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iGCSE Psychology > Module 4: The Brain and Neuropsychology > Flashcards

Module 4: The Brain and Neuropsychology Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the structure of the brain as a whole

A
  • Left and right hemispheres
  • Cerebrum (outer part) and outer cortex (outer layer)
  • Gyrus/gyri (bumps)
  • Sulcus/sulci (creases)
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2
Q

Describe the frontal lobe

A
  • Decision making, problem solving, impulse control
  • Motor cortex: controls voluntary movements
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3
Q

Describe the temporal lobe

A

Hearing, understanding/creating speech, some memory functions

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4
Q

Describe the occipital lobe

A

Visual cortex: process/understand visual information

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5
Q

Describe the parietal lobe

A
  • Perception, recognising faces
  • Somatosensory cortex: sense of touch
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6
Q

Describe the central sulcus

A

Crease that separates frontal and parietal lobes

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7
Q

Describe the cerebellum

A
  • Movement, coordination, balance (motor skills)
  • Combines information from spinal cord and other areas of the brain
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8
Q

List the different areas of the brain

A

Frontal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, cerebellum, corpus callosum

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9
Q

Describe the brain’s asymmetry

A
  • Right/left hemispheres
  • Left brain’s input/output on the right side of the body and vice versa
  • Hemispheres conencted by corpus callosum
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10
Q

What are the functions of the left hemisphere?

A
  • Ability to write and understand language
  • Broca’s area: controls speech
  • Exact functions unknown, too much complexity
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11
Q

What are the functions of the right hemisphere?

A
  • Spatial awareness
  • Ability to recognise/perceive faces
  • Ability to process music and visual information
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12
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A
  • Thick bundle of nerve fibres, connects hemispheres
  • Allows for communication between them
  • Makes brain one organ, can be survived without
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13
Q

Explain how brain lateralisation may explain sex differences

A
  • Thought that females better at language while males better at spacial awareness
  • Females have a thicker corpus callosum
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14
Q

What are the strengths of brain lateralisation as an explanation for sex differences?

A
  • Harasty et al. (1997), found female’s language areas of the brain bigger than male’s
  • Rilea et al. (2005), found males better at spacial tasks than females
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15
Q

What are the weaknesses of brain lateralisation as an explanation for sex differences?

A
  • Rilea et al. (2005), males not always better at spacial tasks
  • Sommer et al. (2004), no strong evidence that females use both hemispheres for language, thicker corpus callosum not good explanation
  • Ignores social factors
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16
Q

What are the two sections of the nervous system?

A
  • Central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord
  • Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): nerves
17
Q

What are neurotransmitters?

A

Chemicals released from neurons to send/receive messages (e.g. dopamine, serotonin, GABA, etc)

18
Q

Explain the parts of a neuron

A
  • Nucleus
  • Cell body
  • Axons
  • Terminal buttons
  • Synaptic gap
19
Q

Explain synaptic functioning

A

Electric impulse in cell body –> travels along axon –> reaches terminal button –> vesicles release neurotransmitters into synapse –> grabbed by receptors –> impulse passed along

20
Q

What is visual agnosia?

A
  • Visual information not understood, perception damaged (not sight)
  • Can’t recognise colours/objects/places
21
Q

What is prospagnosia?

A
  • Can’t tell faces apart (for some its all faces, others its only strangers’ faces)
  • Damage to fusiform face area (FFA)
22
Q

Explain the effects of damage to the prefrontal cortex

A
  • More impulsive/aggressive, more likely to commit crimes
  • Adrain Raine et al. (1997), found murderers usually have less activity in the prefrontal cortex than non-murderers
23
Q

What is the background of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A
  • 1848 Phineas Gage’s skull was impaled by an iron rod
  • He survived but became uncharacteristicly aggressive and impulsive
24
Q

What were the aims of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A
  • Build a model of Gage’s skull to map out how the iron rod passed through it
  • Find out if areas other than the prefrontal cortex were damaged
25
Q

What was the procedure of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A
  • Used Gage’s skull and the iron rod to create a 3D model
  • Found the most likely entry/exit wounds
  • Used a 3D model of the brain to find which areas had been damaged
26
Q

What were the resluts of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A

Left and right hemispheres of frontal cortex damaged, no other areas of the brain

27
Q

What were the conclusions of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A

Ventromedial area of the frontal lobe controls impulse control, possibly emotions too

28
Q

What are strengths of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A
  • Use of modern technology increases scientific understanding
  • 12 other patients with similar damage showed similar symptoms
  • Can now predict how patients with similar damage will act
29
Q

What are weaknesses of Damasio et al. (1994)?

A
  • Information gathered 150 years ago may be inacurate
  • Damage unique to Gage so may not apply to other patients
  • 12 patients a small sample size
30
Q

What is the background of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A

Severe epilepsy patients had corpus callosum cut, little to no side effects except lessening of epilepsy symptoms

31
Q

What were the aims of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A

Investigate how patients with a ‘split brain’ processed information differently from a normal brain

32
Q

What was the procedure of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A
  • 11 participants
  • Various tasks involving sending different types of sensory information to the left and right hemispheres, then asking for a response with either the same or opposite hemisphere
33
Q

What were the conclusions of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A
  • Each hemisphere can work fine without the other
  • Cannot share memories without corpus callosum
  • Left better at naming objects with words, right better at feeling for them
34
Q

What are the strengths of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A
  • Lots of detailed information (reliable)
  • Procedures the same for each patient (reliable, comaparable)
35
Q

What are the weaknesses of Sperry’s (1968) Split Brain study?

A
  • 11 participants small sample size
  • Tasks artificial/unnatural, lacks ecological validity
36
Q

Describe psychology in the 19th century

A
  • Pre-1875: interest in brain anatomy (not behaviour), only post-mortem study possible
  • 1875 Wilhelm Wundt’s laboratory in Leipzig, Germany to study thoughts
37
Q

Explain the development of brain scanning

A
  • EEG (electroencephalograph) developed in 1924 by Hans Berger
  • Can tell which areas of the brain are active whilst performing different activities
38
Q

Describe modern psychology

A
  • Modern scanning: MRI and PET
  • Scans of living brains help understanding and treatment of brain damage
  • More methods in development: microscopes to study individual neurons and neurotransmitters

iGCSE Psychology (10 decks)

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