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Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Why is the nervous system important?

A

It allows us to respond to environmental changes and coordinate action/organs.

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2
Q

What are the branches of the nervous system?

A

CNS, PNS
PNS branches into somatic and autonomic.
Autonomic branches into sympathetic and parasympathetic

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3
Q

What is the function of the different NS branches?

A

ANS - unconscious activities
SNS - conscious activities
PNS - info to and from the senses and the CNS

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4
Q

How do neurones work?

A

They transmit information into electrical impulses. The dendrites receive the signal into the pre-synaptic neurone. Synaptic vesicles containing neurotransmitters - released across synapse. Bind to receptor sites on the post-synaptic cell.

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5
Q

What is an excitatory effect?

A

Increased positive charge, and the neurone is more likely to fire eg. adrenaline

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6
Q

What is an inhibitory effect?

A

Increased negative charge, less likely to fire eg. serotonin

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7
Q

What are the different types of neurones?

A

Motor, sensory, relay

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8
Q

What is the function of a motor neurone?

A

CNS to effectors. Controls muscles

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9
Q

What is the function of a sensory neurone?

A

Carries impulses from receptors to the CNS.

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10
Q

What is a reflex?

A

A fast, automatic response to a stimulus. Bypasses conscious brain to avoid damage.

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11
Q

What is the endocrine system?

A

It involves glands and hormones - uses blood vessels. Maintains homeostasis.

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12
Q

How does the fight or flight response work?

A

Hypothalamus triggers ANS, stimulating the adrenal medulla so adrenaline is released.

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13
Q

What are symptoms of fight or flight?

A
  • Increased bp and heart rate
  • Decreased digestion
  • Tenses muscles
  • Dilates pupils
  • Increased breathing rate
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14
Q

What are parts of the endocrine system?

A

Hypothalamus
Pituitary - master gland
Thyroid - thyroxine
Adrenal - adrenaline
Pancreas - insulin and glucagon
Gonads - sex hormones

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15
Q

What is the structure of the brain?

A

It is contralateral with non symmetrical hemispheres. 4 lobes: temporal, occipital, parietal, frontal.

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16
Q

What is the function of the left hemisphere?

A

Language processing, detail in visual field.

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17
Q

What is the function of the right hemisphere?

A

Recognising emotions, spatial relationships.

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18
Q

What is the function of the motor cortex?

A

Sends messages via CNS. Complex movement.

19
Q

What is the function of the somatosensory cortex?

A

Sensations of the body.

20
Q

What is the function of the visual cortex?

A

Primary is in occipital lobe = main visual centre.

21
Q

What is the function of the auditory cortex?

A

2 x primary. In both hemispheres gets info from both ears but mostly contralateral.

22
Q

What is the function of the language centres?

A

Broca’s area - speech production
Wernicke’s area - language comprehension

23
Q

What does lateralisation mean?

A

2 brain halves are functionally different and each have specialisations.
The corpus callous joins hemispheres.

24
Q

What is plasticity?

A

The brain’s ability to change and adapt due to physical damage.

25
Q

Why is brain plasticity important?

A

Replaces function to compensate for the loss of axons. Trauma recovery, learning.

26
Q

What were Sperry’s findings?

A

11 split brain patients had pictures projected into a visual field or held an object.
If shown in right, could say/write what it was. If shown in left, could only choose the related object.

Different areas of the brain specialise in different functions.

27
Q

What are evaluation points for Sperry?

A
  • qualitative and quantitative data
  • high reliability and validity
  • small sample
  • not generalisable
  • low ecological validity
  • contradicting research
28
Q

What did Elbert et al find?

A

Brains scans of violinists shows there is a big region dedicated to the left hand - brain responded to demands and extra neurons for left hand finger control developed.

29
Q

What did Maguire et al find?

A

Brain scans on London taxi drivers showed they have a very large posterior hippocampus. Biggest in those with 40+ years experience.
Positive correlation.

30
Q

What is functional recovery?

A

The transfer of functions from a damaged area to an undamaged area.

31
Q

Why is functional recovery important?

A
  • Increases brain stimulation to increase recovery
  • Ability can decrease with age
  • Women can recover better
  • Correlation between education level and recovery rate.
32
Q

What are ways of studying the brain?

A

fMRI, EEG, ERP, post mortem

33
Q

What are pros and cons of ways of studying the brain?

A

fMRI - poor temporal resolution, high spatial
EEG - good temporal, low spatial
ERP - same as EEG

34
Q

What are circadian rhythms?

A

Biological rhythms that occur every 24 hours. eg. sleep-wake cycle

35
Q

What did Siffre find?

A

6 months in cave without daylight or clocks. Sleep-wake cycle changed to 25 hours naturally. Light is needed.

36
Q

What are endogenous pacemakers?

A

Innate biological clocks affected by the environment. SCN controls the release of melatonin.

37
Q

What are exogenous zeitgebers?

A

Environmental cues that affect biological rhythms. eg. light, noise, temp.

38
Q

What did Ralph do and find?

A

He removed the SCN from hamsters with a 20 hour sleep cycle and swapped them with normal hamsters. Hamsters changed to match their new SCN.

39
Q

What are infradian rhythms?

A

Occur less than once a day. eg. menstrual cycle.

40
Q

What are ultradian rhythms?

A

Occur more than once a day eg. sleep-stages cycle.

41
Q

What is an example when biological rhythms are disrupted?

A

Jet lag - crossing time zones. Fatigue, concentration struggles, irritable, insomnia.
Phase delay east to west is easier than phase advance west to east.

42
Q

What did Dement and Kleitman investigate?

A

Brain activity changed during sleep. 9 participants in a lab. Measured by eye movement and EEG. Woken in the night during REM or not - talk about current dream/not.
REM = 80% dream recall vs 7%.

43
Q

What are evaluation points for Dement and Kleitman?

A
  • self report measures
  • experimenter effects
  • longer sleepers spend longer in REM
  • individual differences
  • correlational
  • reliable and has been replicated
  • lacks generalisability

Psychology (12 decks)

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