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Psychology 1A > Brain and Behaviour > Flashcards

Brain and Behaviour Flashcards

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0
Q

What is the cortex made of?

A

Grey matter

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1
Q

What is the goal of Cognitive Neuroscience?

A

To determine the relationship between the physiology of the brain and the functions of the mind

Want to figure out how the brain learns language, acquires knowledge, forms memories and other cognitive activities

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2
Q

What does grey matter contain?

A

Cell bodies of the neurons / nerve cells

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3
Q

What is white matter?

A

Axons of the nerve cells

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4
Q

Why is the brain folded?

A

To increase the cortical surface area in a smaller volume

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5
Q

What does the corpus callosum do?

A

Connects the two hemispheres of the brain together

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6
Q

What are the major lobes of brain named after?

A

The skull bones that they lie beneath

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7
Q

What is the cortex (the outer layer of the brain) made of?

A

Cell bodies and dendrites of individual neurons

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8
Q

What does the central sulcus do?

A

Separates the anterior part of the brain from the posterior part of the brain

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9
Q

What is a lesion?

A

Refers to any damage to the brain

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10
Q

What happens if the brain does not receive any blood / oxygen?

A

The brain tissue dies

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11
Q

What is Hemifield neglect?

A

When a person suffers damage to one side of the brain, a deficit in attention and awareness of one side in space is seen

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12
Q

Aphasia - Broca’s area

A

can understand language BUT cannot produce language, have difficulties speaking

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13
Q

Aphasia - Wernicke’s area

A

can speak fluently BUT do not make any sense

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14
Q

What is the Cortical Homunculus?

A

A pictorial representation of the anatomical divisions of the primary motor cortex and primary somatosensory cortex

ie - the portion of the human brain directly responsible for the movement and exchange of sensory and motor information of the body

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15
Q

What the two groups of brain imaging techniques?

A

Structural and Functional

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16
Q

What do structural brain imaging techniques tell us about?

A

The brain’s composition

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17
Q

What do functional brain imaging techniques tell us about?

A

How the brain processes events

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18
Q

What are the further categories of functional brain imaging?

A

Electrical activity and blood flow

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19
Q

What does structure mean with regards to the brain?

A

The form of the brain - it’s composition and interrelated parts

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20
Q

What does function mean in relation to the brain?

A

The actions of the brain - what a particular part does and how it works

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21
Q

What does CT stand for?

A

Computerised Tomography

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22
Q

What does a CT scan do?

A
  • transmits x-rays through the brain

- different brain tissues have different densities therefore they show up differently on the x-ray

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23
Q

What does MRI stand for?

A

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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24
Q

What type of brain imaging technique is a CT scan?

A

Structural

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25
Q

What type of brain imaging technique is a MRI?

A

Structural

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26
Q

What does a MRI do?

A
  • uses a magnet to align the protons in brain tissue
  • the alignment is interrupted frequently by brief radio wave pulses
  • different brain tissues are made up of different elements with different numbers of protons which all have different densities meaning they take different times to realign due to the differing densities
  • this differential timing of realignment is transformed into an image
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27
Q

What are the advantages of an MRI?

A
  • produce very detailed and accurate images of the brain

- can see damaged brain tissue very clearly

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28
Q

What are issues with both PET and MRI?

A
  • not good for recording everyday activities

- this means we need to recorded the electrical potentials or blood flow in the brain

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29
Q

What does EEG and ERP stand for?

A

Electroencephalogram

Event Related Potentials

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30
Q

What type of brain imaging technique are EEG’s & ERP’s?

A

Functional - Electrical

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31
Q

What does an EEG do?

A
  • measures the electrical potentials generated by the brain
  • does this by attaching electrodes to the surface of the scalp
  • large number of electrodes used to cover the surface area of the scalp
  • can locate the source of the electrical activity
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32
Q

What is an ERP?

A

An average of electrical activity over a numerous amount of trials

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33
Q

What are the advantages of an EEG?

A

Measures events in real time (100 milliseconds)

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34
Q

What are the disadvantages of an EEG?

A
  • cannot map the electrical activity in the actual brain
  • the activity picked up may be located deep within the brain
  • do not know in terms of spatial location where that activity is coming from within the brain due to its high levels of folding
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35
Q

What does MEG stand for?

A

Magnetoencephalogram

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36
Q

What type of brain imaging technique is MEG?

A

Functional - Electrical

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37
Q

What is an MEG and what does it do?

A
  • whole helmet of magnetic sensors essentially
  • still measures electrical activity but measures the magnetic fields created by the electrical activity of the brain
  • powerful detectors record the magnetic fields produced
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38
Q

What are the advantages of a MEG?

A
  • magnetic fields are not deflected by the skull or brain which means you can detect which part of the brain it is coming from
  • this is unlike electrical activity which is deflected by various parts of the brain
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39
Q

What are the disadvantages of a MEG?

A
  • problems with detecting deep sources of magnetic fields

- more accurate for recording cortical activity

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40
Q

What does TMS stand for?

A

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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41
Q

Describe TMS

A
  • a coil where a magnetic field is simulated producing a pulse
  • if you give a strong sustained stimulation - wearing out a bit of cortex so you are basically simulating a brain lesion
  • milder simulations - excitation or facilitation effects which are used by psychologists for experiments
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42
Q

What does FUNCTIONAL blood flow allow us to do?

A
  • if you can track where the blood or oxygen is going, you can track the more active sites of the brain
  • blood and oxygen flow more to the areas of the brain which are more active
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43
Q

What does PET stand for?

A

Positron Emission Tomography

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44
Q

What type of brain imaging technique is a PET scan?

A

Functional - blood flow

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45
Q

What is a PET scan?

A
  • when radioactive water is injected into a subject which contains positrons
  • the radioactive positrons follow the blood flowing to active areas of the brain
  • the positrons set off detectors that measure their position which shows up on the image
  • look at different slices of the brain so you can look at differences in blood flow whilst completing different tasks
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46
Q

What are the advantages of a PET scan?

A

They have a fairly good spatial resolution of 1 cm of brain space

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47
Q

What are the disadvantages of PET scans?

A
  • no time resolution

- health issues with introducing radioactivity into a person

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48
Q

What does fMRI stand for?

A

function Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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49
Q

What does an fMRI do?

A
  • measures the position of the blood with high or low levels oxygen
  • blood carries oxygen which has magnetic properties therefore the magnet measures the position of blood with high/low levels of oxygen
50
Q

What are the advantages of fMRI?

A

Very good spatial resolution of 2mm

51
Q

What are the disadvantages of fMRI’s?

A
  • issues with measuring blood flow as it is a metabolic consequence
  • does have a better time resolution than a PET scan of about 1 to 2 seconds, but still 1 second counts for a lot in psychology
52
Q

What is the nervous system?

A

The body’s control centre

53
Q

What is the Peripheral Nervous System?

A
  • contains all the neural structures that lie outside the brain and spinal cord
  • branches out from the spinal cord & brain to reach the extremities of the body
54
Q

What are the two major divisions of the Peripheral Nervous System?

A

The Somatic Nervous System and the Autonomic Nervous System

55
Q

What is the Somatic Nervous System?

A

A system of sensory and motor neurons which allow us to sense and respond to our environment

56
Q

What do sensory neurons do?

A

Carry messages from our sense to the central nervous system

57
Q

What do motor neurons do?

A

Carry messages from the brain & spinal cord to the muscles that control our voluntary movements

58
Q

What is the Autonomic Nervous System?

A

A system that senses the body’s internal functions and controls many glands and muscles

59
Q

What are the 2 divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System?

A

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

60
Q

What does the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system do?

A

Activation or arousal (fight or flight)

61
Q

What does the parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system do?

A
  • Slows down body processes

- Maintains a state of tranquility

62
Q

What do both parts (sympathetic and parasympathetic) of the autonomic nervous system achieve?

A

Homeostasis - a delicately balanced or steady internal state

63
Q

What does the Central Nervous system contain?

A

The brain and the spinal cord

64
Q

What does the spinal cord do?

A

Connects most parts of the peripheral nervous system with the brain

65
Q

What is the spinal cord made of and what does it do?

A

Densely packed bundle of nerve fibres

Transmits messages from sensory and motor neurons between the brain and the rest of the body

66
Q

What side of the spinal cord do sensory neurons connect to?

A

The back of the spinal cord

67
Q

What side of the spinal cord do motor neurons connect to?

A

The front of the spinal cord

68
Q

Describe a basic spinal reflex

A
  • touch something hot - sensory receptors in skin trigger nerve impulses in sensory nerves
  • these impulses enter the back of the spinal cords and synapse with Interneurons
  • these Interneurons excite motor neurons that send impulses to your hand so that it pulls away
69
Q

What are the 3 major subdivisions of the brain?

A

1) the Hindbrain
2) the Midbrain
3) the Forebrain

70
Q

What does the Hindbrain do?

A

Co-ordinaries movement into action

71
Q

Which features are in the hindbrain?

A

Brainstem, Cerebellum, Medulla & Pons

72
Q

What does the Brainstem do?

A

Regulates functions such as heart rate, breathing & swallowing

Consists of the Pons and Medulla

73
Q

What do the Pons do & what are they involved in?

A
  • carry nerve impulses between higher & lower levels of the nervous system
  • involved in sleep & arousal
74
Q

What does the Medulla do and what is is involved in?

A
  • plays an important role in body functions such as heart rate & respiration
  • involved in breathing & circulation
75
Q

What does the Cerebellum do & what is it involved in?

A
  • concerned primarily with muscular movement, co-ordination and aids motor memory
  • involved in fine muscle movement & balance
  • regulates movements requiring precise timing
  • also plays a role in learning & memory
  • easily disrupted by alcohol
76
Q

What does the Midbrain consist of?

A

Clusters of sensory & motor neurons

77
Q

What structure does the Midbrain contain?

A

Reticular Formation

78
Q

What does the Reticular Formation do & what is it involved in?

A
  • alerts higher centres of the brain that messages are coming
  • then it either blocks or allows these messages
  • plays a central role in consciousness, sleep and attention
79
Q

What does the Forebrain contain?

A

Cerebrum, Thalamus, Hypothalmus & the Limbic System

80
Q

What is the Cerebrum & what is it involved in?

A
  • major structure of the forebrain
  • consists of 2 large hemispheres that wrap around the brain stem
  • involved in sensing, learning, emotion, consciousness and voluntary movement
81
Q

What is the Thalamus and what is it involved with?

A
  • like a switchboard - organises inputs from sensory organs and routes them to the appropriate areas of the brain
  • basically a relay centre for incoming sensory information
82
Q

Give an example of disrupted functioning in the Thalamus

A

Schizophrenia

  • garbled sensory information gets passed around
83
Q

What is the Hypothalamus and what is it involved with?

A
  • plays a major role in motivation & emotion
  • control hormonal secretions that regulate sexual behaviour, metabolism, reactions to stress and to pleasure/pain
  • also regulates basic biological needs such as hunger, thirst, sleep, temperature
  • contains the Suprachiasmat Nucleus (SCN) which regulates circadian sleep & wake cycles
84
Q

What does the Limbic System do?

A
  • helps co-ordinate behaviours needed to satisfy motivational and emotional urges that arise in the hypothalamus

AKA controls emotion and motivation

85
Q

What structures are within the Limbic System?

A

Hippocampus and Amygdala

86
Q

What does the Hippocampus do?

A

Involved in learning and memory

Specifically with the forming and retrieving of memories

87
Q

What does the Amygdala do?

A

Involved in emotion & aggression

Organises motivational and emotional response patterns such as aggression and fear

88
Q

What is the Cerebral Cortex?

A
  • sheet of grey, in myelinated cells that form the outermost layer of the brain
  • has fissures (folds) - this increases the surface area of the brain in the small volume of the skull
89
Q

What do the fissures in the Cerebral Cortex do?

A

Split the brain into four lobes

90
Q

Name the four lobes of the brain

A

Frontal, Parietal, Occipital and Temporal

91
Q

What does the Motor Cortex do?

A

Controls the 600 or more muscles involved in voluntary body movements

92
Q

Why is it that if a person’s right motor cortex is damaged, they are paralysed on the left side of the body?

A

Because the nerve tracts from the motor cortex cross over at the level of Medulla

This means each hemisphere governs movement for the opposite side of the body

93
Q

What is the Somatic Sensory Cortex?

A
  • receives sensory input that gives rise to our sensations of heat, touch, cold and to our senses of balance and body movement
  • each side of the body sends sensory input to the opposite hemisphere of the brain
  • the amount of cortex devoted to each body area is directly proportional to that region’s sensory sensitivity

Eg nose, ears, tongue etc have a larger amount of cortex compared to the back or feet

94
Q

What is Wernicke’s area involved with?

A

Speech comprehension

95
Q

What is Broca’s area involved with?

A

Mainly the production of speech

Also connected with the motor cortex region that controls the muscles used in speech

96
Q

Define Aphasia

A

A disorder of language produced by lesions in certain areas of the cortex

97
Q

Describe Broca’s aphasia

A

Organisation of speech suffers

Ideas are all there

Fluency suffers - can’t form a complete, flowing and coherent sentence

98
Q

Describe Wernicke’s aphasia

A

Fluency of speech is in tact - flowing sentences

Ability to speak meaningful words is gone - made up words

99
Q

What does studying patients with brain damage allow us to do?

A

Investigate what areas of the cortex are involved with

100
Q

What is an Apraxia?

A

Disorder in action

101
Q

What are Agnosia’s?

A

Disorders of perception

102
Q

What functions does is left hemisphere of the brain associated with?

A

Language, logic, critical thinking, numbers, reasoning

103
Q

What functions is the right hemisphere of the brain associated with?

A

Creativity, intuition, recognition of faces, expression of emotions, music, colour, images

104
Q

What connects the two hemisphere of the brain?

A

The corpus callosum

105
Q

What is the corpus callosum made up of?

A

A broad white band of myelinated nerve fibres

106
Q

What is the Association Cortex involved with?

A

Many important mental functions such as perception, language and thought

Involved in higher mental processes - defines us as humans essentially

107
Q

What happens if the Association Cortex is damaged?

A

In specific parts, disruption or loss of functions such as speech, understanding, thinking and problem solving can occur

108
Q

Define Agnosia

A

The inability to identify familiar objects

109
Q

What does the Parietal Lobe do?

A

Organises visual and auditory space

Tells us where things are in space

Detects moving objects in space

Organises which part of space we pay attention to

Damage here = neglect symptoms

110
Q

Define neglect syndromes

A

The result of certain lesions of the right parietal lobe that leaves a patient in attentive to stimuli on the left causing them to ignore the left side of their body

111
Q

Describe the Temporal Lobe

A
  • lobe of the cortex lying below the temples in each cerebral hemisphere
  • includes the primary auditory projection area, Wernicke’s area and (subcoritcally) the amygdala & hippocampus
112
Q

What can damage to the Temporal Lobe result in

A

Disturbances of visual and auditory perception
Impaired organisation & categorisation of verbal material
Disturbance of language comprehension
Impaired long-term memory

Right side lesions can also effect recognition of visual content for example, recall of faces

113
Q

Describe the Frontal Lobe

A

29% of the human brain, least understood part

Involved in emotional experience

Damage can result in the loss of intellectual abilities such as planning and carrying out action sequences

114
Q

Describe the Prefrontal Cortex

A

The seat of executive functions

115
Q

Define executive functions

A

Mental abilities that allow people to direct their behaviour in an adaptive fashion

Eg goal setting, judgement, strategic planning, impulse control

Damage = inability to understand & anticipate future consequences

116
Q

What is a lobotomy?

A

Neurosurgical treatment which surgically cuts the connections between the prefrontal areas of the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain

117
Q

What are Neurons & date their three main parts

A

Basic blocks of the nervous system

Soma = cell body

Dendrites = specialised receiving units that collect messages from neighbouring neurons & send them onto the cell body

Axon = conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles or glands

118
Q

What are Glial cells?

A

Cells in the brain acting as guard wires for growing neurons
Provide a supportive scaffolding for mature neurons
Form the myelin sheath and blood-brain barrier

119
Q

What does the blood brain barrier do?

A

Protects the brain from noxious substances & some drugs

120
Q

What are Nodes of Ranvier?

A

Gaps between the glial-cell wrappers that form the myelin sheath round axons

Crucial to the speed of the neural impulses going along the myelinated axons

121
Q

What is a synapse?

A

The juncture of 2 neurons

Consists of the presynaptic and post synaptic membrans as well as the synaptic cleft between them

122
Q

How can drugs affect synapses?

A

1) mimic the effect of the neurotransmitter (agonist)
2) influence the release of the neurotransmitter from vesicles
3) block re-uptake of the neurotransmitter from the synapse
4) block receptors in the post synaptic membrane (antagonist)
5) produce more or less of the neurotransmitter
6) prevent vesicles from releasing the neurotransmitter

Psychology 1A (6 decks)

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