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psychology a level > biospychology > Flashcards

biospychology Flashcards

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1
Q

the nervous system

A

a specialised network of nerve cells and our internal communication system

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2
Q

2 functions of nervous system

A

collect, process and respond to information in the environment
co-ordinate the working of different organs and cells

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3
Q

structure of human nervous system - peripheral

A

peripheral
autonomic somatic
sympathetic and parasympathetic

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4
Q

structure of human nervous system - central

A

central
brain spinal cord

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5
Q

peripheral

A

sends information to CNS from the outside world and sends messages from CNS to muscles and glands

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6
Q

somatic

A

transmits info from receptor cells in sense organs to CNS. receives info from CNS that tells muscles to act. sensory receptor - voluntary

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7
Q

autonomic

A

info to and form internal bodily organs. operates involuntary and has sympathetic and parasympathetic. balancing. motorpathways

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8
Q

brain

A

centre of conscious awareness

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9
Q

spinal cord

A

extension of the brain. passed messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to PNS

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10
Q

sympathetic nervous system

A

control our fight or flight
+ heart rate, blood pressure, breathing
- digestion, salvation, urination

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11
Q

the endocrine system

A

slower then NS but powerful effects. made up of glands that release hormones. NS and ES often work together

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12
Q

where are glands in the endocrine system located

A

thyroid gland - the throat - releases thyroxine and increases HR and metabolic rate.
pituitary gland - brain - tells other glands to release hormones
adrenal gland - behind kidney - release adrenaline

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13
Q

fight and flight

A

hypothalamus actives pituitary when stressor is received. triggers sympathetic NS. ANS changes from normal PS state.
adrenaline released from adrenal medulla. changes in body of + HR and - salvation.
once threat has passed the PSNS returns to normal state. HR - and salvation +

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14
Q

neurones

A

name of nerve cells that transmit messages around the body.

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15
Q

sensory neuron

A

carry messages from PNS to CNS. long dendrites and short axons with the cell body in the middle of the axon. located in PNS in ganglia’s

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16
Q

relay neuron

A

connects sensory neurons to motor or other relay neurons. short dendrites and short axons. found in brain and visual system 97% of all neurons

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17
Q

motor neuron

A

connects CNS to effectors. short dendrites and long axons. found in CNS but have long axons which connect to the PNS

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18
Q

syntactic transmission

A

electrical impulse pass down axon. vesicles containing neurotransmitters move to towards pre synaptic membrane and fuse w it. neurotransmitters diffuse across synapse and attach to receptors of post synaptic membrane. activity in receptor causes change in second neurone that +/- action potential. neurotransmitters recycled into pre synaptic neurone. electrical impulse triggered and travel down axon

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19
Q

charge of neurons

A

when a neurone is resting it’s negatively charged. when activated by a stimulus it is briefly positively charged. this causes an action potential - sending info down axon from cell body

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20
Q

excitation

A

when a neurotransmitter like adrenaline increases positive charge in post synaptic neurone. + likelihood neurone will pass on electrical impulse.

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21
Q

inhibition

A

neurotransmitter such as seretonin + the negatives charge in post synaptic neurone and - the likelihood the neurone will pass of electrical impulses

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22
Q

localisation theory of the brain

A

specific areas of the brain are associated with particular physical and psychological functions - found this through brain scans

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23
Q

holistic theory of the brain

A

all parts of the brain were involved in processing thought and action

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24
Q

phineas cage case study

A

metre length pole went through his left check and came out of his skull removing most of his left frontal lobe. his personality changed from calm to aggressive - proves localisation theory

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25
Q

motor area of the brain

A

located in the frontal lobe and control movement, right side controls left side of body and left side controls right. if damaged patient will lose control of movement or movement all together

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26
Q

somatosensory area of the brain

A

on the parietal lobe and processes sensory information. if damaged the patient will have a loss of senses

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27
Q

visual area of the brain

A

in the occipital lobe. receives and processes visual info. if you look right controlled in the left. look left controlled in right. if damaged patient will have loss of sight

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28
Q

auditory area of brain

A

in the temporal lobe. analysis of speech info. if damaged patient will have loss of hearing

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29
Q

broca’s area of brain

A

in the left of frontal lobe. responsible for speech production. if damaged will have loss of language - known as brocas area

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30
Q

wernickes area of the brain

A

temporal lobe. responsible for language comprehension. if damaged patient will have loss of understanding of language and being unable to form sentences

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31
Q

+ localisation theory - bran scans

A

peterson used brain scans to show activity in wernickes area when listening and Brocas when reading. Tulving long term memory found semantic and episodic memory found in diff parts of brain. scientific evidence of localisation of function

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32
Q
  • localisation theory rats
A

lashley removed areas of the cortex in rats learning the route of a maze. learning required all of the cortex not a particular area. suggests not localised but holistic

33
Q

hemispheric lateralisation

A

the brain is lateralised in two sides. left and right

34
Q

+ localisation theory neurosurgery

A

used to treat mental disorders. doherty studied 44 OCD ppts who had a cingulotomy. 30% had successful response and 14% partial response. behaviours associated w serious mental disorders may be lateralised

35
Q

split brain

A

when the corpus collosum that connects the left and right hemisphere is cut to treat epilepsy

36
Q

sperrys split brain research procedure

A

11 split brain ppts studied using a set up of an image or word projected to RVF(LH) And same or diff imagine projected to LVF(RH). means info cannot be conveyed between hemispheres

37
Q

sperrys split brain research findings

A

object shown to RVF - ppts can describe it (language centre in LH). object show to LVF - cannot name object, can select matching object or closely associated object behind screen using left hand.

38
Q

+ split brain research

A

split brain ppts are faster at finding odd one out in array of similair objects than normal brain ppts. processing abilities are watered down in normal brain by inferior right hemisphere. supports lateralisation and different functions in each

39
Q
  • split brain research
A

ppts compared to control group w corpus collosum but they didn’t have epilepsy. confounding variable as the differences may be due to epilepsy not split brain. some of the features of the split brain ppts could be down to thier epilepsy

40
Q

split brain research ethics

A

ppts we’re not deliberately harmed he merely took advantage of the split brain procedure. however longitudinal study so it may be stressful for ppts however they have the right to w withdraw whenever they want

41
Q

plasticity

A

growth of new synaptic connections. can happen anytime in life

42
Q

maguires study

A

2000
compared hippocampus of london taxi drivers to control group
taxi drivers have more grey matter due to learning to roads. knowledge can change the structure of the brain

43
Q

functional recovery

A

healthy brain areas take over functions from damaged areas. happens very quick after trauma. (spontaneous recovery).

44
Q

new synaptic connections

A

new connections near damaged area. allows secondary neural pathway to take over functions

45
Q

structural changes in the brain after trauma

A

axonal sprouting - new nerve endings
reforming blood vessels
recruiting homologous (similar) areas to proceed functions

46
Q

+ of plasticity and functional recovery

A

practical application of neurorehabilation. e.g. electrical stimulation or movement therapy to counter deficits in the brain. shows that the brain can fix itself to an extent but by introducing therapies it gives maximum success

47
Q

negative of plasticity and functional recovery

A

neg consequences - 60-80% of amputees have phantom limb syndrome - sensation that body part is there when it’s not. this is very painful due to the reorganisation of the somatosensory area. shows processes in functional recovery may not always be beneficial to recovering both mentally and physically

48
Q

FMRI

A

detects change in blood oxygenation as when an area is active it needs more of both

49
Q

evaluation of FMRI

A

+ non invasive, high spatial resolution meaning a clear pic
- very expensive and only works when perfectly still, low temporal resolution so does not show moment to moment activity

50
Q

EEG

A

measuring electrical activity in the brain via electrodes using a skull cap. helpful when diagnosing

51
Q

evaluation of EEG

A

+ helps diagnose conditions as shows irregular activity, high temporal resolution so accurate timing
- low spatial resolution so cannot see exact areas of activity

52
Q

ERP

A

extraneous brain activity removed from EEG findings leaving response to particular task

53
Q

evaluation of ERP

A

+ specific measurements of neural activity, amazing temporal resolution compared to FMRI
- lack of standardisation in studies, hard to remove extraneous variables

54
Q

post mortem examination

A

analysis of the physical brain after death. usually done when cause of death is unknown.

55
Q

evaluation of post mortem

A

+ vital for early understanding of brains, improves medical knowledge
-causation as deficits may not be down to what your investigating, ethical issues around consent

56
Q

endogenous pacemakers

A

internal biological clocks

57
Q

exogenous zietgebers

A

factors from environment

58
Q

circadian rhythms

A

usually 24 hours e.g sleep wake cycle

59
Q

sleep wake cycle

A

a 24 hour clock that influences our sleep/wake. it is controlled by internal and external

60
Q

Micheal siffres study

A

spent month in a cave w no natural light.
he fell asleep and woke on a regular basis w a 25 hour rhythm

61
Q

Aschoffs and Weavers study

A

ppts spent 4 weeks in ww2 bunkers w no light
all ppts had a sleep wake cycle between 24/25 hours

62
Q

strength of circadian rhythms

A

application to shift work. understanding consequences from disruption to rhythm. Boivin found shift workers lack concentration at 6am. link between shifts and health. shows us how to manage work productivity

63
Q

negative of circadian rhythms - sample sizes

A

Aschoff/ weaver and siffre all had small samples or a CS. hard to generalise as may not represent whole population. siffre found his internal clock slowed at age 60. shows that even same people have differences. this may suggests to do it w control groups. prevents general conclusions being made

64
Q

negative of circadian rhythms - lack of control

A

ppts in studies derived of natural light but still had lamps. has been assumed artificial light will not influence of circadian rhythms. however Czieler was able to adjust circadian rhythms using AL from 22-28 hours. this confounding variable may have been too ignored

65
Q

infradium rhythms

A

longer than 24 hours

66
Q

menstrual cycle as an infradium rhythm

A

28 days. oestrogen develops/ releases an egg. progesterone thickens womb lining for pregnancy. if not fertilised the womb lining sheds (period)

67
Q

stern and Mclintocks research into menstrual cycle

A

pheromones taken from 9 armpits of 29 ppts w irregular periods. rubbed onto upper lip of other ppts.
68% ppts had changed to MC thst brought them closer to odour donor.
suggests MC can be influenced by EZ

68
Q

SAD - seasonal affective disorder

A

depression during winter months when delight hours are less.
pineal gland secretes melatonin to help us sleep at stops at light. less light in morning means it goes on for longer. knock on effect of serotonin production (links to depression)
circannual rhythm

69
Q

ultradian rhythm

A

short cycles that happen more than once in 24 hours within other cycles

70
Q

stages of sleep - ultradian

A

found through EEG
1/2 - light sleep. slow waves (alpha)
3/4 - delta waves = slower. deep sleep and hard to wake
5 - REM - body is paralysed but brain speeds up. rapid eye movement

71
Q

strength of infradian and ultradian rhythms

A

evolutionary value of MC. good for ancestors to ovulate together as child can be raised collectively. if mother dies other women can feed baby. Schank argued this would cause comp for highest quality males and overall decrease the quality of off-spring. may be better if their cycles were not synced.

72
Q

limitations of infradian and ultradian rhythms - confounding variables

A

CV for changes to MC. mclintocks findings may have occurred by chance. also relays on self report techs. these studies lack control and validity.

73
Q

limitations of infradian and ultradian rhythms - animal studies

A

pheromones studies mainly coem form animals. e.g. sea urchins release them so sex cells can be released simultaneously. evidence of pheromones on human behaviour is inconclusive. we can’t generalise this to humans without some backup research

74
Q

EP and falling asleep

A

SCN in hypothalamus receives info on light levels via optic nerve. SCN sends signals to pineal glands to produce melatonin when dark. inhibits brain mechanisms and induces sleep

75
Q

Decourseys research into EP

A

removed SCN from 30 chipmunks. released them back into wild
after 80 days most were killed due to them being awake when they shouldn’t be and being vulnerable to prey.

76
Q

EZ in sleep wake cycle

A

light levels - retina sends brightness levels to SCN.
social ques - schedules imposed by parents from 16 weeks e.g. bedtime.

77
Q

campbell and Murphy 1998 on light levels

A

15 ppts woken at random times in night and light shone on the backs of their knees
sleep wake cycle deviated by 3 hours each way

78
Q

strengths of EP/EZ

A

research evidence. Burgess exposed ppts to bright lights that made their sleep wake cycle deviate by 2 hours. shows light is important in the cycle as an EZ that resets out biological clock.

79
Q

limitations of EP/EZ

A

generalising animal studies - we are different
contradictory evidence. people in arctic still having normal cycles despite prolonged exposure to light. maybe light does not influence our rhythms that much?

psychology a level (16 decks)

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