Biopsychology Flashcards
Describe what localisation of function is
Different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities
Localisation vs holistic theory
– Early theories assumed all parts of the brain were involved in processing, this was the holistic theory
– Broca and Wernicke’s Studies suggested that different parts of the brain perform different tasks, this is the localisation of function theory
– if a certain part of the brain is damaged then the functioning associated with that area will also be affected

What is the cerebral cortex
– Outer layer of the brain
– 3 mm thick
– grey and highly folded so that it can all fit inside the skull
– very developed, this separates us from animals
Diagram of brain lobes
Name the different lobes and their function
– Frontal lobe – movement and decision-making
– parietal lobe – processing sensory information
– occipital lobe – processes visual information
– temporal lobe – processes auditory information
What is the motor area
– The back of the frontal lobes
– controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body
– damage can cause loss of control of movements
What is the somatosensory area
– In the parietal lobes
– separated from the motor area by the central sulcus, which is a valley
– deals with sensory information from the skin
– the amount of this area dedicated to a body part is related to how sensitive that body part is.
For example, receptors for face and hands occupy over half of the somatosensory area
– People with issues in this area may not be able to feel anything physically
What is the visual area of the brain
– In the occipital lobes
– also known as the visual cortex
– that I send information from the visual field to the opposite visual cortex
– e.g. information in the left visual field it will be sent to the right visual cortex
What is the auditory area of the brain
– In the temporal lobes
– analyses speech based information
– damage can produce loss of hearing
What is the language area of the brain
– Language centres are restricted to the left side of the brain in most people
– two specific parts of the brain relate to different aspects of language (Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area)
What is Broca’s area
– In the left frontal lobe, in most people
– responsible for speech production
– damage causes slow speech that lacks fluency (Broca’s aphasia). People can still understand things
Case study: patient Tan, who could only say ‘Tan’
What is Wernicke’s area
– In the left temporal lobe, in most people
– responsible for language comprehension
– damage causes difficulties understanding speech, people produce meaningless speech (Wernicke’s aphasia), peoples understanding is damaged
– Nonsense words – neologisms
Diagram of lobes and cortexes
Phineas Gage case Study
– Working on the railway line, explosives caused a long pole through his brain
– damage most of his frontal lobe
– mood was dramatically changed – quick-tempered and rude
– suggest frontal lobe is responsible for regulating mood
EVALUATION
– Happened in 1848– Unscientific methodology as notes are 200 years old
– Case study so maybe an generalisable. Cannot replicate to check
– may not be brain damage – the trauma of the situation could’ve made his personality change
Lashley experiment (rats running in maze)
– Rats learnt to run a maze
– Lashley remove parts of their brains – between 10 and 50% of the brain
– rats were still able to remember the root of the maze
– supports the holistic theory – we use all parts of our brain
EVALUATION
– Rats were used – a cerebral cortex is more developed, we can’t say we like the same as our brains different
– task involves many different things (Vision, spatial awareness, olfaction for smelling the cheese) So may not be the best task. This suggests it is not a true reflection of how the brain works and so doesn’t show good evidence for the holistic theory
General evaluation for localisation of function theory
– Brain scans (FMRI scans) are objective and controlled 
– Neurosurgery – still used in extreme cases to treat disorders such as OCD and depression. If an area is overactive, controlled surgery in one area of the brain can be damaged. The theory has practical application and works.
– Plasticity – brain reorganises its self after damage, transfers functions to other areas and has the ability to change over time– supports holistic theory
What is hemispheric lateralisation
When one hemisphere controls specific activities
describe roger sperry’s split-brain studies
Sperry studied people who had all had surgery - commissurotomy
The Corpus callopsum is cut to separate the two hemispheres (to control epileptic seizures)
This means there is no communication between hemispheres.
Quasi experiment of 11 participants who’d had a commissurotomy to treat epilepsy
Sperry looked at their performance of visual/tactile tasks:
An image/word was projected to one visual field and the same, or different, image/word was projected to the other visual field.
This was presented for one-tenth of a second so there was no chance for Ps to move their eyes across image
Most brains would share the information between hemispheres to give a complete picture
FINDINGS
When shown to the right visual field (left hemisphere) - easy to describe
When shown to left visual field (right hemisphere) - could not describe and often people said there was nothing there
So: the left hemisphere is responsible for language.
EVALUATION
– Lacks external validity – things aren’t shown specifically to one visual field in real life
– only 11 participants, all had a history of epileptic seizures
– differences may be overstated – might not be as clear cut as suggested by Sperry’s research
describe Sperry’s improved experiments on hemispheric lateralisation (recognising by touch and composite words and matching faces
RECOGNISING BY TOUCH
Objects shown- then had to select a matching object from options hidden behind a screen
When shown to left visual field ( right hemisphere), could select with left hand and could also select item most association with the object shown (e.g ash tray when shown a cigarette)
When shown to right visual field (left hemisphere), couldn’t verbally intentifym but could recognise.
COMPOSITE WORDS
Two words presented at the same time, one on either side of the visual field
Right hemisphere: Could draw with the left hand what is seen
Left hemosphere: Could see what was shown in the right visual field
MATCHING FACES
Shown a face and eyes to match it from a series of other faces
Right hemisphere: correctly matched
Left hemisphere: identification was ignored
FINDINGS
– The left hemisphere – language centres, describes what it says, does not match faces
– right hemisphere – recognises what it says, dominates drawing ability

Kim Peek case study (man born without corpus callosum)
– Born without a corpus callosum
– both hemispheres had language centres
– he could read two pages of a book at one time and retain information

What is Plasticity of the brain and Synaptic Pruning
- The ability of the brain to change and adapt
- happens as a result of new experience and learning
- ages 2-3 we have the most synaptic connections we will ever have (twice as many as the adult brain)
- plasticity can be negative: e,g drug use = poor cognitive functioning, old age = dementia.
Synaptic pruning (also known as cognitive pruning):
- connections we rarely use are deleted
- connections we frequently use are strengthened
- recent evidence has shown that this doesn’t just happen in childhood, but can happen throughout life
What is Functional recovery
- The brains ability to recover after damage or trauma (e.g infection/ stroke)
- unaffected areas are sometimes able to adapt or compensate for those areas that are damaged
- This functional recovery is an example of neural plasticity
- this can happen quickly after trauma (spontaneous recovery) and then slow down after several weeks or months
Maguire et al study on taxi drivers (brain plasticity)
- study on the brains of 16 taxi drivers using an MRI
- Found significantly more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in the matched control group.
- associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills
- “The Knowledge” assesses recall of the city streets and possible routes
- The longer they had been doing the job, the more pronounced was the structural difference (a positive correlation)
EVALUATION
- Control group - shows significant difference between taxi drivers and others - good design
- MRI scans - use of scientific, objective measures
- an attempt to study a real world phenomena; useful
- we can’t be sure that the difference is due to “knowledge” - they weren’t tested before. They could have been taxi drivers because of their already existing difference (although the positive correlation between experience and structure makes this less likely)
What happens during functional recovery?
- the brain requires and reorganises itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage
- this process is supported by a number of structural changes, such as:
1. Axonal Sprouting - new nerve endings grow and connect with damaged areas’ nerves to form new pathways
2. Denervation super sensitivity - axons that do a similar job become aroused at a higher level to compensate for the lost ones.
3. Recruitment of homologous (similar) areas on the opposite hemisphere to do specific tasks - e.g if Broca’s area was damaged on the left side of the brain, the area on the right might take over.
What are the factors affecting functional recovery
- exhaustion, alcohol consumption, stress - can affect the effort put into recovery
- age - old age can mean the extent and speed of recovery is lessened
- gender - some research suggests women recover better than men because brain function is not as lateralised
- education - people who are more educated are more likely to recover
Schneider et al study on brain plasticity
- almost 800 participants with brain injury
- the more time spent in education, the greater their chances of disability-free recovery
- 40% of those with more than 16 years education achieved DFR
- 10% of those with less than 12 years education achieved DFR
Gabby Giffords case study (shot in head; brain functional recovery)
- survived an assassination attempt - shot in the head
- within months was able to walk with supervision, had full control of her left arm and leg
- could read, understand and speak short phrases
- the brain was able to recover from the trauma
EVALUATION:
- such dramatic brain damage doesn’t happen often: not much data to compare with
- female and young and educated - recovery may not be able to explain functional recovery for older people
Brain plasticity and functional recovery general evaluation
- Application: contributed to neurohabilitation, recovery slows down after a few weeks so therapy is needed to maintain improvements
- Sometimes there is no record of functioning prior to trauma - difficult to know how much the brain has recovered or whether it was like that to begin with
- case studies/ small sample sizes
What are the different techniques for investigating the brain
fMRI, EEG, ERP and post-mortem examinations
fMRI description, strengths and weaknesses
What is an EEG and ERP
ERP and EEG strengths and weaknesses
Post-mortem examinations description
Post mortem examinations - evaluation
What are the 5 glands and their function
Describe what happens during a flight or fight response
What are the three types of neurons
Draw the three types of neurons
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Draw a synapse
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Draw a diagram of the subdivisions of the nervous system
