brain and neuropsychology Flashcards
function of nervous system
collects and responds to info
coordinates organs like brain
subdivisions of nervous system
CNS and PNS
PNS - ANS + SNS
ANS - sympathetic and parasympathetic
CNS
central nervous system
right hemisphere controls left
PNS
peripheral nervous system
info from outside world to CNS
info from CNS to muscles
ANS
autonomic nervous system
involuntarily
breathing heart rate digestion
has two divisions to it
SNS
somatic nervous system
voluntary movement of muscles
takes in info from sensory organs
homeostasis
maintains balanced internal state eg temp at 37 degrees
monitors activity of body organs
automatic system
no conscious control because functions are vital to life
sympathetic nervous system
physiological arousal
triggered when stressed
fight or flight
parasympathetic nervous system
opposite to sympathetic
produces rest and digest body response to return body to normal state
fight or flight
hypothalamus detects threat sympathetic of ans triggered
ans changes from
parasympathetic to aroused sympathetic
adrenaline released into bloodstream
physiological changes eg increases heart rate and decreased digestion
gets body to confront threat or energy to run
parasympathetic division of ans takes over after threat has passed
james lange theory of emotion
physiological arousal first then emotion
hypothalamus arouses sympathetic
adrenaline released
brain interprets physiological activity
causes emotion
example of james lange theory of emotion
meet bear in forest
hypothalamus arouses sympathetic in ans
triggers adrenaline
physiological arousal eg muscle tense, heart rate increase
interpreted as fear
strength of james lange theory
real live examples
phobias
emotional states seem to follow physiological arousal
eg person trips in public
emotion reaction eg embarrassment
leads to them avoiding public situations due to association between situation and emotion
emotion and avoidance occur as a result of physiological reaction
weakness of james lange
challenged by canon bard theory
experience emotions and physiological arousal simultaneously
eg embarrassment and blushing together at same time
draws attention to emotional situations that lange would struggle to explain
weakness of james lange
too simple
emotion more complex
two factor theory (singer et al 62)
social cues needed to correctly label emotion we are feeling
eg heart racing in dark valley - fear
heart racing when kissing - excitement
can be interpreted very differently depending on social cues
types of neuron
sensory
motor
relay
sensory neuron
pns to cns
long dendrite short axon
relay neuron
connect sensory to motor
short dendrite short axon
motor neuron
cns to muscles
short dendrite long axon
cell body
nucleus containing dna
axon
carries signals
covered in myelin sheath which helps and protects
myelin sheath
fatty covering of axon with nodes of ranvier
insulation and speeds signals
terminal button
end of axon
part of synapse
electrical transmission
how neurons fire
resting state= negative
when firing charge inside cell changes which created action potentials
synapse
where neurons communicate with each other
made up of synaptic cleft, presynaptic neuron and postsynaptic neuron
release of neurotransmitters
electrical signal causes vesicles in presynaptic terminal button to release neurotransmitter into synaptic cleft
reuptake of neurotransmitters
neurotransmitters in synaptic cleft attaches to post synaptic receptor sites
chemical message turns to electrical impulse
remaining neurotransmitters absorbed
excitation and inhibition
excitatory neurotransmitter increases postsynaptic neurons charge more likely to fire
inhibitory neurotransmitter increases negative charge less likely to fire
summation
more excitatory than inhibitory means neuron fires creating electrical impulse
hebbs theory
brain is plastic
synaptic connection become stronger more they are used
brain can change and develop
hebbs theory
brain adapting
brain changes in response to new experiences
hebbs theory
engram
learning leaves a trace called engram
can be made permanent if we rehearse learning
hebbs theory
neuronal growth
when learning groups of neurons also called cell assemblies fire together
more this happens stronger synaptic connections between them become
cell assemblies more efficient
change physically and grow so they can manage new learning more effectively
strength of hebbs theory
scientific basis for understanding behaviour
explained cognitive processes in terms of brain function
his work led to an increase focus on brain
shows it’s possible to study learning though brain processes
strength of hebbs theory
applied to education
more stimulating and rich env more cell assemblies grow and learn
encourages learning
weakness of hebbs study
learning reduced to neuronal level
learning involved no of diff levels of understanding
eg can also be explained as a cognitive activity that involves change to our thought processes
also a social activity we learn by observing others
reductionist
doesnt look at wider factors
structure of brain
two hemispheres 4 lobes + cerebellum
4 lobes
frontal
parietal
occipital
temporal
frontal lobe
motor area
front
controls thinking planning and movement
parietal lobe
somatosensory area
behind frontal
sensation processed
occipital
visual area
back of brain
vision
temporal
auditory/language area
behind frontal and below parietal
speech and learning
cerebellum
recieves info from spinal and brain
movement and balance
attention and lang too
motor area
movement on opposite side of body
somatosensory
sensitive body parts take up most space
damage would mean less ability to feel pain
visual
damage to left hemisphere would affect right visual field
auditory area
damage can lead to deafness
language area
left hemisphere only
broca’s area
wernickes area
broca’s area
damage leads to difficulty remembering and forming words
wernickes area
damage leads to difficulty understanding and producing meaningful speech
penfields aim
to describe psychological responses patients have when parts of brain were electrically stimulated to determine localisation of function
penfields method
epileptic
conscious
local anaesthetic used
montreal procedure use to stimulate diff areas
1000 cases
penfields results
visual area stimulated
colours and shadows
somatosensory
tingling sensation of a false sense of movement
temporal
two diff response
reliving past experiences
emotions or feelings related to experience
strong sense of deja vu
penfields conclusion
temporal lobe must have role in storing memories of past events
stored in two diff ways
facts of experience and meaning of the facts for individual
interpretive cortex - area that stores info on feelings
strength of penfields study
very precise method
detailed investigations
could stimulate exact same area
enables map of brain to be made helping neuroscience
weakness of penfields study
unusual sample
severe epilepsy
epilepsy perhaps changed structure of brain
not same in non epileptic brain
weakness of penfields study
later research didn’t support original findings
40/520 later said they could recall past experiences when interpretive cortex stimulated
interpretive cortex does not respond in same way
lacks validity
cognitive neuroscience aim
aims to create detailed map of localised functions
structure and function of brain relating to behaviour
front and motor: movement
temporal and amygdala: emotion and aggression
structure and function of brain relating to cognition
diff types of memory on diff areas of brain
cognitive neuroscience and mental illness
low serotonin affects thinking eg suicidal thoughts and behaviour eg low mood
cognition
mental processes of mind
eg memory and perception
importance of localisation
damage to areas of brain affect certain areas/ behaviour
effects of stroke
brain deprived of oxygen
areas of brain die
affecting behaviour
unless other parts take over localisation of function
effects of neurological damage on motor ability
problems with fine and complex movements
damage to left hemisphere affects righ vice versa
effects of neurological damage on behaviour
broca’s aphasia
problems producing speech
wernickes aphasia
problams understanding speech
scanning techniques
ct
pet
fmri
CT scans
large doughnut shaped scanner that rotates
lots of x rays that are combined to give detailed pic
PET scans
patient injected with radioactive glucose
activity shown on computer
fMRI
measures change in blood oxygen levels
3d computer image
evaluation of ct scan
strength
quality higher than regular x ray
weakness
high levels of radiation
still images
evaluation of pet scan
strength
shows brain in action
localisation of function
weakness
expensive
may be unethical due to radiation
evaluation of fmri scan
strength
clear images without use of radiation
weakness
expensive
have to stay very still
tulvings aim
if episodic memories produced blood flow in diff parts of the brain than semantic memories
tulvings method
6 volunteers including him and wife
injected with radioactive holds
active areas shown on pet scan using gamma rays
8 trials
4 episodic 4 semantic random order
repeated measure design
episodic personal experience
semantic historical facts
tulvings result
clear difference in blood flow patterns for 3/6 participants
semantic memories greater conc of blood flow to posterior cortex (back)
episodic anterior cortex (front)
tulvings conclusion
episodic and semantic are seperate forms of ltm
located in diff parts of brain
supports idea of memeory having biological basis
diff types of memory localised diff places
strength of tulvings study
objective scientific evidence
lab tests participants may change behaviour and influence results
difficult for participants to do here
impossible to fake brain scan
unbiased evidence
weakness of tulvings
sample restricted
only 6
differences in blood flow seen in only 3
inconclusive stat
so few showed same pattern of blood flow
hard to generalise
weakness of tulvings
episodic and semantic very similar
no clear divide between two types of memory
explains inconclusive results
incidence of mental health problems
depression = 2.6/100
anxiety = 4.7/100
ed = 1.6/100
1/2 mental health problems
