BLOA Content

Question 1

What are neurons?

Answer 1

• nerve cell involved in behaviour. They send electrochemical messages to the brain so that people people can respond to a stimulus, this transfer of messages is known as neurotransmission.

Question 2

Define neurotransmission

Answer 2

the method in which messages are sent through the central nervous system

Question 3

Explanation of neurotransmission

Answer 3

• when a nerve impulse reaches the end of the neuron, the neuron fires and neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap where they travel to the neuron at the other end of the synaptic gap.
• If the neurotransmitter is not absorbed it can be re-uptaken, diffused or destroyed. The neurotransmitter then binds to specific receptors at the other side. If a neurotransmitter is blocked or replaced (eg, because another chemical interferes) than the messages change. This affects the physiological system, cognition, mood or behaviour.

Question 4

What is dopamine

• what is it involved in
• where is it released fro
• what increases it

Answer 4

a neurotransmitter involved in motivation such as pleasure-seeking, control of movement, emotional response and addictive behaviour. It is released in the brains reward system.
• Addictive drugs or substances increase the amount of dopamine in the reward system.
• It can be released by environmental triggers eg. Sight of food, cirgarette package, because this is associated with pleasure.

Question 5

What is acetylcholine?

Answer 5

a neurotransmitter which has been linked to synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and appears to play an important role in the learning and short-term memory via the cholinergic system (Shinoe et al 2005).

Question 6

What is the cholinergic system?

Answer 6

a system of cells that uses acetylcholine in transmitting nerve signals. Memory processing and higher cognitive functioning are dependent on the cholinergic.

Question 7

Do neurotransmitters effect behaviour?

Answer 7

Neurotransmission is an effective way to communicate messages through the brain. Therefore, neurotransmitters such as dopamine and acetylcholine affect specific human behaviours such as goal-directed behaviour and memory. Overall it can be concluded that neurotransmitters do affect human behaviour in a variety of ways.

Question 8

What is melatonin?

Answer 8

a hormone that plays an important role in the entrainment of our circadian rhythms.

Question 9

What is entrainment?

What are circadian rhythms?

Answer 9

The matching of physiological processes to changes in the environment.
Circadian rhythms= physiological processes that work accordingly to roughly 24 hour cycles.
An example of the entrainment of a circadian rhythm is the use of external cues about daylight to change when we feel tired. Melatonin plays a crucial role in this entrainment process.

Question 10

Melatonin in entrainment process

• where is it secreted
• what receives info from sense organs
• when is it secreted
• what does it inhibit
• how is it linked to SAD

Answer 10

It is secreted from the pineal gland, at the base of the brain. The pineal gland receives information from the eyes and other sense organs about light and temperature levels. The pineal gland secretes melatonin during darkness but not during light.
One of the major functions of melatonin is to communicate with the pituitary gland in order to inhibit the secretion of many other hormones that relate to states of wakefulness.
It is thought that seasonal affective disorder (SAD) relates to melatonin levels. SAD often occurs at the beginning and end of winter, in countries where there are very short winter days, this reduced exposure to day light may lead to increased levels of melatonin.

Question 11

What is oxytocin?

• where is it secreted
• what is it linked to

Answer 11

secreted by the hypothalamus and is released into the bloodstream via the pituitary gland or into the brain and spinal cord where it binds to oxytocin receptors. Oxytocin acts primarily as a neurotransmitter in the brain.
Oxytocin has been linked to trusting other people. Experimental manipulation of oxytocin levels have shown an increase in trust.

Question 12

Changes in light and melatonin levels

• what happens as light decreases
• how does this affect the body

Answer 12

As natural light decreases and it gets darker and colder, more melatonin is released from the pituitary gland into the blood stream. This makes the body start to shut down, making us feel tired. It is thought that seasonal affective disorder and jet lag are linked to melatonin levels.
Supporting research: Avery et al (2001)
Use: this research suggests that the environmental factor of light has an affect on the physiological process on the release of the hormone melatonin. When there is more light, less melatonin is released.
Evaluate: used three different groups including a control group which means that results can be compared. However, they also used self-reports which aren’t objective.

Question 13

Effect of navigational training on the hippocampus

• the idea that…
• what happens because of environmental demands

Answer 13

This is the idea that, although localization of function occurs, the specific location of a function is not necessarily fixed for everybody, and areas of the brain dedicated to certain functions, can be redistributed according to environmental demands.
Supporting research: Maguire et al (2000)
Use: research suggests that the continuous use of an environmental stimulus leads to neuroplasticity when the use of one area of the brain is increased, this area increases in volume. With the taxi drivers, the environmental factor of an increased use of spatial memory, which is localised to the hippocampus, lead to an increase in the volume of the hippocampus.

Question 14

What are the implications of lifelong neuroplasticity?

• illnesses
• negative life events

Answer 14

1. Illnesses that may have been seen as incurable in the past may now be able to be cured. This can be suggested as the idea of neuroplasticity is that the brain changes and so with the right environment it may be possible to change the brain for the better and cure illnesses.
2. This can also be linked to the idea that the neural impact of negative life events can be reversed eg Romanian orphans.- the environment can encourage the negative to be reversed.

Question 15

Examine one interaction between cognitions and physiology in terms of behaviour. Evaluate two relevant studies.

Answer 15

• How damage to hippocampus can cause memory impairment.
• Two case studies: Clive Wearing and H.M.

Clive use: shows clear interaction between damage to the hippocampus and memory. Once his hippocampus was damage he couldn’t consolidate or store new memories.

H.M use: shows the interaction between the hippocampus and memory, how the hippocampus is important in memory processing and storage of new memories. Indicated that the hippocampus in a temporary store rather than permanent.

Question 16

Ethics of brain imaging technologies

Answer 16

Ethically not ok:
• Invasive looking into a person’s brain.
• Looking into their brain and seeing their thought before they are conscious of them –judging people by what they supposedly intend to do is unfair as there is a different between what you think and what you do.
Ethically ok:
• Only a picture-can give insight into why people behave the way they do.
• It can give an insight into biological factors which may affect the way we act.

Question 17

Evolutionary psychology
-what is it a way of
-Darwin's Theory of evolution 
(NS)
-ultimate causes
-non conscious process

Answer 17

• It is not an area of study like ‘memory’ or ‘social behaviour’. It is a way of thinking about psychology that can be applied to any topic within it.
• Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Natural Selection: is the gradual process by which nature selects the forms most fit to survive and reproduce in a given environment. Therefore, evolutionary psychologists believe that all of our modern behaviours must either aid survival or our ability to reproduce.
• Evolutionary psychologists explain behaviour in terms of ultimate causes- focus on how these behaviours may have been adaptive in a species evolutionary past.
• A non-conscious process- our past and present natural yearning simply reflect the genes way of making more genes.

Question 18

what is behaviour genetics?

Answer 18

tries to calculate to what extent a given psychological trait is inherited and to what extent it is affect by the environment.

Question 19

what is molecular genetics?

Answer 19

involves trying to work out which specific genes ‘code for’ the psychological traits that behavioural genetics has told us are inherited.

Question 20

Define intelligence

Answer 20

the mental quality that consist of the ability to learn from experiences, adapt to new situations, understand how and handle abstract concepts, and use knowledge to manipulate one’s environment.

Question 21

What are concordance rates?

Answer 21

the presence of the same trait in both members of a pair of twins or set of individuals.

Question 22

Ethical consideration into genetic influence on behaviour

Answer 22

1. Prejudice: once screening becomes available eg in employment/education.
2. Harmful effects: on individuals sense of self and autonomy when they know about their genetic dispositions.
3. Genetic engineering/prenatal screening/selective abortions leading to designer babies.
4. It’s expensive: main focus for genetic research at the moment, trying to isolate genes that cause genetic behaviour.
5. Eugenics: people with desirable traits are allowed to reproduce, people with undesirable traits are not.
6. Determinism- a belief that all behaviour is caused by prior events, external or internal factors; determinism leaving no room for alternatives. Choice is impossible because behaviour is caused by the influences outside/inside the person
7. Free will- the ability to make decisions and choose behaviours freely; behaviour is under the control of the individual rather than other forces.