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psychology alevel > biopsychology - everything > Flashcards

biopsychology - everything Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the function of the central nervous system

A

receives information from the senses and controls behaviour and regulation of the body’s psychological processes

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2
Q

what is the central nervous system composed of

A

the brain and spinal cord

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3
Q

what is the function of the hypothalamus

A

controls basic functions such as hunger, thirst, sexual behaviour and also controls the pituitary gland

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4
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system

A

part of the nervous system that is outside the brain and spinal cord, connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body and external environment

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5
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system made up of

A

autonomic and somatic

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6
Q

what is the somatic nervous system

A

controls voluntary movements

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7
Q

what is the autonomic nervous system

A

regulates involuntary actions such as body temperature, homeostasis, heart rate, digestion, blood pressure

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8
Q

what are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system

A

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

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9
Q

what is the sympathetic nervous system

A

involved in responses which help to deal with emergencies e.g fight or flight

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10
Q

what is the parasympathetic nervous system

A

relaxes an individual once an emergency has passes

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11
Q

what do the brain and spinal cord do

A

brain makes decisions and the spinal cord helps the brain communicate with the body

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12
Q

what is a sensory neurone

A

convey informations about sensory stimuli e.g vision, taste, touch

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13
Q

what is a motor neurone

A

conveys instructions for physical operations e.g muscle movement

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14
Q

what is a relay neurone

A

connects different parts of the central nervous system (in the brain)

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15
Q

what is an excitatory synapse

A

makes nerve impulse more likely to be triggered

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16
Q

what is an inhibitory synapse

A

makes nerve impulses less likely to be triggered

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17
Q

what are hormones

A

chemical messengers secreted from structures (glands) in the body which pass through the bloodstream to cause changes in our body or behaviour

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18
Q

how are hormone levels controlled

A

by the endocrine system

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19
Q

what is the adrenal medulla

A

hormone = adrenaline and noradrenaline
fight or flight response, increase heart rate and blood pressure

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20
Q

testes

A

hormone = testosterone
male sex characteristics

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21
Q

ovaries

A

hormone = oestrogen
female sex characteristics, the menstrual cycle and pregnancy

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22
Q

pineal gland

A

hormone : melatonin
sleep wake cycle

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23
Q

what is the pituitary gland

A

the master gland that controls the release of hormones from the other glands

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24
Q

what is a threat recognised by

A

the amygdala

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25
Q

what is the amygdala

A

almond shaped structure in the brain, responsible for emotional responses and communicates with the hypothalamus

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26
Q

what is an acute stressor

A

short term stressors e.g chased by a lion

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27
Q

what is a chronic stressor

A

long term stressor e.g stressful job

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28
Q

what is the sympthatho-medulla pathway

A

amygdala informs the hypothalamus of the danger and arouses the sympathetic nervous system. The hypothalamus alerts the adrenal medulla to release either adrenaline or noradrenaline

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29
Q

what effects do the fight or flight response have on the body

A

saliva flow decreases
pupils dilate
digestion slows down
deep quick breathing
heart beats faster
chills and sweating

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30
Q

what happens once a acute stressor has passed

A

the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in, balances and reverse the excitation

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31
Q

what happens if the stress does not pass

A

the body cannot survive in fight or flight mode so the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Axis

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32
Q

what is the process of a chronic stressor

A

the hypothalamus activates the HPA by releasing CRH, the pituitary gland releases ACTH, the adrenal cortex releases cortisol, stored glucose is turned into glycogen giving the body more energy and the immune system is repressed

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33
Q

what is localisation of function

A

the theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activates

34
Q

what is the motor cortex

A

responsible for voluntary motor movements

35
Q

where is the motor cortex

A

at the rear of the frontal lobe along a bumpy region known as the pre central gyrus, both hemispheres have a motor cortex with the motor cortex on one side of the brain controlling the opposite side of the body

36
Q

what is the somatosensory cortex

A

detects sensory events from different areas of the body e.g touch, pressure, pain and temperature

37
Q

where is the somatosensory cortex

A

in the parietal lobe along a region known as the postcentral gyrus, both hemispheres have one

38
Q

what are the visual centres

A

visual processing actually begins in the retina, where light enters and strikes the photoreceptors, nerve impulses from the retina are than transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve, some nerve impulses are involved in the coordination of circadian rhythms but most terminate in an area of the brain called the thalamus which acts as a relay station, passing information on to the visual cortex

39
Q

where is the visual centres

A

at the back of the brain

40
Q

what are the language centres

A

Broca’s area and Wernickes area

41
Q

what is Broca’s area

A

responsible for language production

42
Q

where is Broca’s area

A

in the posterior portion of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere

43
Q

what is Wernickes area

A

responsible for understanding language

44
Q

where is Wernickes area

A

posterior portion of the left temporal lobe

45
Q

what supports language centres

A

aphasia studies

46
Q

what are aphasia studies and how do they support language centres

A

aphasia refers to an ability (or impaired ability) to understand or produce speech as a result of brain damage, expressive aphasia is an impaired ability to produce language caused by brain damage in Broca’s area, receptive aphasia is an impaired ability to understand language, an inability to extract meaning from spoken or written words resulting from brain damage in Wernickes area

47
Q

what is a limitation to localisation

A

communication may be more important, areas of the brain are interdependent in the sense that in order to work they must interact with each other, therefore damage to the connection results in impairments that resemble damage to the localise brain region associated with that specific function

48
Q

what is the equipotentiality theory (Lashley, 1930)

A

basic motor and sensory functions are localised but higher mental functions are not, Lashley removed areas of cortex in rats that were learning a maze, no area was found to be more important than another in solving the puzzle therefore learning seems to require all areas

49
Q

limitation to localisation involving plasticity

A

brain damage patients who have lost a specific function can regain functions through cognitive remapping or plasticity

50
Q

what is an fmri

A

functional magnetic resonance imaging, has a very strong magnetic field and tracks the flow of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood

51
Q

how do fMRIs work

A

when a part of the brain is being used the fmri shows the rush of blood towards that part of the brain which means we can identify which brain areas are active due to the on-rush of oxygenated blood

52
Q

what is the evaluation of fMRIs - strengths

A

non invasive

53
Q

what is an eeg

A

electroencephalogram, measures patterns of electrical activity

54
Q

how does an eeg work

A

placing small electrodes on the scalp which are able to detect electrical impulses by nerve cell activity, the frequency and amplitude of the waves shown tell us about brain activity, most often used in sleep research

55
Q

evaluation of an eeg

A

non invasive, good temporal resolution so brain activity represented quickly but it is unreliable spatial resolution

56
Q

what is an erp

A

event related potentials, same process as eeg but looks at a stimulus response relationship, looking for action potential caused by a specific event

57
Q

evaluation of an erp

A

useful for showing cause and effect between stimulus and response but unreliable spatial resolution

58
Q

what is a post mortem

A

physical examination of brain after death, looking for abnormalities e.g tumour, relative size of the area, chemical analysis

59
Q

evaluation of post mortems

A

useful for unique cases of brain damage, gives information brain scans can’t but can’t be used to infer cause and effect, has to be dead

60
Q

evaluation of an fmri - limitations

A

has poor temporal resolution so there is a short delay between activity and representation on the scan, the patient must be very still for an accurate measure so not suitable for children or patients who cannot stay still,

61
Q

what is plasticity

A

the brains tendency to change as a result of experience and new learning

62
Q

what is functional recovery

A

when the brain looses ability such as language it is able to recover that ability over time, an example of plasticity

63
Q

what is bridging or synaptogenesis

A

new synapses are made as neurons grow new axons to connect to other neurons. The more connections, the more abilities the brain has.

64
Q

what is pruning or apoptosis

A

synaptic connection that are not used are destroyed to make the brain more efficient

65
Q

what is neuronal unmasking

A

after damage to an area, the function may be regained by activating a previously dormant area. For example, recruitment of homologous areas in the opposite hemisphere, meaning that the undamaged equivalent in the other half of the brain becomes activated.

66
Q

what are stem cells

A

a medical treatment where unspecialised cells can be transplanted to the area and become the type of cell needed (e.g. brain cell)

67
Q

strengths for bp and fr

A
  • Maguire – London black cab drivers had significantly greater density in their posterior hippocampus, compared to non-taxi driver controls. Thought to be due to their practice with spatial navigation and memory.
  • Patient JW – a split-brain patient who was able to gain the ability to speak from his right hemisphere. Supports plasticity and demonstrates recruitment of homologous areas in the opposite hemisphere.
68
Q

limitations of bp and fr

A
  • Individual differences – Schneider found that participants with university-level education were significantly more likely (7x) to experience functional recovery than participants with high school-level education. Suggests functional recovery doesn’t work the same for everybody.
  • Difficult to establish causality – for example, in Maguire’s taxi driver study. For example, perhaps their greater posterior hippocampus volume (and associated benefit to their spatial navigation) is what made them well-suited to be taxi drivers.
69
Q

what are fMRIs

A

Measures blood flow using magnets. More activity in a brain area will lead to reduction in oxygen, so more oxygen will be transported to that area. Can ask person to do certain tasks whilst being monitored, and oxygenated blood flow is tracked.

70
Q

strengths of fMRIs

A

High spatial resolution – is able to establish localisation of function in a living person

71
Q

limitations of fMRIs

A

Not a direct measure so lacks temporal resolution – there will be a delay between the brain activity and the rush of oxygenated blood response

72
Q

what are eegs

A

Measures electrical activity using electrodes on the scalp. Can tell a lot from the frequency (speed) and amplitude (size) of the waves produced (alpha, beta, theta, delta). Often used for sleep research.

73
Q

strengths of eegs

A

Can test in real time (high temporal resolution), as it is a direct measure of neural activity

74
Q

what are limitations of eegs

A

Poor spatial resolution – the scalp is a good conductor, so it is not clear exactly where the brain activity is happening

75
Q

what are ERPs

A

Similar to EEG, but focuses on one small electrical change in the brain. Person is asked to complete the same task over and over again, and researchers identify the recurring brain activity – this helps to reduce the ‘noise’ of other activity

76
Q

strengths of ERPs

A

Very specific measure and is direct – has excellent temporal resolution and can establish stimulus-response

77
Q

limitations of ERPs

A

Needs lots of trials, which limits the type of task being asked – for example, would be difficult to present ‘funny’ or ‘scary’ stimulus dozens of times with the same effect

78
Q

what are post mortems

A

Thorough examination of the brain after death. Can then correspond the features of the brain with different traits of the person during their lifetime.

79
Q

strengths of post mortems

A

Detailed analysis, can be more thorough, e.g. weighing areas

80
Q

limitations of post mortems

A

Retrospective. Can’t see cause and effect – for example, the cause of death could affect the brain

psychology alevel (27 decks)

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