Biopsychology P2 Flashcards
What does CNS do and made from
Central nervous system - Made up of the brain and spinal cord and the origin of all complex commands and decisions
all sections of the nervouse system
the central nervouse system
- the brain
- the spinal cohrd
the parietal nervouse system
- the somantic nevervouse system
- the authomatic nervouse system
* the sypathetic nervouse system
* the parasympathetic nervouse system
What does the PNS do
• sends info to the CNS from outside world via neuorns
• transmits messages from CNS to muscles and glands in the body
What does the somatic nervous systems do
• transmits information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the CNS
• receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act.
Autonomic nervous system
• transmits information to and from internal bodily organs
• as the system operates involuntarily • consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Endocrine system
• instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream
• hormones are carried towards target organs in the body
• Communicates via chemicals.
The purpose of a Sensory neuron
Allows to receive info from outside world through senses
Path of sensory neuron
Carries messages from PNS to the CNS
Structure of sensory neurons
Long dendrites and short axons
Relay neurons
Connect sensory neurones to motor neurones of other relay neurones, long dendrites and short axons (allows to think and perceive)
Path of relay neurons
Connects sensory neurons to motor neurons
Structure of realy neurons
Short dendrites and axons
Motor neurons path
Revceve impulses from CNS to muscles for contraction and gland secretion
Structure of motor neurons
Short dendrites and long axon
Structure of a neuron
Cell body, axon, dendrites, terminal buttons.
Action potential
When a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the neuron fires and creates an electrical impulse.
Glands
Organs in body that make hormones e.g. the thyroid gland produces thyroxine.
The pituitary gland
The ‘master gland’ in the brain controls the release of all other hormones in the body.
Hormones
Chemical substances in bloodstream that target specific organs e.g. thyroxine targets heart and metabolism
Fight or flight
The body becomes physiologically aroused in response to stress, to fight an aggressor or flee.
Adrenaline
hormone produced by the adrenal glands which is part of the human body stress response. It stimulating heart rate, contracting blood vessels and dilating air passages.
Sympathetic state v parasympathetic state
• heart rate
• breathing rate
• pupil size
• digestion
• rectum
Summation
Net effect of exit action and inhibition
synaptic transmission (5)
- electrical signal travels through the neurone until it reaches the presynaptic terminal
- this triggers the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles
- defuse across the synapse
- neurotransmitter is then taken in by a post synaptic receptor site on the dendrites of the next neurone
- to be converted back into an electrical impulse
What are the two divisions of the peripheral nervous system
The autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) and the somatic nervous system
What’s a synapse
The gap between neurones
The end of the neurone
Presynaptic terminal which is in the axon
What happens when the electrical impulse reaches the end of the neurone
Triggers the release of neurotransmitter from the synaptic vesicles
Excitation and inhibition
Neurotransmitters either make the neighbouring neurone negative charged and less likely to fire or positively charged and more likely to fire
Purpose of axons and dendrites
Axons takes signal to the synapse and dendrites take signal away
Axonal sprouting
Undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect neurons whose links were injured or severed.
Denervation supersensitivity
Axons that complete a similar job become aroused to compensate for those lost.
Recruitment of homologous areas
Regions on opposite sides of the brain take on functions of damaged areas.
Synaptic purging
As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened.
fMRI
- Measure brain activity in specific areas
- detecting associated changes in blood flow
- when a brain area is active it consumes more oxygen
EEG
A record of the brain wave patterns produced by thousands of neurons electical impulses, providing an overall account of brain activity
ERPs
- Isolating specific responses of neurons to specific stimuli or tasks
- statistical techniques to identify the shape of a brain wave
Post mortel examinations
Correlating behaviours before death with brain structures after death.
4 techniques of studying the brain
FMRI
EEG
ERP
post mortem
Strength and limitation of FMRI
S - doesn’t use radiation non invasive, high spatial resolution detail by mm good at showing where things are localised
L - expensive so smaller sample size and bad temporal resolution
Strength and limitation of EEG
S - good at studying, sleep high temporal validity, cheaper
L - lack of spatial validity
Strength and limitations of EPR
S - goodbspactial résolution can mesure nureal process
L - hard to limit extraneous variables, lack of standardisation in methology
Post mortem strength and limitation
S -
L-
localisation of function
The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities
Motor area, location and function
- frontal lobe
- regulating movements
Somatosensory area, location and function
- Parietal lobe
- process sensory info like touch
Visual area, location and function
- occipital love
- receives and processed visual information
Auditory area, location and function
- temporal lobe
- analyses speech based info
Language areas, location and function
Broca’s area
- frontal lobe in left hemisphere
- speech production
Wernicke’s area
- temporal lobe in left hemisphere
- language comprehension
Functional recovery
- A form of plasticity
- Following damage through trauma, the brain’s ability to redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area to other, undamaged areas
Brain plasticity
- the brain will change and adapt as a result of growth and new learning
- growth of synaptic connection peaks at age 2-3 with about 15,000 twice as much as an adult
- rarly used synapes go through synaptic pruninig and frequently used are strengthed alowing for life long plasticity
4 lobes of the brain
- frontal lobe
- parietal lobe
- temporal lobe
- ocipital lobe
Who suggested the brained learned holistically
Lashley
Hemispherical lateralisation
Certain mental processes are dominated by one hemisphere rather than the other
Split brain research
• Corpus callosum cut in patients with severe epilepsy, allowing researchers to investigate the extent to which brain function is lateralised
• Image/word is projected to right visual field (RVF) or left visual field (LVF)
• describing what you see Pictures shown to RV could be described but not those to because no language centres in right hemisphere (connecte to LVF)
• recognition by touch Could not describe objects projected to LVF, but able to select a matching object from a selection of different objects using their left hand
Endogenous pacemaker
Bodies internal biological clock
Exogenous zeitgerbs
External changes in the environment
Ultradian rhythms, circadian rhythms and infradian rhythms
ultradian - more than once every 24 hours (stages of sleep)
circadian - 24 hours cycle (sleep wake cycle)
infradian - less than one clyce every 24 hours such as menstruation
Biological ryhthymes
Distinct patterns of changes in body activity that conform to cyclical time periods. Biological rhythms are influenced by internal-body clocks (endogenous pacemakers) as well as external changes to the environment (exogenous zeitbegers)
What endogenous pacemaker governs the sleep/wake cycle
Suprachismatic nucleus that lies just above the optic chiasm which provides information from the eye about light
main cave researcher
Michal Siffre
Other cave reserch about circadian rhythms
Suprachiamatic nucleus
Animal studies on SCN
Destroyed SCN of 30 chipmunks and put them pack in wolf observed for 80 days many were eaten by predators as the sleep schedule was fuck and we’re awake/asleep at the wrong time
What gland produces melatonin
Pineal gland
They did loads of experiments on blind people and light as a que and things w knees and stuff
What’s an infradin rythme
a cycle more than every 24 hours (menstration)
What’s an ultradian rythme
a cycle less than 24 hours (stages of sleep)
circaidium rythme
every 24 hours
4 stages of sleep and brainwaves it produces
Stages of the menstrual cycle
Menstrual cycle experiment
