Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two divisions of the nervous system?

A

Central nervous system (CNS)
Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the 2 subdivisions in the peripheral nervous system?

A

Somatic
Autonomic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What types of neurone are there?

A

Sensory
Relay
Motor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is the function/structure of the sensory neurone?

A

Carry messages from the PNS (peripheral nervous system) to CNS (central nervous system). Will often have long dendrites and short axons.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the function/structure of the inter/relay neurone?

A

Help to connect the sensory neuron to the motor neuron. Often have a short axon and short dendrites.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the function/structure of the motor neurone?

A

Help to connect the nervous system to effectors such as muscles and glands. Often have short dendrites and a long axon.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What are neurotransmitters and what do they do?

A

Chemicals that diffuse across the synapse to the next neurone in the chain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is excitation and inhibition?

A

Neurotransmitters effect on neighbouring neurons. Inhibition with serotonin causes the neuron to be less positively charge and less likely to fire.
Excitation with adrenaline increases the positive charge resulting in it being more likely to fire.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What does the endocrine system send signals with?

A

Glands and hormones

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the function of the endocrine system?

A

To regulate the amount of each hormone being released.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What are the two subdivisions of the endocrine system?

A

Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the central nervous nervous system split into?

A

Cerebral cortex
Spinal cord

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system control?

A

Vital organs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does the somatic nervous system control?

A

Muscle movement
Senses

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How can signals be transmitted in synaptic transmission?

A

Chemically and Electronically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the function of dendrites?

A

To carry impulses from neighboring cells towards the cell body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Give examples of neurotransmitters

A

Dopamine
Serotonin
Acetylcholine

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What does the fight or flight response include the role of?

A

Adrenaline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What does the theory of localisation of function in the brain refer to?

A

Certain areas of the brain have certain tasks to which they perform.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What are supports for localisation of function in the brain?

A

Post-Mortems
Brain scans

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are the 6 types of information which are processed in the brain?

A

Language
Comprehension
Visual information
Sensory information
Movement information
Semantic and episodic information

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Where is the Brocas area found?

A

In the middle of the temporal lobe.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What did Paul Broca (1880’s) find?

A

A small area in the left hemisphere of the frontal lobe is responsible for speech production.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

How did Paul Broca find his conclusions?

A

By conducting post mortems on people whom had lost the ability to speak.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What were Paul Brocas findings?
Found damage consistently in a certain area of the brain in people who had lost the ability to speak.
26
Where is the Wernickes area found?
To the right if the Brocas area.
27
What is the Wernickes area said to do?
Controls the comprehension of language.
28
What does having a damage to the Wernickes area mean for the person?
They can produce speech upon hearing it but they are completely unable to understand what they had heard meaning they tend to produce completely nonsensical language.
29
What evidence is there for brain scans?
+ Peterson et al (1988) - used brain scans to show activity of Wernickes area when listening and Borcas area when reading. + Tuvling et al (1994) found semantic and episodic memory to be stored in different areas of prefrontal cortex. + Braver et al (1997) found the WMM in the left prefrontal cortex increased in activity as the task difficulty did.
30
What does neuroplasticity refer to?
Our brains ability to change and adapt.
31
What happens to our synapses when we are infants?
Our brains establish which are needed and which aren't (synaptic pruning) eg unused neurones discarded higher frequency ones strengthened. Infants have approximately 15,000 more synapses than adults.
32
What does Maguire et als study tell us?
That London taxi drivers who are required to remember routes have highly developed posterior hippocampus area. Showing structural changes in the brain would occur in response to learning.
33
Which study showed higher development in the parietal cortex?
Mechelli et al (2004) noticed bilingual people to have higher development than monolingual people.
34
What did Daganski et als study show?
Medical students brains to have an increase in development of posterior hippocampus compared to pre studied. Showing structural changes in the brain would occur in response to learning.
35
What is axonal sprouting?
When the growth of a new nerve ending connects with an undamaged nerve forming neuronal pathways.
36
What did Hubel and Wiesel (1963) do?
Sewed a kittens eye shut
37
What did Hubel and Wiesel (1963) find?
After scanning the brain for activity they found that the area that would be used for that eye was still active and processing information from the other eye.
38
What does plasticity of function of the brain refer to?
Refers to the brains malleability to change its structure.
39
What did Schneider et al (2014) show?
People who have received higher education gained a larger cognitive reserve.
40
What is functional recovery of the brain?
When the brain suffers damage to a specific area where key functions are located and it relocates that required function to another area.
41
\which function is only present in the left hemisphere of the brain?
Language
42
Who conducted research into the split brain?
Sperry 1968
43
What were Sperrys 1968 experiments aims
To demonstrate that hemispheres have different functions/abilities.
44
What type of experiment did Sperry conduct?
Natural experiment.
45
Who were Sperry's participants?
11 male participants who were epileptic and had undergone commisectory
46
Why do Epileptics have brain hemispheres medically separated?
To prevent fits by stopping electrical signals that caused the fits being passed from one side of the brain to the other?
47
What was Sperry's (1968) procedure?
Subject has one eye covered and gazes at a fixation point on an upright translucent screen and then given different tests.
48
What were 2 tests were given to participants in Sperry's (1968)?
Visual stimuli test Tactile stimuli test
49
What was the procedure in the visual stimuli test by Sperry (1968)?
Slides are projected either side (or both) of the fixation point at a rate of one per 1/10 second. They then had to say or write what they saw.
50
What was the procedure in the tactile stimuli test by Sperry (1968)?
Objects are presented to left or right hand (or both) behind screen. They must post feel or draw objects (with left hand)
51
What evaluation points are there for Sperry's research?
+ Demonstrations of lateralised brain functions + Strengths of the methodology - Theoretically bias
52
What is meant by theoretical bias over Sperry's research?
A weakness of Sperry's research is that it is often considered to be theoretically bias. This is a weakness as his work prompted a theoretical and philosophical debate about the degree of communication between the two hemispheres in every day functioning and nature of consciousness. To furtherly criticise some theorists have suggested that the two hemispheres are so functionally different that they represent a form of duality in the brain and therefore we are all 2 minds. However other researchers have argued that both hemispheres form a highly integrated system and are both involved in most everyday tasks.
53
What is meant by the strengths of the methodology over Sperry's research?
A strength of Sperry's research is that it has strong methodology. This is a strength as it involved split-brain patients which made use of highly specialised and standardised procedures. To furtherly strengthen Sperry's procedure his method of presenting information to each hemisphere was spread across both sides of the visual field and subsequently both sides of the brain. Therefore this allowed Sperry to vary the aspects of the basic procedure and ensure that only one hemisphere was receiving information at a time.
54
What is meant by demonstration of lateralised brain functions as a conclusion for brain functions?
A strength of Sperry's research is that it demonstrates clearly the brains functions once lateralised. This strength is apparent as his conclusions showed the left hemisphere to be more focussed on analytic and verbal tasks while the right is more adapt to perform spatial tasks and music. To furtherly strengthen we can say that the right hemisphere only produces rudimentary words and phrases and can contribute emotional and holistic content to that language. Sperry's research is a key contribution to the understanding of the brains processes and their locations.
55
What processes are done in the left side of the brain?
Language Speech Writing Calculation Time sense Rhythm Ordering of complex movements
56
What processes are done in the right side of the brain?
Nonverbal Perceptual skills Visualisation Recognition of patterns, faces, melodies Recognition of expression of emotion Spatial skills Simple language comprehension
57
What methods do we have to study the brain?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Electroencephalogram (EEGs) Event related potentials (ERPs) Post mortem examinations
58
How do post-mortem examinations work?
Oldest method of studying the brain. After a person dies who had brain abnormalities their brain is removed and dissected to allow researchers to establish areas of the brain which differ from a healthy brain. Notes are then made over multiple cases until patterns begin to emerge.
59
What is a benefit to post-mortem examinations?
+ First method developed and led to investigations into the brain for theist 100 years. Both Broca's and Wernicke's area were discovered from post-mortem.
60
What weaknesses are there to the use of post-mortems?
- Requires the participant to be dead which prevents analyses of a functioning brain. - Other techniques show brain activity in a living brain which assists in establishing cause and effect in post post-mortems we cannot do this.
61
What do EEGs record?
Record the electrical waves of activity which occur in the brain.
62
How is an EEG conducted?
Electrodes placed on different areas of a persons scalp which are filled with conductive gel, this is then plugged into a recording device.
63
How is an ERP conducted?
Electrodes placed on different areas of a persons scalp which are filled with conductive gel, this is then plugged into a recording device.
64
How does an EEG work?
The brains electrical waves are attracted by the electrodes which travel to the recording device which are then amplified so they can be seen and examined easier.
65
How does an ERP work?
The brains electrical waves are attracted by the electrodes which travel to the recording device which are then amplified so they can be seen and examined easier.
66
What can an EEG be used to record?
To examine brain functions during different sleep stages and also different psychological disorders.
67
What is the main difference between an ERP and EEG
In ERP (event related potentials) is that a stimulus is presented to the participant in ERP.
68
What strengths can be used for both EEG and ERP?
+ Much cheaper in comparison with fMRI] + Both techniques are non invasive as they do not use radiation + Good temporal resolution as readings are taken every millisecond.
69
What weaknesses can be used for both EEG and ERP?
- Can be highly uncomfortable for the participant especially over night - Bad spatial resolution as cannot detect small measurements. - Not as accurate as multiple regions of the brain are often active simultaneously.
70
What does fMRI measure?
Blood flow in the brain when a person performs a task and works by assuming that neurons in the brain which are most active during a task use the most energy.
71

Psychology (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions