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Biology A-level > Brain and Learning > Flashcards

Brain and Learning Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the location of the cerebrum:

A

Largest part of the brain that is divided into two cerebral hemispheres containing a thin outer layer called the cerebral cortex

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2
Q

Describe the functions of the cerebrum:

A

Vision at the back, thinking at the front, learning

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3
Q

Describe the location of the hypothalamus:

A

Beneath the middle part of the brain

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4
Q

Describe the function of the hypothalamus:

A

Maintains body temperature during thermoregulation

Produces hormones that control the pituitary gland

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5
Q

Describe the location of the medulla oblongata:

A

At the base of the brain, at the top of the spinal cord

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6
Q

Describe the function of the medulla oblongata:

A

Controls breathing and heart rate

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7
Q

Describe the location of the cerebellum:

A

Underneath the cerebrum at the back of the brain

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8
Q

Describe the function of the cerebellum:

A

Important for coordinating movement and balance

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9
Q

Name the four different types of brain scanner:

A

CT scans, MRI scans, fMRI scans, PET scans

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10
Q

CT scans: What do they do?

A

They use radiation (X-rays) to produce cross-section images of the brain

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11
Q

CT scans: what colour do dense structures show up?

A

Dense structures absorb more radiation so show up as a lighter colour on the scan

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12
Q

CT scans: What do they show/not show?

A

Show the major structures in the brain but NOT the function of the structures

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13
Q

CT scans: How can they be used to diagnose medical problems + example:

A

They show damaged or diseased areas of the brain eg bleeding in the brain
Blood has a different density to tissue so shows up lighter revealing the extent and location of bleeding

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14
Q

CT scans: How can they be used to diagnose medical problems + example:

A

They show damaged or diseased areas of the brain eg bleeding in the brain
Blood has a different density to tissue so shows up lighter revealing the extent and location of bleeding

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15
Q

CT scans: disadvantages?

A

Use X-rays so potential to cause mutations in DNA which may lead to cancer

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16
Q

MRI scans: What do they do?

A

They use a strong magnetic field and radio waves to produce cross-section images of the brain

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17
Q

MRI scans: how are they better than CT scans?

A

MRI produces higher quality images for soft tissue types + better resolution between tissue types which gives an overall better resolution final picture

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18
Q

MRI scans: What do they show?

A

Allow you to clearly see the difference between normal and abnormal brain tissue
Only shows structure, not function

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19
Q

MRI scans: How can they be used to diagnose medical problems + example?

A

Show damaged areas of the brain
Eg A brain tumour – tumour cells respond differently to a magnetic field, so they show up a lighter colour revealing exact size and location

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20
Q

MRI scans: disadvantages?

A

Very expensive

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21
Q

fMRI: what do they show?

A

They show function and brain activity

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22
Q

fMRI: how do they show brain function?

A
  • More oxygenated blood flows to active areas of the brain to supply neurones with oxygen and glucose
  • Molecules in oxygen respond differently to a magnetic field than those in deoxygenated blood – signal retuned to scanner is stronger from oxygenated blood so active areas identified as lit up
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23
Q

fMRI: How can they be used to diagnose medical problems + example?

A

Allow you to study conditions caused by abnormal activity in the brain
Eg fMRI can be taken of a patient’s brain before and during a seizure to pinpoint which part of the brain is not working properly and find the cause of the seizure

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24
Q

PET scans: What do they show?

A

They show how active different areas of the brain are

Show both structure and function

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25
Q

PET scans: Describe the procedure:

A
  • A radioactive tracer is introduced into the body and is absorbed into the tissues
  • The scanners detect the radioactivity of the tracer in the body
  • Different scanners can be used eg radioactively labelled glucose can be used to look at glucose metabolism
26
Q

PET scans: How can they be used to diagnose medical problems + example?

A

Can show if areas in the brain are unusually active

Eg Alzheimer’s Disease, metabolism in certain areas of the brain is reduced – PET scans show this reduction

27
Q

What is habituation?

A

The reduced response to an unimportant stimulus after repeated exposure over time

28
Q

Why is habituation important in animals?

A

So that animals don’t waste energy responding to unimportant stimuli
So that they can spend more time doing other activities for their survival eg feeding

29
Q

CP 15 - Investigating habituation:

A

1) Allow the snail to get used to its new surroundings for a few minutes until it has fully emerged from its shell.
2) Dampen a cotton wool bud with water. Firmly touch the snail between the eye stalks with the dampened cotton wool bud and immediately start the stopwatch.
3) Measure the length of time between the touch and the snail being fully emerged from its shell once again, with its eye stalks fully extended.
4) Repeat the procedure in step 3 for a total of 15 touches, timing how long the snail takes to re-emerge each time.
5) Record your results in a suitable table.

Independent variable: The number of times the snail is poked with a cotton bud
Dependent variable: Time taken for eye stalks to re-emerge from the shell
Control variables: point where bud touches, when to stop the stopwatch, age and size of the snail for repeats

30
Q

How does electrical impulses relate to habituation + how does this work?

A

1) Repeated exposure to a stimulus decreases the amount of calcium ions that enter the presynaptic neurone
2) Decreases in the influx of calcium ions decreases the number of neurotransmitters released into the synaptic left so that fewer bind to receptors on the postsynaptic neurone
3) Fewer sodium ion channels on the postsynaptic membrane open so reduced chance of threshold for AP being reached – fewer AP sent to the effector to carry out the response

31
Q

What is the visual cortex?

A

An area of the cerebral cortex at the back of the brain that contains ocular dominance columns

32
Q

What is the role of the visual cortex?

A

To receive and process visual information

33
Q

How are ocular dominance columns arranged?

A

They alternate between left and right ocular dominance columns
(Right OD columns receive information from the right eye and vice versa)

34
Q

Who used animals to study the visual cortex?

A

Hubel and Wiesel

35
Q

Describe Hubel and Wiesel’s experiment on kittens:

A
  • Stitched shut one eye on each kitten and kept like this for several months before eye was unstitched
  • Found that the kitten’s eye that had been stitched shut was blind
  • Also found that ocular dominance columns for the stitched-up eye were a lot smaller than normal and the ocular dominance columns for the normal eye were a lot bigger than normal
  • The neurones in the visual cortex had switched dominance
36
Q

Describe Hubel and Wiesel’s experiment on adult cats:

A
  • Stitched shut one eye on each cat and kept like this for several months before eye was unstitched
  • When their eyes were unstitched, the eye had not gone blind
  • The cats fully recovered their vision and their ocular dominance columns remained the same
37
Q

What did Hubel and Wiesel conclude?

A

The visual cortex only develops into normal left and right ocular dominance columns if both eyes are visually stimulated in very early stages of life = critical period

38
Q

Describe experiments on cataracts that investigate visual development in humans:

A

Cataract = make the lens in the eye go cloudy blurring vision

  • If a baby has a cataract, it’s important to remove it immediately otherwise eye won’t develop properly and will be damaged for life
  • If an adult has a cataract, it’s not so serious as normal vision will come back straight away as visual system is already developed
39
Q

What happens to the visual cortex during the critical period?

A

Synapses that receive visual stimulation and pass nerve impulses to the visual cortex are retained + synapses that don’t receive visual stimulation and don’t pass nerve impulses to the visual cortex are removed

40
Q

Arguments FOR using animals in medical research:

A
  • Animals are similar to humans so has led to medical breakthroughs
  • Only carried out when necessary and scientists follow strict regulations
  • The only way to study how a drug affects the whole body
  • Some argue humans have a greater right to life due to having more complex brains
41
Q

Arguments AGAINST using animals in medical research:

A
  • Animals are different to humans, so drugs have different effects
  • Experiments can cause pain and distress to animals
  • Alternatives to using animals eg computer models
  • Animals have the right not to be experimented on
42
Q

What are some measures of brain development?

A

The size of brain, the number of neurones, level of brain function (speech, intelligence)

43
Q

Why is it hard to investigate the effects of nature and nurture?

A
  • Genetic and environmental factors interact

- Lots of different genes and environmental factors to investigate

44
Q

What are the 5 methods for investigating the effects of nature and nurture on brain development?

A
  1. Animal experiments
  2. Twin studies
  3. Cross-cultural studies
  4. New-born studies
  5. Brain damage studies
45
Q

Animal experiments: How do scientists use animals?

A

Scientists use individuals of the same species that will be genetically similar, so differences in brain development will more likely be down to nurture

46
Q

Animal experiments: How can scientists study the effects of different genes + example?

A

Genetically engineer mice to lack a particular gene and then raise them with and without the gene in a similar environments – differences due to nature rather than nurture
Eg Mice engineered to lack the Lgl1 gene develop enlarged brain regions and fluid build ups = nature plays a role in brain development

47
Q

Twin studies: How do scientists use twins?

A

Scientists can compare the brain development of separated identical twins – any differences are due to nurture not nature, and any similarities are due to nature
EG Identical twins have very similar IQ scores suggesting nature plays a role in intelligence

48
Q

Twin studies: Why are environmental and genetic factors not completely separated?

A

Shared the same environment in the womb

49
Q

Twin studies: How can identical twins raised in similar environments be used?

A

Scientists compare identical twins raised in similar environments to non-identical twins raised is similar environments to effectively cancel out the influence of the environment so difference in brain development between identical and non-identical twins more likely to be down to nature than nurture

50
Q

Cross-cultural studies: How can scientists investigate brain development?

A

By comparing large groups of children who are the same age but from different cultures as they will have different environmental influence eg beliefs and education
Differences in brain development between different cultures more likely to be due to nurture

51
Q

New-born studies: How can scientists investigate brain development?

A

New-born babies brain hasn’t been affected MUCH by environment so scientists can see what functions they’re born with and how developed the brain is – more likely to be down to nature
Nb brain of a new-born baby has been slightly affected by environment in the womb

52
Q

Brain damage studies: How can scientists investigate brain development?

A

Scientists can compare the development of a chosen function in children with and without brain damage (can’t be done on adult as can’t repair itself)
IF the characteristic still develops in children who have brain damage, brain development is more likely to be down to nurture than nature and vice versa

53
Q

Name two disorders linked to an imbalance of specific, naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain

A

Parkinson’s disease and depression

54
Q

Name two disorders linked to an imbalance of specific, naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain

A

Parkinson’s disease and depression

55
Q

Parkinson’s Disease: what is the effect?

A

A brain disorder that affects the motor skills of people

56
Q

Parkinson’s Disease: what causes it?

A

When neurones in parts of the brain that control movement are destroyed
These neurones normally produce NT dopamine

57
Q

Parkinson’s Disease: How does a lack of dopamine lead to tremors and slow movement?

A
  • A lack of dopamine means that less is released into the synaptic clefts so less dopamine binds to the receptors on the postsynaptic membrane
  • Fewer sodium ion channels open so the postsynaptic cell is less likely to depolarise
  • Fewer action potentials are produced leading to tremors and slow movement
58
Q

Parkinson’s Disease: How does the drug L-dopa work?

A
  • Absorbed into the brain and converted into dopamine by the enzyme dopa-decarboxylase which increases dopamine levels in the brain
  • Higher dopamine levels = more nerve impulses transmitted across synapses in parts of the brain that control movement
  • More control over their movement
59
Q

Depression: how is it linked to neurotransmitters?

A

Scientists think there’s a link between a low level of NT serotonin and depression

60
Q

Depression: what does serotonin do?

A

Transmits nerve impulses across synapses in parts of the brain that control mood

61
Q

Depression: What drugs are used to treat?

A

Selective serotonin reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) increase serotonin levels by preventing its reuptake at synapses

62
Q

How does MDMA elevate mood?

A
  • MDMA increases serotonin levels by inhibiting the reuptake into presynaptic neurones – it binds and blocks reuptake proteins on the presynaptic membrane
  • MDMA also triggers the release of serotonin from presynaptic neurones causing depolarisation of postsynaptic neurones in parts of the brain that control mood

Biology A-level (8 decks)

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