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aqa psychology a-level > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Nervous system

A

Consists of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. Communicates using electrical signals.

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2
Q

Central nervous system (CNS)

A

Consists of the brain and spinal cord and is the origin of all complex commands and decisions.

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3
Q

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

A

Sends information to the CNS from the outside world, and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body

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4
Q

Somatic nervous system

A

Transmits information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the CNS. It also receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act.

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5
Q

Autonomic nervous system

A

Transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. It is ‘autonomic’ as the system operates involuntarily. It has 2 main divisions: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

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6
Q

Endocrine system

A

Instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream. These hormones are carried towards target organs in the body.

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7
Q

Gland

A

An organ in the body that synthesises substances such as hormones.

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8
Q

Hormone

A

A biochemical substance that circulates in the blood but only affects target organs.

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9
Q

Fight or flight response

A

During stressful situations, the neurone of the sympathetic nervous system stimulate the adrenal medulla to secrete adrenaline, which prepares the body to deal with fear/stress/excitement.

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10
Q

Adrenaline

A

The stress hormones released from adrenal medulla into the bloodstream. Adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body which creates the physiological arousal for fight or flight.

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11
Q

Sympathetic nervous system

A

Prepares the body for fight or flight. Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate increase.

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12
Q

Parasympathetic nervous system

A

Relaxes the body, and returns us to our ‘normal’ resting state. It slows down our heart rate and breathing rate, and reduces blood pressure.

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13
Q

Neuron

A

Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals.

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14
Q

Sensory neurons

A

Carry impulses from PNS to CNS. They have long dendrites and short axons.

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15
Q

Relay neurons

A

Connect sensory neurons to the motor to other relay neurone. They have short dendrites and short axons.

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16
Q

Motor neurons

A

Connect CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands. They have short dendrites and long axons.

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17
Q

Structure of a neurone

A
  • Cell body (soma) includes a nucleus, which contains genetic material.
  • Dendrites protrude from cell body, and carry impulses from neighbouring neurone towards the cell body.
  • Axon carries impulses away from the cell body down the length of the neurone.
  • Myelin sheath protects axon and speeds up electrical transmission of the impulse - segmented into gaps called nodes of Ranvier, which speed up transmission of impulse by forcing it to ‘jump’ across the gaps along the axon.
  • Terminal buttons communicate with next neurone across synapse.
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18
Q

Electrical transmission - the firing of a neurone

A

When a neuron is in a resting state the inside of the cell is negatively charged compared to outside.
- When a neurone is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a split second causing an action potential to occur.
- This creates and electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron.

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19
Q

Synaptic transmission

A

Neighbouring neurons communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap (the synapse) that separates them.

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20
Q

Neurotransmitter

A

Brain chemicals released from synaptic vesicles that relay signals across the synapse from one neuron to another.

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21
Q

Excitation

A

When a neurotransmitter, such as adrenaline, increases the positive charge of the postsynaptic neuron. This increases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will pass on the electrical impulse.

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22
Q

Inhibition

A

When a neurotransmitter, such as serotonin, increases the negative charge of the postsynaptic neuron. This decreases the likelihood that the postsynaptic neuron will pass on the electrical impulse.

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23
Q

Chemical transmission

A

When the electrical impulse reaches the end of the neurone (presynaptic terminal) it triggers the release of neurotransmitter from synaptic vesicles.

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24
Q

Summation

A

The excitatory and inhibitory influences are summed: if the net effect on the postsynaptic neuron is inhibitory then the postsynaptic neuron is less likely to fire. If the net effect is excitatory it is more likely to fire. Once the electrical impulse is created it travels down the neuron. The action potential of the postsynaptic neuron is only triggered if the sum of the excitatory and inhibitory signals at any one time reaches the threshold.

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25
Q

Localisation of function

A

The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours, processes or activities.

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26
Q

Motor area

A

A region of the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement.

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27
Q

Somatosensory area

A

An area of the parietal lobe that processes sensory information such as touch.

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28
Q

Visual area

A

A part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information.

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29
Q

Auditory area

A

Located in the temporal lobe and concerned with the analysis of speech-based information.

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30
Q

Broca’s area

A

An area of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere, responsible for speech production. Damage to Broca’s area causes Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by speech that is slow, laborious and lacks frequency.
- ‘Tan’ - could understand spoken language but was unable to produces any coherent words, and could only say tan.

31
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

An area of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere, responsible for language comprehension. Damage to Wernicke’s area causes Wernickes aphasia which is characterised by producing nonsense words (neologisms) as part of the content of their speech.

32
Q

Phone Gage, 1848

A

Gage dropped his tamping iron onto the toll causing the explosive to ignite. The explosion hurled the pole through Gage’s left cheek, passing behind his left eye, and exiting his skull from the top of his head taking a portion of his brain with it - most of his left frontal lobe.
- Gage survived by the damage to his brain altered his personality - turned quick-tempered, rude -> frontal lobe associated for regulating mood.

33
Q

A strength of localisation theory is that damage to areas of the brain has been linked to mental disorders.

A

Neurosurgery is a last resort method for treating some mental disorders, targeting specific areas of the brain which ,ay be involved.
- Darin Dougherety et al. (2002) reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone a cingulotomy. At post surgical follow up after 32 weeks, about 30% had met the criteria for successful response to surgery and 14% for partial response.
The success of these procedures suggests that behaviours associated with serious mental disorders may be localised.

34
Q

The claim that functions are localised to certain areas of the brain has been criticised. Lashley proposed the equipotentiality theory, which suggests that the basic motor and sensory functions are localised, but the higher mental functions aren’t.

A

He claimed that intact areas of the cortex could take over responsibility for specific cognitive functions following brain injury. This casts doubt on theories about localisation of functions, suggesting that functions are not localised to just one region, as other regions can take over specific functions following brain injury.

35
Q

Although there is evidence from case studies to support the function of the Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, more recent research has provided contradictory evidence.

A

Dronkers et al. (2007) conducted an MRI scan on Tan’s brain to try to confirm Broca’s findings. Although there was a lesion found in Broca’s area, they also found evidence to suggest other areas may have contributed to the failure in speech production. These results suggest that the Broca’s area may not be the only region responsible for speech production and the deficits found in patients with Broca’s aphasia could be the result of damage to other neighbouring regions.

36
Q

Another criticism of localisation of function is that it is biologically reductionist in nature.

A

It tries to reduce very complex behaviour and cognitive processes to one specific brain region. Critics suggest that a more thorough understanding of the brain is required to truly understand complex cognitive processes like language.

37
Q

Some psychologists argue that the idea of localisation fails to take into account individual differences.

A

Herasty (1997) found that women have proportionally larger Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas than men, which can perhaps explain the greater ease of language use amongst women. This, however, suggests a level of beta bias int he theory: the differences between men and women are ignored, and variations in the pattern of activation and the size of areas observed during various language activities aren’t considered.

38
Q

Hemispheric lateralisation

A

The idea that the 2 hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by 1 hemisphere rather than the other.

39
Q

Split-brain research

A

a series of studies which began in the 1960s involving people with epilepsy who had experienced a surgical separation of the hemispheres of their brain to reduce the severity of their epilepsy. This enabled researchers to test lateral functions of the brain in isolation.

40
Q

Sperry’s research (1968)

A

He devised a system to study. how 2 separated hemispheres deal with speech and vision. The observations show how certain functions are lateralised in the brain and support the view that the LH is verbal and the RH is ‘silent’ but emotional.

41
Q

Sperry 1968 - procedure

A

11 people who had split brain operation were studied using a set up where an image could be projected to a ppts RVF and the same, or different, image could be projected to the LVF. In the ‘normal’ brain the corpus callous would immediately share the information between both hemispheres giving a complete picture of the visual world. However, in split brain ppt they can’t convey the information from that hemisphere to the other.

42
Q

Sperry 1968 - findings

A

When a picture was shown to a ppts RVF (processed by LH) the ppt could describe what was seen. But they couldn’t do this if the object was shown to LVF - they said there was ‘nothing there’ - in the connected brain, messages from RH are relayed to language centres in LH, but isn’t possible in split brain.

43
Q

The main advantage of brain lateralisation is that it increases neural processing capacity (multitasking). Rogers et al. (2004) found that in a domestic chicken, brain lateralisation is associated with an enhanced ability to perform 2 tasks simultaneously.

A

Using only 1 hemisphere to engage in a task leaves the other hemisphere free to engage in other functions. This provides evidence for the advantages of brain lateralisation and demonstrates how it can enhance brain efficiency in cognitive tasks.

44
Q

Problems with research into lateralisation and split-brain research.

A

Because this research was carried out on animals, it is impossible to conclude the same of humans. Lots of the research into lateralisation is flawed because the split-brain procedure is rarely carried out now, meaning patients are difficult to come by. Such studies often include very few ppts, and often the research takes an idiographic approach - any conclusions drawn are representative only of those individuals who had a confounding physical disorder that made the procedure necessary = problematic as results can’t be generalised to wider population.

45
Q

Plasticity

A

the brains tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning. This generally involved the growth of new connections.

46
Q

Functional recovery

A

A form of plasticity. following damage through trauma, the brains ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area(s) to other undamaged area(s).

47
Q

Research into plasticity - Maguire et al. (2000)

A

She studied the brains of London taxi drivers and found significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group. This part of the brain is associated with the development of spatial and navigational skills in humans and other animals. London cabbies must take a complex test which assesses recall of city streets and routes, and Maguire found that this learning experience alters the structure of taxi drivers’ brains.

48
Q

A strength of research examining plasticity and functional recovery is the application of the findings to the field of neurorehabilitation.

A

Understanding the processes of plasticity and functional recovery led to the development of neurorehabilitation which uses motor therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter the negative effects and deficits in motor and cognitive functions following accidents, injuries and/or strokes. This demonstrates the positive application of research in this area to help improve the cognitive functions of people suffering from injuries.

49
Q

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

A

a method used to measure brain activity while a person is performing a task. fMRI detects radio waves from changing magnetic fields. This enables researchers to detect which regions of the brain are rich in oxygen and thus are active.

50
Q

EEG (electroencephalogram)

A

a record of the tiny electrical impulses produced by the brain’s activity. By measuring characteristic wave patterns, the EEG can help diagnose certain conditions in the brain.

51
Q

ERPs (event-related potentials)

A

the electrophysiological response of the brain to a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event can be isolated through statistical analysis of EEG data.

52
Q

Post-mortem examination

A

the brain is analysed after death to determine whether certain observed behaviours during the person’s lifetime can be linked to structural abnormalities in the brain.

53
Q

Evaluation of fMRI

A

+ non-invasive - doesn’t use radiation, allowing more patients to undertake fMRI scans, helping psychologists gather further data on functioning human brain, developing understanding of localisation of function.
+ good spatial resolution, allowing psychologists to discriminate between different brain regions with greater accuracy.
- poor temporal resolution (accuracy of scanner in relation of time) - unable to predict with a high degree of accuracy the onset of brain activity.
- causation - doesn’t provide direct measure of neural activity - impossible to infer causation.

54
Q

Evaluation of EEG and ERPs

A

+ non-invasive and cheaper compared to fMRI = more readily available.
- poor spatial resolution. EEGs/ERPs only detect activity in superficial regions of the brain, and are unable to provide info on what is happening in the deeper regions of the brain = limited
+ good temporal resolution - can record brain activity in real time = accurate measurement.

55
Q

Evaluation of post-mortem

A
  • causation - the deficit a patient displays during their lifetime may not be linked to the deficits found in brain - could be result of other illness, unable to conclude causation
  • extraneous factors that can affect results/conclusions - people die at different stages of their life and for a variety of reasons. Any medication, age, and length between death and PM are all confounding factors that make conclusions questionable.
    + provides detailed examination of anatomical structure and neurochemical aspects of brain, providing researchers with an insight into deeper brain regions, providing useful basis for further research.
  • ethical issues - informed consent
56
Q

Biological rhythms

A

distinct patterns of changes in body activity that conform to cyclical time periods. Biological rhythms are influenced by endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers.

57
Q

Circadian rhythms.

A

Biological rhythms, subject to a 24-hour cycle, which regulate a number of body processes such as the sleep/wake cycle and changes in core body temperature.

58
Q

Superchiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

A

endogenous pacemaker that lies above the optic chiasm which provides information from the eye about light. This continues when our eyes are closed, enabling biological clock to adjust the changing patterns of daylight whilst we are asleep.

59
Q

Endogenous pacemaker

A

Internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythms, such as influence of SCN on sleep/wake cycle.

60
Q

Exogenous Zeitgeber

A

External factors that affect or entrain our biological rhythms, such as influence of light on sleepwalk cycle.

61
Q

Michel Siffre spent several extended periods underground to study the effects on his own biological rhythms.

A

Deprived on exposure to natural light and sound, Siffre resurfaced in mid-september 1962 after 2 months in the caves of the Southern Alps believing it to be mid-August. His biological rhythm settled down to one just beyond 24 hours

62
Q

sleep/wake cycle is a circadian rhythm which dictates when humans and animals should be asleep and awake.

A

light provides the primary inout to this system, acting as the external cue for sleeping or waking. Light is detected by the eye, which then sends messages concerning the level of brightness to SCN, which uses the info to coordinate the activity of the circadian rhythm.

63
Q

Research support

A

Siffre (1975) found that the absence of external cues significantly altered his circadian rhythm: when he returned from an underground stay with no clocks or light, he believed the date to be a month earlier than it was, suggesting his 24-hour sleep-wake cycle was increased by lack of external cues.

64
Q

Infradian rhythm

A

a type of biological rhythm more than 24 hours, such as menstruation and seasonal affective disorder.

65
Q

Ultradian

A

A type of biological rhythm less than 24 hours, such as the stages of sleep

66
Q

Menstrual cycle is an example of an infradian rhythm

A

The cycle takes approx 28 days to complete. During each cycle, rising levels of oestrogen cause the ovary to develop and egg and release it. After ovulation, progesterone helps the womb lining to grow thicker for pregnancy. If pregnancy doesn’t occur, the egg is absorbed into the body, the womb lining comes away and leaves the body.

67
Q

Synchronising the menstrual cycle (Stern and McClintock 1998)

A

Although the menstrual cycle is an endogenous system, evidence suggests that it may be influenced by exogenous factors. This study demonstrated how menstrual cycles may synchronise as a result of influence of pheromones. Stern and McClintock studied 29 women with irregular periods. Samples of pheromones were gathered from 9 at different stages of their menstrual cycles, which were treated with alcohol and frozen, to be rubbed on the upper lip of the other ppts. Stern and McClintock found that 68% of women experienced changes to their cycle which brought them closer to the cycle of their ‘odour donor’.

68
Q

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

A

It’s a depressive disorder which had a seasonal pattern of onset. Symptoms of SAD are persistent low mood alongside a general lack of activity. It’s a type of infradian rhythm called circannual rhythm as its subject to yearly cycle.

69
Q

5 Stages of sleep (ultradian rhythm)

A

Altogether lasts 90 minutes, each stage is characterised by different level of brainwave activity.
1&2 - easily woken, brain waves have high frequency and short amplitude - alpha waves.
3&4 - deep sleep - delta waves with lower frequency and higher amplitude.
5 - REM sleep - paralysed but brain activity resembles awake brain. Theta waves and eyes move around = rapid eye movement.

70
Q

Evaluating Ultradian rhythms

A
  • individual differences - Tucker et al (2007) found significant differences between ppts in terms of duration of each stage, particularly stages 3&4. Demonstrates there may be innate individual differences.
  • controlled lab setting, differences can’t be attributed to situational factors, but only to biological differences between ppts.
71
Q

Animal studies and the SCN - DeCoursey et al. (2000)

A

destroyed the SCN connections in the brains of 30 chipmunks who were then returned to their natural habitat and observed for 80 days. Sleep/wake cycle disappeared and by end of study a significant proportion of them had been linked by predators (they were awake, active and vulnerable to attack when should be asleep)

72
Q

Animal studies and the SCN - Ralph et al. (1990)

A

bred ‘mutant’ hamsters with 20 hour sleep/wake cycle. When SCN cells from foetal tissue of mutant hamsters were transplanted into brains of normal hamsters, the cycles of the second group defaulted to 20 hours.

73
Q

Exogenous Zeitgebers and the sleep/wake cycle

A
  • light
  • social cues

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