L1 - Intro to Biological Psychology Flashcards
What is the definition of Biological psychology?
the study of the brain mechanisms that control behaviour
According to the historical perspective, what components led to the development of psychology?
Philosophy
Physiology
Biology
Quantification
Medicine
What are the modern branches of psychology?
Social
Developmental
Individual differences
Cognitive
Abnormal
Biological
who were the 3 greek key philosopher that aided the development of psychology?
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
who was the Roman key philosopher that aided the development of psychology?
Plotinus
What were the 3 major questions that these philosophers tried to answer?
What + where is the mind?
How does the mind interact/ influence the body + action?
Can we reliably investigate the nature of the mind?
What mechanism did the ancient greeks use to control action?
Trepanation (drilling holes in skulls) for therapeutic reasons
What is the Humours Theory?
The balance of the 4 vital fluids: blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm affect temperament and abnormalities.
What did Hippocrates theory do?
Emphasised the brain’s role in emotions, wisdom + madness
What did Galen propose?
The brain controlled behaviour though the flow of humours in nerves.
This theory lasted until 1800s
What did Rene Descartes introduce?
The hydraulic model with the pineal gland as the “seat of the soul,” emphasising the view that nerves are hollow tubes carrying ‘animal spirits.’
What did Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens (1823) propose?
Brain areas affect specific functions
What did Franz Joseph Gall propose?
Suggested skull bumps reflect the brain function + personality traits (phrenology)
This was scientifically disproven.
What did Paul Broca find?
Linked speech production to the Broca’s area
What did Karl Wernicke find?
Linked language comprehension to the Wernicke’s area
What did Fritsch + Hitzig discover?
Motor and sensory cortices (plural of cortex) through electrical stimulation
What did Brodmann create?
A cytoarchitectural map of the cortex, linking structure to function
What are the 2 brain imaging techniques + what do they allow us to do?
MRI + PET scans
Allow us to visualise brain activity + have confirmed findings from brain-damaged patient studies.
What did Luigi Galvani demonstrate?
Nerves operate through electrical mechanisms rather than hydraulics.
Hydraulics is a technology that uses liquid (normally water + oil) to transmit power through converting liquid pressure into mechanical force.
What did Otto Loewi prove?
That chemical transmission at synapses, leading to the understanding of neurotransmitters.
