biopsychology exam questions

Question 1

briefly outline how excitation and inhibition are involved in synaptic transmission 4 m

Answer 1

• the action of neurotransmitters at synapses are either excitatory which make a nerve impulse more likely to be triggered which produces states of activity in the nervous system
• or they can be inhibitory which make a nerve impulse less likely to be triggered. E.g. GABA which produces states of relaxation.

Question 2

briefly evaluate research using split brain patients to investigate hemispheric lateralisation of function 4 m

Answer 2

• because split brain patients are so rare, findings such as sperry’s were often based on samples of 2 or 3 and these patients often had other neurological problems which might had acted as a confounding variable
• also, patients didn’t always have a complete splitting of the 2 hemisphere so the findings should be generalised with care

Question 3

outline the role of adrenaline in the fight or flight response 3/4 m

Answer 3

• adrenaline creates changes in the body such as a decrease in digestion but an increase in sweating
• adrenaline causes an increased pulse and higher blood pressure
• Adrenaline also leads to the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system and reduced activity in the parasympathetic nervous system

Question 4

briefly explain one function of the endocrine system 2m

Answer 4

• hormones are a part of the endocrine system and as they pass through the body they cause changes in our body or our behaviour

Question 5

outline one difference between the EEG and the ERPs

Answer 5

• EEG’s measures how electrical activity varies over time whereas ERPs measures small voltages of electrical activity when a stimulus is presented