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Psyc 104 > Chapter 3: Biological Psychology > Flashcards

Chapter 3: Biological Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

What are:

Neurons?
Dendrites?
Axon?
Axon terminals?

A
  • Neuron: Nerve cells specialized for communication with each other.
  • Dendrite: Neurons contain multiple branchlike extensions for receiving info from other neurons.
  • Axon: Like transmitters, specialized for sending messages to other neurons.
  • Synaptic vesicles travel the axon to reach the axon terminal; It bursts & releases neurotransmitters.
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2
Q

What is synapses?

A
  • Once released from synaptic vesicle, neurotransmitters enter synapse (fluid-filled space).
  • Synapse consists of synaptic cleft (gap in which neurotransmitters are released from axon terminal).
  • As neurotransmitters are released from axon into synapse, they’re quickly received by receptors on dendrites.
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3
Q

What are the 2 types of glial cells? Explain their functions are where they are plentiful:

A
  • Astrocytes:
  • Communicate with neurons, control blood flow in brain, play role in development of embryo.
  • Involved in memory, thought, & immune system.
  • Astrocytes are found in the blood-brain barrier: protective shield.
  • Oligodendrocytes:
  • Promote new neural connections, aid in healing.
  • Produces myelin sheath (insulator wrapper around axon).
  • Glial cells also clear away debris (cellular garbage disposal).
  • Treatment that targets glial cells may one day assist in controlling pain & treating conditions related to number of activity of these cells.
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4
Q

What is resting potential? (Depolarization)

A
  • Potential to fire.
  • When there is no neurotransmitters acting on neuron, membrane is at resting potential. (more neg particles inside than outside neuron, which produces a polarized state.)
  • Voltage: -70mV.
  • Particles flow in & out of membrane while at rest.
  • When electrical charge inside reaches a high enough threshold (-55mV), electrical impulse called action potential is triggered.
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5
Q

What is action potential? (Polarization) What is the all-or-none law?

A
  • For a neuron to fire, its must receive a certain amount of stimuli (channels open, & +ions flow into neuron) in order to start process.
  • As soon as action potential has passed, neuron returns to resting state. + ions flow back across membrane, & restore polarity; triggers release of neurotransmitters.
  • All-or-none law: Once a neuron fires, it cannot be stopped or reversed.
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6
Q

What is the refractory period?

A
  • Each action potential is followed by a refractory period, a brief interval during which another action potential cannot occur.
  • Limits maximal firing rate.
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7
Q

What are graded potentials?

A
  • Different from action potential.
  • Postsynaptic potentials that can be excitatory or inhibitory depending on whether + or - charged particles flow across neuronal membrane, & in which direction they flow.
  • If binded appropriately, receptors open, which can cause an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) if ions are allowed in. This depolarizes neuron.
  • If - charged ions move in, it will cause inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP).
  • This hyperpolarizes neuron. Graded potentials of same time are added tog., while potentials of diff. types cancel out (e.g. EPSP & IPSP).
  • Graded potentials can increase or decrease likelihood that an action potential will occur.
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8
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A
  • Chemical messengers.

- Some excite nervous system, increasing activity, & some inhibit nervous system, decreasing activity.

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9
Q

What happens after neurotransmitters are released into the synapse?

A
  • They bind to receptor sites along dendrites of neurons.

- Receptor sites: Specialized to receive only certain types of neurotransmitters.

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10
Q

What is glutamate & GABA?

A

Glutamate: Excitatory.

  • Enhanced learning & memory.
  • Elevated: schizophrenia (high dose=toxic).

GABA: Inhibitory

  • Plays roles in learning, memory, & sleep.
  • Anti-anxiety meds bind to GABA receptors, tend to suppress overactive brain areas.

-Drugs that target GABA receptors could treat anxiety, insomnia, depression, & epilepsy one day.

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11
Q

What is Acetylcholine?

A

Acetylcholine:

  • Arousal, sleep, selective attention, & memory.
  • In Alzheimer’s, neurons containing acetylcholine are destroyed, leading to memory loss. Meds that alleviate memory-related symptoms boost acetylcholine in brain.
  • Neurons that connect directly to muscle cells also release acetylcholine, allowing them to trigger movement.
  • This is how insecticides work.
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12
Q

What is Monoamines?

A

-Norepinephrine, dopamine, & serotonin.

Dopamine:
-Rewarding experiences.

Norepinephrine & Serotonin:

  • Activate or deactivate parts of brain.
  • Arousal, readiness to respond to stimuli.
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13
Q

What is Anandamide?

A

Marijuanas THC:

  • Cells make anandamide, which binds to same receptors as THC.
  • Eating, motivation, memory, & sleep.
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14
Q

What are Neuropeptides?

A

Neuropeptides:

  • Short strings of amino acids.
  • Act like neurotransmitters.

Endorphins: (type) (naturally occurring opioids)

  • Pain reduction.
  • Morphine exerts its effects by hijacking endorphin system, binding to endorphin receptors & mimicking their effects.

-Other neuropeptides regulate hunger, & satiety, learning & memory.

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15
Q

What are psychoactive drugs?

How do opioids, tranquilizers, & antidepressants interact with neurotransmitter systems?

A
  • Drugs that interact with neurotransmitter systems. They affect mode, arousal, or behaviour.
  • Targets production or inhibition of certain neurotransmitters.

Opiates: (codeine or morphine)

  • Increase receptor site activity.
  • Reduce emotional response to painful stimuli by binding with opioid receptors, & mimicking endorphins.

Tranquilizers: (Xanax)
-Diminish anxiety by stimulating GABA receptor sites, driving down neuronal activity.

Anitdepressants: (Prozac & Paxil)
-Inhibit reuptake of certain neurotransmitters to remain in synapse longer than usual.

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16
Q

What does it mean if drugs functions as receptor antagonists?

A
  • Decrease receptor site activity.

- Act as fake neurotransmitters, fooling receptors into thinking they are dopamine without exerting the effects.

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17
Q

How do medications that treat schizophrenia work?

A
  • They block dopamine receptors by binding to them, thereby blocking dopamine from binding to the receptors themselves.
  • (drugs like cocaine=excitatory=dopamine)
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18
Q

What is neural plasticity?

A
  • Plasticity: Describes nervous system’s ability to change.
  • Nervous system often can’t change enough to compensate for injury or stroke, which leads to permanent paralysis & disability.
  • Brain most capable of of change during early development, but our brains are capable of plasticity even in our late years.

-Crucial for learning.

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19
Q

What are the 4 primary ways in which the network of neurons in the brain change overtime?

A
  1. Growth of dendrites & axons.
  2. Synaptogenesis: formation of new synapses
  3. Pruning: consisting of the death of certain neurons & restrictions of axons to remove connections that aren’t useful. (less is more)
  4. Myelination: Insulation of axons.
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20
Q

How does synaptogenesis occur?

A

-Our brains change as we learn, & these changes can result from synaptogenesis, generating increased connections & communication among neurons.

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21
Q

What is potentiation?

A
  • Our brains change as we learn.
  • This can result from the strengthening of existing synaptic connections, so that the neurotransmitters released into synapses produce stronger & more prolonged responses from neighbouring neurons.
  • When it is enduring, its called long-term potentiation (LTP).
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22
Q

Does the brain & spinal cord possess the ability to regenerate followed by an injury or serious illness?

Can certain brain regions take over the functions previously preformed by others?

A
  • Not really. They possess limited regeneration.

- Sometimes.

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23
Q

What is neurogenesis?

A

-Creation of new neurons in adult life. (occurs in monkeys, and maybe humans)

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24
Q

What are the functions of stem cells? What is gene therapy?

A
  • Have potential to become a wide variety of specialized cells.
  • Offer several ways of treating diseases marked by neural degeneration.
  • Researchers can genetically engineer stem cells to provide gene therapy: provide patient with replacement genes.
  • However, stem cell research is controversial. (could cure Alzheimer’s, diabetes, cancers, but its unethical as stem cells are early forms of human life.)
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25
Q

Which 2 systems are apart of the PNS?

The CNS is composed of: (2)

A

Somatic nervous system:
-Control voluntary behaviour.

Autonomic nervous system:
-Control involuntary functions of body.

-CNS: Brain & spinal cord.

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26
Q

What the the (6) distinct sections/ systems of the CNS?

A
  1. Cortex
  2. Basal Ganglia
  3. Limbic System
  4. Limbic System
  5. Cerebellum
  6. Spinal Cord
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27
Q

What are the (4) lobes of the Cortex (outermost part of cerebrum) & their functions?

A
  1. Frontal lobe.
  2. Temporal Lobe.
  3. Parietal lobe.
  4. Occipital lobe.
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28
Q

What is the Basal Ganglia’s function?

A

-Control movement & motor planning.

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29
Q

What are the (4) areas of the Limbic System & their functions?

A
  1. Thalamus:
    - Conveys sensory info to cortex
  2. Hypothalamus:
    - Overseas endocrine & autonomic n.s.
  3. Amygdala:
    - Regulates arousal & fear.
  4. Hippocampus:
    - Processes memory for spatial location.
30
Q

What is the function of the Cerebellum? What makes up the brainstem (3) that connect to the cerebellum?

A

Cerebellum: (part of hindbrain)

-Controls balance & coordinated movement.

Midbrain:
-Tracks visual stimuli & reflexes triggered by sound.

Pons: (hindbrain)
-Conveys info between cortex & cerebellum.

Medulla: (hindbrain)
-regulates breathing & heartbeats.

31
Q

What is the spinal cords function?

A

-Conveys info. between brain & body.

32
Q

What is the function of the cerebral cortex? Are the 2 cerebral hemispheres equivalent in function?

What is the corpus collosum?

A

Cerebral Cortex:

  • Analyzes sensory info.
  • Helps us to permit complex brain functions like reasoning & language.
  • Largest component of cerebrum/ forebrain.
  • Highly developed.

-Cerebrum gives us intellectual abilities.

  • No, however they communicate & cooperate continually.
  • Corpus colosseum: Band of fibres connecting 2 hemispheres (permits the 2 to communicate).
33
Q

What are the functions of the Temporal Lobe?

A

Temporal lobe.

  • Auditory info, understanding language, & storing memories.
  • Lobe is separated from rest of cortex by lateral fissure.
  • Top of lobe contains auditory cortex, part devoted to hearing.
  • Language area in lobe is the Wernicke’s area, although this area also includes lower parietal lobe.
  • Damage to Wernicke’s area results in severe difficulties with understanding speech. (gibberish)
  • Lower lobe stores memories of autobiographical events.
34
Q

What are the functions of the Parietal Lobe?

A

Partial Lobe:

  • Integrates vision & touch, sensitive to pain, pressure, & temp.
  • Track objects’ locations, shapes, & orientations.
  • Process other’s actions & numbers.
  • Relays visual & touch info to motor cortex every time we reach, grasp, & move eyes.
  • Spatial perception (Patients with partial damage often have hard time making sense of immediate surroundings).
35
Q

What are the functions of the Frontal Lobe?

What is the motor cortex?

What is the prefrontal cortex?

What is the Broca’s area?

A

Frontal Lobe:

  • Part of cerebral cortex.
  • Motor function (movement), language & memory.
  • Oversee & organize most other brain functions (executive).

-Deep grove, called central sulcus separates frontal lobe from rest of cortex.

Motor Cortex:

  • Part of frontal lobe that lies next to central sulcus.
  • Each region of the motor cortex controls a specific part of body, with regions requiring more precise motor controls (fingers), consuming more cortical space.

Prefrontal cortex:

  • Thinking, planning, & language.
  • Receives info. from many other regions of cerebral cortex, also contributes to mood, personality, & self-awareness.
  • Broca’s area (part of prefrontal cortex) plays role in language production.
  • Broca’s area appeared to be damaged in patients who had troubles producing speech.
36
Q

What are the functions of the Occipital Lobe?

A

Occipital Lobe:

  • Back of brain.
  • Contains visual vortex, dedicated to seeing.
37
Q

How do we recognize faces? What is prosopagnosia? What is the fusiform gyrus?

A

Prosopagnosia: (limits of plasticity)

  • Face blindness,
  • Can be present at birth (connections & fibres of white matter compromised), or caused by brain trauma, stroke, or neurological disease.
  • Lack ability to process fascial features holistically.
  • Persist over a lifetime.
  • Regions of temporal lobe called the fusiform gyrus plays central role in capacity.
  • When it is damaged, prosopagnosia can result.
38
Q

Explain cortical hierarchies:

A
  • When info from outside world is transmitted by a specific sense, it reaches primary sensory cortex, specific to that sense. After eye, ear, or skin transmits sense info. to primary sensory cortex, it’s passed on to another area for that sense called association cortex, which is spread throughout all 4 lobes.
  • Much of what makes us smart relies on integrating info. across diff. brain areas.
  • Association cortex synthesizes info. to preform more complex functions to identify objects.
  • Overall organization of cortex is hierarchal b/c processing becomes complex as info. is passed up the network.
  • After sensory info. reaches primary & association areas, it’s transmitted to basal ganglia, which calculate a course of action & transmits it to motor cortex.
  • *People with damage to the association cortex in temporal lobes may experiences difficulties recognizing familiar faces (prosopagnosia).
39
Q

What is the Basal Ganglia?

A
  • Buried deep inside cerebral cortex
  • Helps control movement.
  • Damage contributes to Parkinson’s disease. (lack of control over movement & uncontrollable tremors).
  • Tourette’s disorder is associated with abnormalities in basal ganglia.
  • Allows us to preform movements to obtain rewards. When we anticipate a pleasurable outcome, we depend on activity in our basal ganglia.
40
Q

What are the functions of the Limbic System?

A

Limbic system:

  • Set of highly connected brain regions.
  • Processes info. about internal status, (BP, HR, etc.), as well as our emotions.
  • Brain’s emotional centre.
  • Play roles in smell, motivation, & memory- contribute to & shape our emotions.
  • Evolved out of the olfactory system. (smell)
41
Q

What is the Thalamus? What is its function?

A

Thalamus:

  • Contains many areas, each of which connect to a specific region of cerebral cortex.
  • Sensory relay station.
42
Q

What is the Hypothalamus? What is its function?

A

Hypothalamus:

  • Regulates & maintains constant internal bodily statuses.
  • Emotion & motivation.
  • Psychological drives-hunger, thirst, sexual motivation, emotional behaviour.
  • 4 F’s-Feeding, fighting, fleeing, sexual activity.
  • Assists with controlling our body temperature.
43
Q

What is the Amygdala? What is its function?

A

Amygdala:

  • Responsible for excitement, arousal, fear.
  • Fear conditioning. (process by which we learn to predict when something scary is about to happen)>
44
Q

What is the Hypocampus? What is its function?

A

Hypocampus:

  • Role in memory, (spatial memory)
  • Getting from one place to another-uses hypocampus.

-Damage to hypocampus could mean causes problems with forming new memories but leaves old ones intact.

45
Q

What is the Cerebellum? What is its function?

A

Cerebellum: (hindbrain)

  • Mini cortex.
  • Role in sense of balance, enables us to coordinate movement, 7 learn motor skills.
  • Helps prevent us from falling down.
  • Contributes to executive, memory, spatial, & linguistic abilities.

-When there is damage, a patient frequently suffers from a serious balance problem.

46
Q

What (3) areas make up the Brain Stem? What is the Brain Stem’s function?

A
  • Contains the midbrain, pons, & medulla.
  • Preforms some of the body’s basic functions that keep us alive.
  • Serves as a relay station between cortex & rest of n.s.
  • Role in movement.
  • Controls tracking of visual stimuli, & reflexes triggered by sound.
47
Q

What is the reticular activating system (RAS)?

A
  • Connects to forebrain & cerebral cortex.
  • Role in arousal.

-Damage to RAS can result in a coma.

  • Pathways emanating from RAS activate cortex by increasing signal-to-noise ratio among neurons in brain.
  • Prominent in ADHD. (extreme levels of inattention, overactivity, & impulsivity.)
  • Drugs to treat ADHD increase signal-to-noise ration in prefrontal cortex.
48
Q

What are the Pons & the Medulla? What are their functions?

Is persistent vegetative state, or cortical death the same as brain death?

A

Pons:

-Role in triggering dreams, connects cortex to cerebellum.

Medulla:

  • Regulates breathing, heartbeat, & other vital functions.
  • Controls nausea & vomiting.

-Damage to medulla can cause brain death (irreversible coma). -totally unaware of surroundings, unresponsive (even to pain).

  • No.
  • People in a vegetative state can come out of coma.
49
Q

What is the function of the Spinal Cord?

A

Spinal Cord:

  • Extends from brain stem, & runs down middle of our backs, conveying info. between brain & rest of body.
  • Sensory info. is carried by sensory nerves.
  • Motor commands are carried by motor nerves.
  • Spinal cord contains sensory neurons that contact interneurons.
  • Interneurons connect sensory nerves with motor nerves within spinal cord (bypass brain).
  • Interneurons explain how reflexes (automatic motor responses to sensory stimuli) can occur.
50
Q

PNS.
Explain the Somatic N.S.:
Explain the Autonomic N.S.:

A

Somatic N.S:

  • Carries messages from CNS to effectors.
  • Helps regulate posture & bodily movement.
  • CNS interacts with somatic n.s. to brings about sensation & behaviour.

Autonomic N.S.:

  • CNS (brain especially) interacts with autonomic n.s. to control emotion & internal states.
  • Controls involuntary actions of our organs & glands.
  • Sympathetic n.s:
  • Active during emotional arousal.
  • Fight-or-flight
  • Parasympathetic n.s:
  • Active during rest & digestion.
  • Kicks in when there is no threat on our mental radar.
51
Q

What is the Endocrine System?

A

Endocrine System:

  • Network of glands that releases hormones into bloodstream.
  • Hormones differ from neurotransmitters in that they are carried in the blood, rather than nerves.
  • Hormones tend to outlast neurotransmitters in their effects.
52
Q

What is the Pituitary Gland & its function? What is Oxytocin?

A

Pituitary gland:

  • Controls other glands in body.
  • “Master gland” -however it depends heavily on actions of other glands.
  • Under control of the hypothalamus.
  • Releases hormones. (oxytocin-stretching cervix during child birth, aids in milk flow, maternal & romantic love, “love molecule”).
53
Q

What are the functions of the Adrenal Glands & the hormones Adrenaline & Cortisol?

A

Adrenal Glands:

  • “Emergency centres”
  • Located atop kidneys.
  • Manufacture adrenalin & cortisol.

Adrenaline:

  • Boosts energy production in muscles.
  • Triggers heart muscles to contract, opens bronchioles, breaks down fat into fatty acid, breaks down glycogen into glucose, dilates pupils, inhibits gastrointestinal secretions, isn’t only active in threatening situations, active during pleasurable & exciting activities.

Cortisol:

  • Increases response to physical & psychological stressors.
  • People with anxiety disorders tend to have elevated cortisol.
  • Regulates BP, & cardiovascular function, as well as body’s use of protein, carbs, & fat.
  • Regulates body weight.

-Elevated cortisol produced by stress may lead to weight gain.

54
Q

What are the sexual reproductive glands? Which sex hormones do they make?

Do both genders produce a degree of sex hormones & estrogen?

A
  1. Testes: Testosterone.
  2. Ovaries- Estrogen.

-Yes. Both sexes produce some amount of sex hormones associated with opposite gender.

  • Ovaries & adrenal glands (both sexes) also make testosterone. (low)
  • Testes manufacture estrogen. (low)
55
Q

Communication between neurons is _____, while communication within a neuron is _____.

A
  • Chemical.

- Electrical.

56
Q

Which insights did brain damage teach researchers?

A

-Researchers discovered that stimulating parts of motor cortex in patients undergoing brain surgery produced specific movements.

57
Q

What is the electroencephalograph (EEG)? Advantages & disadvantages:

A

(EEG):

  • Allows scientists to infer whether a person is awake or asleep, dreaming or not, & tells us which regions of brain are active during sleep tasks.
  • Noninvasive.
  • Can detect rapid changes in electrical activity in brain.
  • Used in schizophrenic, & epileptic patients.

Disadvantage:

  • Tell us little, if anything, about whats happening inside neurons.
  • Aren’t good at determining exactly where in brain activity is occuring.
58
Q

What are brain scans?

A

Brain scans:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Enable us to peer inside brain’s structures, & functions.
59
Q

What are CT scans & MRI’s? Advantages & disadvantages:

A

CT Scan:

  • demential reconstruction of multiple X rays taken through part of body.
  • More detailed than individual X ray.

MRI:

  • Measures release of energy from hydrogen atoms in biological tissues following exposure to a magnetic field.
  • Superior to CT for detecting soft tissues (brain tumour for e.g.).

-Don not show brain activity, only structure.

60
Q

What is a PET? Advantages & disadvantages:

A

PET:

  • Relies on the fact that neurons increase their consumption of glucose when active.
  • Requires injection of radioactive glucose-like molecules into patients (short-lived, little to no harm).
  • Scanner measures where in brain most of molecules are consumed, allowing them to figure out which brain regions are most active.
  • See’s how brain activity changes when patients take a med.
  • Invasive.
61
Q

What is an fMRI? Advantages & disadvantages:

A

fMRI:

  • Measures change in blood oxygen levels, indirect indicator of of neural activity.
  • Required to image brain activity in response to specific tasks (like looking at emotional faces, or solving math problem).
  • Relies on magnetic fields.
  • Strength: Detailed images of activity in small brain regions & over time intervals (especially compared to PET).
  • Disadvantage: Sensitive to motion.
62
Q

What is a TMS? Advantages & disadvantages:

What is rTMS?

A
  • Applies strong & quickly changing magnetic fields to skull, to create electric fields in brain.
  • Can enhance or interrupt brain function in a specific region.
  • Insight regarding which brain areas are involved in diff. psychological processes.
  • Allows us to manipulate brain areas directly.
  • Only noninvasive brain imagining technique.
  • Provides relief for depression, may increase auditory hallucinations.
Repetitive TMS (rTMS):
-Shows promise as a treatment for depression.
63
Q

What is MEG? Advantages & disadvantages:

A

MEG:

  • Detects electrical activity in brain by measuring magnetic fields.
  • Reveals patterns of magnetic fields on skull’s surface, revealing which brain areas are becoming active in response to stimuli.
  • Strength: Ability to track brain changes over small time intervals.
  • Measures activity changes millisecond by millisecond.
64
Q

Do brain scans allow us to make diagnosis’s of mental disorder?

A

-No.

65
Q

What should be be careful of when interpreting brain scans?

A
  • Be cautious until other investigators have replicated them.
  • Be careful not to assume that they can read minds, or provide us with hidden info. that traditional psychologists can’t test.
  • Because brain imaging seems especially scientific, we can be easily persuaded by it.
66
Q

Does every brain region have a function?

A
  • Yes.

- Coordination across multiple brain regions contributes to each function.

67
Q

What is localization of function?

A
  • Scientists refer to this when they identify brain areas that are active during a specific psychological task over & above a baseline rate of activity.
  • We should be careful not to overemphasize this.
68
Q

What is lateralization?

A
  • Many capacities rely on one cerebral hemisphere more than the other; lateralization.
  • Functions concern specific language & verbal skills.
69
Q

What are the functions of the left hemisphere?

A

Left:

Fine-tuned language skills:
-Speech comprehension & production, reading, writing, syntax, & phonology.
Actions:
-Making facial expressions, motion detection.

70
Q

What are the functions of the right hemisphere?

A

Right:

Coarse language skills:

  • Simple speech, & simple writing.
  • Tone of voice.

Visuospatial skills:

  • Perceptual grouping.
  • Face perception.
71
Q

Why do researchers present stimuli to only one visual field?*

A
  • In normal brains, most visual info. from either left or right visual field ends up on the opposite side of visual cortex.
  • Brain’s anatomy also produces a crossing over for motor control: left hemi controls right hand, right hemi controls left hand.

Psyc 104 (4 decks)

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