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Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology > Lecture 3: Biological Basics > Flashcards

Lecture 3: Biological Basics Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Phineas Gage case-study?

A

Man lost part of his brain. His personality changed and it changed his ability to plan.

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2
Q

What are neurones?

A
  • building blocks of the brain
  • 100 billion when born
  • lose 10,000 a day
  • connects to 50,000 other neurons
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3
Q

What are sensory neurones?

A
  • help recode information.
  • transmit to spinal cord/brain.
  • outside world —–> signal
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4
Q

What are interneurons?

A
  • simply ‘pass it along’.

- neurons that communicate with other neurons.

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5
Q

What are motor neurones?

A

-responsible for transmitting messages from CNS to muscles.

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6
Q

What are Glial cells?

A
  • 10 to 1 neuron.
  • waste disposal + axon protection
  • learning + memory.
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7
Q

What are the different parts of a neurone?

A
  • Dendrites
  • Soma
  • Axon
  • Axon terminal/terminal button
  • Synapse
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8
Q

What is the role of the dendrites?

A

-Absorb chemical information/stimulation from other neurones.

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9
Q

What is the role of the soma?

A

-If dendric activity large enough, an electric action potential fired.

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10
Q

What is the role of the axon?

A

-Conducts electrical signal to terminal buttons at the end of the axon.

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11
Q

What is the role of the axon terminal/terminal button?

A

-Electrical signal ——–> chemical squirt

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12
Q

What is the role of the synapse?

A

-Jump chemical has to make to be taken up by the next dendrite.

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13
Q

How can we observe individual action potentials?

A

Attach micro-electrodes to axons.

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14
Q

What is the charge of a resting neurone?

A

Around -70mV.

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15
Q

What is the stage of + charge (+40 action potential)?

A

Depolarization.

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16
Q

What is the stage of - charge?

A

Repolarization.

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17
Q

What charge does a neurone have in the refractory period?

A

Overcompensates resulting in - charge.

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18
Q

How long does it take for a neurone to return to resting state?

A

5 minutes (200Hz).

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19
Q

Are neurones all the same?

A

No. Different neurones have different responsibilities. Yet all the neurones work together.

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20
Q

How are differences in sensory environment coded?

A

By changes in the rate of axon firing or by the magnitude of neurone firing.

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21
Q

What are the three type of feature detectors?

A

1) Simple cells.
2) Complex cells.
3) End-stopped cells.

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22
Q

What do simple cells do?

A

Respond to size, orientation and colour.

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23
Q

What do complex cells do?

A

Respond to orientation and direction.

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24
Q

What do end-stopped cells do?

A

Respond to orientation, direction and size.

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25
Q

What does it mean if a neurotransmitter is inhibitory?

A

Firing rate hyperpolarization.

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26
Q

What does it mean if a neurotransmitter is excitatory?

A

Firing rate depolarization.

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27
Q

What is the resting potential of a neurone?

A
  • -70mV.

- electrical charge inside (relative to outside) when neurone at rest/receiving no stimulation.

28
Q

When is action potential more likely and what happens?

A

When negative resting potential changes to positive charge.

  • achieved by depolarization.
  • sodium enters the cell from the outside.
29
Q

What happens to achieve hyperpolarization?

A
  • Chloride enters from outside the cell.

- Becomes more negative.

30
Q

What is a lesion study and what might it show?

A
  • Brain intact + study behaviour.
  • Remove part and notice change.
  • Perhaps removed brain area is critical for completion of behaviour.
  • Possible to lesion communication links.
31
Q

What is a single dissociation deficit?

A

Perhaps 2 functions performed by different brain areas.

e.g. one can process non-words but not process words.

32
Q

What is a double dissociation deficit?

A

Can begin to build case that different parts of the brain do different things.
e.g. one can process words but not non-words and another subject can process non-words but not process words.

33
Q

What are 4 techniques that are considered later insights into brain processes?

A

1) Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
2) Event-related potentials (ERP).
3) Positron Emission Topography (PET).
4) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

34
Q

What is TMS?

A

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

  • sends weak electrical fields across cortical surface.
  • leads to temporary disruption of electrical activity.
35
Q

What is ERP?

A

Event-related potentials

-records weak electrical fields generated by large scale neural ensembles that permeates through the skull.

36
Q

What is PET?

A

Positron Emission Topography

  • after ingestion of radioactive tag.
  • attaches itself to glucose.
  • glucose uptake related to increased brain activity.
37
Q

What is MRI?

A

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

-Records BOLD signal on the principle that oxygenated blood has different magnetic properties than deoxygenated blood.

38
Q

What are the pros and cons of TMS?

A

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
PROS:
1) relatively safe way of stimulation lesions.

CONS:

1) Effects not long-lasting.
2) Cannot be used for sufferers of epilepsy.

39
Q

What are the pros and cons of ERP?

A

Event-related potentials
PROS:
1) precise temporal recording (millisecond).

CONS:
1) spatially diffuse (what does no ERP modulation mean?)

40
Q

What are the pros and cons of PET?

A

Positron Emission Topography
PROS:
1) allows insights into functionality of brain regions.

CONS:

1) poor spatial resolution.
2) involves radioactive substances.

41
Q

What are the pros and cons of MRI?

A

Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PROS:
1) popular in revealing brain networks.

CONS:

1) BOLD signal very slow.
2) not sure what really means.

42
Q

What is the role of the Brain Stem?

A

Regulates breathing and heart rate.

43
Q

What is the role of the Cerebellum?

A

Regulates balance and body control.

44
Q

What is the role of the Hippocampus?

A

Hub related to learning, memory and space.

45
Q

What is the role of the Hypothalamus?

A

Controls endocrine (hormone) system.

46
Q

What is the role of the Thalamus?

A

Relays sensory signals to cortex (smell).

47
Q

What is the role of the Corpus Callosum?

A

Connection between the hemi-spheres.

48
Q

What is the role of the Cerebral Cortex?

A
  • Part of the forebrain.

- Conscious function.

49
Q

What are the 7 key parts of the brain?

A

1) Brain Stem
2) Cerebellum
3) Hippocampus
4) Hypothalamus
5) Thalamus
6) Corpus Callosum
7) Cerebral Cortex

50
Q

What are the parts of the Cerebral Cortex?

A

1) Frontal Lobe
2) Parietal Lobe
3) Temporal Lobes
4) Occipital Lobe

51
Q

What is the role of the Frontal Lobe?

A
  • related to personality and executive functioning

- lobotomy helped with psychological problems yet resulted in a loss of planning and social inhibition.

52
Q

What is the role of the Parietal Lobe?

A
  • host to the somatosensory homunculus
  • it has the body mapped out spatially
  • stimulation of brain regions lead to specific sensory experience.
53
Q

What are the roles of Temporal Lobes?

A

-intimately connected with first stages of processing auditory information.

54
Q

What is the role of the Occipital Lobe?

A
  • processing of visual information starts its journey.

- specific area dedicated to the processing of basic visual building blocks (e.g. colour, motion, orientation).

55
Q

What is the Endocrine System?

A

-Interacts with autonomic nervous system for body regulation and secretion of hormones into bloodstream.

56
Q

What other system do the Endocrine and Nervous Systems interact with?

A

The Immune System.

57
Q

What is the role of the Immune System?

A

-generates antibodies to destroy biological enemies.

58
Q

What is an autoimmune reaction?

A

The immune system incorrectly identifies a part of the body as an enemy and starts to attack.
(e.g. Arthritis is the attack of connective tissues).

59
Q

Why does there need to be variation within a species?

A

Traits that are of evolutionarily adaptive value are naturally selected.

60
Q

What is a mutation?

A

A copy error in gene replication producing ‘chance’ characteristics.

61
Q

What also plays a role in characteristics other than genetics?

A

Environmental factors.

62
Q

How many pairs of chromosomes does each cell in your body have?

A

23 (except for sperm and unfertilised egg).

63
Q

What are the two types of characteristics?

A

1) Phenotype

2) Genotype

64
Q

What is a Phenotype?

A

Characteristics inherited from your parents that you express.

65
Q

What is a Genotype?

A

Characteristics that are not expressed but just carried by you.

66
Q

What does it mean if a characteristic is recessive?

A

Both parents need to pass the gene for it to be a phenotype (expressed) for you.

67
Q

When can a recessive phenotype reappear when both parents do not express the characteristic?

A

Through randomisation.

Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology (8 decks)

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