Biopsychology

Question 1

What is a biological rhythm?

Answer 1

Biological rhythms are fluctuations in an organism that correspond to and is in response to environmental change

Question 2

What are the three types of biological rhythm?

Answer 2

Circadian- the cycle length is about 24hours

Infradian- cycle length is longer than 24 hours

Ultradian- cycle length is less than 24hours

Question 3

What are the two types of factors influencing biological rhythms and give examples?

Answer 3

Endogenous- Internal factors ie. endogenous pacemakers- biological clocks in the brain controlling rhythms.

Exogenous- External factors, i.e. exogenous zeitgebers- environmental stimuli help regulate biological rhythms in the outside world.

Question 4

Talk about the role of SCN’s in circadian rhythms

Answer 4

the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) located in the hypothalamus. This pacemaker can be constantly reset so our bodies are in line with the outside world.
It coordinates activities from exogenous factors

Question 5

Talk about the role of light in circadian rhythms.

Answer 5

Light provides the primary input to this system by setting the body clock. Light- sensitive cells in the eye act as brightness detectors sending messages about environmental light levels directly to the SCN via the optic nerve.

Question 6

Talk about the first step in the sleep-wake cycle.

Answer 6

In the morning, the cells in the eye detect light and so messages are sent to the SCN to raise our body temperature and blood preassure. It also delays the bodys release of melatonin from the pineal gland cauing us to feel awake.

Question 7

Talk about the second step in the sleep- wake cycle.

Answer 7

As the sun disappears, the messages cool our body temperature and lowers blood preassure as well as releasing melatonin, signaling its time to sleep.

Question 8

What is the process of Michel Siffre’s study?

Answer 8

Psychologists have investigated what happens when a person is free of external cues such as time.

Michel Siffre went to live in a cave for 7 months, where he couldn’t tell the time and had no natural light.

Question 9

What did they find out from siffre’s study?

Answer 9

They found that his sleep/ wake cycle lengthened to 24.9 hours and he reported the time passed quickly.

Question 10

What do the findings of Michel Siffre’s study show?

Answer 10

This shows that circadian rhythms persist despite isolation from natural light which demonstrates the existance of an endogenous clock.

However, it also shows that external cues are important as the clock was not entirely accurate and varied from day to day. So therefore, external cues entrain our endogenous pacemakers.

Question 11

Talk about Aschoff and Wever’s process.

Answer 11

55 participants were deprived of natural light whilst spending 4 weeks in an underground
bunker. The researchers found that “all subjects showed free-running circadian rhythms, with the 12 average periods of wakefulness and sleep ranging from 23.9 to 50.0 hours. 36 subjects remained internally synchronized during the whole experiment”.

Question 12

What do Aschoff and Wever’s study show?

Answer 12

these findings demonstrate that although the free-running circadian rhythm is more than
24 hours long, as a society we have specific exogenous zeitgebers which entrain the rhythm to
conform to a 24 hour cycle.

Question 13

What does Aschoff and Wever support?

Answer 13

Support Siffre as reliable

Question 14

What is the downside to Siffre’s study?

Answer 14

CASE STUDY:
Although Siffre conducted
multiple isolation studies, his results may not be able to be generalised to the wider population, especially as individual differences in the duration and stages of circadian rhythms has been shown, hence his results may lack ecological validity.

Question 15

Talk about the Mutant Hamster Study

Answer 15

Bred hampsters so they had a circadian rhythms of 20 hours insted of 24. Their SCN’s were than transplanted into normal hampsters resulting in mutant rhythms. This suggests the SCN is the basis of endogenous pacemakers and circadian rhythms.
However, extrapolation is limited

Question 16

What is the menstural cycle?

Answer 16

The menstrual cycle occurs approximately every 28 days governed by monthly changes in hormone levels which regulate ovulation. The cycle refers to the time between the first day of a woman’s period to the day before her next period.
The menstrual cycle is an endogenous rhythm but research shows it can be effected by external cues.

Question 17

Talk about the process of the menstural cycle.

Answer 17

1. The pituitary gland releases FSH and LH, which causes the release of oestrogen. This then inhibits the production of FSH and increases more LH
2. Rising levels of oestrogen cause the ovary to develop an egg and release it in a process known as ovulation.- This happens roughly halfway through the cycle for about 16-32 hours
3. After ovulation. the levels of progesterone increase which grows the womb lining readying the body for pregnancy
4. If pregnancy doesnt occur, the egg is absorbed and the womb lining comes away and leave the body leading to mensuration

Question 18

Talk about McClintock’s study.

Answer 18

McClintock got a number of women who either were about to ovulate or had just ovulated to wear a pad under their arm to absorb their sweat. These women were then given to other women to sniff. The menstrual cycles of these women were monitored to see if there was any effect. McClintock found that when women who were about to ovulate , their menstural cycle became shorter and when inhaled secretions from women who just ovulated, their cycles became longer.

Question 19

What does McClintocks study show

Answer 19

It shows that the cycle isnt only due to endogenous factors.

Question 20

Talk about McClintock’s evolutionary explanation

Answer 20

• This could be seen as having an evolutionary advantage as it ensures women in close proximity could consieve and birth at the same time which is beneficial as they could share breast feeding.
• Further research to support McClintock shows women in male dominated areas have a shorter menstural cycle which shows male pheromones reset womens biological clocks and increase ovulation- has an adaptive function as increases chances of reproduction

Question 21

What is SAD

Answer 21

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

This is a disorder affecting people in winter where they are depressed but recover in summer.) It is a yearly cycle so therefore infradian

Question 22

What causes SAD

Answer 22

Its caused by increased darkness leading to more melatonin being released. This means on the other hand that less seretonin is produced which is linked to depression.

Question 23

Talk about the real world applications of SAD

Answer 23

Real World Application- Phototherapy, this is when a person uses a 10,000 lux light in the morning to change the levels of melatonin and seretonin being produced. Sufferes say that this is enough light to relieve them of their depressive syndromes- shows that its regulated by light levels.

Question 24

Talk about the undermining research of SAD

Answer 24

Eastman et al.- found that the placebo effect could be at work in measuring the positive effects of phototherapy. They found that 32% reported improvement with the placebo light. This questions the effectivness of the light and shows it could be more psychological then others.

Question 25

Talk about a different explanation of SAD

Answer 25

Also, SAD could be explained differently in that it may not be infradian. Psychologists say that it could be due to a disrupted circadian rhythm similar to a set lag as we tend to go to sleep earlier in winter putting our rhythms out of phase.

Question 26

Talk about the sleep cycle

Answer 26

Psychologists have found five stages of sleep that together span around 90 minuites and repeates itself over the course of the night. They are characterised by a different level of brainwave activity.

Question 27

Talk about the 5 stages of sleep

Answer 27

Stages 1 and 2- these are the light sleep stages where a person can be easily waken. Brainwave patterns as slower, alpha waves becoming even slower as sleep becomes deeper- theta waves Stages 3 and 4- These involve delta waves which are slower with a greater amplitude. This is slow wave sleep. Stage 5- This is the deepest form of sleep where the body is essentially paralised but brain activity speeds up significantly. REM sleep occurs here which stands for rapid eye movement where dreaming takes place.

Question 28

Talk about EEG's

Answer 28

This is a research method which depicts brain activity through electrical activity occuring on the surface of the brain. The electrical charge is maintained by neurons to produce a readout on a screen appearing as waveforms of varying frequency and amplitude.

Question 29

talk about supporting evidence for EEG's

Answer 29

Dement and Kleitman- Monitored the sleep patterns of nine participants in a sleep lab using EEG machines. They. found evidence for stages of sleep specifically REM sleep. They also found evidence of cycles of sleep as REM occurred regularly in a 90 minute cycle Participants woken during REM sleep reported dreams 80 to 90% of the time. The dreams were recalled in great detail and included visual images. This suggested that sleep is an ultradient rhythm as our brain cycles through different phases.

Question 30

Talk about criticism for sleep cycles

Answer 30

Methodological Criticism- Sleep in a laboratory may be qualitatively different from sleep in a person's own bed. So the study lacks ecological validity.

Question 31

Talk about BRAC

Answer 31

Basic Rest Activity Cycle (BRAC)- Psychologists suggest a similar 90 minute rhythm cycle continues during waking hours. This includes. a period of alertness followed by a spell of physiological fatigue. Research suggests that the human mind can focus for about 90 minutes. The body begins to run out of resources, resulting in a loss of concentration fatigue and hunger

Question 32

What is localisation of Function?

Answer 32

Localisation of function is the idea that certain areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes and activities. This means that if a certain area of the brain becomes damaged due to injury or illness, the function associated with that area is also affected.

Question 33

What is lateralisation?

Answer 33

The Brain is divided into two symmetrical halves called the left and right hemisphere. Some of our physical and physiological functions are dominated by a particular hemisphere Activity on the left hand side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere and vice versa.

Question 34

What is the Cerebal Cortex?

Answer 34

The outer layer on both hemispheres. It is split into four lobes

Question 35

Talk about the frontal lobe.

Answer 35

Frontal Lobe- This containes the motor area, (both hemispheres) which controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body.

Question 36

Talk about the Parietal Lobe

Answer 36

Parietal Lobes- They contain the somatosensory area which is where sensory information from the skin is represented.

Question 37

Talk about the Occipital Lobe

Answer 37

Occipital Lobe- This holds the visual area which holds information from both eyes. Each eye sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex.

Question 38

Talk about the Temporal Lobe?

Answer 38

Temporal Lobe- This houses the autitory cortex which analyses speach based information

Question 39

Talk about the language area of the brain- Broca's area

Answer 39

Language is restricted to the left hemisphere in most people. In 1880, Paul Broca identified a small area of the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production. Damage to this area says speech becomes slow and lacking fluency. This became known as the Broca’s area.

Question 40

Talk about the language area of the brain- Wenicke's area

Answer 40

Around the same time, Karl Wenicke was describing patents who had no problem producing language, but had problem understanding it. This lead to the finding of the Wernicke’s area, a small region in the left temporal lobe.

Question 41

Evaluate Lateralisation- brain scanning evidence

Answer 41

Brain Scanning Evidence- Peterson et al used brain scans to demonstrate how the Wernicke area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task, suggesting these areas have different functions. Also in Tulvings study of Long-term memory, found that semantic and episodic memories are active in different sections of the prefrontal cortex

Question 42

Talk about the Neurosurgical evidence of lateralisation.

Answer 42

Neurosurgical Evidence- The practice of surgically removing areas of the brain control ascpecys of behaviour. Early attempts of a lobotomy were brutal and typically involved severing connections in the **frontal lobe** in an attempt to control aggressive behaviour. This still exists today, contreversially, to control extreme cases of OCD or depression. For example a report on 44 OCD patients who went through similar precidures showed that after 32 weeks, a third had met their criteria and 14% had a partial response. This strongly suggests behaviours are associated with serious mental disorders are localised

Question 43

Talk about case study evidence of lateralisation

Answer 43

Phinneas Gage- whilst trying to blast a section of rock to create a new railway, Gage dropped his tamping iron into the rock causing the explosive to explode and hurl the metre long pole through his left cheek, behind his eye and exiting his skull. This damaged most of his brain mainly the frontal lobe. However, he survived, but his personality switched from someone who was calm and reserved to a short-tempered, rude man. This shows that behaviour can be infuenced by lateralisation. However, Due to the study being a case study, the conclusions are only based on one person which limits generalisability

Question 44

What is Plasticity?

Answer 44

The brain is described as having plasticity- This refers to the brains tendency to change and adapt, both functionally and physically, as a result of experience and new learning. As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened in a process known as cognitive pruning. This shows that the brain is continually changing.

Question 45

Talk about Maguire.

Answer 45

Taxi Driver study: AIM- to investigate weather or not the hippocampus plays a role in human spatial memory. Various ages of taxi drivers with differing experiences were compared against a group of non-taxi drivers of the same age and gender. MRI scans were used to find how the brains of taxi drivers compared to non-taxi drivers. They found that Taxi drivers showed significantly more grey matter in both the left and right hippocampus compared to the control group. This supports plasticity as the longer theyve been a taxi driver, the greater the volume of the hippocampus.

Question 46

Weakness of Maguire

Answer 46

However, the study may lack validity as the difference in the taxi drivers hippocampus may have always been there which is wh they chose a job where navigation skills were important.

Question 47

What is Negative Plasticity?

Answer 47

Prolonged drug use has been shown to result in poorer cognitive functioning as well as increased dementia. 60-80% have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome. These sensations are usually unpleasant and painful. This provides proof that the brain modifies itself while this way is undesirable.

Question 48

What is functional Recovery?

Answer 48

This is a form of plasticity following damage to trauma. The brain can redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area to another area. The transfer of functions to undamaged areas is known as neural reorganisation, and it explains how people recover. New neurons may grow to compensate for the damaged areas where neurons are lost. This is known as neural regeneration (axon sprouting). When the brain is maturing, recovery from trauma is more likely because maturing brains are constantly adapting to more experiences and learning.

Question 49

Talk about evidence to support functional recovery?

Answer 49

Grouped rats with traumatic brain injury to one of two groups. 1 group received transplants of stem cells into the region of the brain affected by traumatic injury. The control group received a solution infused into the brain containing no stem cells. Three months after the brain injury, the brains of stem cells rats showed clear development of neuron-like cells in the area of injury. This was a. accompanied by a solid stream of stem cells migrating to the brain sight of injury - Ethical issues - hard to generalise

Question 50

Talk about Sperry's Split-brain research.- introduction

Answer 50

Sperry's studies involved a unique group of individuals of whom had undergone the same surgical procedure in which the corpus colossum and other tissues which connect the two brain hemispheres were cut down the middle in order to separate the two hemispheres and control frequent and severe epileptic seizures. This meant that for these split brain patients, the main communication line between the two hemispheres was removed. This allowed Sperry and his colleagues to see the extent to which the two hemispheres were specialised for certain functions, and whether the hemispheres performed task independently from one another.

Question 51

Talk about Sperry's initial procedure

Answer 51

He devised a general procedure in which an image or word could be projected to a patient's right visual field, and the same or different image could be projected to the left visual field. in the normal brain, the corpus callosum would immediately share the information between both hemispheres, giving a complete picture of what the visual word was. However, presenting the image to one hemisphere of a split brain patient meant that the information could not be conveyed from that hemisphere to the other.

Question 52

Talk about Sperry: describing what you see

Question 53

Two main divisions of the nervous system

Answer 53

- Peripheral nervous system - Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)

Question 54

Somatic nervous system

Answer 54

- part of PNS - unlike Autonomic, it is responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from CNS

Question 55

Describe synaptic transmission

Answer 55

-process by which a nerve impulse passes across the synaptic cleft from one neuron to another (pre to post synaptic)

Question 56

What are hormones?

Answer 56

The body’s chemical messengers. They travel through the bloodstream, influencing many different processes including mood and the stress response.

Question 57

Describe autonomic nervous system

Answer 57

- part of PNS - controls brain’s involuntary activities -self-regulating (autonomous) - further divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Question 58

Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Answer 58

- antagonistic pair during ‘fight or flight’ and ‘rest and digest’ Sympathetic: increases heart rate, breathing rate, pupil dilation Parasympathetic: decreases heart rate, breathing rate, pupil constriction

Question 59

Endocrine system

Answer 59

Main chemical messenger system of the body, where hormones are secreted into the bloodstream from glands, and are then transported towards target cells in the blood, with complementary receptors. Pituitary gland considered to be ‘master gland’.