bipsychology

Question 1

what 3 layers make up the brain

Answer 1

central core
limbic system
cerebrum

Question 2

what is the function of the central core

Answer 2

all unconcious actions
it regulates the endocrine system to maintain homeostasis

Question 3

what is the function of the limbic system

Answer 3

it regulates emotions and it is located around the central core

Question 4

what is the function of the cerebrum

Answer 4

deals with higher intellectual processes

Question 5

what is phrenology

Answer 5

introduced by Gall and it believes that the shape of the head and the brain’s function correspond with each other

Question 6

what is the idea of localisation

Answer 6

the idea that functions are specific to different parts of the brain

Question 7

what is the idea of lateralisation

Answer 7

the idea that functions are controlled by one of the brains hemispheres

Question 8

what does contralateral mean

Answer 8

it means that the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and vice versa

Question 9

where is the motor cortex located and what is it’s function

Answer 9

located in the frontal lobe. responsible for voluntary movement on the opposite side of the body. Damage to this area results in loss of control over fine movements.

Question 10

where is the somatosensory cortex located and what is it’s function

Answer 10

is located in the parietal lobe .processes sensory from the skin(touch, heat and pressure)

Question 11

where is the visual cortex located and what is it’s function

Answer 11

is located in the occipital lobe. responsible for the eyes. It sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex and vice versa. Damage to this area can result in blindness in part of the right visual field of both eyes

Question 12

where is the auditory cortex and what is it’s function

Answer 12

is located in the temporal lobe. The auditory cortex analysis speech based information. Damage may produce partial hearing loss; the more extensive the damage the greater the loss.

Question 13

what is Broca’s area responsible for and what happens if it is damaged

Answer 13

is in the left frontal lobe and is responsible for speech production. damage to this area (Broca’s aphasia can lead to low,laborious and lacking in frequency)

Question 14

what is Wernicke’s area responsible for and what happens if it is damaged

Answer 14

an area in the left temporal lobe as being responsible for language comprehension. will lead to Wernicke’s aphasia which will produce nonsense words

Question 15

what are the strengths of localisation of function in the brain?

Answer 15

case study evidence Phineas Gage injured by tampering iron and lost part of frontal lobe. this led to personality change which could mean that personality is localised to the area damaged.

Peterson et al found that Wernicke’s area lit up in a listening task in a brain scan and Broca’s in the reading task
tulving found that semantic and episodic memory are in different areas (different areas have different functions)

Dougherty et al 2002 reported on 44 OCD patients who had undergone a cingulotomy. At post-surgical follow up after 32 weeks, a third had met the criteria for successful response to the surgery and 14% for partial response.
Success of procedures like this suggests tha symptoms and behaviours associated with serious mental disorders are localised

Question 16

what is an fMRi

Answer 16

is a way of studying the brain which detects changes in blood flow and oxygenation which occur as a result of brain activity

Question 17

what is an EEG

Answer 17

Measure electrical activity of the brain using electrodes on a person’s scalp using a skull cap. The scan recording represents the brainwave [patterns that are generated from the action of neurons, providing an overall account of brain activity.

Question 18

what is an ERP

Answer 18

A way or isolating responses that use a statistical averaging technique all extraneous brain activity is filtered out leaving only those responses that relate to the presentation of a specific stimulus or performance of a specific task. What remains are event related potentials. Types of brain that are triggered by particular events

Question 19

what is a post mortem examination

Answer 19

Involves analysis of the brain after death. Patients who are examined after death are likely to have had a rare disorder and have experienced unusual deficits. Areas of damage within the brain are examined after death as a means of establishing the likely cause of the affliction the person suffered. May also involve comparison with a neurotypical brain in order to ascertain the extent of the difference

Question 20

what is plasticity?

Answer 20

the ability of the brain to change its functions

Question 21

when does the amount of neural connections peak and at what number

Answer 21

peaking at approximately 15,000 at age 2-3

Question 22

what is maguire’s study

Answer 22

Studied the brains of taxi drivers and found a significantly higher volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus in comparison to matched control groups. As a part of their training london taxi driver are required to know the “knowledge” which assesses their recall fo city streets and routes. The longer they had been in the job, the more pronounced these differences were (positive correlation)

Question 23

what is Draganski et al

Answer 23

Took brain scans of medical students before and after their exam. Found learning induced changes were seen to have occurred in posterior hippocampus and parietal lobe presumably as a result of revision and examination prep

Question 24

what is functional recovery in the brain

Answer 24

unaffected areas of the brain are able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged. it is another example of neural plasticity.

Question 25

how does the brain carry out functional recovery

Answer 25

The brain is able to rewire itself by forming new synaptic connections as close to areas of damage as possible. Secondary neural pathways that are not typically used to carry out certain functions would be activated or “unmasked” to enable functioning to continue,often in the same way as before (Doidge 2007.)

Question 26

what structural changes aid functional recovery

Answer 26

Axonal sprouting: growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways
2
Reformation of blood vessels)
3
Recruitment of Homologous (similar) areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform tasks

Question 27

what is the strengths of functional recovery and plasticity

Answer 27

Processes involved in plasticity have contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. forms of physical therapy may be required to maintain improvements in functioning. Techniques may include movement therapy and electrical stimulation of the brain to counter the deficits. Research on plasticity has been partially applied to the field of neuroscience. Rehabilitation that works based on it.

Hubel and Wiesel sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysing the brain’s cortical responses. Found that the area ofa visual cortex associated with the shut eye was not idle but continued to process information from the open eye. Loss of function leads to compensatory activity in the brain.

Question 28

what are the weaknesses of plasticity and functional recovery?

Answer 28

The brains ability to rewire it self may have negative(maladaptive) effects. Prolonged drug use has been shown to result in poorer cognitive functioning as well as increased risk of dementia.60-80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome. Phantom limb sensations are usually unpleasant, painful. Processes involved in functional recovery may not always be beneficial

Functional plasticity reduces with age so may not be useful for an old person who had has had brain damage.

Question 29

who conducted split brain research

Answer 29

Sperry

Question 30

what was the procedure of split brain research

Answer 30

An image or word could be projected to a patient’s right visual field and the same, or different image could be projected to the left visual field. In a “normal” brain, the corpus callosum would immediately allow for information to be shared between the hemispheres. However, presenting the image to one hemisphere of a split-brain patient meant that information could not be conveyed from one hemisphere to the other.

Question 31

what were the findings of Sperry’s work?

Answer 31

Right hemisphere cannot produce language
Left hemisphere can produce language

Question 32

what were the strengths of Sperry’s split brain research

Answer 32

Demonstrated Lateralisation brain function
Has produced an impressive and sizeable body of research findings. left hemisphere- verbal and analytical tasks right hemisphere-spatial tasks and musical tasks. Key understanding of brain processes

Methodology was Ingenious as participants would be asked to stare at a fixation point whilst one eye was blindfolded. The image projected would be flashed up for one-tenth of a second so that the eye would not have time to move across the image (so it can only be seen by one hemisphere).This allowed sperry to vary aspects of the basic procedure and ensured that only one hemisphere was receiving information. Highly specialised and standardised procedures.

Theoretical basis.
Prompted a theoretical and philosophical debate about the degree of communication between the hemispheres. There is debate on whether the brain works as two hemispheres even with an intact corpus callosum (pucetti) or whether it works as one whole. Gives value to the research as more research is conducted.