Biopsychology

Question 1

The nervous system

Answer 1

A specialised network of cells in the body

Question 2

Main functions of the nervous system

Answer 2

• Collect, process and respond to information in the environment
• Coordinate different organs in the body

Question 3

What’s the nervous system divided into

Answer 3

• Central nervous system
• Peripheral nervous system

Question 4

Function of CNS

Answer 4

• Controls behaviour
• Regulates the body’s physiological processes
• Made up of the brain and spinal cord

Question 5

Functions of brain and spinal cord

Answer 5

• Brain- centre of all conscious awareness & 2% of body weight
• Spinal cord- extension of the brain, responsible for reflex actions

Question 6

Functions of the peripheral nervous system

Answer 6

• transmits messages via millions of neurons to and from the CNS
• Divided into Somatic & Autonomic

Question 7

Function of Somatic NS

Answer 7

• Controls muscle movements and receives info from sensory receptors
• Transmits info from receptor cells
• Receives info from CNS that directs muscles to act

Question 8

Function of Autonomic NS

Answer 8

• Vital functions: heart & breathing rate, digestion, sexual arousal
• Transmits info to & from bodily organs
• Operates involuntary (automatic)

Question 9

Main divisions of the Autonomic NS

Answer 9

• Sympathetic NS - fight or flight response
• Parasympathetic NS - rest & digest response

Question 10

The endocrine system

Answer 10

• The main chemical messengers system of body.
• Where hormones are secreted into the bloodstream from glands and then transported towards target cells in the blood with complementary receptors.

Question 11

Glands and hormones

Answer 11

• Pituitary gland ‘master gland’- controls the release of hormones from all other glands.
• Thyroid - produces thyroxine, increases heart rate and rate of growth
• Adrenal gland- produces adrenaline , creates physiological arousal (fight or flight)

Question 12

Describe the flight or flight response

Answer 12

• The body senses a stressor in environment
• Info is sent to the hypothalamus in the brain which triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of ANS
• The adrenal medulla release adrenaline into bloodstream and is transported to target effectors.
• Which creates a physiological response needed to sustain the flight or fight response

Question 13

Brain localisation

Answer 13

The theory that specific function are localised to specific functions in the brain

Question 14

Split brain research

Answer 14

Because vision is contra laterally controlled, Sperry presented the image to the patients right hemisphere, meaning that he needed to place the image on the patients left hand side so he found the ability to identify the image wasn’t hemispherically lateralised
- But he found that language was hemispherically lateralised to the left hemisphere

Question 15

Limitations of split brain research

Answer 15

• It is rare procedure, not ideal to cut parts of a persons brain
• Small sample size and they’ve had surgery due to seizure so not generalisable
• Patients Brian may function differently due to seizures (seizure is a confounding variable)

Question 16

An example of hemispheric lateralisation

Answer 16

• A 2 year old boy named EB had a huge tumour on his left hemisphere, when doctors removed it they had to remove almost all of his left hemisphere
• He then lost all his language skills but after years of rehabilitation he regained his language at 8 yrs old but no one thought he was possible because language skills are hemispherically lateralised to the left hemisphere