Brain and Neuropsychology

Question 1

What is the nervous system?

Answer 1

Our primary internal communication system
Consisting of the brain and the spinal chord
Split into the central and peripheral nervous system

Question 2

What does the nervous system do?

Answer 2

Sends, receives and interprets information from all parts of the body.
Two main functions
1. collects, processes and responds to info from environment
2. coordinates the working of different organs and cells in the body

Question 3

How is the nervous system split?

Answer 3

• central and peripheral nervous system
• peripheral is split into somatic and autonomic
• autonomic is split into sympathetic and parasympathetic

Question 4

What does the central nervous system do?

Answer 4

• made up of the brain and spinal chord
• where all complex commands and decisions are made

Question 5

What does the peripheral nervous system do?

Answer 5

• transmits info about voluntary activity
• communication between the CNS and the rest of the body using millions of neurons
• coordinates some reflex responses

Question 6

What does the somatic nervous system do?

Answer 6

• transmits info from sense organs to CNS
• receives info from CNS that tells muscles to act
• voluntary movement of muscles

Question 7

What does the autonomic nervous system do?

Answer 7

• operates involuntarily
• has two main divisions (sympathetic and parasympathetic)
• responsible for vital life functions
• controls homeostasis

Question 8

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 8

• coordinates our organs when in situations that need arousal and expending energy
• prepares the body for fight or flight
  (dilates pupils, raises heart rate, inhibits saliva production, contracts rectum)

Question 9

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

Answer 9

• coordinates organs when we need to relax and conserve energy
• slows heart rate and promotes digestion
• tends to have opposite effect to sympathetic system (constricts pupils, stimulates digestion/saliva production, decrease heart rate, relax rectum)

Question 10

How does flight or flight work?

Answer 10

• threat is detected (hypothalamus detects stressor and instructs ANS to change to aroused state)
• adrenaline is released (sympathetic system tells pituitary gland to release ACTH which tells adrenal glands to releas adrenaline)
• fight or flight response (triggers physiological change in the body)
• threat passes (returns to parasympathetic state and acts as a break)

Question 11

What does James-Lange theory suggest?

Answer 11

• relationship between emotion and physiological changes
• 1.event 2.arousal 3.interpretation 4.emotion
  Says that we have to interpret the changes in our body to decide which emotion we are experiencing.
  No changes = No emotion

Question 12

What is a strength of the James-Lange theory?

Answer 12

P- There is evidence to support it in people who have phobias
E- If someone falls in public they have an emotional reaction (anxiety) so they avoid public situations. There is an association between emotion and the situation
C- suggests emotion and avoidance are a result of the reaction

Question 13

Explain the weakness of the James-Lange theory saying that is it challenged by other theories.

Answer 13

P- Challenged by Cannon-Bard theory
E- Cannon-Bard theory suggests we experience emotions and emotional arousal at the same time. Also physiological arousal from exercise doesn’t lead to emotion.
C- Cannon-Bard explains some of the emotional situations that James-Lange theory struggles with.

Question 14

Explain the weakness that James-Lange theory might be too simple.

Answer 14

P- emotions may be more complex according to two-factor theory
E- two-factor theory suggests we need social cues to interpret emotions. kissing someone and heart racing= excitement
C- Suggests James-Lange theory doesn’t explain how we decide the emotion we are experiencing

Question 15

What does a neuron do and name the parts of a neuron.

Answer 15

They communicate information around the body and the nervous systems
- Dendrites
- Cell body
- Nucleus
- Axon
- Myelin sheath
- Nodes of Ranvier
- Terminal buttons
- Synapse

Question 16

What is the function of a sensory neuron and what would it look like?

Answer 16

• First neuron needed
• Receives info from sensory organs and carries it towards the CNS
• Long dendrites and a short axon

Question 17

What is the function of a relay neuron and what would it look like?

Answer 17

• Second neuron needed
• Connects sensory and motor neurons
• Short dendrites and short axon

Question 18

What is the function of a motor neuron and what would it look like?

Answer 18

• Last neuron needed
• Carries info from CNS to effectors and tells our muscles to react (expand or contract for movement)
• Short dendrites and long axon

Question 19

What is a neurotransmitter?

Answer 19

A chemical released from synaptic vesicles that are sent across the synapse from one neuron to another. Can cause excitation or inhibition of the next neuron.

Question 20

What is synaptic transmission?

Answer 20

The process where neurons communicate with each other through chemical messages across the synapse.
communicated from the presynaptic neuron to the postsynaptic neuron

Question 21

Explain the release of neurotransmitters.

Answer 21

-Electrical signal reaches end of neuron
-Arrives at terminal button
-Vesicles contain neurotransmitters
-Electrical signal causes them to be released from vesicle
-They travel from one neuron to another over the synaptic cleft

Question 22

Explain the reuptake of neurotransmitters.

Answer 22

-Neurotransmitter crosses synaptic cleft
-Attaches to post synaptic receptors found in dendrites of next neuron
-Message turned back to electrical one
-Neurotransmitters left in synapse are broken down by enzymes and reabsorbed by presynaptic neuron and used again

Question 23

Explain excitation and inhibition

Answer 23

Neurotransmitters have an excitatory or inhibitory effect on the next neuron or both.
Neurotransmitters with a positive charge (adrenaline) increase the positive charge of the next neuron making it more likely to fire (excitation)
Others with a negative charge (seretonin) increase negative charge of next neuron so less likely to fire (inhibition)

Question 24

What is summation?

Answer 24

Can receive thousands of signals within a network of neurons so some will be excitatory and others inhibitory. If there is more excitatory then summation occurs and the neuron will fire causing an electrical impulse.

Question 25

What is Hebb’s theory?

Answer 25

He says that just like muscles strengthen when working out, so does the brain.
The synaptic connections strengthen when they are used.
Suggests the brain is always changing (plastic) and forms new connections when we learn.
Cell assemblies fire together when we practice and neural pathways develop.
The more we practice the more efficient and effective the neural pathways become.
The pathways change physically so we can manage new learning more effectively (neuronal growth)

Question 26

What is the study that supports Hebb’s theory?

Answer 26

Maguire et al conducted research to support this theory of plasticity in the brain of London taxi drivers.
She compared the brains of male taxi drivers who has completed ‘the knowledge’ with a control group.
Brain scans showed that the hippocampus was significantly larger than control group.

Question 27

Explain the strength that says Hebb’s theory is scientific.

Answer 27

P- The theory has a scientific basis
E- Based on tested scientific cognitive processes so is without bias. Raises status of psychology as a science. He was an early forerunner for modern development of cognitive neuroscience.
C- Shows it is possible to study learning through looking at processes in brain.

Question 28

Explain the strength that says Hebb’s theory has real-world application.

Answer 28

P- Can be applied to education
E- Hebb as a teacher was keen to have his theory applied to education. Environment that children study in is important. Children provided with stimulating environment encourages cell assemblies to aid learning. Hebb and daughter raised rats those with stimulating environment escape maze quicker.
C- Can be applied to education by making more stimulating environments to encourage learning

Question 29

What is a weakness of Hebb’s theory?

Answer 29

P- reductionist theory, is reduced to simple explanation based on neuron activity (incomplete theory)
E- learning is complicated involves different levels of understanding. could be explained as cognitive activity involving change to thought process. similar to piaget and accommodation. also a social activity (observing others) a complete theory should include all other factors.
C- reduces learning to the activity of brain cells and doesn’t look at wider factors that create learning

Question 30

What are the 5 sections the brain is split into?

Answer 30

• Frontal lobe - thinking, planning, mood. Movement. Brocas area in left.
• Parietal lobe - sensory info. Processing language.
• Occipital lobe - back of brain. Visual info.
• Temporal lobe - auditory info. Wernickes area in left.
•Cerebellum - attention, language. Movement. Info from spinal chord and brain for coordination, balance, fine movement.1/2 brains neurons