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Psychology > Biopsychology - The brain > Flashcards

Biopsychology - The brain Flashcards

1
Q

What is the purpose of SSRI’s?

A
  • SSRI’s work to stop the reuptake of serotonin back into the presynaptic neurone
  • This causes there to be more serotonin in the synapse thus increasing serotonin levels
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2
Q

What is localisation of function in the brain?

A
  • Functions such as movement, speech and memory are performed in distinct regions of the brain (localised)
  • The opposite view is that the brain acts holistically to perform functions
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3
Q

Where are each functionally specialised brain areas found in the brain?

A

Motor cortex: Both sides
Somatosensory cortex: Both sides
Visual: Both sides
Auditory cortex: Both sides
Broca’s area: Left hemisphere only (hemispheric lateralisation)
Wernicke’s area: Left hemisphere only (hemispheric lateralisation)

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4
Q

What is hemispheric lateralisation?

A

-The theory that each hemisphere of the brain is specialised to perform different functions
(The language centres are in the left hemisphere, whereas visuospatial tasks are best performed by the right hemisphere)

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5
Q

What does contralateral mean?

A
  • The theory that each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite (contralateral) side of the body
  • This is including both motor and sensory pathways and vision of the contralateral visual field
  • This also means that the right side of the brain receives the information from the left visual field from both eyes (and the opposite for the other side)
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6
Q

What is the cortex?

A

The thin outside layer of the brain (the grey matter)

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7
Q

What is the white matter?

A

Myelinated axons

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8
Q

What are the 4 lobes in the brain?

A

The frontal lobe
The parietal lobe
The temporal lobe
The occipital lobe/visual cortex

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9
Q

What is the function of the visual cortex? (Occipital lobe)

A
  • The occipital lobe is the brains visual processing centre, each hemispheres occipital lobe receives information from the contralateral visual field
  • Damage to this part of the brain can lead to partial or complete loss of vision (Cortical blindness)
  • Damage to one cortex can lead to loss of vision in the opposite visual field
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10
Q

What is the function of the motor cortex?

A

-The motor cortex is at the back of the frontal lobe
-The motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex is divided by a fold called the central sulcus and both parts of the brain are contralateral
-The motor cortex is responsible for voluntary motor
movements (contralateral)
-Damage to one side of the motor cortex can lead to loss of muscle function or after severe trauma, paralysis on the opposite side of the body due to the contralaterality

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11
Q

What is the function of the auditory cortex?

A
  • Located at the top of the temporal lobe on both sides of the brain
  • It receives and processes sound information from the ears
  • Damage to the auditory cortex can lead to cortical deafness (Patient is unable to hear but there is no damage done to the ear)
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12
Q

What is the function of the Broca’s area?

A
  • Located in the left frontal lobe (left hemisphere only)
  • Responsible for speech production
  • Discovered after case study and post mortem of Tan Whon
  • Damage to Broca’s area causes Broca’s aphasia which is difficulty producing fluent speech, speech is slow, effortful and has missing words leading to poor grammar
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13
Q

What is the function of the Wernicke’s area?

A

-Located in the top of the temporal lobe (left hemisphere only)
-Responsible for speech comprehension
-Discovered after case studies of individuals who could produce fluent sounding speech that made
little sense
-Damage to Wernicke’s area causes Wernicke’s aphasia which is having difficulty understanding speech or written language, speech sounds fluent but lacks meaning/nonsense words are used

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14
Q

What is global aphasia?

A
  • When there is damage to both, Broca’s and Wernicke’s area

- This causes an inability to produce or understand speech

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15
Q

What is a strength of studies on localisation of function?

A
  • Case study research demonstrates a loss of certain functions if damage is caused to certain areas of the brain
  • For example: Broca and Wernicke’s case studies and Clive Wearing suggest that functions are localised in these areas
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16
Q

What is a weakness of studies on localisation of function?

A

-Use of case studies is unscientific, especially in brain research with damage often covering multiple regions
-This was seen in modern MRI scans that were made of Tans brain which showed damage far beyond just Broca’s area
-This suggests damage to other areas could be
responsible for Tans speech problems

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17
Q

What is a strength of studies on localisation of function?

A
  • Modern brain scanning techniques like FMRI support older research on language centres (Broca’s and Wernicke’s area)
  • They show activation, in the regions associated, when healthy participants perform language tasks
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18
Q

What is a weakness of studies on localisation of function?

A

-Some areas of the brain appear to be more localised than others
-Motor and somatosensory functions are highly localised, however systems like language is more
distributed
-This suggests the correct approach in arguing for the localised or holistic nature is different depending on
the area and function
-Also due to the high connectivity of the brain no, one area is truly independent

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19
Q

What did Lashley’s experiment on rats conclude about localisation of the brain?

A
  • Lashley found that the rats ability to remember the route of the maze was decreased depending on how much of the brain was removed rather than which part
  • This cause Lashley to conclude that higher cognitive processes such as learning and memory are not localised but distributed across the whole brain
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20
Q

What is brain plasticity?

A
  • When the brain adapts in both its function and structure as a result of a change in the environment
  • These changes could be due to damage or to meet the cognitive demands of learning new skills
  • This can occur due to: Learning a new skill, as a result of developmental changes, in response to direct trauma to an area of the brain or in response to indirect effects of damage such as brain swelling or bleeding (from a stroke)
  • This can cause neuronal cells to die so the brain structure must change to compensate for the areas that are permanently damaged
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21
Q

What is functional recovery?

A

When the functions that were performed by areas of the brain that are lost due to neuronal cell death are performed by undamaged parts of the brain (Functional reorganisation)

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22
Q

How does plasticity actually occur?

A
  • Synaptic pruning occurs, this is when synapses that are frequently used become stronger over time
  • However unused synaptic connections are also lost
  • This makes the brain a more efficient communication system over time
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23
Q

What is axonal sprouting?

A

-When existing neurones grow new axons to connect to adjacent neurons
-Neural regeneration is the growth of new neuronal
cells and connections (This can be to compensate for damaged areas)

24
Q

What is denervation super-sensitivity?

A
  • Another response to the loss of axons in the brain due to direct damage to areas of the brain or in response to the loss of axons due to growing up and the brain developing
  • To compensate for the loss of axons in a pathway, the remaining axons in the pathway become more sensitive (more likely to fire)
  • This can allow an individual with brain damage to continue functioning but it can also result in side effects such as pain
25
Q

What are the factors that affect functional recovery?

A
  • Age: Children have the best ability to recover, then young adults
  • Gender: Women are more able to recover from brain damage
  • Rehabilitative therapy: Focused effort results in improvement
26
Q

What is constraint induced therapy?

A
  • Stopping patients from using coping strategies (Like body language for communication or using undamaged limbs for tasks)
  • This makes them improve via functional reorganisation
27
Q

What does Maguire’s study on London taxi drivers show about plasticity of the brain?

A

-Maguire used 16 male taxi drivers and a control group of 16 males matched via age and gender
-Maguire then gave the 32 participants an MRI brain
scan
-The taxi drivers showed a significantly different (larger)
structure of their posterior hippocampi as there was an increased volume of grey matter in their posterior hippocampi
-As well as this, there was a positive correlation between the size of the posterior hippocampi and the amount of time working as a taxi driver
-This suggests that the physical structure of the brain is plastic, as it is able to reconfigure itself to better adapt the psychological demands, in this case to improve the
memory formation

28
Q

What does Danelli’s research on the functional recovery of the brain show?

A

-Case study of a 14 year old (EB)
-At the age of 2 and a half EB had a hemispherectomy on the left side of his brain to remove a tumour
-This removed the language centres of the brain (Broca and Wernicke’s areas)
-Immediately after the surgery EB lost all language
ability (Aphasia)
-However after two years of recovery EB recovered his language ability
-He developed normally, asides from developing dyslexia like symptoms
-Researchers noted that FMRI scans showed the right hemisphere followed a “Left-like blueprint” for language
-This research suggests that the brain can adapt and recover after significant damage, especially in early life
-This is with the right hemisphere taking roles usually performed by the left

29
Q

What are the strengths of the research done on functional recovery and the plasticity of the brain?

A
  • Practical benefits, used in rehabilitative therapy
  • This helps people return to their lives and return to productive work, this benefits the economy
  • Research on individuals recovering lost function can help psychologists understand more about the functions of the regions of the brain that were initially damaged
30
Q

What does the situation with Phineas Gage show about the brain?

A
  • The brain is localised as he was able to speak shortly after the accident
  • The brain is plastic as it can recover from trauma
31
Q

What is lateralisation of the brain?

A

-Lateralisation is the tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialized to one side of the brain or the other

32
Q

What does the right side of the brain deal with?

A

Right side of the brain: Visual information from the left side of a persons visual field

33
Q

What does the left side of the brain deal with?

A

Left side of the brain: Visual information from the right side of a persons visual field

34
Q

Where are the language centres responsible for speech located in the brain?

A

In the left side of the brain

35
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A
  • The corpus callosum is the what connects the two hemispheres of the brain together
  • It is a thick bundle of 200-300 million nerve fibres
  • It allows quick communication between each side
36
Q

What happens when the corpus callosum is cut/removed?

A
  • When the corpus callosum is not there to join the two hemispheres, it stops communication between the two hemispheres
  • This allows researchers to observe how each area if the brain is specialised
37
Q

In what case would a person have their corpus callosum removed?

A
  • In extreme cases, if a person had epilepsy the procedure was to remove the corpus callosum to stop electrical seizures from travelling from one hemisphere to the other
  • There were very few side-effects from the procedure
  • However unusual behaviour and a sense of loss of agency (The feeling of control) led to research
38
Q

What was Sperry’s split brain study?

A

-Sperry did a quasi study with 11 patients who had their corpus callosum cut via a corpus callosotomy to treat
epilepsy
-The divided field experiment:
-Patients would sit in front of a screen, staring at a dot with one eye covered
-This allowed Sperry to display images directly to either visual field
-For split brain patients:
-If they were shown the word key to their right eye, they could say it because the language centres are in the left hemisphere
-However if they were shown the word saw to their left eye, they wouldn’t be able to say it as the information couldn’t pass to the language centres
-The information however could be passed to the left hand so the patient could draw a saw

39
Q

What did Gazzaniga’s study show about which side of the brain was better at recognising faces?

A
  • Gazzaniga showed, when presented with faces to either visual field, the right hemisphere was much more able to recognise them (The left visual field)
  • This suggests that the right hemisphere is specialised for facial recognition
40
Q

What are all the weaknesses of split brain research?

A
  • The sample of split brain patients in these studies was small
  • The patients had varying amounts of connections and had different cuts from their corpus callosotomy
  • The participants were compared against non-epileptics who were healthy and had no history of fits
  • This suggests that some of the results may have been due to participant variables which prevents the results from being generalisable to the wider population
  • The patients had undergone drug therapy
41
Q

What are the strengths of split brain research?

A
  • The research done on split brain patients has had a fundamental impact on the psychological and philosophical understanding of both the unity of consciousness and identity
  • This suggests that the brain is a combination of separate intelligent processes that work together
42
Q

What is the function of the somatosensory cortex?

A

-The somatosensory cortex is at the front of the parietal
lobe
-The motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex is divided by a fold called the central sulcus and both parts of the brain are contralateral
-Damage to the somatosensory cortex can lead to loss of sensation in the opposite side of the brain and it can cause neglect syndrome (Ignoring areas of the body)

43
Q

What is another weakness of split brain research?

A
  • The experiment also lacks mundane realism as the procedure used is unlike how the individuals would process information and act in normal day to day life
  • In reality the split brain patients led mostly normal lives as they can use cues to pass on information to both hemispheres
44
Q

How does Mathia’s metanalysis demonstrate that people have different levels of plasticity?

A
  • Mathia conducted a metanalysis which demonstrated that not everyone has high levels of plasticity
  • It was found that IQ and educational background are positively correlated with better outcomes after traumatic brain injury, this suggests that some people have a higher cognitive reserve which helps in recovery rather some people will struggle to regain function
45
Q

What are the four ways of studying the brain?

A
  • fMRI
  • EEG
  • ERP
  • Post-mortem examinations
46
Q

How can FMRI scans be used to study the brain?

A
  • FMRI detects blood flow in the brain
  • More active areas in the brain need more blood, these active areas are compared to low activation areas with a lower blood supply displayed on an FMRI image
  • As oxygenated blood contains haemoglobin with distinct metal properties, the magnetic resonance image can be made of the brain where there is blood present (In active areas)
47
Q

What are the strengths of FMRI’s?

A
  • FMRI has good spatial resolution (1mm), allowing active brain regions to be precisely identified
  • FMRI is non-invasive and a safe technique compared to options that use radiation like PET scanners
48
Q

What are the weaknesses of FMRI’s?

A
  • FMRI’s have poor temporal resolution as one image is taken every few seconds and there is a delay of blood flow after activity, this means that many brain processes are too fast to study
  • FMRI machines are expensive to build and operate
  • Also, as the participant needs to be still, experiments with body movements are not possible
49
Q

How can EEG’s be used to study the brain?

A
  • The EEG device is a collection of between 22-34 electrodes that are attached to a cap, and fitted carefully to the scalp with conductive gel
  • Each electrode reads the sum total of activation of the brain cortex under the electrode
  • This is displayed as a series of lines showing distinct patterns called brain waves
  • Amplitude (The size of the waves) shows the brain wave intensity, frequency (The distance between each wave) shows the speed of the activation
50
Q

What are the strengths of EEG’s?

A
  • EEG’s have been important in understanding areas such as sleep research and medical diagnosis
  • EEG’s are cheaper than other ways of studying the brain such as FMRI’s
  • EEG’s can be used in experiments where the participant moves to see the effect on brain activity
  • EEG’s have very good temporal accuracy, measuring brain activation with a resolution measured in milliseconds
51
Q

What are the weaknesses of EEG’s?

A
  • EEG’s have poor spatial activity as pattern is a sum of a large number of neurons in the cortex under the electrode
  • EEG’s are also unable to detect activity deep within the brain
52
Q

How can ERP’s be used to study the brain?

A
  • Event-related potentials (ERP’s) use the same technique and equipment as EEG, but a stimulus is presented many times to the participant
  • This creates a smooth curve of activation by combining the data in a process called statistical averaging
  • This removes the data which is not related to the stimulus
  • The waveform’s peaks and dips show exactly when cognitive processes in the brain happen after the stimulus is presented
53
Q

What are the strengths of ERP’s?

A
  • ERP’s allow researchers to isolate and study how individual cognitive processes take place in the brain, while EEG’s only record general brain activity
  • Like EEG’s, ERP’s have good temporal resolution with a millisecond sampling rate
54
Q

What are the weaknesses of ERP’s?

A
  • ERP’s have poor spatial resolution

- Some processes cannot be studied by ERP as they cannot be presented a large number of times with the same response

55
Q

How can post-mortem examinations be used to study the brain?

A
  • Brains are precisely cut after treatment to give a firmer texture
  • Unusual brains are dissected, such as brains that suffered trauma or from individuals with mental illness
  • These brains are compared to neurotypical brains
  • The Broca’s area, responsible for language production was discovered using post-mortem on a patient called Tan, who could only say Tan (Broca’s aphasia)
  • Damage in an area of the frontal lobe was found after Tans death
56
Q

What are the strengths of post-mortem examinations?

A

-Post-mortem examinations have good spatial resolution, this allows the study of microscopic brain structures on a neuronal level

57
Q

What are the weaknesses of post-mortem examinations?

A
  • As post-mortem is not conducted on the living brain, unusual behaviour in life and damage found is correlational (Correlation is not causality)
  • However, theories can be generated to test the causes of any abnormalities in the brains structure (Experimental techniques can be used)

Psychology (53 decks)

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