Biopsychology

Question 1

How do neurons ensure that impulses are unidirectional?

Answer 1

Receptors for the neurotransmitters are only on the post-synaptic membrane, impulses can only travel only in one direction

Question 2

How are neurotransmitters removed from the synaptic cleft?

Answer 2

They’re either taken back by into the pre-synaptic neuron or they’re broken down by enzyme action

Question 3

What are excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters?

Answer 3

Excitatory - increase the likelihood of an impulse being triggered in the post-synaptic neuron
Inhibitory - decrease the likelihood of an impulse being triggered in the post-synaptic neuron

Question 4

Give an example of an excitatory NTM

Answer 4

Acetycholine: involved in voluntary movement, memory, learning and sleep. Too much is linked to depression, too little is linked to dementia.

Question 5

Give an example of an inhibitory NTM

Answer 5

GABA: too little is linked to anxiety disorders.

Question 6

Give the three steps of the fight or flight response

Answer 6

1. Initial shock response - hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the ANS.
2. The adrenal medulla of the adrenal glands is stimulated: noradrenaline and adrenaline are released into the bloodstream
3. Physical effects ensue: perspiration, breathing, blood pressure and heart rate increase.

Question 7

What is Broca’s area responsible for?

Answer 7

Speech production

Question 8

What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?

Answer 8

Understanding and comprehending language

Question 9

How are the two hemispheres connected?

Answer 9

Corpus callosum

Question 10

Where are Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas in most people?

Answer 10

Left hemisphere

Question 11

What is the left hemisphere primarily responsible for?

Answer 11

The bulk of language functions, aswell as logic, analysis and problem solving.

Question 12

What is the right hemisphere primarily responsible for?

Answer 12

Spatial comprehension, emotion and facial recognition.

Question 13

Outline Sperry

Answer 13

Aim: to investigate the effects of split brain surgery
Procedure: combo of case studies and experiments. 11 ppts who had undergone split brain surgery as a result of epilepsy were used, aswell as a control group. In one exp., ppts covered one eye and looked at a fixed point on a projection screen. Pictures were projected onto the right or left of the screen at high speeds so there was no time for eye movement.
Results: pictures on the right - ppts could say or write what it was. Pictures on the left - ppts couldn’t say or write what they’d seen, but they could select a corresponding object with their left hand, without knowing why.
Conclusion: evidence for hemispheric lateralisation of function

Question 14

What is brain plasticity?

Answer 14

Refers to the brain’s ability to restructure and reorganise function in response to the environment.

Question 15

How does plasticity work?

Answer 15

New info makes new neural pathways form. Using a neural pathway strengthens it - the more a pathway is used the stronger the connections between the neruons become. Pathways that aren’t used become weaker.

Question 16

What is one study that supports the idea of plasticity?

Answer 16

Maguire et al (2000)

Question 17

How did Nudo et al find evidence for plasticity?

Answer 17

Nudo et al mapped the motor cortex of adult monkeys before and after training in a task that mainly required working with digits. They found that cortical representation of the digits in the motor cortex increased.

Question 18

What does functional recovery mean?

Answer 18

When brain damage results in loss of function, the brain can rewire itself; healthy areas of the brain surrounding the damaged area begin to take over the function.

Question 19

What is constraint-induced movement therapy?

Answer 19

After a stroke, patients are prevented from using their non-affected side, to encourage re-learning.

Question 20

What are the advantages of CIMT?

Answer 20

• Numerous studies have shown that CIMT produces cortical reorganisation which has resulted in regained or improved function.
• CIMT can be applied to Broca’s aphasia sufferers: instead of communicating in other ways, patients are made to try and speak.

Question 21

What are the disadvantages of CIMT?

Answer 21

• CIMT can be very frustrating for the patient.
• CIMT must be very intensive to work, patients must train for several hours a day and their wokring limb is restrained for 90% of the time.
• CIMT is most effective in those who have suffered moderate or mild strokes.