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Psychology > Biopsychology AO1 > Flashcards

Biopsychology AO1 Flashcards

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1
Q

(TNS) what is the nervous system

A

Body’s main communication system which is very fast acting. Nerve cells pass info around the body through electrical signals and chemicals using neurons and neurotransmitters.

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2
Q

(TNS) diagram of the nervous system

A
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3
Q

(TNS) what is the function of the CNS

A

pass messages to the Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

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4
Q

(TNS) what is the function of the PNS

A

Sends info to CNS from the outside world and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body

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5
Q

(TNS) what is somatic nervous system

A

controls conscious movement and receives info from CNS for muscle movement. made of myelinated neurons

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6
Q

(TNS) what is the autonomic nervous system

A

responsible for control of the bodily functions that aren’t consciously directed. transmits info to and from internal bodily organs and is made of unmyelinated nerve fibres

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7
Q

(SAFON) diagram of a neuron

A
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8
Q

(SAFON) diagram of a neuron

A
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9
Q

(SAFON) structure and function of a sensory neuron

A

short axon, long dendrite. carry messages from the PNS to the CNS. not all messages go to the brain which allows reflex action

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10
Q

(SAFON) structure and function of a motor neuron

A

short dendrites, long axon. connect the CNS to effectors such as muscle and glands

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11
Q

(SAFON) structure and function of a relay neuron

A

short dendrite, short axon. connect sensory neurons to the motor or relay neuron. only found in brain and spinal cord

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12
Q

(ST) what is synaptic tansmission

A

process where 1 neuron communicates with another by releasing neurotransmitters to diffuse across the synapse

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13
Q

(ST) what is an action potential

A

it is a positive electrical impulse that goes down the axon

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14
Q

(ST) STAGE 1 of synaptic transmission

A

The action potential travels down the axon of the pre synaptic neuron

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15
Q

(ST) STAGE 2 of synaptic transmission

A

action potential reaches terminal buttons and causes vesicles to migrate and bond with pre synaptic membrane. this triggers the release of neurotransmitters

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16
Q

(ST) STAGE 3 of synaptic transmission

A

neurotransmitters diffuse across the synapse and bind with post synaptic receptors like a lock and key

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17
Q

(ST) STAGE 4 of synaptic transmission

A

once neurotransmissions are activated, the receptors produce wither excitatory or inhibitory effects on the post synaptic neuron

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18
Q

(ST) STAGE 5 of synaptic transmission

A

neurotransmitters are then released back into the synapse and go through the process of reuptake or they get metabolised

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19
Q

(N) function of serotonin

A

regulates mood and is mainly inhibitory

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20
Q

(N) function of dopamine

A

pleasure, addiction, motivation and movement

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21
Q

(N) function of gaba

A

Calm, high levels cause more focus and low levels cause more anxiety. GABA IS ONLY INHIBITORY

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22
Q

(N) what is inhibition

A

Off switches in the nervous system. responsible for calming the mind and body. negative charge at the post synaptic membrane created IPSP

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23
Q

(N) what is excitation

A

the on switches for the nervous system. EPSP

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24
Q

(N) what is summation

A

net sum of total IPSP’s and EPSP’s total which determines whether or not the cell fires.

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25
Q

(ES) what is the endocrine system

A

communication system

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26
Q

(ES) is the endocrine system faster than the nervous system

A

much slower than nervous system but still has powerful effects

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27
Q

(ES) what is a hormone

A

chemical substance that circulates in the bloodstream and affects the target organs.

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28
Q

(ES) what does the hypothalamus do

A

connects to pituitary gland. responsible for the release of hormones from pituitary gland

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29
Q

(ES) what effects do hormones have

A

they can affect cells in several organs leading to a diverse range of organs.

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30
Q

(F or F) role of adrenaline in the f or f

A

->when person sees threat ,amygdala sends signal to hypothalamus
->hypothalamus activates. sympathomedullary pathway
->also activates sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system
->sympathetic branch stimulates adrenal medulla to release adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream

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31
Q

(F or f) Which brain region is involved in sensing danger, and what is the name of the pathway which is
activated by it?

A

The amygdala. This is your body’s threat sensor. If it alerts that there is a threat then it
will activate a sequence of events. (The sympathomedullary pathway)

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32
Q

(F or f) What are the steps of the SAM pathway?

A

Hypothalamus activates sympathetic nervous system which triggers adrenal medulla which releases adrenaline and noradrenaline which facilitates the fight or flight response.

33
Q

(F or f) How does the nervous system and endocrine system work in parallel together ?

A
  1. The amygdala sends distress signals to the hypothalamus which activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
    • The ANS changes from its resting state (parasympathetic) to the physiologically aroused (sympathetic)
  2. This triggers the adrenal medulla to release the stress hormone adrenaline into the blood stream
    • The hormone adrenaline triggers physiological changes in the body e.g. increased heart rate which prepare the body for the fight or flight response
  3. Once the threat has passed the parasympathetic NS returns to body to its resting state (rest and digest)
34
Q

(F or f) List 5 effects of the role of adrenaline

A

Increased heart rate, more rapid breathing, blood sugar is released into bloodstream, vasoconstriction of vessels to the digestive system, increase in sweating

35
Q

(Lof) What does localization of function mean?

A

Functions such as movement, speech and memory are performed in distinct regions of the brain.

36
Q

(Lof) how does this contrast to the holistic view

A

Holistic theory is contrasting because it believes that the brain worked holistically whereas the theory of localisation believes all parts of the brain are involved in the processing of thought and action.

37
Q

(Lof) what are the 4 lobes in the brain

A

Frontal lobe // Parietal lobe // Temporal lobe // Occipital lobe

38
Q

(Lof) Who were 2 neurosurgeons known for identifying areas of the brain associated with speech processing?

A

Broca and Wernicke were the first to provide scientific evidence for the idea of localisation of function. It follows that if a certain area of the brain becomes damaged through illness or injury, the function associated with that area will also be affected.

39
Q

(Lof) What is Broca’s aphasia, and how is it caused?

A

Speech that is slow, laborious and lacking in fluency. He demonstrated speech production is localised in the left posterior frontal lobe.

40
Q

(Lof) What is Wenicke’s aphasia, and how is it caused?

A

He focused on patients who had difficulties in upnderstandinf speech but they could produce it. He identified an area in the left posterior temporal lobe as being responsible for language comprehension.

41
Q

(Lof) How is the case of Phineas Gage seen as evidence for the localisation of function?

A

Worked on railroads in 1848. Got into an explosion and a 1m length rod into his head that went through his frontal lobe. Gage survived however he wasn’t seemed to be the same person which gave scientists the link between the brain and personality.

42
Q

(Lof) role of frontal lobe

A

Motor area. Responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles in the body. Damage in the area leads to a failure of the function causing muscles not to work appropriately.

43
Q

(Lof) role of parietal lobe

A

Somatosensory area. Receives incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pressure, pain, temperature. Different parts of the somatosensory area receive messages from different locations of the body

44
Q

(Lof) role of occiptal lobe

A

Visual area. Receives and processes visual information. The visual area contains different parts that process different types of information including colour, shape or movement.

45
Q

(Lof) role of temporal lobe

A

Auditory area. Responsible for analysing and processing acoustic information. The auditory area contains different parts , and the primary auditory area is involved processing simple features of sound

46
Q

(Lof) role of left frontal lobe

A

Broca’s area. Responsible for speech production.

47
Q

(Lof) role of left temporal lobe

A

Wernicke’s area. Responsible for language comprehension.

48
Q

(HL) What does hemispheric laterlisation mean?

A

The idea that 2 hemispheres of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other, for example language

49
Q

(HL) What is the difference between localisation and lateralisation?

A

Localisation is the identification of function in a specific region of the brain e.g. the production of speech is localised to Broca’s area. Whereas lateralisation is the identification of a function in one hemisphere e.g. the right hemisphere specialised in visual-spatial processing and facial recognition.

50
Q

(HL) Which hemisphere processes the left visual field

A

Right hemisphere

51
Q

(HL) Which hemisphere processes the right visual field?

A

Left hemisphere

52
Q

(HL) Where does the left visual field project to on the retina?

A

To the nasal retina of the left eye and the temporal retina of the right eye

53
Q

(HL) Which part of the retina sends information to the contralateral hemisphere?

A

The nasal retina

54
Q

(HL) Which part of the retina does not send information to the contralateral hemisphere, and where is it sent?

A

Information from the temporal retina does not cross to the contralateral hemisphere, and instead sent to the ipsilateral hemisphere (same side)

55
Q

(HL) At which point is the visual information combined, and which structure is involved?

A

Once the information reaches the cortex, it is shared across hemispheres via the corpus callosum

56
Q

(HL) Where does the right visual field project information to?

A

To the nasal retina of the right eye and the temporal retina of the left eye

57
Q

(HL) What happens to visual information if the corpus callosum is severed?

A

Each hemsiphere will only have information from the contralateral visual field (from the temporal retina)

58
Q

(HL) Which hemisphere is language largely processed in?

A

Left

59
Q

(HL) Which hemisphere are faces and facial emotion processed in?

A

Right

60
Q

(HL) Who conducted experiments on split-brain patients?

A

Roger Sperry

61
Q

(HL) What do we mean by ‘split-brain’ patients?

A

Surgery for intractable epilepsy involved severing the corpus callosum to prevent the spread of electrical discharge – this is known as a commisurotomy, preventing communcation between the hemispheres

62
Q

(HL) What was Sperry’s experiment?

A

He used a divided field task, in which patients would look ahead a dot located centrally on the screen, and then visual information would be presented to the left or right visual field for 0.1 seconds. Underneath the screen was a table, in which participants could feel, but not see objects.

63
Q

(HL) Why was the visual stimulus presented so briefly?

A

So that participants could not orient their head to the stimuus, which would then mean both hemispheres would receive the information

64
Q

(HL) What happened when visual information was presented to the right visual field and why?

A

Subjects would correctly recall the information, because language is processed in the contralateral left visual hemisphere

65
Q

(HL) What would happen when visual information was presented to the left visual field, and why?

A

Patients would report not seeing any information, because the stimulus was processed by the contralateral right hemisphere, which does not have access to verbal information, without the input of the left hemisphere

66
Q

(HL) What happened when participants were asked to recognise objects presented to the left visual field by touch

A

Participants were able to identify the objects by touch with their left hand, because the right hemisphere was able to process spatial information

67
Q

(HL) What happened when composite faces (composed of a female and a male face), and why?

A

The ppt would say ‘man’ but the left hand would select the woman. The left hemisphere had superior verbal description and the right superior matching a face to a picture.

68
Q

(HL) What do we conclude from work on split-brain patients?

A

• the left hemisphere is responsible for speech and language and the right hemisphere specialises in visual-spatial processing and facial recognition.
• It not shown that the brain is organised into discrete regions with specific sections responsible for specific task
• it suggests that the connectivity between the different regions is as important as the operation of the different parts

69
Q

(P+FR) what does plasticity mean with regard to the brain

A

Means the brain can change and adapt over time as a result of new experience and learning

70
Q

(P+FR) How does infant development demonstrate plasticity?

A

During infancy the brain experiences growth in the number of synaptic connections it has; peaking at around 15,000 per neuron at age 2-3 (Gopnick et al. 1999). This is twice as many connections per neurone as the adult brain.

71
Q

(P+FR) What is functional recovery

A

A form of plasticity where following damage from trauma the brain is able to redistribute functions normally performed by damaged areas to other undamaged areas

72
Q

(P+FR) Give 4 examples of how when environments are enriched or impoverished, it is reflected in brain plasticity

A
  1. Romanian orphans suffered conditions of neglect and understimulation.
    PET scans of their brains show hypometabolism in the temporal lobes,
    indicating lack of neural development.
  2. Davidson et al (2004) found that Tiebetan monks had increased gamma
    waves (coordinate neuronal activity) when meditating. This showing long
    term changes
  3. Rosenweig et al (1972) brains of the enriched rats were different from
    the impoverished rats; the neurons were larger, the cerebral cortex
    heavier and thicker.
  4. Boyke et al (2008) – there is a natural decline in cognitive functioning
    with age. Boyke found that 60year olds had increased grey matter in the
    visual cortex when learning to juggle. It decreased when they stopped
73
Q

(P+FR) Explain Maguire’s (2000) study: what was the aim, method, results?

A

Aim: the posterior hippocampus is associated with spatial and navigational skills. Maguire was interested in whether participants with extensive experience in the use of navigational skills would show increased brain volume in this region.
Method: 16 male right-handed taxi drivers were compared to 50 healthy right handed males who were not taxi drivers. The taxi drivers have to undergo extensive navigational training, known as ‘The Knowledge’ in order to become a licensed taxi driver. Using MRI, the volume of the hippocampus was compared between groups
Results: taxi drivers showed an increase in volume of the posterior
hippocampus, compared to healthy volunteers, and smaller anterior
hippocampus

74
Q

(P+FR) Why is a straightforward interpretation of Maguires findings complicated?

A

Results are correlation not cause. Ppts could’ve biologically had a larger posterior hippocampus therefore liked the idea of being a taxi driver to utilise this skill.

75
Q

(P+FR) Name 2 other studies that are consistent with the findings of Maguire

A

Draganski et al. (2006) imaged the brains of medical students 3 months before and after their final exams. Learning-induced changes were seen to have occurred in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal cortex, presumably as a result of studying for exams
• Mechelli et al. (2004) found a larger parietal cortex in the brains of people who were bilingual compared to matched monolingual controls

76
Q

(P+FR) How does functional recovery suggest plasticity?

A

Following physical injury or trauma such as stroke, unaffected areas of the brain
are often able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged.
Recovery is more likely at a younger age, where the potential for plasticity is
greater.The functional recovery that may occur in the brain after trauma is
another example of neural plasticity

77
Q

(P+FR) How can neural reorganisation occur?

A

This is where healthy brain areas take over the areas that are damaged. Through the recruitment of homologous areas when a homologous (similar) area of the brain on the opposite side is used to perform a specific task, for example the case of JW that developed language in the right hemisphere, where the homologous area in the right hemisphere of Broca’s area in the left
hemisphere, may take over its role in speech production

78
Q

(P+FR) What is neurogenesis?

A

The brain is able to rewire and reorganise itself by forming new neurons (neurogenesis) and/or synaptic connections close to the area of damage

79
Q

(P+FR) Name 3 structural changes related to plasticity.

A
  1. Axonal sprouting: growth of new nerve ending which connects with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways.
  2. Reformation of blood vessels
  3. Denervation super-sensitivity: axons become more responsive to compensate for the loss of adjacent neurons

Psychology (19 decks)

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