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Pyschology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

1
Q

Two main componenets of the Nervous System

A
  1. Brain and Spinal Cord (CNS)
  2. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
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2
Q

What is the Peripheral Nervous System

A

Relays messages from the enviroments to the CNS via sensory neurons and from the CNS to the effectoe via motor nuerons

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3
Q

Two systems in the PNS

A

Automatic Nervous System
Somatic Nervous System

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4
Q

PNS - Somatic Nervous System

A

Recieves sensory information and stimulators effects via motor nuerons

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5
Q

PNS - Automatic Nervous System

A

Controls the involuntary functions like heart rate and breathing

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6
Q

PNS - Automatic Nervous System 2 branches

A

Sympathetic Branch - Increases heart rare, breathing and piupil dilation
Parasympathetic Branch - Decreases heart rate, breathing and pupil constriction)

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7
Q

Endocrine System Role

A

Bodys main chemical messenger system and releases hormones into the ebloodstream to reach target cells

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8
Q

Endocrine System - Pituitary Gland

A

Controls hormone release from all other glands in the body

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9
Q

Endocrine System - Adreneal gland + fight or flight

A

Releases adrenaline which increases acitivity in the sympathetic nervous system to prepare the body for the fight or flight response

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10
Q

5 steps in the Fight or Flight

A
  1. Stressor is Detected
  2. Sensory Nuerons send information to the hypothalamus
  3. Hypothalamus triggers sympathetic ANS activity
  4. Adrenaline is released, increasing heart rate and inhibiting saliva production
  5. Parasympathetic branch restores calm once threat is gone
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11
Q

Synaptic Tranmission

A

Process of nuerons communicating with information relayed to the CNS and responses sent to effectors via motor nuerons

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12
Q

What happens when the action potential reaches the presynaptic membrane

A

Voltage-dependent calcium ion channels open, allowing calcium ions to enter, causing neurotransmitter-containing vesicles to fuse with the membrane and release their contents.

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13
Q

After Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft what do they do

A

diffuse around the cleft and bind to the receptors

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14
Q

Inhibitory nuerotransmitters

A

Reduce the potential differnces acriss the postsynaptic membrane making it less likely an action potential will be generated

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15
Q

Localisation of Function - Theory about brain function

A

Certain areas of the brain are responsible for specific processes, behaviours and activities

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16
Q

Localisation of Function - Motor area and function

A

Located in the frontal lobe and regulates and coordinates voluntary movements

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17
Q

Localisation of Function - Consquences of damage to the motor area

A

Damage results in diffuclty controlling fine motor movements

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18
Q

Localisation of Function - Auditory Area located and it’s processes

A

Temporal Lobe
Processes auditory information and speech

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19
Q

Localisation of Function - What can result because of damage to the auditory area

A

Hearinf loss

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20
Q

Localisation of Function - Role of the Visual area and location

A

Occipital lobe
Processes visual info

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21
Q

Somatosensory area and function

A

Parietal lobe and processes sensory information such as touch, heat and pressure

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22
Q

Localisation of Function - What happens if there is damage to the somatosensory area

A

Can lead to loss of sensitivity to specific body areas

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23
Q

Localisation of Function - Wernicke’s area responsible for and where is it loacated

A

Responsible for speech comprehension located in the left temporal loobe

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24
Q

Localisation of Function - Wernicke’s aphasia

A

Using nonsensical words without awareness of errors but retaining correct pronunciation and intonation.

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25
Q

Localisation of Function - What is Brocas area respnisble for and where is it found

A

Located in the frontal love and is responsiblke for speech production

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26
Q

Localisation of Function -Symptons of Brocas Aphasia

A

Difficulty forming complete sentences, understanding sentence structure, and distinguishing pronouns.

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27
Q

How is language associated with brain lateralization

A

Language production and comprehension are lateralized to the left hemisphere.

28
Q

What evidence supports localization of brain function in memory?

A

Tulving et al. used PET scans showing semantic memories recalled in the left prefrontal cortex and episodic memories in the right.

29
Q

What did the Phineas Gage case study reveal about brain localization?

A

Damage to his prefrontal cortex led to changes in rational decision-making and emotional processing, suggesting specific brain areas control these functions.

30
Q

What is a critique of the localization theory from a holistic perspective?

A

Holistic theory suggests complex functions (e.g., learning in rats) require multiple brain areas rather than being localized.

31
Q

How does the study of OCD support localization theory?

A

Dougherty et al. found that lesioning the cingulate gyrus improved symptoms in some OCD patients, indicating specific areas influence OCD symptoms and treatment responses.

32
Q

What is Plasticity in the brain

A

Brain’s ability to physically and functionally adapt and change in response to trauma, new experiences and learning

33
Q

NeuroPlasticity - Which study demonstrated it

A

Maguire et al. (2006)

34
Q

Placsticity - Magurie et al what happened

A

quasi-experiment compared MRI scans of experienced London taxi drivers to London bus drivers. MRI scans allow researchers to see the shape and structure of the brain. The taxi drivers had all been through “the training”, which involves learning about 25,000 streets in London, thousands of landmarks and learning how to navigate through London without the use of satnavs or maps. In short, they are required to develop their visuo-spatial skills to an incredible degree.

35
Q

Placsticity - Magurie et al (Who were the Participants

A

There were 35 male participants in total (18 taxi and 17 bus drivers) and both groups were similar in age, driving experience, education level, and even handedness (i.e. if they were left or right handed). Both groups had MRI scans and they were also given memory tests. The memory tests included testing their ability to recognize London landmarks and their ability to recall faces and remember stories.

36
Q

Placsticity - Magurie et al (Results)

A

They found no significant differences anywhere in the brain except for in the hippocampi. In the taxi drivers, the posterior hippocampi were larger and the anterior hippocampi were smaller than those of the bus drivers.

axi drivers were better at recognizing London landmarks. However, the bus drivers were slightly better at some of the other cognitive tests. Interestingly, the taxi drivers were worse at acquiring and remembering new visuo-spatial skills.

37
Q

What does synaptic pruning involve?

A

Eliminating extra neurons and synaptic connections to increase neuronal transmission efficiency.

38
Q

How functional recovery aid brain function after trauma?

A

It allows healthy brain parts to take over functions of damaged areas, enabling continued functioning.

39
Q

4 Mechanisms that support functional recovery

A

Law of equipotentiality, axonal sprouting, reformation of blood vessels, and recruitment of homologous areas on the opposite brain side.

40
Q

What is positive plasticity, illustrated by Jodi Miller’s case?

A

Jodi’s remaining brain adapted after hemisphere removal, showing desirable recovery and control, demonstrating positive plasticity.

41
Q

How did Hubel and Weisel’s study support plasticity?

A

showing that the brain adapted to visual input loss in kittens, demonstrating reorganization and activity in the visual cortex of the opposite eye.

42
Q

Cognitive reserve, and how does it relate to functional recovery?

A

Cognitive reserve, based on education levels, is associated with increased neuroplasticity and higher disability-free recovery (DFR) rates.

43
Q

limitations of functional recovery after brain trauma?

A

Recovery is limited and may need therapies, like constraint-induced movement therapy, to regain motor function effectively.

44
Q

law of equipotentiality relate to functional recovery?

A

It allows secondary neural circuits near the damaged area to activate, supporting recovery of lost functions.

45
Q

role of axonal sprouting in recovery?

A

Axonal sprouting creates new synapses between damaged and healthy areas, aiding functional recovery.

46
Q

What is hemispheric lateralisation

A

Theory that each hemisphere of the brain is mainly responsible for certain behaviours, processes and activities

47
Q

How is visual information processed in the brain

A

Right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and processes information from the left visual field while the left side processes information from the right visual field

48
Q

Who conducted split brain research

A

Sperry and Gazzaniga (1968)

49
Q

Sperry and Gazzaniga (1968) - What were they trying to discover

A

Research on epileptic patients who had undergone brain splitting to prevent seizures by seperating the corpus callsoum

50
Q

Sperry and Gazzaniga (1968) - What did they find

A

If a word is presented to the right visual field, it’s processed by the left hemisphere (with language centers), allowing the patient to say the word. If presented to the left visual field, it’s processed by the right hemisphere, allowing the patient to write but not verbally describe it.

51
Q

: How did split-brain patients perform on matching faces?

A

The right hemisphere, which contains visuo-spatial centers, dominated the ability to match faces, demonstrating its role in visual processing and recognition.

52
Q

What happens when two words are presented simultaneously to each visual field?

A

The patient says the word in the right visual field (processed by the left hemisphere with language centers) and writes the word from the left visual field (processed by the right hemisphere with visuo-spatial centers).

53
Q

What happens when two words are presented simultaneously to each visual field?

A

The patient says the word in the right visual field (processed by the left hemisphere with language centers) and writes the word from the left visual field (processed by the right hemisphere with visuo-spatial centers).

54
Q

Explain the findings on recognizing objects placed into hands in split-brain patients.

A

Objects in the right hand (left hemisphere) were not recognized due to lack of visuo-spatial centers. Objects in the left hand (right hemisphere) could be identified and matched with similar objects.

55
Q

What did split-brain research contribute to understanding hemispheric functions?

A

emonstrated clear lateralisation: the left hemisphere specializes in language (analyser), and the right hemisphere specializes in visuo-spatial tasks (synthesiser).

56
Q

How did split-brain research contribute to discussions on lateralisation theories?

A

research supported the “dual mind” concept, where each hemisphere represents different aspects of the mind, sparking debate about the physiological and theoretical basis of brain function.

57
Q

Pucetti’s (1980) criticism of Sperry and Gazzaniga’s research?

A

Pucetti argued that the concept of split-brain lateralisation was oversimplified, noting cases of left-handed split-brain patients with speech processed in the right hemisphere, which contradicts traditional lateralisation predictions.

58
Q

Why is it important not to overly simplify hemispheric lateralisation?

A

Some split-brain patients recruit homologous areas on the opposite side of the brain, suggesting that hemispheric functions are not strictly divided as left for language and right for visuo-spatial tasks.

59
Q

What are Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)?

A

ERPs are brainwaves triggered by specific events, isolated by filtering out extraneous activity from EEG data, useful for studying attention and perception.

60
Q

What are the strengths of fMRI scans

A

Strengths include high spatial resolution and no ionizing radiation.

61
Q

What are some Limitations of FMRI scans

A

poor temporal resolution, with about a 5-second delay between neuronal activity and the image produced

62
Q

How do EEG scans work, and what are they commonly used for?

A

EEGs measure and amplify electrical activity across the brain via scalp electrodes, helpful in studying sleep stages and diagnosing epilepsy due to its high temporal resolution.

63
Q

limitation of post-mortem brain examinations?

A

incorrectly assume that observed brain differences directly caused neurological issues, ignoring factors like drug use, stress, or genetics.

64
Q

circadian rhythms

A

biological cycles that complete in approximately 24 hours, like the sleep-wake cycle, influenced by both internal clocks and external factors (e.g., light).

65
Q
A

Pyschology (8 decks)

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