex- auditory area

A

-in temporal lobe
-analyses speech based info
-damage may cause partial hearing loss

34
Q

language centres- brocas area

A

-speech production
-identified by Broca in 1880s
-in left frontal lobe
-causes brocas aphasia, slow laborious speech

35
Q

language centres- wernickes area

A

-language understanding
-identified by wernicke in 1880s
-wernickes aphasia produces meaningless non sesne speech and has trouble understanding others

36
Q

what is hemispheric lateralisation

A

-means the brain is lateralised in to two seperate hemispheres

37
Q

localised meaning

A

-some brain functions are localised and appear in both the right and left hemisphere
-e.g. auditory, visual and motor

38
Q

localised and lateralised

A

-2 main language centres are in LH
-brocas area (left frontal lobe)
-wernickes area (left temporal lobe)
-RH produced rudimentary words but provides emotional context

39
Q

cross wired

A

-right hemisphere controls left side of the body and vice versa

40
Q

cross wired visual field

A

-LVF is connected to the RH and vice versa
-this enables the visual areas to compare the slightly different perspective from each eye

41
Q

sperry (1968) split brain research- procedure

A

-2 hemispheres surgically seperated by cutting corpus callosum
-used to treat severe epliepsy
-image presented to each hemisphere and asked to describe it

42
Q

sperry (1968)- split brain research- findings

A

object shown to RVF- pps can describe what is seen
object shown to LVF- cannot name objects as no lang centre in RH
-shows how certain functions are lateralised in brain

43
Q

plasticity

A

-(Gopnick et al 1999) during infancy brain experiences rapid growth in synaptic connections
-as we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used are strengthened (synaptic pruning)
-this can happen at anytime due to learning and experience

44
Q

plasticity- taxi driver study

A
  • Maguire et al (2000) found more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus in taxi drivers than control group
    -this part of brain is linked with spatial and navigational skill
    -more pronounced the longer they had been in job
45
Q

plasticity- supporting learning research

A

-Draganski et al (2006) imaged brain of med students 3 month before and after exams
-learning induced changes seen in posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex as a result of learning for the exam

46
Q

brain response to trauma

A

-healthy brain areas take over function of damages areas
-this occurs quickly (spontaneous recovery)
-when it slows, the person may require rehabilitative therapy

47
Q

brain ‘rewires’ itself

A

–able to rewire and reogranise itself after trauma by forming new synaptic connections
-secondary neural pathways that would not be typircally used are activated

48
Q

structural changes in brain after trauma- axonal sprouting

A

growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged cells to form new neuron pathways

49
Q

structural changes in brain after trauma- denervation supersensitivity

A

-axons that do a similar job become aroused to a higher level to compensate for the ones that are lost

50
Q

structural changes in brain after trauma- recruitment of homologous areas

A

-the opposite side of the brain takes over specific tasks

51
Q

medical techniques used to investigate brain localisation

A

-techniques used to investigate brain are used to diagnose illness

52
Q

fMRI- highlights active areas of brain

A

-detects changes in both blood oxygenation and neural activity
-when an area is more active it takes up more oxygen
-produces a 3D image of which parts of the brain are active and therefore must be involved in certain mental processes

53
Q

EEG- shows overall electrical activity

A

-measures electrical activity within the brain
-brainwave pattern shows overall activity
-use as diagnostic tool, usual patterns may be signs of things such as epilepsy or tumors

54
Q

ERPs- brainwaves related to particular events

A

-what is left when all extraneous brain activity from EEG is filtered out
-ERPs are triggered by particular events
-many different forms of ERP are linked to cognitive processes

55
Q

post mortem exams

A

-areas of brain examined to establish likely cause of deficit or disorder that the person experienced
-may involve comparison with a neurotypical brain

56
Q

circadian rhythms- governed by

A
  1. internal biological clocks (endogenous pacemakers)
  2. external changes in environment (exogeneous zeitgebers)
    -some occur many times a day ‘ultradian’
    -others take more than a day to complete ‘infradian’
57
Q

how long does circadian rhythm last

A

-24 hours

58
Q

sleep/ wake cycle

A

EZ- drowsy at night and alert during day shows effect of daylight
EP-biological clock has no influence of external stimuli
-

59
Q

The superchiasmatic nucleus

A

-SCN lies just above optic chiasm which provides info to eyes about light
-SCN governs basic rhythm
-EZ (light) can reset SCN

60
Q

Siffre- free running circadian rhythm

A

-long periods in dark caves to examine effects of free running biological rhythms
-2 month in 1962 and 6 month in 70s
-settled down after 25 hours
-had regular sleep/ wake cycle

61
Q

Aschoff and Wever- carcadian rhythms

A

-pps spent 4 weeks in ww2 bunker with no natural light
-one person (sleep wake cycle 29 hours, c rhythm between 24-25)
-bunker suggests natural cycle may be slightly longer than 24 hours
-but this is entrained by EZ such as daylight and meal times

62
Q

Folker et al- EP vs EZ

A

-1985, 12 pps in cave for 3 weeks, going to bed when clock said 11.45pm and waking up 7.45
-researchers gradually sped up clock to 22 hour days
-only one pp adjusted
-shows strong circadian rhythm is not controlled by EZs

63
Q

Infradian rhythms- menstrual cycle

A

-28 days i.e. less that one cycle in 24 hours
-rising oestrogen cause ovary to release egg (ovulation)
-progesterone then helps womb lining thicken ready for pregnancy
-if pregnancy does not occur, egg is absorbed and womb lining comes away (period)

64
Q

EZs synchronise menstrual cycles

A

-Stern and McClintock 1998 studies 29 women with irregular periods
-phermones were taken from them at differenct stages of cycle under srmpits
-these werer later rubbed with alcohol and later rubbed on upper lips of others
-68% of women experienced changes to their cycle

65
Q

seasonal affective disorder

A

-lack of activity and low mood with a seasonal pattern
-symptoms during winter because daylight hours become shorter

66
Q

SAD may be caused me melatonin

A

-pineal gland secretes melatonin during the night
-in winter this lasts longer and has a knock on effect on production of serotonin in brain

67
Q

ultradian rhythms- more than one cycle in 24 hours

A

-sleep patterns occur in 90 min periods
-divided in to 5 stages each categorised by different levels of brainwave activity using EEG

68
Q

stage 1 and 2 of sleep

A

1- brainwaves high frequency with short amplitude, alpha waves
2-occasional random changes in pattern (sleep spindles)

69
Q

stages 3 and 4 of sleep

A

-deep sleep/ slow wave sleep (SWS)
-individual waves have lower frequency and higher amplitude
-difficult to wake

70
Q

stage 5 of sleep

A

-REM sleep
-body is paralysed but brain resembles that of an awake brain
-brain produces theta waves
-rapid eye movement
-dreams often

71
Q
A

Psychology (11 decks)

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