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Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the nervous system?

A

Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. It communicates using electrical and chemical
signals.

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2
Q

function of the brain ?

A

• Centre of all conscious awareness
• brains outer layer, the cerebral cortex is only 3mm thick + covers the brain
• Dided into two hemispheres
• receives signals from senses

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3
Q

four main regions of the brain…

A

Occipital lobe- processes visual information
•Temporal lobe processes auditory information
• •Parietal lobe integrates information from the different senses and plays an important role in spatial navigation
•Frontal lobe is associated with higher-order functions, including: planning, abstract reasoning and logic

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4
Q

what is the nervous system divided into

A

CNS
PNS

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5
Q

what is the PNS (peripheral nervous system) further divided into

A

• somatic nervous system
• autonomic nervous system

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6
Q

what is the autonomic nervous system further divided into?

A

sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic

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7
Q

define each one:
• somatic ns
• autonomic ns
• sympathetic ns
• parasympathetic ns

A

Somatic nervous system:
• sensory receptars carry information to the spinal chord and brain
• motor pathways which allow the brain to control movement
• voluntary actions occurs
• connects to external senses (touch, sight etc).

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8
Q

in the sympathetic nervous system what happens to each organ?
- gut
- salivary gland
- heart
- liver
- bladder
- eye
- lungs

A

gut = decreased digestion
- salivary gland = inhibits saliva production
- heart = increases heart rate
- liver = stimulates glucose production
- bladder = increased urination
- eye = dilate pupils
- lungs = dilates bronchi

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9
Q

what happens to each organ in the parasympathetic nervous system?

  • gut
  • salivary gland
  • heart
  • liver
  • bladder
  • eye
  • lungs
A
  • gut = increase digestion
  • salivary gland = stimulates saliva production
  • heart = decrease heart rate
  • liver = stimulates bile production
  • bladder = decrease urination
  • eye = constricts pupils
  • lungs = constricts bronchi
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10
Q

in terms of the nervous system what is an example if homeostasis

A

the sympathetic ns and parasympathetic ns work together to maintain the body at an optimum level of functioning

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11
Q

explain the flight or fight response?

A

activates the adrenal medulla
-
release of adrenaline & noradrenaline
-
body ready for fight or flight
-
body returns to normal
-
parasympathetic activated (PNS)

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12
Q

-

A
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13
Q

whats a neuron?

A

nerve cell that send a message all over your body to allow you to do everything from breathing to walking

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14
Q

what does each type of neuron do?
- sensory
- relay
- motor

A

carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal chord or brain

allow sensory and motor neurones to communicate with each other, lie within the brain and spinal chord

located in the PNS, form synapses with muscles and control their contractions, release neurotransmitters that bind to muscles and trigger a movement

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15
Q

what does the endocrine system use to deliver hormones to their targets?

A

uses blood vessels to deliver hormones to their target sites

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16
Q

what are hormones

A

chemical messengers

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17
Q

which cells do hormones affect?

A

affect target cells - they have receptors for only that hormone

enough receptor sites stimulated -> physiological reaction

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18
Q

what hormone is produced for the pituitary gland and the effect?

A

master gland
- controls hormone secretion in other glands

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19
Q

what hormone is produced by the adrenal gland and the effect?

A

adrenal cortex - cortisol - regulates cardiovascular and anti inflammatory functions

adrenal medulla - epinephrine and non epinephrine - prepares the body for fight or flight response

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20
Q

what hormone is produced in the overies and effect?

A

oestrogen - regulates female secondary sex characteristics & maintains growth of uterus lining

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21
Q

which hormone is produced by the testes and its effect?

A

testosterone - regulates male secondary sex characteristics

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22
Q

what hormones is produced by the thyroid and its effect?

A

thyroxine - effects the heart rate and metabolism rate

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23
Q

what hormone is produced by the pancreas and its effect?

A

insulin and glucagon - stimulates release and absorption of glucose

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24
Q

what hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and the effect?!

A

CRF, dopamine - controls the functioning of the pituitary gland

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25
Q

what hormone is released by the pineal gland and effect?

A

melatonin - affects the sleep/ wake cycle

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26
Q

outline the process of synaptic transmission? (6 steps)

A

• an electrical impulse travels along the axon of the presynaptic neuron
• triggers the nerve ending to release chemical messengers (neuro transmitters) from vesicles in nerve cell
• diffuse across the synapse gap
• bind with receptors on membrane of next neurone
• stimulates the post synaptic neuron to transmit and elec impulse
• neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the vesicle of the presynaptic neuron or are broken down chemically by enzymes in synapse

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27
Q

what is the process and an
example of excitatory neurotransmitters?

A

eg. noradrenaline
- on switches, increase likelihood of an excitatory signal being sent to the post synaptic cell

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28
Q

what is the process and an
example of inhibitory neurotransmitters?

A

eg. seratonin, GABA
- off switches, decrease likelihood of neurons firing

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29
Q

out of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, which id depolarisation and which is hyper-polarisation?

A

excite - de polar
inhibit - hyper polar

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30
Q

what is summation?

A

• excitatory and inhibatory imfluences are summed
• if net effect on the post synaptic neurons is inhabitory, neuron less
• if net effect is excitatory the neurons is more likely to fire

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31
Q

function of the spinal chord?

A

• An extenson of the brain, passing messages to and from the brain
• connects nerves to the PNS
• responsible for reflex actions (eg pull hand away from hot plate).

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32
Q

where is the motor cortex located??

A

at the back of the frontal lobe in both hemispheres

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33
Q

where is the somatosensory cortex located??

A

at the front of the parietal lobe in both hemispheres

34
Q

where is the visual centre located?

A

in the occipital lobe (back) in both hemispheres

35
Q

where is the auditory cortex located?

A

in the front of the temporal lobe in both hemispheres

36
Q

where is broca’s area located?

A

in the bottom/ back of the frontal lobe in the LEFT hemispheres

37
Q

where is Wernike’s area located?

A

the top back of the temporal lobe in the LEFT hemisphere

38
Q

what is the corpus callosum?

A

conects the left and right side
of the brain + allows for them to communicate between them

39
Q

what is localisation of function?

A

the theory that specific areas are specialised for specific functions

40
Q

what is the function of the motor cortex? damage?

A

involved in the planning, processing and execution of voluntary muscle movement

damage = loss of control / paralysis on the opposite side of the body to the side of the brain damage (L to R)

41
Q

what is the function of the somatosensory cortex?

A

involved in the detection and processing of sensory information from the outside environment

eg. temp, touch, pain, pressure

42
Q

whats the function of the visual cortex?? damage??

A

involved in processing visual information from the eyes
• Shape, colour, movement.
- damage to the L hemisphere = blindness in right eye etc.

43
Q

where is the auditory centre function? and damage?

A

involved in processing auditory information from ears: pitch, volume tempo

damage to L hemisphere loss in R ear

• more extensive damage = more serious hearing loss.

44
Q

Broca’s area function? damage?

A
  • speech production
  • damage to area = Brocas/ expressive aphasia
45
Q

Wernike’s area function? damage?

A

language understanding/ comprehension
- damage is Wernike’s aphasia = cant understand meaning of language
- produce fluent but meaningless speech

46
Q

what is hemispheric lateralisation?

A

two halves of the brain are functionally different with each half having different specific functions

47
Q

what is the function of the L hemisphere?

A

language/ speech production

48
Q

what is the function of the R hemisphere?

A

visual motor tasks

49
Q

what does the corpus callosum do?

A

facilitate inter hemispheric connections

50
Q

in terms of hand and visual field what does the L hemisphere controll?

A

the R hand and R visual field

51
Q

in terms of hand and visual field what does the R hemisphere controll?

A

Left Visual Field and Left Hand

52
Q

whats a commissorotomy and when was it used?

A

for epilepsy patients, medical procedure that splits the corpus collosum (severed) in half

53
Q

what was the aim of Sperry’s research?

A

examine the extent to which the two hemispheres are specialised for specific functions (testing hemispheric lateralisation)

54
Q

what is the method of Sperrys split brain research?

A
  • quasi experiment (IV pre-exist)
  • controlled lab experiment
  • 11 participants
  • using divided field technique (an experimental technique that involves measuring task performance when visual stimuli are presented on the left or right visual hemisfields)
  • word presented for 1/10th a sec to ensure only one visual field saw it
55
Q

what are the findings of sperrys research?

A

describe what you saw condition
-object shown to the RVF → patient easily describes what is seen (L hemisphere)
- objects shown to the LVF → patient reports nothing (R hemisphere)
• Cant describe objects in LVF because RH lacks language centres
• messages received by RM are normally relayed by the corpus callosum to language centres in LH
laguagecervern LM .

56
Q

whats the conclusion of sperrys research?

A

this study supports hemispheric lateralisation and demonstrates the superiority of the L hemisphere when it come to language production + the superiority of the R hemisphere when it comes to visual motor tasks.

57
Q

what is brain plasticity?

A

refers to the brains ability to modify (change and adapt) its own structures as a result of EXPERIENCE

58
Q

what is brain plasticity?

A

refers to the brains ability to modify (change and adapt) its own structures as a result of EXPERIENCE

59
Q

what is synaptic pruning?

A
  • plasticity reduces with age with peak being n childhood as there is the most synaptic connections
  • fine tuning occurs throughout years and rarely used connections are made dormant and frequently used connections are strengthened
60
Q

who is more likely to have a successful recovery?

A

children because they have more synaptic connections

61
Q

who did research that provides evidence for neural plasticity?

A

Maguire - Taxi Driver Study

62
Q

what was the aim of Maguire taxi driver study?

A

whether structural changed could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spacial navigation

63
Q

what is the method of Maguires study into brain plasticity?

A

16 right handed males
structural MRIs obtained
control group - scans of 50 healthy R handed males who DONT drive
mean age didn’t differ between groups

64
Q

explain the two findings of Maguire’s research into neural plasticity of taxi drivers in london

A
  • increased grey matter found in brains of taxi drivers compared with controls compared with the control group in their right and left hippocampi (increased volume found in the posterior hippocampus)
  • changes with with navigation experience, a correlation was found between the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in the right posterior hippocampus
65
Q

whats the conclusion gathered from Maguire’s study?

A

evidence for structural differences between the hippocampi of london taxi driver’s and control participants, suggesting that extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus

66
Q

what is grey matter

A

density of cells

67
Q

what is the hippocampus associated with?

A

spacial and navigational memory

68
Q

other than maguire who did research into brain plasticity and what did they do?

A
  • Kuhn
  • video games (Super Mario)
  • ppts to play supermario for at least 30m per day for 2 months, compared to controll group who didnt play
  • increased grey matter in the motor cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum which is known for movement and coordination
69
Q

what is functional recovery ?

A

an example of plasticity
- the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to another undamaged area

70
Q

what process does functional recovery take place through?

A

neuronal unmasking

71
Q

what is neuronal unmasking (or axon sprouting)

A
  • dormant synapses (that previously have no received enough input to be active) open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of brain
  • the brain is able to rewire itself by forming needles connections close to damaged area
  • secondary neural pathways are activated to enable functioning yo continue
72
Q

what structural changed help neuronal unmasking and therefor functioning recovery?

A

recruitment of homologous area

73
Q

what structural changed help neuronal unmasking and therefor functioning recovery?

A

recruitment of homologous area

74
Q

what does the recruitment of homologous areas mean and do?

A

on the opposite hemisphere to do specific tasks (eg Broca’s damaged -> right side equivalent would carry out its language functions)

75
Q

what are the evaluation points for plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma?

A
  • research from studies (maguire)
  • research from animal studies (rats in the maze)
  • praccy appy to neuro rehabilitation
  • age differences in plasticity (its more complex than thought)
  • educational attainment can improve functional recovery (its more complex than thought)
76
Q

evaluation: what are the advantages of hemispheric lateralisation?

A
  • Sperry supports
  • Pucetti (two hemispheres are so functionally different they represent a form if duality in the mind - we have two minds)
77
Q

what are the disadvantages of hemispheric lat?

A
  • after 25 years of age lateralisation decreases with each decade of life
  • J.W. (went against sperrys)
78
Q

what ate the strengths of the methodology of split brain research? (Sperry)

A

controlled lab exp
- standardised procedures eg image showed for 1/10th a second to ensure only one visual field could see it (high reliability)
- gives research more scientific credibility

79
Q

what are the two limitations of sperrys split brain research?

A

low external validity - artificial tasks - in real life they would have full use of both eyes and unrestricted views so its not a true reflection of reality

quasi experiment - individual difference (when surgery was? what they were like before? extent to it was severed?)
- atypical sample - NOT GENERALISABLE

80
Q

what are the critisisms of the findings of sperrys research?

A

some modern neuroscientists argue the distinctions are not clear out, J.W - developed capacity to speak about info presented to both sides - equipotentiality?? not fully severed??? not the case for all SO too simplified

81
Q

what are four evals for localisation of the brain?

A
  • brain scans (peterson et al wernikes area for listening and brocas tor reading out loud) and tulving for dif parts of prefrontal cortex store semantic and episodic memories
  • aphasia studies (brocas - inparied ability to speak and wernkines - impaired ability to extract meaning)
  • equipotentiality - holistic approach - Lashley - challanges

Psychology (8 decks)

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