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Biological Psychology > Hormones, Neurotransmitters And Drugs > Flashcards

Hormones, Neurotransmitters And Drugs Flashcards

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1
Q

Phineas Gage (1848)

A
  • trampling iron went through his frontal lobe
  • injury to it can influence aggressive behaviour
  • survived but personality changed and molested children
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2
Q

What is the amygdala

A

Processing memory and emotional reactions

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3
Q

If the amygdala is damaged…

A

…emotional reactions will not be regulated

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4
Q

Kluver-Bucy Syndrome

A
  • destroyed amygdala in monkeys
  • found them to have reduced aggression after the psychosurgery
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5
Q

Mark and Erwin (1970)

A
  • study if a female patient after electrical stimulation to amygdala
  • flung herself into wall afterwards and became very angry
  • increased aggression
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6
Q

Wong et al (1997)

A

Criminals with violent tendencies have reduced sized amygdalas

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7
Q

What is the role of the pre frontal cortex?

A

Regulates the emotional responses driven by the amygdala

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8
Q

Damage to the pre frontal cortex..

A

… results in impulsivity, immaturity and loss of control

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9
Q

Anderson (1999)

A

Damage to the pre frontal cortex during infancy resulted in aggressive behaviour in adult life

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10
Q

What is a neurotransmitter?

A

Chemical messengers that act between the neurones of the brain which allows the brain to process thoughts and memories

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11
Q

What is a neurone?

A

Receive and transmit messages, passing them from cell to cell

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12
Q

What is the neurones axon?

A

The path that the impulse travels down

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13
Q

What is a synapse

A

The site of transmission of electrical impulses between two neurones

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14
Q

What is Action Potential?

A

Electrical impulse

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15
Q

What is the pre-synaptic neurone?

A

Creates action potential (electrical impulse)

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16
Q

Explain the travel of dopamine

A
  • dopamine is released from the axon terminal
  • goes through neurotransmitters diffusing through the synapse to another neurone
  • signal is received in the dendrite of the dopamine receptors
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17
Q

What is re-uptake

A

When neurotransmitters do not get received by the dendrite so they travel back and are taken in again by the axon terminal where the electrical impulses were released

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18
Q

What is Depolarisation

A

The temporary reversal of changes on the cell membrane of a neurone that takes place when a nerve impulse is transmitted

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19
Q

What is the Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmitter?

A
  • calming
  • low levels of anxiety/ epilepsy
20
Q

What is dopamine?

A

A neurotransmitter that plays a role in pleasure feelings, motivation, and addiction

21
Q

What is Serotonin?

A

A neurotransmitter that controls mood and happiness. It also works with melatonin to regulate sleep-wake cycle

22
Q

What is noradrenaline?

A

A neurotransmitter that regulates arousal and attention. Prepares for flight, freeze or flight

23
Q

What is acetylcholine?

A

A neurotransmitter that regulates memory, thinking and learning. Damage to area in brain that produces this can lead to Alzemhiers

24
Q

What is a receptor?

A

If a certain chemical neurotransmitter fits like a key, the message will be passed on

25
Q

How do synapse work? (5)

A
  • neurones communicate with the neural network via the synaptic gap
  • synaptic transmission occurs when a resting neurone is sufficiently stimulated to depolarise which creates an electrical impulse (axon potential) to travel from the body to the axon to the axon terminal buttons
  • Axon potential tiggers the vesticles in the axon terminal buttons of the pre-synaptic neurone which releases neurotransmitters to diffuse into the synaptic gap
  • neurotransmitters bind with specific receptors in the dendrite of the post-synaptic neurone and are taken in
  • chemical signal carried in these neurotransmitters may then trigger an action potential in the post synaptic neurone if strong enough.
26
Q

What is a drug?

A

Any chemical you take that affects the way your body works (must be able to go to the brain)

27
Q

How do drugs work?

A

They copy or block the effects of naturally occurring chemicals in the brain and change messages from brain to the rest of the body

28
Q

What makes drugs addictive? (5)

A
  • when you’re dependant on it
  • unpleasant withdrawal symptoms
  • crave drugs even when withdrawal symptoms are gone
  • drugs activate the brains “reward system” by increasing the release of chemical dopamine in the neurones in the brain
  • dopamine is released after pleasurable experiences, so dopamine of artificial release is more craving
29
Q

What neurotransmitters does cannabis affect?

A

Cannabis affects neurones releasing acetylcholine, dopamine and noradrenaline, therefore changing our interpretations of the world, our mood, and behaviour

30
Q

What is LSD and what does it do in the brain?

A
  • LSD is a combination of an artificial acid and a natural molecule found in fungus.
  • LSD mimics serotonin release in the brain to give the sensation of “tripping”
31
Q

What is a stimulant?

A

Drugs that make you feel more alert (harmful and addictive)
E.g. nicotine, cocaine and amphetamine

32
Q

What does nicotine do in the brain?

A
  • inhaled and absorbed through the lungs and reaches brain in 7 seconds.
  • mimics acetylcholine by docking with the nicotinic receptors which excited the neurone and triggers the release of dopamine.
33
Q

What is cocaine and what does it do in the brain?

A
  • cocaine is found in the leaves of the shrub Erythrooxlon coca
  • it blocks the binding site on pre-synaptic neurone to prevent re-uptake of dopamine so more dopamine is uptaken through receptors
  • this exaggerates changes cause by noradrenaline and dopamine which increases alertness and euphoria.
34
Q

What is a sedative?

A

Drugs that calm you down used to reduce anxiety but can kill you
E.g. alcohol, Valium, Xanax

35
Q

What is serotonin’s affect on aggression?

A
  • reducing serotonin levels = increasing aggression
  • increasing serotonin levels = reducing aggression
36
Q

What is 5-HIAA?

A

A chemical produced by the reuptake of serotonin
- high levels of 5-HIAA = high levels of serotonin = low levels of aggression (negative correlation)

37
Q

Link to dopamine and aggression?

A

High levels of dopamine = high levels of aggression

38
Q

What is brain plasticity?

A

The brain adapts to what we experience.

39
Q

What is testosterone?

A
  • hormone linked to aggression
  • produced in spurts, levels can rise suddenly
  • males produce more than women
40
Q

What is castration

A

The removal of testes to reduce testosterone

41
Q

Wagner (1979)

A
  • took a baseline measurement of testosterone in mice
  • castrated mice and found aggression levels had dropped
  • then injected mice with testosterone and aggression levels rose back up to pre-castrated levels
42
Q

Vom Saal (1983)

A

Female rats who had developed closest to males in the uterus were the most aggressive females in the little due to prenatal exposure to testosterone

43
Q

Dabbs (1995)

A
  • measured testosterone in saliva of 692 adult male prisoners
  • found higher level of testosterone in rapists and violent offenders than less offensive crimes like burglary
  • those with higher levels of testosterone were rated higher amongst the other prisoners for being “tough”
44
Q

Dabbs (1996)

A
  • research 12 fraternity houses
  • those with highest testosterone were described as “boisterous and macho”
45
Q

Mazur and Booth (1998)

A

Men with higher level of testosterone are more likely to be…
- divorced
- arrested
- incur bad debts
- use weapons in fights

46
Q

Van Goozen (1997)

A
  • natural experiment on transgender sex change patients
  • males receiving testosterone suppressants became less aggressive
  • females receiving testosterone became more aggressive

Biological Psychology (8 decks)

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