Biopsychology P2

Question 1

Nervous system

Answer 1

Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. Communicates using electrical signals.

Question 2

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Answer 2

A division of the NS that…Consists of the brain and spinal cord and is the origin of all complex commands and decisions.

Brain: analyses and stores info and directs the actions of the body
Spinal Cord : relays info to and from the brain + responsible for reflex reactions

Question 3

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Answer 3

Transmits information…
from outside world -> to the CNS f
AND
transmits messages from the CNS -> muscles and glands in the body.

• broken into autonomic and somatic Ns

Question 4

Two features of the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Answer 4

Somatic Nervous System -> Enables us to respond to sensory information and to perform VOLUNTARY actions and movements.

Autonomic Nervous System -> Regulates INVOLUNTARY/ automatic functions such as heart beat, breathing, stress responses, sexual arousal and digestion. Can be divided into two further branches.

Question 5

Two divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System

Answer 5

Sympathetic NS -> Our physiologically aroused state. It is a division of the nervous system that controls fight or flight response when faced with stress (what is activated). It heightens arousal and alertness.

Parasympathetic NS -> Our normal resting state. It is a division of the nervous system that regulates organ and gland functions during rest. It will return the body to its normal resting state.

= the two systems interact to create homeostasis (a state of equilibrium)

Question 6

neuron

Answer 6

=Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals

(80% of all neurons are located in the brain)

Question 7

What are the three types of neurons?

Answer 7

sensory
-These carry messages from the receptor cells (in the PNS) to the CNS
-They have long dendrites and short axons
! REMEMBER SENSORY = BIG Pleasure = BIG D!

motor
- These connect the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands
- They have short dendrites and long axons
! opposite of sensory !

relay
- These connect the sensory neuron to the motor neuron or other relay neurons.
- Found in the brain/visual system/spinal cord
- They have short dendrites and short axons
! REMEMBER : Relay tables cos too short !

Question 8

cell body(soma)

Answer 8

includes a nucleus which contains the cells genetic material

Question 9

dendrites

Answer 9

protrude the cell body and carry nerve impulses from neighbouring neurons towards the axon terminal

Question 10

axon (and myelin sheath+ issue + nodes of Ranvier)

Answer 10

=carry impulses away from cell body down the length of the neuron
- the axon is covered in a fatty layer of myelin sheath which protects the neuron and speeds up electrical transmission of the impulse
- if the sheath was continuous, it would have a reverse effect and slow down the electrical impulse
Therefore…
Nodes of Ranvier ~> gaps between sheath which help speed up transmission of electrical impulses by allowing it to “jump” from node to node

Question 11

terminal buttons/axon terminals

Answer 11

at the end of the axon, and communicate with the next neuron across the synapse

Question 12

electrical transmission explained: how electrical impulses are caused

Answer 12

• resting state - neurons are negatively charged
  -when an impulse is received from dendrites of neuron, the inside of the cell becomes positively charged for a SHORT TIME
• this causes an action potential (electrical signal) to occur.
• this creates an electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron.

Question 13

Excitatory and Inhibitory effects + examples

Answer 13

Some Neurotransmitters have certain effects on their neighbouring neuron…
1) Excitatory -> neurotransmitters increase the positive charge so make neurons more likely to fire (on switches of NS)
- eg serotonin

2) Inhibitory -> neurotransmitters increase the negative charge so make neurons less likely to fire (off switches)
- eg adrenaline

! to inhibit is to prevent ~> so less likely to fire !

Question 14

action potential

Answer 14

electrical signal

Question 15

vesicles

Answer 15

a sac full of neurotransmitters

Question 16

Process of Synaptic Transmission (5 steps)

Answer 16

1 - Travel ->Action potential (electrical signal) travels through cell body, along axon, to axon terminal .
2 - Triggers -> Triggers vesicles to release neurotransmitters into synapse.
3 - Diffuse+Bind -> Neurotransmitter diffuse across synapse and bind to receptor cells of receiving neurons’ dendrites.
4 - Causes -> either an excitatory or inhibitory response, meaning the message has been transferred.
5 - Reuptake -> neurotransmitters re absorbed in the vesicles at pre synaptic neuron after transmitting a neural impulse

(TTDCR -> Two twins die causing riots)

Question 17

synaptic transmission def

Answer 17

transferring chemical messages from one neuron to another neuron across the synapse

Question 18

neurotransmitters

Answer 18

Chemicals released from vesicles that relay signals across the synapse from one neuron to another

• either perform an inhibitory or excitatory function

Question 19

summation

Answer 19

if the net effect is more excitatory than inhibitory, the subsequent neuron will fire

Question 20

endocrine system

Answer 20

A network of glands which produce and secrete chemicals called hormones to regulate the activity of cells and organs in the body (uses bloodstream to transmit hormones)

Question 21

hormones

Answer 21

chemicals produced and secreted by the glands of the endocrine system (travel via bloodstream) and regulate cells and organs in the body

Question 22

gland

Answer 22

an organ that synthesises substances such as hormones

Question 23

pineal gland
pancreas
pituitary gland (master gland)
ovaries
testes
adrenal gland

= these are glands, name their hormone and the hormones function

Answer 23

-pineal gland ->melatonin which induces sleep
-pancreas-> insulin and glucagon which regulate blood sugar levels
-pituitary gland -> LH + FSH (ovaries to produce oestrogen and -progesterone stimulate the testes to produce testosterone and sperm) Oxytocin (stimulates labour and plays a role in bonding)
- ovaries -> oestrogen which regulates menstrual cycle
- testes -> testosterone which develops the internal and external male genetilia and muscle growth
- adrenal gland -> adrenaline which is used for our fight or flight responses

Question 24

negative feedback

Answer 24

Once levels of a hormone have risen, the increase is registered and information is relayed back to cease the release of the hormone, consequentially reducing the levels of the hormone in the body.

Question 25

Flight of Fight response steps

Answer 25

= involves both the NS and ES
1) The amygdala and hypothalamus interpret the event as a threat (e.g feel like you are being watched in a dark alley)
2) The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch in the autonomic nervous system
3) This sends a message, via nerve cells, to the adrenal medulla in the adrenal glands (above kidneys).
4) The adrenal medulla secretes the hormone adrenaline into bloodstream
5) The adrenaline is detected by receptors of target cells of the bodies of organs (e.g heart). This results in a number of immediate physiological changes.

Question 26

Physiological changes in the body + reason (5)

Answer 26

• increased heart rate = to increase blood flow to organs and increase the movement of adrenaline around the body
• increased breathing rate = to increase oxygen intake
• pupil dilation = to increase light entry into the eye and enhance vision (particularly in the dark)
• sweating production = to regulate temperature
• reduction of non-essential function (such as digestion, urination and salivation) = to increase energy for essential functions

Question 27

localisation

Answer 27

specific areas of the brain are associated with specific internal mental cognitive processes

Question 28

Cerebrum

Answer 28

= the largest part of your brain.
- Divided into two hemispheres
- Contralateral: left hand side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere and vice versa
- Hemispheric lateralisation: some functions are controlled predominantly or solely by a particular hemisphere.
- Corpus Callosum: = bundles of nerve fibers that connect the two hemispheres of the brain

Question 29

cerebral cortex

Answer 29

The outer layer that lies on top of your cerebrum (Highly developed in humans).

Question 30

The lobes + functions

Answer 30

= The cerebral cortex of each hemisphere is divided into four lobes…

· FRONTAL LOBE: Speech, thought and learning, decision making.
· PARIETAL LOBE: Sensory information such as touch, temperature and pain, movement,numbers.
· OCCIPITAL LOBE: Visual information.
· TEMPORAL LOBE: Hearing, language and memory.

Question 31

Motor cortex (hemisphere, location, function)

Answer 31

• found in left and right hemisphere
• located at back of frontal lobe
  = responsible for planning and executing voluntary movement on opposite sides of the body

Question 32

Somatosensory cortex (hemisphere, location, function)

Answer 32

• found in both left and right hemisphere
• located at the front of parietal lobe
• sensory information detected by left hand side of body is processed by right somatosensory cortex and vice versa
  = responsible for processing and interpreting sensory information (e.g pain, pressure, temp and touch)

Question 33

Visual cortex (hemisphere, location, function)

Answer 33

• found in right and left hemispheres
• located at the back of occipital lobe
• visual processing occurs when nerve impulses from the eye are transmitted to the brain via optic nerve
• visual cortex in right hemisphere receives input from left visual field (LVF) and vice versa
  = processes visual information ( e.g locating objects, colour, shape and movement)

Question 34

What cortex’s are found in both the LH + RH?

Answer 34

• motor cortex
• somatosensory cortex
• visual cortex
• auditory cortex

Question 35

Auditory cortex

Answer 35

• found in left and right hemispheres
• located in temporal lobe
• information from right ear goes to the left hemisphere and vice versa
  = responsible for analysing and processing acoustic info (e.g sound, pitch, volume and tempo)

Question 36

Language Centre + research

Answer 36

• lateralised in LEFT HEMISPHERE ONLY
• found in two places…
  1) Broca’s area (FB- face book - frontal broca)
  = small area of left frontal lobe which is responsible for speech production
  *IF DAMAGED *-> Broca’s aphasia (Difficulty producing grammatical sentences and speech is limited to show utterances of less than four words however, can understand speech well)
• research conducted on Tan

2) Wernicke’s area (TW-trigger warning- temporal wernick)
= located in left temporal lobe which is responsible for speech comprehension
IF DAMAGED -> Wernicke’s Aphasia (Difficulty comprehending language but can produce sentences that are fluent/neologisms)

Question 37

Lateralisation vs Localisation

Answer 37

localisation: specific areas of the brain are associated with specific internal, mental processes.

lateralisation: the two halves of the brain are functionally different + certain mental processes/behaviours are mainly/solely controlled by one hemisphere.

Question 38

aphasia

Answer 38

an inability (or impaired ability) to do smt
-> eg wernickes/brocas aphasia : an inability to understand or produce speech as a result of brain damage

Question 39

Evaluation of LOF(pros)

Answer 39

1) Empirical method
- Due to advancement in technology, brain scanning techniques are used to assess areas which are active.
- Research found that Broca’s area was active during reading whereas Wernickes are was active during listening
- Therefore , due to being able to empirically observe the internal brain activity, LOF has scientific credibility and thus increases its validity and reliability as it is easier to replicate.

2) Phineas Gage case study
- Gages case study conveyed how brain damage can affect our behaviour
- His damage to the frontal cortex ordered his behaviour from charismatic and kind to violent and aggressive
- Therefore showing that localisation of function is correct and giving it value, due to having proof that brain damage to certain areas can affect our behaviour directly

Question 40

Evaluation of LOF (cons)

Answer 40

1) Ignores individual differences
- Research found that women have proportionally largerBrocas and Wernickes area than men
- This can perhaps explain the greater ease of language use amongst women
- Therefore localisation ignores the effect of individual differences on behaviour. This suggests it cannot be generalised to the wider population as it cannot determine cause-and-effect efficiently. (E.g How do we not know that other factors may cause certain behaviours, rather than simply localisation).

2) Reductionist
- More holistic theories contradicts localisation such as Lashley’s research
- Lashley proposed that the basic motor and sensory functions are localised but higher mental functions are not, And he stated several areas of the brain work together to perform a particular function is not just one specific region being responsible for one specific function
- When rats were learning to run a maze Lashley removed up to 50% of the cortex. Finding that no area was more important than another in affecting the rats ability to learn a maze
- Therefore suggesting localisation is too reductionist and does not take into account that certain areas of the brain may work together to perform specific functions.

Question 41

hemispheric lateralisation

Answer 41

Refers to the idea that the two halves of the brain are functionally different, and that certain mental processes and behaviors are mainly controlled by one hemisphere.
(e.g left hemisphere -> language
right hemisphere -> motor)

Question 42

Corpus Callosum (def, function, reason for cutting)

Answer 42

= Bundles of nerve fibers that connect the two hemispheres of the brain
- allows the two hemispheres to communicate
- cutting the corpus callosum is a treatment for epilepsy as it prevents electrical activity that accompanies epileptic seizures crossing from one hemisphere to another = split brain surgery

Question 43

Split brain surgery def

Answer 43

= Research that studies individuals who have been subjected to the surgical separation of the two hemispheres of the brain, as a result of severing the corpus callosum
- treatment for epilepsy

Question 44

Sperry’s research on split brain surgery (hemispheric lateralisation)

Answer 44

-11 sb patients and 11 non
- quasi exp as IV pre existing (whether ps had surgery or not)
-Asked to fixate their vision on a center point using a tachistoscope (a device that displays an image for a very short amount of time)
- items were presented to both/either the left or right visual field
- as they were presented for a short period of time, the item could only be seen by the visual field
- complete a series of tasks based on the visual information they had been shown

1) When asked to describe (lang)
- Items showed to RVF (processed by LH) could be correctly identified verbally by split brain patients.
- BUT items shown to the LVF (processed by RH) could not be correctly identified verbally, it was as if they never saw it!
- Therefore, suggesting language is lateralized on LH

2) When asked to draw (motor)
- When given a pencil in their left hand (processed by RH) they could consistently draw clearer and better than right hand (even if they could not verbalise it)
- Therefore, suggesting motor production is lateralised on the RH

3) Non-split-brain patients could correctly verbalise and draw at all times due to their corpus callosum being intact to allow communication between hemispheres

Question 45

Pros of hemispheric lateralisation

Answer 45

1) Controlled and standardised procedures
= Sperry presented visual information to one hemisphere/VF at a time, using a tachistoscope, which meant the participant had no time to move their eyes to the image to spread information across both visual fields. So information stayed on each hemisphere. Therefore, increased replicability.

2) Key evidence
= As the two hemispheres operate independently it is possible to isolate specific cognitive tasks to either the LH or RH to see which cognitive functions the participant can perform. Therefore, this led to a greater understanding of hemispheric lateralization (e.g LH= lang RH = motor)

Question 46

Cons of hemispheric lateralisation

Answer 46

1) Ungeneralisable
= Small sample of 11 very rare individuals. Therefore, any conclusions or inferences made about ‘typical’ brains may not be valid due to being based on unique individuals that do not represent the wider population (lacks population validity). Limiting the value of hemispheric lateralisation.

2) Reductionist
= Oversimplifies the differences between the functions of the two hemispheres. Many behaviors that are typically associated with one hemisphere, can in fact be performed by the other when situations require (holistic view). Therefore, the apparent flexibility of the two hemispheres suggests some of the conclusions drawn by Sperry are too simplistic.

Question 47

Biorhythm def

Answer 47

Cycles that influence our behaviour

Question 48

The three rhythms

Answer 48

Circadian Rhythm -> cycles that lasts 24 hours (e.g sleep-wake cycle)

Infradian Rhythm -> cycles that last longer than 24hours (e.g menstrual cycle/hibernation)

Ultradian Rhythm-> cycles that last shorter than 24 hours (e.g Stages of sleep 90mins) U=under (shorter)

Question 49

endogenous pacemaker vs exogenous zeitgeber + entrainment

Answer 49

endogenous pacemaker-> the body’s internal biological clock (eg scn)
exogenous zeitgeber-> external cues that affect our bodily rhythms (e.g light, activity etc)

entrainment-> a process of resetting the biological clock by using exogenous zeitgebers

Question 50

How endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers control sleep patterns? (neuropsychology of sleep)

Answer 50

1- SCN receives light info via optic nerve (even when eyes shut)
2- The SCN sends information on light intensity to pineal gland (located behind hypothalamus)
3- Pineal gland then stimulates or ceases the production of melatonin.
4- This regulates are sleep-wake cycle as melatonin is a sleep hormone

= This demonstrates that there is a lot of interaction between exogenous zeitgebers and endogenous pacemakers

Question 51

What is melatonin and what releases it

Answer 51

‘sleep hormone’ which regulates our sleep-wake cycle and is released by the pineal gland which is inactive during the day and later switched on at night

= high melatonin levels for 12 hours, until start of day

Question 52

example of an endogenous pacemaker

Answer 52

SCN-> A bundle of nerve cells located in the hypothalamus in each hemisphere of the brain

Question 53

examples of social cues

Answer 53

mealtimes and social activities, may also have a role as exogenous zeitgebers

Question 54

optic chaism

Answer 54

where nerve fibres connected to the eyes cross

Question 55

Importance of ways of studying the brain

Answer 55

Cognitive neuroscientists study the brain to provide important insights into underlying biological brain processes which underpin internal mental processes and behaviors.

Question 56

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRIs)
- what are they
- key ideas

Answer 56

= detect changes in blood oxygenation levels and blood flow to produce 3D images of the brain which map out the areas that are active in response to a task.

-uses a haemodynamic response: brain activity requires oxygenated blood, areas that are more active require more oxygenated blood therefore blood flow is directed to these areas
-this means we can draw inferences of certain mental processes from these areas lit up are and them being responsible for these tasks.

Question 57

Evaluations of fMRI’s

Answer 57

Pros:
1) Non-invasive
- Uses magnets, there is no insertion of instruments or harmful radiation is exposed to the brain this makes the procedure more ethical and safe.
2) High spatial resolution (approx 1mm)
- Can precisely identify regions of the brain which are active whilst participants complete an experimental task.

Cons:
1) Poor temporal resolution images
- 5 second time lag between neuronal firing and production of fMRI images. Therefore, you cannot identify the area active at the specific point the task is being completed at. So, fast brain processes, like vision, are less easily studied using fMRI’s.
2) Expensive
= The equipment to build an fMRI are very costly, meaning only well off hospitals can fund them. You must also stay perfectly still when using an fMRI in order for the image to be clear. This limits what you can study as you cannot use experiments that require movement from the participant.

Question 58

Electroencephalogram (EEG’s)
- what is it
- key ideas

Answer 58

= Uses a cap with electrodes (fixed onto scalp) to measure the electrical activity in the brain by detecting small charges recorded in brain wave patterns.
- can detect irregular (arrhythmic) patterns which may indicate underlying neurological abnormalities (e.g epilepsy)

Question 59

Evaluations of EEG’s

Answer 59

Pros:
1) High temporal resolution
- It can detect neuronal activity one millisecond after the neuron is fired. This provides instantaneous feedback on neuronal activity.
2) Non-invasive
- Electrodes placed on outside of brain so is an ethical procedure.
3) Useful in clinical diagnosis
- Easy to make comparisons of ‘typical’ electrical brain activity and ‘abnormal’ . Therefore, useful method to detect abnormal neural activity associated with conditions like epilepsy.
4) cheaper than fMRI and is portable so can be used outside of a lab

Con:
1) Low quality spatial resolution
- Because it represents the firing of millions of neurons, so it is unable to locate specific regions relating to electrical activity. Therefore, it is impossible to connect brain activity to specific tasks being completed, thereby limiting the amount of information that can be obtained.

Question 60

Event-related potentials (ERP’s)
- what is it
-key ideas

Answer 60

= Measures the electrical activity in the brain in response to a specific stimulus or event.
- It uses the same procedure as EEG’s but instead of producing a single presentation of a stimulus, it completes a smooth curved graph (from the stimuli being shown multiple times) that are then averaged together via ‘statistical averaging’
- This means any extraneous neural activity that doesn’t relate to the specific stimulus is cancelled out to reveal specific neural activity related to the specific stimulus.

Question 61

Evaluations of ERP’s

Answer 61

Pro:
1) High temporal resolution
- It can detect neuronal activity one millisecond after the neuron is fired. This provides instantaneous feedback on neuronal activity (uses EEG data)
2) isolate and study how individual cognitive processes take place in the brain, whilst EEGs record general brain activity.

Cons:
1) Only electrical activity occurring in the cerebral cortex is recorded
- This means brain waves in deeper regions cannot be assessed. Therefore, limiting the use of this method.
2) Requires a large number of trials (time consuming)
- Due to extraneous stimuli needing to be eradicated via statistical averaging, large numbers of trials will give meaningful data so these must be conducted. Therefore, difficulty being realistically applied.

Question 62

Post-mortem examinations
-what is it
-key ideas
- example

Answer 62

= Used to understand the underlying neurobiology of particular behaviour.
= Involves brain investigation via detailed analysis of an actual brain, after death.
-Unusual brains are dissected, such as those with mental disorders or trauma to be compared with neurotypical (healthy) brains.
- assessed to identify areas of damage/irregular structure to help link conditions patients suffered with and the region of the brain / any physical differences could be linked to behavioural differences

EXAMPLE:
- Broca’s research on Tan to identify the important area for speech production.
= Broca used post-mortem to analyse Tan’s brain. e found the left of the frontal lobe was damaged and linked this to Tan’s behavioural incapability to produce speech coherently. Therefore, linking the damaged part of the brain with being responsible for speech production. = then named it Broca’s area

Question 63

Evaluations of post-mortem examinations

Answer 63

Pros:
1) Detailed
- High spatial resolution as it allows for microscopic examinations of brain structures, down to a neuronal level. This is evidenced by psychological knowledge obtained (E.G the areas of the brain link to behaviour, memory or language.)
2) Understanding origins of conditions
- researchers have discovered structural abnormalities of brains found from changes in neurotransmitter systems. Therefore, helping to direct further research.

Cons:
1) Difficult to establish cause and effect
- e.g if structural abnormality was the reason for cognitive dysfunction
- because people die in a variety of circumstances, like disease, these factors can affect the postmortem brain. Therefore, this makes it difficult to draw valid conclusions.
2) Ethical concerns
- difficult to gain informed consent from participants that suffer from severe cognitive impairments. Meaning they may unwittingly become a subject against their will.

Question 64

Neuroplasticity + how it occurs(what this means)

Answer 64

Refers to the brains ability to change/adapt/develop overtime as a result of experience.
- occurs by reorganising existing neural pathways OR by creating new neural connections/pathways

• this means we know how to respond to similar situations next time AND it makes it possible for the brain to recover some cognitive functions after brain trauma

Question 65

Functional recovery

Answer 65

= The brains ability to recover cognitive abilities and mental processes that have been damaged as a result of brain injury or disease.
-Due to the brains plasticity, it is possible to relocate affected cognitive functions from the damaged area of the brain to an undamaged area in order to compensate for the lost function.

-can occur quickly after trauma or can be as a result of intensive rehabilitation

occurs via:
neuronal unmasking, recruitment of homologous areas or axonal sprouting

Question 66

Synaptic pruning

Answer 66

As we age rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened ( Think of it as walking along a connection so the more you walk on it, the easier it gets).

Question 67

neuronal unmasking (how functional recovery occurs)

Answer 67

= Where ‘dormant synapses’ open their connections to enable a nearby damaged region to continue its function.

dormant synapses : synaptic connections between neurons that exist structurally, but their function is inactive (dormant).

Question 68

Axonal sprouting (how functional recovery occurs)

Answer 68

= Healthy axons sprout new nerve endings that strengthen existing connections or repair damaged neural pathways

Question 69

Recruitment of homologous areas (for functional recovery to occur)

Answer 69

= brain uses similar existing neural pathways on the opposite hemisphere to replace the function of the pathway which was being undertaken by the damaged hemisphere

Question 70

Factors influencing functional recovery after brain trauma

Answer 70

• Perseverance-> how much effort the individuals putting in, sometimes individuals with brain trauma assume the function is unrecoverable and so do not try.
• Age -> younger brains recover more effectively and quicker than older brains as younger brains are more plastic.

-Gender -> it is argued that women recover better after a trauma as their brains are less lateralised, and therefore can transfer functions across the hemisphere more easily, compared to males.

Question 71

Research supporting functional recovery

Answer 71

Danelli (2013)
-A case study into an italian boy who was operated on at the age of 2 and a half to remove a tumour in his brain.
-Resulted in the removal of virtually all of his left hemisphere (where lang is)
-After intensive rehabilitation, his language abilities started to improve by the age of five.
-When tested at 17 to compare his language abilities to a control, he was largely comparable.

= This shows how his brain has relocated his language functions in order for him to regain language. Therefore supported the idea that plasticity of the brain enables functional recovery to be achieved to compensate for any damage.
= Age may have been a significant factor in functional recovery as a tumour was removed at such a young age, making it possible for the brain to adapt to recover his language abilities.

Question 72

Research supporting plasticity

Answer 72

1) Maguire et al 2000 (she)
-sample: experimental group,16 right-handed London, a taxi drivers/ a control group, 50 healthy, right-handed males who did not drive taxis.
- MRI scans
-Findings-> increased grey matter in taxi drivers brains, compared control in the hippocampus
-correlation found between the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in hippocampus
CONCL-> Provides evidence for structural difference between hippocampi of taxi drivers in London and control group there for suggesting that extensive practice with a special navigation tasks (learning taxi routes) affect the development of brain regions, such as the hippocampus, thereby validating claimed that the brain is plastic and adapts in response to experience.

2) Kühn et al 2014. (he)
- videogame for 2 months (30 mins a day) vs none (supermario)
Findings:
- VG:increase in grey matter in cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum (NOT EVIDENCED IN CONTROL)

CONCL-> The video game training resulted in new synaptic connections in the brain areas involved in spatial navigation, strategic planning, memory, and motor performance. Therefore, validating the claim that the brain is plastic and is able to adapt to reorganise its self in response to new experience.

Question 73

Cons of research and plasticity and functional recovery

Answer 73

1) Maguire
-> Retrospective:Did not test taxi drivers before they became taxi drivers, so clear change in the structures of the brain as a result of the experience could not be concluded. Therefore may have been participant variables acting as confounding variables (e.g drivers may have naturally had large hippocampi before being taxi drivers)
-> Thus, it is difficult to establish cause-and-effect between experience and changes in the brain.
-> Beta bias: all male sample

2) Danelli
-> Case study so hard to know the levels of functional recovery observed would occur in a similar way with other people due to specific circumstances relating to the boy (ie his young age).
-> Therefore these issues can affect the ability to draw conclusions from the findings and compromise the support they can offer to the theories of plasticity and functional recovery.

Question 74

Pro of plasticity and functional recovery

Answer 74

-Neurorehabilitation = Danelli underwent intensive rehab
-continued forms of physical therapy can be used to maintain improvements ( ie motor and speech therapy for strokes)
-encouraging people to practice cognitive/physical skills to help the brain to re-organise/create new neural pathways.
= This indicates that, although the brain may have the capacity to fix itself, further intervention is required if it is to be completed successfully. Therefore, our understanding of the process of plasticity and functional recovery may have benefited individuals who have experienced brain damage.

Question 75

Research into the effect EZ have on our circadian rhythms

Answer 75

Siffre 1975 (french male)
- 6 months in a cave in America
- no EZ of light ; artificial as when he thought it was night, he phoned the research team who turned off the cave lights/when he thought it was daytime, they switched them on

findings:
- his body clock maintained a regular sleep-wake cycle of 25 hours without EZ, longer than usual but similar -> suggesting there must be an EP maintaining our cycle.
= Provides research support for the importance of EP in the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle/CR.

HOWEVER, supports EZ importance as need light to entrain to 24 hours
- shows that light may not have an important effect on sleep-wake cycle but our free running circadian rhythm (able to maintain a predictable cycle without entrainment by EZ) is more significant for our sleep wake cycle

issues:
- case study -> ungeneralisable/ lacks reliability
- individual differences -> so changes in sleep-wake cycle may be due to participants subjective, atypical behaviour
- participants were altering their biological clock with the use of an artificial light therefore could have been a confounding variable

Question 76

Research into the SCN and EP (circadian rhythm)

Answer 76

Morgan (1995)

aim: To investigate the effect our SCN (an endogenous pacemaker) has on our circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle)

procedure:
- bred ‘mutant’ hamsters with a 20hr sleep/wake cycle
- SCN cells from mutant hamsters transplanted into normal hamsters
- cycle of normal group defaulted to 20hrs>24

conclusion:
- suggests the SCN is the main endogenous pacemaker in the sleep/wake cycle, validating the claim that our circadian s/w cycle is regulated by internal biological structures

criticisms:
-hamsters are biologically different to humans, thus cannot be generalised to humans who may respond differently

pros:
- highly controlled and scientific -> increases validity

Question 77

Ultradian rhythm research

Answer 77

Dement and Kleitman (1957)

aim: To investigate brain activity change throughout night-time sleep

procedure:
- 7 males and 2 females asked to report to lab at bedtime where they were connected to an EEG which measured their brain activity

findings:
- everyone had periods of REM sleep
- high incidences of recall when participants were awaked during REM sleep

conclusion:
- Provided strong evidence that dreams occur in REM sleep

critcisms
- small sample so lacks generalizability
- lab exp so lacks ecological validity

Question 78

Infradian Rhythm research

Answer 78

Stern and McClintock (1998)

aim: To investigate if the presence of pheromones (ez) from one woman could affect the timing of another woman’s menstrual cycle.

procedure:
- 20 women were given pads to wipe on the top of their lip every day
- the pads were taken from the armpits of nine donor women at varying stages in their cycles

findings:
- women either shortened or extended their cycle to match the donor depending on when in the donor woman’s menstrual cycle the part had been collected

conclusion:
- suggesting synchronization due to the presence of pheromones acting as an exogenous zeitgeber for the timing of the infradian rhythm

criticisms:
-pheromones as chemical messengers are not accepted widely as a process that happens in humans
- taking some other research did not find synchronization )ie Trevathan who studied lesbian couples who did not synchronise = should be an optimal chance)
- menstrual cycles vary in length therefore women can appear to synchronise

Question 79

Real life application of circadian biological rhythms

Answer 79

Pros:
1) Practical evidence for application to shift works and long distance travel
- for example how changing shifts or travelling from different time zones may negatively impact our sleep/wake cycle and consequently effect our ability to function.
-Strategies can be developed such as making shifts gradually later each week or immediately eating/sleeping within new time zones.
-This makes the knowledge of research into biorhythms useful for society

2)Knowing the psychological effect of exposure to light, particularly blue light which disrupts our sleep pattern via sitting on our phone before bed, provides people with advice on how to maintain a healthy sleep pattern.

Question 80

spatial resolution vs temporal resolution

Answer 80

spatial -> the level of accuracy in in identifying the exact location of a brain structure or activity in space. (where activity happened)

temporal -> the level of accuracy in in identifying the exact location of a brain activity in time. (when activity happened)