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.
how does the brain carry out functional recovery
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.)
what structural changes aid functional recovery
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
what is the strengths of functional recovery and plasticity
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.
what are the weaknesses of plasticity and functional recovery?
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.
who conducted split brain research
Sperry
what was the procedure of split brain research
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.
what were the findings of Sperry’s work?
Right hemisphere cannot produce language
Left hemisphere can produce language
what were the strengths of Sperry’s split brain research
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.
