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Psychology A-Level > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the nervous systems two main functions ?

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

What are the two subsystems of the nervous system ?

A
  • Central nervous system
  • Peripheral nervous system
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3
Q

What is the central nervous system made up of ?

A

it is made up of the brain and the spinal cord

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4
Q

What is the function of the spinal cord in the central nervous system ?

A

it passes messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the PNS. It is also responsible for reflex actions.

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5
Q

What is the function of the peripheral nervous system ?

A

it transmits messages through neurones to and from the CNS

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6
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system subdivided into ?

A
  • Autonomic nervous system
  • Somatic nervous system
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7
Q

What is the function of the autonomic nervous system ?

A

controls important functions in the body such as respiration

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8
Q

What is the function of the somatic nervous system ?

A

controls muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors

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9
Q

What is the function of a dendrite ?

A

they carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the cell body

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10
Q

What is the function of an axon ?

A

carries impulse away from cell body along the length of a neuron

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11
Q

What is the function of the myelin sheath ?

A

fatty layers that protects the axon and speeds up electrical transmission of impulse

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12
Q

What is the function of the nodes of Ranvier ?

A

these are gaps in the myelin sheath that force the impulse to jump across which increases the speed of transmission

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13
Q

What is the function of terminal buttons ?

A

these are found at the end of the axon and communicate with the next neuron across a synapse

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14
Q

What is the function of Schwann cells ?

A

involved in forming the myelin sheath

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15
Q

What are the 3 different types of neurons ?

A
  • Sensory neuron
  • Relay neuron
  • motor neuron
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16
Q

Where is the sensory neuron located ?

A

it is located in the PNS in clusters known as ganglia

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17
Q

What is the function of the sensory neuron ?

A

carries message from PNS to CNS

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18
Q

Where is the relay neurone located ?

A

in the brain and the visual system

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19
Q

Where is the motor neurone located ?

A

In the CNS but also in the PNS due to the motor neurone having a long axon

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20
Q

What is the function of the motor neurone ?

A

transmits information to muscles

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20
Q

What is the function of the relay neurone ?

A

allows sensory neurone and motor neurone to communicate

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21
Q

What are the 3 stages of electrical transmission ?

A
  • Resting state
  • Activated by stimulus
  • Action potential produced
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22
Q

What happens in the resting stage of an electrical transmission ?

A

the inside of a cell has a negative charge compared to the outside

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23
Q

What happens in the activated by stimulus stage of an electrical transmission ?

A

the inside of a cell becomes positively charged for a split second. This causes action potential to occur

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24
Q

What happens in the action potential produced stage of an electrical transmission ?

A

it causes an electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of a neuron

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25
Q

What is a synaptic transmission ?

A

this is how neurons communicate with other neurons and parts of the body

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26
Q

What is a synapse ?

A

this is a gap which is formed between neurons, and impulses are carried across these gaps to continue to the next destination.

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27
Q

How is a impulse transmitted to the next neuron in a synaptic transmission ?

A

through the release of neurotransmitters in the synapse. The neurotransmitter is first released from a synaptic vesicle into the synapse and then absorbed on the other side by a post-synaptic receptor site.

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28
Q

What is a neurotransmitter ?

A

these are chemicals which diffuse across the synapse to relay impulses to the next neurone

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29
Q

What does it mean by the terms excitation and inhibition in synaptic transmissions ?

A

neurotransmitters can have a excitatory or a inhibitory effect on a neighbouring neuron. For example, the neurotransmitter serotonin causes inhibition in a neighbouring neuron, therefore causing the neuron to have a negative charge and less likely to fire. Whereas adrenaline causes excitation of the neuron by causing it to have a positive charge and making it more likely to fire.

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30
Q

What is the process known as summation ?

A

summation decides whether a postsynaptic neuron fires or not. If the net effect on the neuron was inhibitory then the postsynaptic neuron is less likely to fire. But if it was excitatory then its more likely to fire.

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31
Q

What is the function of the endocrine system ?

A

it instructs certain glands to secrete certain hormones into the bloodstream. One hormone can affect cells in several different organs, but can only affect cells that have specific receptors for them.

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32
Q

What kind of system does the endocrine system work off ?

A

it works based on a feedback system. So it communicates to produce the correct amount of hormones and then shuts of when enough has been produced.

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33
Q

What are the different glands in the endocrine system ?

A
  • Pituitary gland
  • Thyroid gland
  • Adrenal gland
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34
Q

What is the function of the pituitary gland ?

A

controls the release of hormones from all other endocrine glands in the body

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35
Q

What is the function of the thyroid gland ?

A

it secretes thyroxine. The role of the thyroxine is to control heart rate and regulate metabolism

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36
Q

What is the process of the flight and fight response ?

A

The hypothalamus in the brain activates the pituitary gland. This triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. The ANS changes from parasympathetic to sympathetic. Then the hormone adrenalin is secreted from the adrenal medulla into the bloodstream. This triggers physiological changes such as an increase in heart rate. When the threat has passed the parasympathetic system bring the body back to its resting state.

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37
Q

What are some of the physiological changes in the flight or fight response ?

A
  • Increased heart rate: more blood is being flown to working muscles
  • Dilated pupils: see more
  • Inhibits digestion: preserves energy blood to the working muscles
38
Q

What was the Holistic theory of the brain ?

A

this was a theory that all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of thought and action.

39
Q

What was the Localisation of Function ?

A

This was a theory developed by Broca and Wernicke that different parts of the brain perform different tasks and are involved with different parts of the body

40
Q

What was the Phineas Gage case ?

A

This occurred in 1848, when Gage was working on a new railway line, explosives accidently set off and a metre long pole pierced his left cheek blinded his left eye and exited at the top of his skull. Miraculously Gage survived however a chunk of his frontal lobe was missing. This led to a change in his personality.

41
Q

What is the main part of the brain ?

A

cerebrum

42
Q

How is the cerebrum divided ?

A

it is divided into two symmetrical halves, known as the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. Each hemisphere controls certain physical and psychological functions. In addition activity on the left hand side is controlled by the right hemisphere and activity on the right hand side is controlled by the left hemisphere

43
Q

What is the function of the motor cortex in the brain and where is it located?

A

it is involved in planning, controlling and executing voluntary movements. It is located in the frontal lobe

44
Q

What is the function of the somatosensory cortex in the brain and where is it located ?

A

it detects sensory information, such as regulating body temperature, proprioception, touch, texture and pain. It is located in the parietal lobe at the front.

45
Q

What is the function of the visual centres in the brain and where is it located ?

A

it is involved in visuo-spacial information, such as distance/depth perception, colour determination and object/face recognition. It is located in the Occipital Lobe

46
Q

What is the function of the auditory centres in the brain and where is it located ?

A

processes auditory information. It is located in the temporal lobe

47
Q

Where is Broca’s area located in the brain ?

A

in the left frontal lobe

48
Q

What was Broca’s area responsible for in the brain ?

A

speech production

49
Q

What happens if Broca’s area is damaged ?

A

it causes Broca’s aphasia which is characterised by slow and laborious speech, which lacks fluency

50
Q

Where is Wernicke’s area located in the brain ?

A

in the left temporal lobe

51
Q

What is Wernicke’s area responsible for ?

A

language understanding

52
Q

What happens when the Wernicke’s area is damaged ?

A

it causes Wernicke’s aphasia where people will often produce nonse words in their speech.

53
Q

Give me an evaluation of localisation of function in the brain ?

A

Strength: supporting research
Phineas Gage case study. Proves how frontal lobe damaged brain can still function, therefore proves that different areas of the brain control different functions and are not co-dependant.

Strength: brain scans show how brain functions are localised
A study by Buckner and Petersen in 1966 showed how semantic and episodic memories are in different parts of the prefrontal cortex

Weakness: language may not be just localised to Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area
With the help of fMRI scans, it seems that the language function is distributed far more holistically. And even language streams have been identified across the cortex and regions of the right hemisphere. This shows how language is more holistic which contradicts the localisation theory.

54
Q

What does the term Lateralisation of function mean ?

A

this is where some mental processes of the brain are mainly specified to one hemisphere of the brain-either the right or the left

55
Q

What does it mean by Contralateral processing of Visual Information ?

A

this is where the corpus collosum, a bundle of fibres allows each hemisphere to communicate with one and other.

56
Q

Give me an evaluation of Hemispheric Lateralisation ?

A

One strength is that even with connected brains the two hemispheres process the information differently.
For example Gereon Fink (1996) used PET scans to find which parts of the brain were more active during a visual processing task. When participants with connected brains were asked to look at a whole picture the regions of the RH were more active. However when required to look at the fine details of a picture regions of the LH were more active. This shows how hemispheric lateralisation is a feature of a connected brain as well as a split brain.

One limitation is that the idea of a LH as a analyser and RH as a synthesizer may be false.
For example Jared Nielson (2013) analysed brain scans from 1000 people aged 7-29 and found that people did used certain hemispheres for certain tasks. However there was no evidence of a dominant side. Therefore the stigma of people being left-brained and right-brained is not true.

57
Q

Give me an evaluation of Sperry’s split brain research ?

A

Strength: supporting research
Micheal Gazzaniga showed that split brain participants actually perform better than controlled controls on certain tasks. For example they were faster at identifying the odd one out in a array of similar objects than normal brained people.

One limitation is that causal relationships are hard to establish
Sperry’s split brain participants were compared to a neurotypical control group. However an issue was that none of the controlled group participants had epilepsy. This is a confounding variable. As any differences that were observed between the two groups maybe the result of epilepsy rather than the split brain research.

58
Q

What does the term brain plasticity mean ?

A

the brain changes or adapts functionally and physically, this is due to new experiences and new learning

59
Q

What does the term synaptic pruning mean ?

A

this is when as u get older your synaptic connections are deleted as they are not needed

60
Q

What is the Maguire study that supports brain plasticity ?

A

this study was carried out in 2000 and it studied the brains of taxi drivers. They found significantly more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than in a matched control group.

61
Q

What is the mechelli study that supports brain plasticity ?

A

this study was carried out in 2004 and the study found a larger parietal cortex in the brains of people who were bilingual compared to a control group of monolingual people.

62
Q

What does the term functional recovery mean ?

A

this is the transfer of function from the damaged area of the brain after trauma to undamaged areas of the brain

63
Q

What does the term spontaneous recovery mean ?

A

this is the natural redevelopment of function of the brain following an injury to the nervous system.

64
Q

What happens to the brain during the recovery of function ?

A

this is where the brain rewires itself to form new synaptic connections near to the area that is damaged. Its like taking a different route to avoid roadworks.

65
Q

What are the structural changes that occur during recovery of function ?

A
  • Axonal Sprouting
  • Recruitment of Homologous Areas
  • Reformation of Blood Vessels
  • Denervation super sensitivity
66
Q

What happens during axonal sprouting ?

A

this is the growth of new nerve endings which connect other undamaged areas nerve cells to form neural pathways.

67
Q

What happens during the recruitment of homologous areas ?

A

an example of this neural structure is if Broca’s area was damaged on the left side of the brain, the right side equivalent would carry out its function. Until eventually after a period of time, functionality will shift back to that side.

68
Q

Give me an evaluation for brain plasticity ?

A

Limitation: may have negative behavioural consequences
a study conducted by Medina et al (2007) the brains adaptation to prolonged drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning in later life, as well as an increased risk of dementia. This suggests the brains ability to adapt to damage is not always beneficial.
Strength: its a life long ability
A study conducted by Ladina Bezzola found that 40 hours of golf training in people aged 40-60 observed increase in motor cortex ability. This suggests how neural plasticity can continue throughout a lifespan.

69
Q

Give me an evaluation of functional recovery ?

A

Strength: has real-world application
contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. As the understanding of axonal growth encourages new therapies to be tried such as constraint-induced movement therapy, which is used with stroke patients.
Limitation: level of education may influence recovery rates.
A study conducted by Eric Schneider found that more time people with brain injury spent in education the greater their chances of a disability-free recovery (DFR). 40% of those who achieved DFR had more than 16 years in education compared to about 10% of those who had less than 12 years in education.

70
Q

What are the 4 ways of studying the brain ?

A
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI)
  • Electroencephalogram
  • Event-related potentials
  • Post-mortem examinations
71
Q

How is functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) a way of studying the brain ?

A

fMRI works by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and blood flow due to
neural brain activity in specific parts of the brain. When a brain area is more active more blood flow is directed to the area. Therefore, fMRI produces three-dimensional images, this shows what parts of the brain are involved in a mental process.

72
Q

How is an electroencephalogram a method of studying the brain ?

A

it measures electrical activity in the brain, using electrodes which are stuck onto a persons scalp using a skull cap. The scan shows the brainwave patterns, generated by the actions of neurotransmitters. This provides an overall account of brain activity.

73
Q

How are event-related potentials a method of studying the brain ?

A

this is where all extraneous brain activity from the EEG recording is filtered out leaving only those responses that relate to example the performance of a specific task. This is an example of a event-related potential, where a type of brainwave triggers a particular event.

74
Q

How are post-mortem examinations a method of studying the brain ?

A

this involves analysing a dead persons brain. Researchers would examine damaged areas in the brain to establish the likely cause of the disorder that, that person experienced.

75
Q

Give me an evaluation for fMRI scan as a method of studying the brain ?

A

Strength: does not rely on the use of radiation. It is risk-free, non-invasive and straightforward to use.

Strength: images produce high spatial resolution. This provides a clear image of how brain activity is localised.

Weakness: is expensive compared to the other neuroimaging techniques

Weakness: has poor temporal resolution. It has around a 5 second time-lag between the image on screen and the initial firing of neuronal activity.

76
Q

Give me an evaluation of the EEG scan as a method of studying the brain ?

A

Strength: applicable. useful in studying the stages of sleep. In addition useful in the diagnosis of epilepsy, its a disorder where random burst of activity in the brain occur, this can easily be detected on the screen.

Strength: unlike fMRI it has a high temporal resolution. EEG technology can accurately detect brain activity at a resolution of a single millisecond.

Weakness: it receives too much information. Can cause information overload. Too much information to analyse, due to the thousands of neurons that generate brainwave patterns.

Weakness: not useful for pinpointing the exact source of brain activity. Therefore doesn’t allow the researchers to distinguish between activities originating in different but adjacent locations.

77
Q

Give me an evaluation of event-related potentials as a method of studying the brain ?

A

Strength: more detail to the measurement of neural processes compared to EEG’s. In addition as ERP’s are derived from EEG’s they have excellent temporal resolution. This means that ERP’s are frequently asked to measure cognitive functions such as the maintenance of the working memory.

Weakness: lack of standardisation in ERP methodology between different research studies which makes if difficulty to confirm studies.

Weakness: hard to eliminate extraneous variable such as background noise

78
Q

Give me an evaluation of post-mortem studies as a method of studying the brain ?

A

Strength: important in providing a foundation for early understanding of key processes in the brain . For example Broca and Wernicke both relied on post-mortem studies to establish links between the brain ,language and behaviour.

Weakness: causation is an issue. Observed damage to the brain is not always linked to mental disorders, but could be related to unrelated trauma and decay.

Weakness: ethical issues can occur. Due to lack of informed consent from the individual before death. An example could be patient HM who had lost the ability to form memories so wasn’t able to provide consent. However post-mortem research was still conducted.

79
Q

What is a biological rhythm ?

A

this is a cycle of activity that occurs regularly in a living organism

80
Q

What two things are biological rhythms governed by ?

A

*endogenous pacemakers
* exogenous pacemakers

81
Q

What is an endogenous pacemaker ?

A

this is internal to the person and is biological

82
Q

What is an exogenous pacemaker ?

A

this is external and is environmental

83
Q

What is a circadian rhythm ?

A

these are rhythms that last for around 24 hours

84
Q

What are two examples of a circadian rhythm ?

A
  • sleep/wake cycle
  • core body temperature
85
Q

What was the aim of Siffre’s cave study (1972) ?

A

observe changes in his sleep/wake cycle without the input of external cues.

86
Q

Give me a summary of Siffre’s cave study ?

A

In 1972 Siffre spent 6 months in a cave in Texas. During this period he had no exposure to natural light and no external cues about the time of day.

87
Q

What were the findings of Siffre’s cave study ?

A

Siffre’s sleep/wake cycle extended beyond the 24 hour day. He found that his sleep/wake cycle typically lengthened to about 25-30 hours. This showed that the natural human sleep/wake cycle is slightly longer than 24 hours but is usually reduced to 24 hours due to external cues such as zeitgebers.

88
Q

What was the aim of the Aschoff and Weaver study (1976) ?

A

to investigate the free-flowing circadian rhythm of humans in the absence of external zeitgebers

89
Q

Give me a summary of the Aschoff and Weaver study ?

A

study was conducted at the Max Planck institute for behavioural psychology in Andechs, Germany. They used an underground bunker that was completely isolated from external light.

90
Q

What were the findings of the Aschoff and Weaver bunker study ?

A

participants developed free-running circadian rhythms when deprived of external cues. Their sleep/wake cycle typically lengthened to about 25-27 hours.

91
Q

What was the aim for the Folkard Cave study (1985) ?

A

was to determine how well human circadian rhythm’s could adapt to significantly shortened day-night cycle and to understand the flexibility and limits of the internal human clock.

92
Q

Give me a summary of the Folkard Cave study ?

A

Folkard studied a group of 12 people, who agreed to live in a dark cave for 3 weeks. Going to bed at 11:45pm and waking up at 7:45am. Over the course of the study the researchers gradually speeded up the clock so an apparent 24 hour day eventually lasted 22 hours.

93
Q

What were the findings of the Folkard Cave study ?

A

The study found that participants were generally unable to fully adapt to the 22-hour cycle . Their internal rhythms especially the sleep/wake cycle, core body temperature did not synchronize to the artificially shortened day.

Psychology A-Level (8 decks)

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