exam Flashcards

1
Q

Overt & covert behaviours

A

Overt: Behavioiur which is directly observable
Covert: Processes that are internal - cognitive, mental, emotions

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2
Q

Structuralism
Main founder(s), focuses.

A

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920).
Introspection.
“Father of psychology”. First research lab in Leipzig, Germany.
Vision, touch, hearing, attention and emotion.

Edward Titchener.
Issues: Test-retest reliability was low. Reductionistic. Elemental. Reliance on verbal reports.

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3
Q

Reductionistic
Elemental

A

Reductionistic = Centered on the belief that we can best explain something by breaking it down into it’s individual parts

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4
Q

Functionalism

A

William James.
focused on the purpose, the function rather than the structure.
Heavily influenced by natural selection.
Penned the first text book.
Consciousness exists because it serves a function.
James focused on psychological knowledge from those whose minds do not function adequately.

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5
Q

Frequency distribution

A

A method of organizing the data to show how frequency participants received each of the many possible scores

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6
Q

Measures of central tendency

A

Mean, median and mode

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7
Q

Variability

A

How much the participants scores differ from one another. Range and SD

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8
Q

Percentile scores

A

Percentage of scores that fall below a score

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9
Q

Statistical significance

A

Helps determine whether the results of a study are likely to have occurred by chance. p value

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10
Q

Effect size

A

The magnitude of the experimental effect or the strength of a relationship. Effect size indices are of two groups:
1. Indices that compare differences between treatment means
2. Indices that are based on measures of association such as correlation and explained variance.

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11
Q

Main goals of research

A
  1. Description: Being able to summarise the data your research has produced in a way that is easily understandable.
  2. Prediction: using the outcome of your research to produce what would happen in the future.
  3. Understanding: Identifying why that would happen - the causal factors that led to the results.
  4. Application: Apply to the real world.
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12
Q

Scientific method (x 5)

A
  1. Theory
  2. Hypothesis
  3. Test
  4. Evidence
  5. Conclusion
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13
Q

6 steps in conducting an experiment

A
  1. Framing a hypothesis
  2. Operationalizing variables (turning an abstract concept into a concrete variable)
  3. Developing a standardised procedure
  4. Selecting and assigning participants
  5. Applying statistical techniques to the data
  6. Drawing conclusions
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14
Q

Localisation of function

A

the idea that some functions (language, emotions) have certain locations or areas within the brain

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15
Q

Paradigm:

A

A broad system of theoretical assumptions that a scientific community uses to make sense of its domain of study. Components: includes a set of theoretical assertions that provide a model, or an abstract picture, of the object of study. Second, a paradigm includes a set of shared metaphors that compare the subject to something else that is readily apprehended. Third, a paradigm includes a set of methods that scientists agree will produce valid and useful data.

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16
Q

Tabula rasa:

A

John Locke (1632-1704) contended that at birth the mind is a blank slate.

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17
Q

Empiricism:

A

The belief that the path to scientific knowledge is systematic observation and, ideally, experimental observation.

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18
Q

Empiricism:

A

The belief that the path to scientific knowledge is systematic observation and, ideally, experimental observation.

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19
Q

Ethology

A

Studies animal behaviour from a biological and evolutionary perspective

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20
Q

Psychodynamic perspective:

A

3 key premises:
- People’s actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings and wishes are connected in their minds.
- Many of these mental events occur outside of consciousness.
- Mental processes may conflict with one another, leading to compromises among competing motives.
- Childhood experiences play a role.
- Mental representations
- Mental processes operate simultaneously and in parallel, so individuals can have conflicting feelings
- Personality development involves not only learning to regulate sexual and aggressive feelings and wishes, bit also moving from an immature state to a mature/dependent one.

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21
Q

Behaviourist perspective:

A

John Watson, B.F Skinner, Pavlov)
The way objects or events in the environment (stimuli) come to control behaviour through learning.
- Watson is the researcher who believed he could take 12 newborns and make them into anything he wanted.
Skinner = Reinforce and punishment.
Primary method is experimental

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22
Q

Humanistic

A

Rogers and Maslow

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23
Q

Cognitive perspective

A

Rene Descartes

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24
Q

Evolutionary perspective

A

Charles Darwin
Darwin – natural selection
Paternity uncertainty research:
Mother’s mother (highest)
Father’s father (lowest)
Mother’s father and father’s mother (intermediate)

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25
Q

Lazarus & Folkman

A

theory of stress and coping.

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26
Q

A theoretical framework:

A

Systematic way of organising and explaining observations. Hypothesis that flows from the theory or from an important question

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27
Q

A standardised procedure:

A

Procedure that is the same for all participants except where variation is introduced to test a hypothesis

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28
Q

Generalisability

A

Sample that is representative of the population. Procedure that is sensible and relevant to circumstances outside the laboratory.

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29
Q

Objective measurement:

A

Measures that are reliable (the produce consistent results). Measures that are valid (that asses the dimensions they purport to assess)

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30
Q

Quantitative & Qualitive

A

Quantitative: Surveys. Large sample size representative of the population. High reliability. More objective and using standardised techniques. Takes a deductive and objective approach.

Qualitive: In-depth analysis of relatively few participants. Subjective. About describing or interpreting human phenomena.

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31
Q

Continuous & categorical variables

A

Continuous: Placed on a continuum (such as, degree of optimism)
Categorical: Groupings (such as, state, species)

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32
Q

Sampling bias

A

When the sample is not representative of the population as a whole.

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33
Q

Valid test

A

Requires 2 criteria. Must employ methods that convincingly test the hypothesis; called internal validity. The findings can be generalised to the situations outside; called external validity.

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34
Q

Reliability

A

Three kinds.
Test retest = same scores over time.
Internal consistency = if several ways of asking the same question yield similar results.
Interrater reliability = if two different interviewers rate an individual on some dimension, both should give the person similar scores.

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35
Q

Tests are considered biased if two conditions are met

A

If systematic differences are found between the mean score of different groups and if the test scores make incorrect predictions in real life.

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36
Q

Independent & Dependent variables:

A

Independent variables: The variable the experimenter manipulates.
Dependent variables: the variable the experimenter measures.

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37
Q

Quasi-experimental designs:

A

Share many of the features of the experimental method but do not allow as much control over all relevant variables, such as random assignment of participants to different conditions.

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38
Q

Researcher bias (observer)

A

Researcher bias (observer): Researchers see what they expect to see.

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39
Q

Naturalistic:

A

Jane Goodall’s study of aps showed that they also reconciled. Primary describes behaviours.

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40
Q

Stratified random sample:

A

Specifies the percentage of people to be drawn from each population category and then randomly selects participants from within each category.

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41
Q

Correlation coefficient

A

measures the extent to which two variables are related. Vary between –1 and +1

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42
Q

Electroencephalogram (EEG):

A

Developed in 1930’s.
Measures: Electrical activity towards the surface of the brain (near the skull).
Used for: Diagnosing disorders such as epilepsy, as well as to study neural activity during sleep.

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43
Q

Neuroimaging techniques

A

Uses computer programs to convert data taken from brain-scanning devices into visual images of the brain.

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44
Q

Computerised axial tomography (CAT scan)

A

A CAT scanner rotates an x-ray tube around a person’s head, producing a series of x-ray pictures. A computer then combines these pictures into a composite visual image. These can pinpoint the location of abnormalities such as neuronal degeneration and abnormal tissue growths.

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45
Q

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):

A

Neuroimaging technique that produces similar results without using x-rays.

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46
Q

Positron emission tomography (PET):

A

A neuroimaging method that involves injecting a small quantity of radioactive glucose (too small of a dose to be dangerous), into the bloodstream. Nerve cells use glucose for energy, and they replenish their supply from the bloodstream. As these cells use glucose that has been radioactively ‘tagged’, a computer produces a colour portrait of the brain, showing which parts are active.

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47
Q

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI):

A

Uses MRI to watch the brain as an individual carries out tasks such as solving math equations. Functional MRI works by exposing the brain to pulses of a phenomenally strong magnet (strong enough to lift a truck), and measuring the response of chemicals in blood cells going to and from various regions, which become momentarily ‘lined up’ in the direction of the magnet.

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48
Q

The Psychology Board of Australia 2 main principles:

A

Respect for the rights and dignity of people, and peoples; propriety; and integrity.

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49
Q

Three key principles underpin critical thinking:

A

Skepticism, objectivity and open-mindedness.

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50
Q

Fallacies in arguments:
A straw man

A

Approach involves authors deliberately attacking an opposing argument in order to strengthen their own argument. Authors create a straw man – a decoy – that will be deliberately destroyed.

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51
Q

Fallacies in arguments:
Appeals to popularity:
Appeals to authority:

A

Refers to the fallacy that a popular and widespread argument is true.

Refers to the fallacy that an argument must be true because of the authority of the person making it.

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52
Q

Fallacies in arguments:
Arguments directed to the person:

A

Refers to the approach in which authors try to strengthen their own position by attacking the authors of alternative arguments.

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53
Q

Context of discovery:

A

Phenomena are observed, hypotheses are framed, and theories are built

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54
Q

Context of discovery:

A

Phenomena are observed, hypotheses are framed, and theories are built

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55
Q

Context of justification:

A

Hypotheses are tested empirically.

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56
Q

Chi-square test:
t-test:
analysis of variance (ANOVA):

A

Chi-square test: Compares the observed data, with the results that would be expected by chance and tests the likelihood that the difference between observed and expected are accidental. Need to be categorical.
analysis of variance (ANOVA): Compare the means among three or more groups
t-test: Compare the means of 2 groups. Part of an ANOVA.

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57
Q

Falsifiability criterion =

A

the principle that a proposition or theory could only be considered scientific if in principle it was possible to establish it as false. (i.e., Freud’s theory lacks falsifiability)

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58
Q

Cartesian dualism

A

Associated with the thought of Rene Descartes.
That there are two kinds of foundation: mental and physical. This philosophy states that the mental can exist outside of the body, and the body cannot think.

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59
Q

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

A

is an MRI technique that uses anisotropic diffusion to estimate the axonal (white matter) organization of the brain.

60
Q

Participatory research

A

Involves research that is grounded in the active participation of the people who are the focus of the study. With participants rather than on participants.

61
Q

Prosopagnosia disorder

A

Inability to recognise human faces * guy could recongise his sheep

Latin = face ignorance

62
Q

Participatory action research (PAR)

A

A research approach that emphasizes participant and action. Involves collective inquiry, collaborative action, reflection and experimentation grounded in experience and social history.

63
Q

The nervous system (2 parts)

A
64
Q

3 types of neurons

A
  1. Sensory neurons (Afferent neurons): Transmit information from sensory cells in the body called receptors to the brain.
  2. Interneurons: The output is received by these. Nerve cells that connect other neurons with one another. The vast majority of neurons in the brain & spinal cord are these.
  3. Motor neurons (Efferent neurons): Transmit commands from interneurons to the glands and muscles in the body, most often through the spinal cord. Carry both voluntary actions and vital bodily functions.
65
Q

Anatomy of a neuron (6 main parts)

A
  1. Dendrites: Receive inputs from other cells
  2. Cell body: A nucleus that contains the genetic material of the cell (chromosomes)
  3. Axon: A long extension from the cell body - occasionally as long as one metre, whose central function is to transmit information to other neurons.
  4. Myelin sheath: What covers the axon. Composed mostly of lipids (fats). “white matter”
  5. Nodes of Ranvier:
  6. Terminal buttons: Sends signals from a neuron to adjacent cells.
66
Q

Synapse and synaptic cleft

A

Connections between neurons occur here. Two cells do not actually touch at a synapse, instead a space exists between the two neurons called the synaptic cleft (not always though)

67
Q

Firing a neuron

A
  1. Converting the electrical charge in one neuron to a chemical ‘message’.
  2. Message is released into the synapse, it then alters the electrical charge of the next neuron.
68
Q

Resting potentials

A

When a neuron is at rest, its membrane is polarized. Inside the membrane has a negative charge, whereas outside the cell has a positive charge.
Difference between the electrical charge inside and outside the neuron is about -70millivolts (mV).
*Neurons are never really at rest.

69
Q

Chemicals that exist inside and outside the membrane (of a neuron)

A

Sodium (Na+)
Potassium (K+)
Chloride (Cl-) ions.

Sodium and chloride ions tned to concentrate on the outside of the cell (sodium chloride or NaCl is salt).
*The electrical charge is normally more negative on the inside than on the outside of the cell.

70
Q

Ions

A

An ion is an atom or small molecule that carries an electrical charge.

71
Q

Graded potentials

A

When a neuron is stimulated by another:
1. The simulation can reduce the membrane’s polarisation, decreasing the voltage discrepancy between the inside and outside.
2. It can increase polarisation, inhibiting the neuron and making it less likely to fire.

Their strength diminishes as they travel along the cell membrane away from the source of the stimulation.
They are cumulative, or additive. (if a neuron is depolarised by -2mV at one point on a dendrite and then hyperpolarised by 2mV at an adjacent point - they cancel each other out)

72
Q

Depolarisation
Hyperpolarisation

A

Stems from an influx of positive sodium ions.

Results from an outflow of potassium ions, which are positively charged, or an influx of negatively charged chloride ions. Makes the neuron less likely to fire.

73
Q

Action potentials

A

If this cumulative electrical ripple crosses a certain threshold, depolarising the membrane at the AXON from its resting state of -70mV to -50mV, for a flicker of an instant, the membrane is permeable to positive sodium ions, which have been accumulated outside the membrane. They pour in, changing the potential across the membrane to +40mV. They then outpour and the charge inside the cell returns to negative. This takes less than 2 milliseconds.

It has an all or nothing quality, the action potential either occurs or doesn’t.

74
Q

Neurotransmitters and receptors

A

Within the terminal buttons of a neuron are small sacs called synaptic vesicles, containing neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft, where some of them bind with protein molecules in the post-synaptic membrane (these molecules are called receptors.)

75
Q

The effects of neurotransmitters

A

They either increase or decrease neural firing. Excitatory neurotransmitters depolarise the postsynaptic cell membrane, making an action potential more likely. Inhibitory neurotransmitters hyperpolarise the membrane (inhibits firing).

76
Q

Endorphins & enkephalins

A

Endorphins & enkephalins: Pain relief and elevation of mood.

77
Q

Glutamate

A

Glutamate: Excitation of neurons throughout the nervous system. Important role in learning.
Some people respond to the MSG (monosodium glutamate) in certain foods with neurological symptoms such as tingling and numbing because this ingredient activates glutamate receptors.
High concentrations of glutamate have been linked with Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.

78
Q

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

A

Inhibition of neurons in the brain. Important for regulating anxiety. Drugs such as valium and alcohol that bind with its receptors tend to reduce anxiety.

79
Q

Dopamine

A

Emotional arousal, pleasure & reward, voluntary movement, attention.
Learning to associate particular behaviours with reward.
Heroin & marijuana also increase the release of dopamine.
Abnormally high levels of dopamine have been linked to schizophrenia.
Low levels linked to Parkinson’s

80
Q

Substantia nigra

A

meaning “dark substance”. degeneration of dopamine-releasing neurons in this part of the brain causes Parkinson’s disease.

81
Q

L-dopa

A

A chemical that converts dopamine and can effectively treat Parkinson’s.

82
Q

Serotonin

A

Sleep and emotional arousal, aggression, pain regulation, mood regulation.
Plays an inhibitory role, affecting neural circuits involved in aggression, antisocial behaviour and other forms of social behaviour

83
Q

Acetylcholine (ACh)

A

Learning and memory. Depleted ACh in Alzheimer’s disease.

84
Q

The endocrine system

A

a collection of glands that secrete chemicals directly into the bloodstream. (Hormones). Hormones bind with receptors in cell membranes but because they travel through the blood stream, they can simultaneously activate many cells in the body.

A second system for intercellular communication but does not rely on the kind of intricate ‘wiring’ between cells the nervous system uses.
The difference between the endocrine system and the nervous system is the endocrine messages are less specific but readily ‘heard’ throughout the body.

85
Q

Adrenaline and noradrenaline

A

Trigger physiological arousal, particularly in potential. These two hormones are the same chemicals as the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine.

86
Q

Oxytocin

A

Increases nurturing behaviours. May play a role in treating deficits in social functioning in some mental illnesses.

87
Q

The pituitary gland

A

An oval structure in the brain that is about the the size of a pea, is often described as the ‘master gland’ because many of the hormones it releases stimulate and regulate the other glands. Connected more directly to the CNS than any other endocrine glands.

88
Q

The thyroid gland

A

Releases hormones that control growth and metabolism. Affects energy levels and mood.

89
Q

The adrenal glands

A

Located above the kidneys. Secrete adrenaline and other hormones during an emergency.

90
Q

Pancreas

A

Located near the stomach and produces hormones that control blood-sugar levels.

91
Q

The peripheral nervous system and it’s two subdivisions.

A

Consists of neurons that convey messages to and from the central nervous system.
two subdivisions: the somatic and the autonomic nervous systems.

92
Q

The somatic nervous system

A

Transmits sensory information to the CNS and carries out its motor commands. Sensory neurons receive information through receptors in the eyes, ears, tongue, skin, muscles and other parts.
Motor neurons direct the action of skeletal muscles.
Also controls ‘reflex arcs’ or ‘monosynaptic reactions’.

93
Q

The autonomic nervous system (and it’s 2 parts)

A

Conveys information to and from internal bodily structures that carry out basic life processes such as digestion and respiration.
Two parts: sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

94
Q

Sympathetic NS

A

SNS: typically activated in response to threats. Fight or flight. Stops digestion, diverting blood away from the stomach and redirecting it to the muscles. Increases heart rate, dilates the pupils, causes hairs on the body and head to stand erect. Also involved in ejaculation in males.

95
Q

Parasympathetic NS

A

PNS: Supports more mundane or routine activities such as regulating blood-sugar levels, secreting saliva and eliminating wastes. Also regulating heart rate and pupil size.
When an emergency has passed, the PNS resumes control, reversing SNS responses.

96
Q

The central nervous system

A

Consists of the brain and spinal cord.

97
Q

The Golgi stain

A

Using silver nitrate, only stained 1% of the neurons.

98
Q

The spinal cord

A

Sends information from sensory neurons in various parts of the body to the brain, and it relays motor commands back to muscles and organs via motor neurons.
Sensory fibres relay information to the back of the spine (dorsal) and motor impulses exit the other (towards the front).
Outside of the cord, bundles of axons from these sensory and motor neurons join together to form 31 pairs of spinal nerves.

99
Q

Bundles of axons

A

Outside of the CNS bundles of axons are usually called nerves; within the brain and spinal cord they are called tracts.

100
Q

The hind brain

A

Directly above the spinal cord.
Contains:
Medulla oblongata, the cerebellum, the pons and parts of the reticular formation.

101
Q

Medulla oblongata

A

Essential to life, controlling such vital physiological functions as heartbeat, circulation, and respiration.

102
Q

Cerebellum

A

Latin for ‘little cerebrum’. Is a large structure at the back of the brain involved in movement. (drinking affects this)

103
Q

Reticular formation

A

Is a diffuse network of neurons that extends from the lowest parts of the medulla. Its major functions are to maintain consciousness, regulate arousal levels, and modulate the activity of neurons through the CNS.
Damage: can affect sleep patterns, as well as the ability to be alert or attentive, coma.

104
Q

The mid brain

A

Consists of the tectum and tegmentum.

105
Q

Tectum

A

includes structures involved in vision and hearing. Help humans orient to visual and auditory stimuli with eye and body movements.
Damage: People can still often sense the presence of stimuli but cannot identify them. (people may think they are blind but they can actually respond to visual stimuli).

Neurons deep in this part are involved in generating unpleasant feelings and linking them, through learning, to actions that can help escape or avoid them.

106
Q

Tegmentum

A

Includes parts of the reticular formation. Includes the substantia nigra, which deteriorates in Parkinson’s disease.

Other nuclei are involved in the experience of pleasure or reward, which is crucial to learning to produce actions that lead to positive consequences

107
Q

The forebrain

A

Involved in complex sensory, emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes consists of the hypothalamus, thalamus and cerebrum.

108
Q

Hypothalamus

A

Front of the midbrain and adjacent to the pituitary gland.
Regulates behaviours ranging from sex, eating and emotional experiences.
Works with the pituitary gland to provide a link between the NS and endocrine system.
Important function is homeostasis - keeping vital processes such as body temperature, blood-sugar level and metabolism.

109
Q

Presynaptic neuron
Post synaptic neuron

A

The neuron transmitting the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is called the postsynaptic neuron

110
Q

Thalamus

A

A set of nuclei located above the hyptothalamus. Processes sensory information as it arrives and transfers it to higher brain centres. Like a switchboard. It highlights some and de-emphasizing others.

111
Q

The limbic system

A

A set of structures with diverse functions involving emotion, motivation, learning and memory. Includes the septal area, the amygdala and the hippocampus.

112
Q

The septal area

A

Only gradually becoming clear. Emotionally significant learning. Responses to environmental stressors and in particular, is implicated in maternal defense.

113
Q

Amygdala

A

Latin word for amygdala is almond.
Involved in emotional processes, especially learning and remembering emotionally significant events. Attaches emotional significance to events.
Recognising emotion (especially fearful emotions)

114
Q

Hippocampus

A

Storing new information in memory. The story of H.M who had the hippocampus removed to stop seizures, couldn’t remember any new information but had a vague emotional idea of his mothers death.

115
Q

the basal ganglia

A

A set of structures including the putamen and caudate nucleus, located near the thalamus and hypothalamus.
Involved in movement and judgements that require minimal conscious thought.
Damage: affect posture and muscle tone or cause abnormal movements. Implicated in Parkinson’s disease. Can also affect the ability to make rapid, automatic judgements (like hearing sarcasm).

116
Q

The cerebral cortex

A

3-millimetre-thick layer of densely packed interneurons.
three functions:
Allows the flexible construction of sequences of voluntary movements involved in activities such as changing a tire, or playing piano.
It permits subtle discriminations among complex sensory patterns; without a cerebral cortex, the words gene and gem would be indistinguishable.
It makes possible symbolic thinking - the ability to use symbols such as words or pictorial signs (like a flag) to represent an object or a concept.

117
Q

Primary and association areas of the cortex

A

Primary: process raw sensory information or initiate movement. More specific functions than in the association areas. Example: some respond to horizontal lines but not vertical lines.
The association areas are involved in complex mental processes such as forming perceptions, ideas and plans.

118
Q

Lobes of the cerebral cortex

A

Two roughly symmetrical halves or cerebral hemispheres which are separated by the longitudinal fissure.

Each hemisphere consists of four regions, or lobes.
Occipital, parietal, frontal and temporal.

119
Q

Corpus callosum

A

Connects the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex.

120
Q

The occipital lobes (contains 1 area)

A

Located in the rear position of the cortex. Specialized for vision.
Contains: primary visual cortex
Damage: partial or complete blindness.

121
Q

Passive methods of brain imaging

A

EEG (electroencephalogram)
fMRI (functional MRI)
MEG (magnetoencephalography)
PET (positron emission tomography)

122
Q

Invasive methods

A

Lesions
Deep brain stimulation
Single cell recordings
Electrocorticography (ECoG)

123
Q

the parietal lobes (contains 1 main area)

A

Involved in several functions, including the sense of touch, detecting movement, locating objects in space and experiencing ones own body as it moves through space.
Contains: somatosensory cortex
Damage: unable to feel a thimble on their finger, or unable to recognise the object they were feeling as a thimble or to understand what the object does.

124
Q

Somatosensory cortex

A

The primary area of the parietal lobe. Divides the parietal lobe from the frontal lobe.

125
Q

The frontal lobes (contains 3 areas)

A

Movement, attention, planning, social skills, abstract thinking, memory and some aspects of personality.
The primary area is motor rather than sensory.
Contains: motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, Broca’s area
Damage: paralysis, difficulty thinking abstractly, focusing attention efficiently, coordinating complex sequences of behaviour, and adjusting socially.

126
Q

Motor cortex

A

The primary zone of the frontal lobe. Initiates voluntary movement.

127
Q

Encephalitis lethargica

A

Cannot initiate movements even though their frontal lobes were intact because dopamine depletion had impaired projections from the basal ganglia that normally activate the frontal lobes.

128
Q

Broca’s area

A

Located in the left frontal lobe, is specialised for movements of the mouth and tongue, necessary to produce speech. Understanding grammar.
Damage: Causes Broca’s aphasia, characterised by difficulty speaking, putting together grammatical sentences and articulating words, even though the person can still comprehend language.

129
Q

Temporal lobes (contains 2 main areas)

A

Located in the lower side portions of the cortex, important for hearing, language.
Left hemisphere of the temporal lobe, is specialised for language.
Contains: Auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area
Temporal = “near the temples”

130
Q

Wernicke’s area

A

Located in the left temporal lobe, is important for language comprehension.
Damage: causes Wernicke’s aphasia, characterised by difficulty understanding what words and sentences mean, producing word salad.

131
Q

Neurogenesis

A

The process by which neurons can be produced or repair themselves structurally or biochemically in the CNS.

132
Q

Localisation of function
Disassociations and double dissociations

A

Localisation of function = Specific cognitive functions served by specific brain areas
Disassociations = the presence of an acquired disability that affects only one area of functioning without impairing any other area of functioning.
Double dissociations = Need to find that damage to area 2 leaves function A intact, but function B is disrupted.

133
Q

Cerebral lateralisation

A

Tendency for some neural functions or cognitive processes to be specialised to one side of the brain or the other

134
Q

Broca’s area versus Wernicke’s

A

Broca’s area: Difficulty producing language
Wernicke’s: Can produce sensible language but are unable to understand it

135
Q

Gyri vs sulci

A

Gyri = raised area of the brain
Sulci = the cracks

136
Q

Longitudinal fissure

A

a deep groove that marks the division between the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the brain

137
Q

Primary areas vs association areas in the cerebral cortex

A

PA = processing raw sensory information into the thalamus
AA = complex mental processes (ideas, plannng, perceptions)

138
Q

Right vs left frontal lobe

A

right: more involved in negative emotions
left: more involved in positive emotions

139
Q

Prefrontal cortex

A

The association cortex.
Temporal organizational role. Sequential acts towards goal.
Planning, decision making, personality expression, some speech and language.
Orchestration of thought and action in accordance with internal goals.
Executive functioning.

140
Q

Acquired brain injury: Traumatic vs non-traumatic brain injury

A

Traumatic: Either closed or open
Non-traumatic: Caused by internal factors, such as lack of oxygen, exposure to toxins, pressure from tumor.

141
Q

Norepinephrine

A

Linked to mood disorders.
Low levels = depression
High levels = mania

142
Q

Sodium-potassium pump

A

The sodium–potassium pump is an enzyme found in the membrane of all animal cells. It performs several functions in cell physiology. The Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase enzyme is active. For every ATP molecule that the pump uses, three sodium ions are exported and two potassium ions are imported

143
Q

Ventricles vs meninges

A

Meninges: Three layers of membranes known as meninges protect the brain and spinal cord
Ventricles: Communicating network of cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid within the brain

144
Q

Closed brain injury:
Coup vs contrecoup injury

A

Coup: Damage from the impact. Usually a moving object hits a stationary head
Contrecoup: Damage from the movement of the head after the impact. Happens at opposite side of the head from impact. A moving head hits a stationary object

145
Q

Open brain injury

A

Phineas Gage.
Left frontal lobe was destroyed. Returned home 74 days after accident.

146
Q

Recovery
Compensation

A

Recovery: Restoration of neural tissue and restoration of prior performance
Compensation: Recruitment of new neural circuits and training of new movements or activity