bipsychology Flashcards
what 3 layers make up the brain
central core
limbic system
cerebrum
what is the function of the central core
all unconcious actions
it regulates the endocrine system to maintain homeostasis
what is the function of the limbic system
it regulates emotions and it is located around the central core
what is the function of the cerebrum
deals with higher intellectual processes
what is phrenology
introduced by Gall and it believes that the shape of the head and the brain’s function correspond with each other
what is the idea of localisation
the idea that functions are specific to different parts of the brain
what is the idea of lateralisation
the idea that functions are controlled by one of the brains hemispheres
what does contralateral mean
it means that the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and vice versa
where is the motor cortex located and what is it’s function
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.
where is the somatosensory cortex located and what is it’s function
is located in the parietal lobe .processes sensory from the skin(touch, heat and pressure)
where is the visual cortex located and what is it’s function
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
where is the auditory cortex and what is it’s function
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.
what is Broca’s area responsible for and what happens if it is damaged
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)
what is Wernicke’s area responsible for and what happens if it is damaged
an area in the left temporal lobe as being responsible for language comprehension. will lead to Wernicke’s aphasia which will produce nonsense words
what are the strengths of localisation of function in the brain?
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
what is an fMRi
is a way of studying the brain which detects changes in blood flow and oxygenation which occur as a result of brain activity
what is an EEG
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.
what is an ERP
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
what is a post mortem examination
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
what is plasticity?
the ability of the brain to change its functions
when does the amount of neural connections peak and at what number
peaking at approximately 15,000 at age 2-3
what is maguire’s study
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)
what is Draganski et al
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
what is functional recovery in the brain
unaffected areas of the brain are able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged. it is another example of neural plasticity.