exam study Flashcards
Sensory (afferent) neuron role
Detects energy from the external environment and stimulation from the internal environment and carries that information to the CNS
Motor (efferent) neuron role
Carry commands from the brain to the muscles, organs and glands to enable movement
Interneuron role
Carry information directly between sensory and motor neurons. Involved in reflex actions.
Somatic NS
Involved in all voluntary movement, carry sensory information about the world and initiating motor movements in response
Autonomic NS
Controls actions of certain organs and glands without our conscious control, includes sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric NS.
Spinal reflex
An unconscious, involuntary and automatically occurring response to certain stimuli without any involvement of the brain.
Spinal reflex process
A sensory neuron detects the message and relays the message to the spinal cord, an interneuron passes the message to a motor neuron, a motor response then follows
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messages passed across the synaptic gap from the pre-synaptic neuron to the post-synaptic neuron
Glutamate role
The main excitatory neurotransmitter, aids in the fast transmission of neural information, essential for memory formation
GABA role
The main inhibitory neurotransmitter, slows neural transmission, and has a calming effect on the brain.
Neuromodulators
Chemical messages released from a neuron that affect a large number of neurons at the same time
Dopamine
Responsible for a variety of excitatory actions including smooth, coordinated movements, motivating behaviour in pursuit of reward. Known to have an effect on our mood, memory, sleep and concentration.
Serotonin
An inhibitory neuromodulator produced in the CNS and intestines. Regulates mood, sleep and responses to pain. Low levels are linked to anxiety, depression and sleep issues.
Structural changes synaptic plasticity
-Growth of new synaptic connections (sprouting)
-The pruning away of existing connections (pruning
-A change in the number of receptors on a post-synaptic neuron.
Functional changes synaptic plasticity
-Changes in the ability of the post-synaptic neuron to be excited by neurotransmitters
-Changes to the amount of neurotransmitters released by the pre-synaptic neuron
Sprouting
The growth of additional branches on axons or dendrites to enable new connections
Rerouting
When an undamaged neuron loses its connection with a damaged neuron so forms a new connection with another undamaged neuron.
Stress
The response a person experiences when confronted with a threatening or challenging situation
Where is cortisol produced
Adrenal glands
Explanatory power
The ability of a theory/model to explain a subject matter effectively
Strengths of the GAS model
-Makes the important connection between stress and increased risk of illness
-Identifies biological processes dependent on the stage of stress
Limitations of the GAS model
-Does not account for individual differences
-Does not consider cognitive factors
-The model was primarily based on research conducted using animals
Strengths of Lazarus folkmans
-Focuses on psychological influences on how we react to a stressor
-Emphasises individual nature of stress responses
-Developed with reference to humans
-Views stress as involving an interaction with the environment where the person has an active rather than passive role
Limitations of Lazarus folkmans
-Difficult to test with experimental research due to subjectivity
-Primary and secondary appraisals can interact or be undertaken simultaneously
-There is doubt we need to appraise something as being stressful for it to cause stress
-People may not be able to identify all the factors causing them stress
-Does not address physiological responses to stress
Gut-brain axis
A network of bidirectional neural pathways that enable communication between the bacteria in the GI tract and the brain.
ATSI ways of knowing
Connected to landscape, relational, reciprocal, spiritual and based on deep connection to ancestral knowledge, holistic and traditionally transmitted orally
System of knowledge
Knowledge and skills are based on interconnected social, physical and spiritual understandings, and in turn inform survival and contribute to a strong sense of identity
2 common ways knowledge is patterned on country
Through kinship relationships
Through knowledge being encoded in the landscape
Memory definition
The set of psychobiological systems and processes that allow our past experiences to inform how we respond to and interpret our current experiences and to imagine the future
Sensory memory
Holds sensory information in its raw form for very short periods of time
STM
An active store that holds all information you are consciously aware of at any moment
LTM
A relatively permanent, limitless passive storage system
Strength of the multi store model of memory
Its ability to explain how information is transferred from LTM to sensory memory and STM, and why forgetting occurs. Demonstrated through the serial position effect
Limitations of the multi store model
-Does not explain the different forms of LTM that were so apparent in the case of HM
-Does not explain how we encode, store and retrieve information about the events of our lives, how we organise our knowledge of concepts and words, or how we learn and perform skills
-Fails to explain why some forms of memory are affected by hippocampus damage and some are not
Explicit memory
Consciously recalled memories of facts or personally experienced events
Semantic memory
Memories of general facts or concepts, including self-related knowledge
Episodic memory
Memories that involve re-experiencing events from our lives
Implicit memory
Unconscious recall of memories of how to do something
Procedural memories
Memory of learnt skills and actions
Hippocampus
Encodes/retrieves explicit memories, interacts with the amygdala to link emotions with explicit memories and interacts with the neocortex to store and retrieve explicit memories
Amygdala
Emotional memories, plays a role in the rapid and unconscious processing of emotions (implicit) and feeds this information to the hippocampus to be integrated into explicit memories
Neocortex
Stores explicit memories, our explicit LTMs are stores in the networks of neurons in the neocortex
Basal ganglia
Encodes procedural memories, initiates practiced sequences of movements and results in smooth sequences of voluntary movement stored as a procedural memory
Cerebellum
Procedural memories for motor skills, interacts with the basal ganglia and the motor programming areas of the neocortex to encode, store and retrieve implicit LTMs, controls movements, balance and coordination
Semantic autobiographical memory
Facts about events, dates or ourselves
Episodic autobiographical memory
Moments of experience that are linked to time and place
Autobiographical memory
Represents our memories of personally experienced events and self-knowledge, episodic and semantic memories interact to retrieve past events and imagine future events
Episodic future thinking
Allows us to imagine how we will experience an event in the future from a first-person perspective
Mental imagery
Perception like experiences in the absence of sensory input,
Alzheimers disease
A neurodegenerative disease that causes a progressive loss of brain tissue (atrophy) that is eventually fatal.
Biological causes of Alzheimers disease
-Abnormal build up of beta-amyloid, which collects into clumps called amyloid plaques, that build up between neurons and affect their functioning
-Build up of tau protein causes neurofibrillary tangles that interrupt cell transmission
-Brain atrophy, neurons progressively die causing brain tissue to shrink
Progression of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms
-Severe anterograde amnesia for EAM and semantic memories (memories about new recent events and facts learned at these events)
Also difficulty generating voluntary mental imagery and episodic future thinking
-Retrograde amnesia for EAM
-Loss of general semantic knowledge
-Procedural memory
Brain lesions
Areas of abnormal tissue damage
Songlines
Encode knowledge in sung narratives and performance that are associated with locations in the landscape and the night sky
Stratified sampling
Sample contains same proportion of participants from each social group present in the population of interest
Case studies
Detailed investigation of one instance of a phenomenon. Focuses on one person, activity, behaviour, event or problem.
Classification and identification
Organise phenomena, objects or events into new sets.
Literature reviews
Collating and analysing secondary data to answer a question or to provide background information, or as preparation for an investigation
Between subjects design
Scores compared between different participants, participants are allocated to wither an experimental or control group,
Strength and limitation of between subjects
Strength- No order effects
Limitations- EV participant variables
Within subjects design
Scores compared within the same participants, participants are exposed to both control and experimental conditions.
Strength and limitation of within subjects
Strength- Controls participant variables
Limitation- Order effects, controlled by counterbalancing where half complete experimental and half complete control conditions first
Mixed design
Both within and between subjects designs are used. Two IVs, a between subjects variable and a within subjects variable
Strength and limitation of mixed design
Strength- Provides advantages of both within and between
Limitation- More difficult to carry out
Accuracy
How close a measurement is to the true value of the quantity being measured
Precision
How close a set of measurement values are to one another
Repeatability
The closeness of results of successive measurements carried out under the same conditions
Reproducibility
The closeness of results of measurements/tests, carried out under changed conditions
Validity
How well do the results represent true findings among the population of interest?
Internal validity
Did the experiment investigate what it set out to investigate? Depends on sampling, design, EVs and confounding variables
External validity
Can the results be applied to similar individuals in a different setting/the real world? Depends on the sample representing the population and using measures that reflect the real world.
Uncertainty
The lack of exact knowledge of the true value of the measurement.
Ethical concepts
Beneficence, respect, integrity, justice, non-maleficence
Ethical guidelines
Voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, debriefing, informed consent, confidentiality, deception
Meaning of psychological construct
Can’t be directly observed or experienced by others
Sleep
A reversible, naturally occurring altered state of consciousness in which we lose awareness of our environment
NREM stage 1
Can be woken easily, decrease in heart rate, respiration, body temp. Characterised by slow rolling eye movements, lasts 2-10 minutes
NREM stage 2
Light stage of sleep, can still be easily aroused, body temp drops, heart rate and breathing rate continue to slow
NREM stage 2 length
Lasts around 10-25 minutes in the first cycle and then lengthens after that to approx 20-30 minutes
NREM stage 3
Difficult to arouse people, known as deep sleep or slow wave sleep, muscles are relaxed and there are limited eye movements
NREM stage 3 length
20-40 minutes, but decreasing in length as the night progresses
Sleep spindles
Brief bursts of higher frequency brain waves during stage 2 sleep that last approx 1 second- indicate a person is truly asleep
K complexes
Single low frequency, high amplitude brain waves
Age groups hours of sleep
Newborn- 16
Infants- 12-15
Child- 9-11
Adolescent- 8-10
Adult- 7-9
Elderly- 6-8
Circadian rhythm sleep disorders
Any sleep disorders caused by a mismatch between a persons internal circadian rhythm and their actual or required sleep schedule
Mental disorders
Clinically significant conditions of mental ill health that causes distress to the person experiencing the disorder and impairs their ability to function
Resilience
A persons ability to cope with uncertainty and respond to life events adaptively
SEWB model
Situates mental wellbeing within a broader, holistic framework that recognises the importance of history and culture as factors that influence wellbeing and reflects the understandings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Key aim of SEWB model
To help build the skills and knowledge of non-indigenous health professionals and social service providers to be culturally responsive
Self in the centre of SEWB model communicates…
The key concept of a collectivist understanding of human development, rather than individualistic
Determinants of SEWB
Social, cultural, historical, political
Seven domains of connections SEWB
-Family and kinship
-Body and behaviours
-Mind and emotions
-Community
-Culture
-Country
-Ancestors
Anxiety
The emotional state we feel when we anticipate threat or danger
Phobia
A form of anxiety disorder where a person experiences an intense, irrational and out of proportion fear of a specific object, activity or situation
LTP contribution to specific phobia
LTP occurs in the cells of the hippocampus, producing neural changes that underlie the formation of memory. When we associate fear with a specific stimulus, a new memory circuit with connections within the amygdala is thought to be made through LTP.
Cognitive bias
An automatic tendency to process or interpret information in a particular way, producing systematic errors in thinking when making judgements or decisions.
Memory bias
The tendency to remember information of one kind at the expense of another kind, including the bias towards remembering negative and threat related experiences associated with phobia.
Catastrophic thinking
When an individual repeatedly overestimates the potential dangers and assumes the worst of an object or event.
How do GABA agonists work?
They act by facilitating the binding of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA at various GABA receptors throughout the CNS
Breath retraining
The process of identifying incorrect breathing habits and replacing them with correct ones.
Psychotherapy
Psychological techniques used for treating mental health disorders with the goal of producing positive changes in thinking, emotions, personality or behaviours
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Teaches clients to apply cognitive behavioural strategies to recognise and change negative and unproductive patterns of thinking and behaving.
Systematic desensitisation
A type of behaviour therapy that uses counterconditioning to reduce the anxiety a person experiences when in the presence of or thinking about a feared stimulus
Two types of psychoeducation
-Challenging unrealistic or anxious thoughts
-Not encouraging avoidance behaviours
Biological, psychological and social protective factors
Biological- Adequate hydration and nutritious diet, sufficient sleep
Psychological- Mindfulness meditation and cognitive behavioural strategies
Social- Support from family friends and community that is authentic and engaging
Cultural determinants of social and emotional wellbeing
Cultural continuity
Self-determination
Cultural continuity
The intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge, values and practices to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to maintain a strong and secure sense of cultural identity and values
Self-determination
The fundamental right of people to shape their own lives, so that they determine what it means to live well according to their own values and beliefs
Mnemonics
Techniques that help us encode information that helps it become more memorable through retrieval cues
