Biopsychology Flashcards
What two parts is the nervous system split into
Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
What is the PNS split into
autonomic and somatic nervous systems
What is the ANS split into
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
What is the CNS made up of
the brain and spinal cord
What is the spinal cord responsible for
reflex actions and involuntary movements
What are the four main lobes in the brain
frontal lobe
parietal lobe
temporal lobe
occipital lobe
What does each lobe process
frontal - reasoning and logic
parietal - integrates sense info
temporal - auditory info
occipital - visual info
What is the PNS’s job
to relay nerve impulses to and from the CNS to the rest of the body
What does the somatic NS do
carry sensory info from the outside to the brain and provides motor responses
made up of sensory receptors
What is ANS’s job
homeostasis, and actions are mostly agnostic
only motor neurons
What are agnostic actions
actions that work in opposition to each other
What does sympathetic do
fight or flight - increases heart rate
dilates pupils and bronchi
What does parasympathetic do
rest and digest - decreases heart rate
What is the endocrine system in charge of
body processes that happen slowly
What is the nervous system in charge of
body processes that happen fast
What do the adrenal glands do
release adrenalin into the bloodstream which constricts blood vessels to the stomach, increases heart rate and blood pressure
What do pituitary glands do
controls the release of hormones from all other endocrine glands
What do the ovaries do
release progesterone and oestrogen for menstrual cycle
What is the nervous system made up of
neurons
What part of the neuron receives the message
the dendrite
Which part of the neuron sends the message away
the axon
What is the area between the myelin sheath called
the nodes of Ranvier
What is the role of the nodes of ranvier
speed up rate of transmission by forcing impulse to jump
What are the types of neurons
motor, sensory and relay
What is the function and the length of sensory neurons
carries messages from the PNS to the brain and spinal cord
long dendrites short axons
What is the function and the length of relay neurons in the CNS
transfer messages from sensory to other relay or motor neurons
short dendrites and short or long axons
What is the function and the length of motor neurons
carries messages from the CNS to effectors
short dendrites long axons
in the reflex arc, a stimulus is picked up by sense organs in which NS
peripheral nervous system
Describe the pathway of a stimulus in the reflex arc
sensory neuron pathway to CNS
Relay neuron in CNS
Motor neuron
effector
What do neurotransmitters allow
communications between neurons
Where are chemicals released in the synapse
synaptic vesicle in the presynaptic neuron
What do the chemicals do (3 ways)
they bind to receptors on the post synaptic neuron
or they are metabolized by an enzyme
or they are taken back up into terminal buttons of the pre synaptic neurons through the process of reuptake
What is an inhibitory neurotransmitter
a NT that will make it less likely that the next neuron will fire
What is an excitatory NT
a NT that will make it more likely that the next neuron will fire
What is the action potential
an explosion of electrical activity when a stimulus causes the resting potential to move forward
Why does fight or flight include beta bias
Taylor (2000) found that women tend to tend and befriend in stressful situations
Who studied the freeze response as an opposition to fight or flight
Gray (1998)
we freeze and become hyper vigilant to assess the situation
Why is fight or flight a maladaptive response in modern day
useful for ancestors
intense bio response that can cause damage to our bodies if repeated regularly such as narrowing of blood vessels = heart disease
What is localisation
specific areas of the brain are associated with particular physical and psychological functions
Who changed the holistic theory
Broca and Wernicke
Which side of the brain controls the left hand side of the body
right
Is the brain symmetrical
yes
What is lateralisation
the dominance of one hemisphere for particular physical and psychological
Where is language lateralised
left hemisphere
What is aphasia
inability to understand (Wernicke’s aphasia) or produce speech (Broca’s aphasia)
What are the three concentric layers of the brain
the central core
the limbic system
the cerebral cortex
What structure does the central core contain
the hypothalamus
What does the hypothalamus do
homeostasis
What does the limbic system do
controls our emotions
What structure does the limbic system contain
hippocampus
What does the hippocampus do
memory
Why does our cerebral cortex differentiate us from other animals
it is more developed
What structure does the cerebral cortex contain
corpus callosum
What is the corpus callosum
a bundle of nerves that allows messages to be sent from one hemisphere to another
What are the four lobes
occipital, frontal, parietal and temporal
What does the frontal lobe do
awareness of environment
What does the occipital lobe do
vision
What does the parietal lobe do
sensory and motor movements
What does the temporal lobe do
auditory ability and memory acquisition
What is the motor area responsible for
controls voluntary movements
What is the somatosensory area responsible for
touch/receptors
What separates the motor and somatosensory area
central sulcus
What is the visual area responsible for
vision
What is the auditory area responsible for
analysing speech based information
What is Broca’s aphasia characterised by
slow, laborious speech
Where did Broca find language to be
frontal left lobe
Where did Wernicke find language comphresion to be
left temporal lobe
What is Wernicke’s aphasia characterised by
nonsense words (neologisms)
Why is the Phineas Gage case study a positive evaluation of localised function
as he lost most of his frontal left lobe, and his personality switched which suggested this part of the brain was responsible for regulating mood
Explain why brain scan studies are a positive evaluation for localised function of the brain
Peterson (1988) found that Wernicke’s area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task
it is a highly sophisticated and scientific method
Why are not all cognitive functions localised
Lashley (1950) suggested that basic motor and sensory functions are localised but not high mental functions
suggested that localised function was affected by the extent of damage and not the location as othe rparts of the brain can take on new tasks
research into rats and ability to go round maize after parts of brain removed
What did Lashley call the reorganising of the brain
Law of equipotentiality or plasticity
Why does the brain change and adapt
as a result of new learning and experience
When does the brain experience rapid growith
infancy
What grows in infancy and is double the amount of an adults
synaptic connections
What is it called when rarely used connections are deleted and regularly used connections are strengthened
synaptic pruning
What is this process of the brain changing called
plasticity
Name and explain a plasticity study
Maguire et al (2000)
MRI scans on london taxi drivers
found more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus
this area is used for spatial and navigation skills
Evaluate Maguire’s study
control group allows us to say there is a significant difference
scientific method used
cant be sure the difference is from knowledge as they may have become taxi drivers because of the existing difference
What can happen to the brain after physical trauma eg infection
unaffected areas can compensate for damage and the function is recovered
What is functional recovery also known as
neural plasticity
What happens to the brain during recovery
it is rewired by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage and secondary neural pathways that are not usually specialised are unmasked to enable functioning to continue
What are the structural changes in functional recovery
axon sprouting
reformation of blood vessels
recruitment of homologous areas
What is axon sprouting
new nerve endings grow and connect with undamaged areas
What is recruitment of homologous areas
where the same area on the opposite hemisphere takes over functions
What are the positive evaluations of plasticity
practical application - understanding plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation
movement therapy and electrical stimulation can help those who need to recover after trauma
Hubel and Wiesel (1963) found that after sewing a kittens eye shut the brain continued to process the info of the open eye
What are the negative evaluations of plasticity
negative plasticity can occur, where the rewiring can be maladaptive
Medina et al (2007) drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning
60-80% of amputees experience phantom limb pain due to cortical reorganisation
Why is the brain contralateral
as the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body
Who looked into split brain research
Sperry
What did Sperry do
severed the corpus callosum to treat resistant epilepsy `
Explain a split brain research study
Sperry
quasi experiment
looking at split brain p’s hypothetically compared to normal p’s
What were the visual results from this study
left visual field showed nude picture
would blush and laugh but couldnt say why
What were the tactile findings from the study
lvf shown a word and left hand could pick up the right object
because lvf to right motor cortex to left hand, right hand receives no info
Which hemisphere is dominant for facial recognition
right
Explain the strengths of brain lateralisation
uses highly specialised and standardised procedures
Sperry developed a very clever, useful and controlled procedure
Explain the issues with brain lateralisation
issues with generalisation as only a unique sample of epilepsy patients were tested and the control may have been inappropriate
differences in function may be overstated as both hemispheres can perform functions when the situation requires it
What are 4 ways we can investigate the brain
fMRI
EEG
ERPs
Post mortem examinations
What does fMRI do
Detects changes in the blood oxygenation and flow as a result of neural activity in specific parts of the brain
Wha response is fMRI looking for
haemodynamic response
What does an fMRI produce
a 3D image showing parts of the brain involved in particualr mental processes
What does EEG do
Measures electrical activity within the brain
How is EEG done
through placing electrodes on the scalp of a patient
What does EEG record
brainwave patterns from neurons
What is EEG used to diagnose
epilepsy and tumours
What does ERP meassure
general brain activity
What is ERP used for
psychology tests looking into stimulus in performance tasks
What are the 3 positives of fMRI
doesnt rely on radiation
non invasive = risk free
high spatial resolution making it good to localised functions
What are the 3 negatives of fMRI
very expensive
poor temporal resolution
must be completely still
What are the 3 positives of EEG
able to diagnose conditions
helps us understand sleep cycles
high temproal resolution
What is the negative of EEG
poor spatial resolution
What are the 2 positives of ERP
high temporal resolution
makes up for EEG limitations
What are the 2 negatives of ERP
lack of standardisation in methodology
must be absolute silence - not easy to achieve
What are the 2 positives of post mortem examination
Broca and Wernicke relied on this
help improve medical knowledge
What are the 2 negatives of post mortem examination
causation not easily established
ethical issues as not often informed consent
What is a circadian rhythm
biological rhythms that occur over a 24 hour period
What is a biological rhythm
patterns of changes in body activity over cyclic periods
What is an ultradian rhythm
biological rhythms that occur more than once cycle in 24 hours
What is a infradian rhythm
biological rhythms that occur less than once in a 24 hour period
What are endogenous pacemakers
Internal body clocks that regulate biological rhythms
What are exogenous zeitgebers
external cues that influence our biological rhythms
What does circadian rhythm regulate
sleeping and feeding patterns, alertness, body temp
What are the two most important hormones that the circadian rhythm governs
melatonin (sleep)
cortisol (anti stress sugar)
What is the endogenous pacemakerin the brain
suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
What is a study that supports circadian rhythms
Siffre 1962
spent 2 months in a cave without natural sound or light
circadian rhythm still was 25 hours
What study backs up siffre and also suggests that a rhythm is longer than 24 hours
Aschoff and Wever 1976
4 weeks in a bunker
all but 1 had rythms of 25 hours, 1 being 29 hours
Discuss Folkard et al 1985 study
in cave for 3 weeks
researxhers sped up clock so 24 hours was now 22
only 1 could adjust to new pattern
suggests a strong circadian rhythm cannot be overrun easily by external cues
When does core temperature reach its minimum
4:30am
Name a practical application of circadian rhythms
should shift work
early work causes disruptions/desynchronisation
night workers go through a cricadian trough at 6am - could lead to mistakes
sleep/wake cycle may have economic implications on productivity
Name another practical application of circadian rhythms
drug treatments
peak times of day or night when they’d be most effective
Name some limitations of circadian rhythms
individual differences (Czeislar et al 1999)
night owls and early birds/larks preference
poor control in studies as artificial lights were still used
Name 2 infradian rhythms
menstrual cycle
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
How often does the menstrual cycle come
every 28 days and governed by hormones
Name the study to do with menstrual systems
McClintock (1998)
endogenous system but may have exogenous factors such as synchronising with other women
68% of women synched with odour donors
What is SAD
a depressive disorder
aka winter blues
What hormone governs SAD
melatonin as it is produced in the dark and can affect when serotonin is released
Which hormone governs menstrual cycle
oestrogen and progesterone
What other type of rhythm is SAD
circannual rhythm
Why is menstrual synchrony an evolutionary benefit
as if women menstruated at the same time and fell pregnant at the same time then their children could be collectively cared for, increasing chances of survival
Why is menstrual synchrony and its evolutionary benefit questioned
its validity is questioned by Schank (2004)
he argued that there would be too much competition for the best males at the same time so offspring wouldnt be the best
What is the practical application of SAD
phototherapy used as it resets melatonin levels
works on 60% of sufferers (Eastman et al 1998)
Name an ultradian rhythm
sleep cycle
How many stages of sleep are there
5
Explain stages 1 and 2
sleep escalator
brain waves start to become slower and more rhythmic
can be easily woken
Explain stages 3 and 4
slow wave sleep
harder to wake someone up
What type of waves are in stages 1 and 2
alpha and theta
What type of waves are in stages 3 and 4
delta waves
Explain stage 5
REM sleep
paralysed body but mind just as active as being awake
dreams occur here
Name evidence and a study for sleep stages
Dement and Kleitman (1957)
EEG recorded
looked at effects of alcohol and caffeine
REM = dreaming
p’s woken during REM could accurately recall dreams
replicated well but small sample size
What are the three main focusses of endogenous pacemakers
SCN, pineal gland, melatonin
What does SCN stand for
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
Where is the SCN and what does it do
most important EP in mammals
in the hypothalamus
regulates circadian rhythms
Where does the SCN get info from
light from the optic nerve constantly
What is entrainment
when our EZ resets our EP so we maintain a 24hr cycle
What does the pineal gland do
controls production of melatonin according to its light sensitive cells
light levels fall = melatonin increases
induces sleep by inhibiting brain mechanisms that keep us awake
Explain a EP study
DeCoursey et al (2000)
destroyed SCN connections in 30 chipmunks the returned them to the wild
80 days, most had been killed
suggested they were awake when they should have been asleep and vulnerable to predators
many ethical issues
what is free running
when the body clock runs without any influence from EZ
What is an exogenous zeitgebers
external factors in the environment that reset our biological clocks
What process does EZ do this through
entrainment
NAme two key EZ
light
social cues
What does light reset
the SCN
What processes does light have an effect on
sleep/wake cycle
secretion of hormones
blood circulation
Who found that light can change a sleeping pattern even when not shone on the eyes
Campbell and Murphy (1998)
At what age does circadian rhythms start in babies
6 weeks
At what age are most babies entrained
16 weeks
What is shown as an effective way to beat jet lag
adapting to local eating and sleeping rather than listening to needs
Why is research for EP’s unethical
DeCoursey et al
animals exposed to considerable harm and subsequent risk
dont know if we learn enough for this to be worth it
cannot generalise animal findings to humans
Why might the influence of EZ be overstated
Miles et al (1977)
blind man had 24.9 hour sleep cycle
no amount of social cues coukd change it
artic people who live in constant sunlight show normal sleeping patterns
What are the methodological issues in EZ studies
Campbell and Murphy
not been replicated
p’s believed to had some exposure to light in eyes
confound variable
