Lecture 1 - Intro Flashcards
What is the fundamental assumption of the biological basis of behaviour?
- Behaviour is governed by activity of the brain and therefore…
- To understand behaviour you must first understand the brain.
What does the implicit assumption of the biological bases of behaviour involve?
Dualism and Monism
What does dualism suggest?
The body is physical and the mind/soul is not.
What does monism suggest?
The mind is a phenomenon produced by the workings of the nervous system.
Is modern experimental psychology dualist or monist?
Monist.
How many degrees of reductionism are there?
3
What are the different degrees of reductionism?
Macro anatomical level
Micro anatomical level
Macromolecule level
What is the macro anatomical level of reductionism?
The functional interaction of different brain areas.
What is the micro anatomical level of reductionism?
The functional interaction of different brain cells
What is the macro molecule level of reductionism?
The functional interaction of individual protein molecules.
What are the outer coverings of the cerebral hemispheres called?
The cerebral cortex.
Where is consciousness thought to be ‘located’?
Cerebral cortex
What is the term that describes an individual’s ability to guess or detect a stimulus without being aware of it?
Blind sight
Which hemisphere is Broca’s area found?
Left
Which lobe is Broca’s area found?
Posterior region of frontal lobe
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
Speech production
Which hemisphere is Wernicke’s area found?
Left
Which lobe is Wernicke’s area found?
Superior region of temporal lobe
What is lateralisation?
The way that one hemisphere of the brain predominantly controls particular processes or functions.
Which hemisphere is dominant?
The left
What is the function of the cerebrum?
To integrate the sensory and neural function as well as initiate and co-ordinate voluntary activity in the body.
What is the function of the cerebellum?
To co-ordinate muscular activity.
What is the function of the brain stem?
Controls flow of messages between the body and the brain.
Regulates key processes such as breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, as the brains stem contains the medulla oblongata.
What does the cerebral cortex allow?
Consciousness.
What is the function of the superior colliculus?
Integrates sensory information into motor signals that help transfer messages from the spinal cord to the brain.
Where is the primary visual centre in the brain?
Optic tectum.
What is the function of the corpus callosum?
Allows communication between the left and right hemisphere.
What is the function of the internal capsule?
Allows communication between the cerebral cortex and the rest of the body.
What is contralateralisation?
The way that the left hemisphere controls the right hand side of the body and vice versa.
What is hemi-paresis and why may it come about?
Difficulty in controlling one side of the body due to damage to the internal capsule.
What is a brain cell?
Fundamental building block of all biological organisms.
What are glia?
Supporting cells in the brain.
Why is it rare for tumours to occur in neurons?
Because mitosis doesn’t occur in neurons.
What are dendrites?
Branch like processes on the cell body that receive information from other neurons.
What is an axon?
Long, filament like process which branches and carries information away from the cell body to other neurons.
What are microtubules?
The transport system for moving proteins up or down an axon.
What is an action potential?
An electrical signal which runs down the axon and away from the cell body.
What is myelin sheath?
A layer of insulation (fat) which surrounds an axon and helps the flow of electrical current.
What is a node of ranvier?
A gap in the myelin sheath that forces the action potential to jump from node to node.
What is a schwann cell?
Produces myelin sheath.
