Multiple Choice Flashcards
Somatic Approach
Somatic interventions alter the structure or function of the brain to see changes in behavior (e.g. Lesions)
Behavioral Approach
Behavioral interventions change the behavior of an organism and look for changes in the brain.
(e.g. how hormone levels change when people interact).
Correlation Approach
Correlation approaches find the extent to which a given body measure varies with a given behavioral measure
(e.g. brain size and IQ).
Pure Research VS Applied Research
Pure Research is motivated primarily by curiosity. The purpose is to acquire knowledge.
Applied Research is intended to bring direct benefits to humankind.
Key Concepts of BioPsychology.
Biopsychology is the scientific study of the biology of behavior. It is informed by many other fields, such as neurology, neurochemistry, neuropharmacology, and neuroanatomy.
Human VS Animal Brains
Human brains differ from animal brains primarily by size and the extent of cortical development.
In other words, the differences are more quantitative rather than qualitative.
Animal brains are good to work on because:
They are simpler, they aid in comparative apprpoaches, and you can do experiments that can’t ethically be done on humans.
Electrical VS Chemical Stimulation
Electrical Stimulation: bipolar electrode delivers weak currents that increase firing of neurons near the tip of the electrode. Often produces the opposite of Lesions - it excites and activates the targeted area.
Chemical Stimulation administers drugs that either increase or decrease the effects of particular neurotransmitters, such as neurotoxins.
Chemical Stimulation activates cell bodies.
(Divisions of Biopsych): Physiological Psychology
Physiological Psychology looks at the neural mechanisms of behavior.
It involves the direct manipulation of the brain.
(e.g. animal studies with stimulation or lesions).
Tends to be pure research rather than applied.
(Divisions of Biopsych): Psychopharmacology
Psychopharmacology looks at the effects of drugs on the brain.
(e.g. illegal drugs, how medicines aid speech recovery in stroke patients).
Tends to be applied research.
(Divisions of Biopsych): Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology deals with brain damage in humans.
(e.g. right hemisphere damage causes difficulty with understanding jokes).
Think neuropsych testing - it looks for brain damage. Applied research - deals with brain damaged people and researchers are trying to help them.
(Divisions of Biopsych): Psychophysiology
Psychophysiology looks at the relationship between physiological activity and psychological processes.
Focuses on HUMANS, with NON-INVASIVE measures
(e.g. skin response, eye tracking).
(Divisions of Biopsych): Cognitive Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience looks at the neural basis of cognition (higher intellectual processes) - what neural activity is representative of.
Mostly human subjects.
(e.g. which areas of the brain light up when seeing “cool” images).
(Divisions of Biopsych): Comparative Psychology
Comparative Psychology compares different species to understand evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior.
Includes evolutionary psych and behavioral genetics.
(e.g. gene therapy, how different species evolved learning, epigenetics - how experience alters genes).
(Genetic Engineering Techniques) - Gene Knockout Technique & Problems with Interpretation.
GENE KNOCKOUT TECHNIQUE: procedure that creates organisms that lack a particular gene under investigation.
It is hard to interpret: behavioral traits are influenced by many interacting genes.
Eliminating genes influences expression of other genes.
Genes are also influenced by experience.
(Genetic Engineering Techniques) -Gene Replacement
GENE REPLACEMENT involves removing pathological genes from humans and implanting them into other animals, such as mice.
Neuropsych Testing
Neuropsych Testing: standardized battery of tests to discover brain damage.
Phase of general tests followed by specific tests to see further deficits
(e.g. IQ, memory, card sorting task, digit span, etc.)
Single VS Double Dissociation
SINGLE DISSOCIATION: one factor (brain damage) affects process 1, but not process 2. This means there is insufficient evidence to say there are 2 separate process.
(e.g. a TV can lose color, but color is not independent… you can’t lose the picture and still have color).
DOUBLE DISSOCIATION: Complete loss of one function while other function is unaffected.
(e.g. if you have 2 TV sets, and one is without sound and another is without picture, this means that picture and sound are separate functions).
Conditioned Taste Aversion
Conditioned Taste Aversion was a big influential learning paradigm.
They found that rats learned association between taste and stomach distress and then avoid the new taste - even after one incident and even after a time gap.
This challenged the old view that learning was step-by step, that temporal contiguity was necessary, and that associations between any two stimuli were equal (rats did not associate light with stomach distress).
Afferent VS Efferent Nerves
AFFERENT nerves APPROACH the CNS (A is for Arrive)
EFFERENT nerves EXIT the CNS (E is for Exit).
Ventricles
Ventricals are 4 hollow spaces in the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) - Function
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) supports the weight of the brain, and helps reduce shock to the CNS caused by accidents.
Sulci and Fissures
Sulci are SMALL furrows in the cortex (as opposed to fissures, which are big)
Fissures are LARGE furrows in the cortex - including lateral, longitudinal, and central fissures.
Neurons - SHAPES
Multipolar Neurons (more than 2 processes extending from cell body - most neurons are multipolar)…
Bipolar Neurons (Neuron with 2 processes extending from cell body)…
Unipolar Neurons (one process)…
Neuron FUNCTION TYPES
Interneurons (short axon or no axon - integrate activity within a SINGLE neural structure)…
- *MOTOR** neurons….
- *SENSORY** neurons.
Neuron SIZES
Small (granule, spindle, stellate)…
LARGE: pyramidal, Golgi Type 1, Purkinje
Oligodendrocytes VS Schwann Cells
OLIGODENDROCYTES: myelin producing glial cells in CNS. Several Segments…
Schwann Cells: myelin producing glial cells in the PNS. One Segment. Schwann can REGENERATE axons.
TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation):
TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation): temporarily disrupts brain activity, using electromagnetic coil,
White VS Grey Matter
White Matter: part of spinal cord containing myelinated axons (the myelin makes it white)…
Grey Matter: Part of the spinal cord containing cell bodies and unmyelinated interneurons.
CT (Computerized Tomography):
CT (Computerized Tomography): Uses computer to scan beams of X-rays to create pictures of 2D brain slices. Can combine them to make 3D images.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging):
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Exposes brain to magnetic field and measures radio frequency waves. High resolution image of brain anatomy.
Advantages: No radioactivity, high resolution, high temporal resolution.
EEG (Electroencephalograph):
EEG (Electroencephalograph): Records brain waves via electrodes on scalp. Shows single line charts showing brain waves.
Advantages: shows rapid changes – good for cognitive activity/consciousness/epilepsy.
Disadvantages: poor spatial resolution of the source of electrical activity. Only measures scalp/cortex.
ERP (Evoked Response Potentials):
ERP (Evoked Response Potentials): Average EEG response to particular stimuli over hundreds of trials. Measures surface EEG via electrical activity of scalp.
Uses statistical procedures to calculate ERP waveform for specific processes.
PET (Positron Emission Tomography):
PET (Positron Emission Tomography): Radioactive compound is injected. Emits radiation which is detected by a sensor outside the head. Shows glucose metabolism and regional blood flow.
Advantages: allows functional and biochemical studies. Measures brain activity, not structure.
Disadvantages: uses radioactivity. Better spatial resolution than EEG, but lower resolution than MRI. SLOW: cannot follow rapid changes – 30 second intervals.
fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging): MRI that permits measurement of regional metabolism in brain. Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal measures blood flow and oxygen flow of neural activity.
ADVANTAGES: nothing injected – subjects can be measured repeatedly.
DISADVANTAGES: low temporal resolution.
MEG (Magnetoencephalography):
MEG (Magnetoencephalography): Measures change in magnetic fields induced by electrical signals. High temporal and spatial resolution
Physiological Measures of Sleep
(EEG): Brainwaves via thingies on scalp…
(EOG): Electrooculogram. Eyes. (Occular = Eyes)…
(EMG): placed on Muscle.
Theories of Dreaming (Default Theory)
Default Theory proposes that dreaming serves no critical function.
Theories of Dreaming (Freud)
Freudian Theory says Dreams are about unconscious desires and conflicts (no evidence)
Theories of Dreaming (Activation/Synthesis)
Activation/Synthesis: the brain is making a story to make sense of activity going on during sleep.
Theories of Dreaming (Replay Theory)
Replay Theory: the brain dreams for memory consolidation. During REM, neurons replay the day’s experiences.
Theories of Sleep (Recuperation)
Recuperation Theory says that sleep is needed to restore homeostasis. More activity = more sleep needed.
PROBLEM: evidence does not back this up.
Theories of Sleep (Circadian/Adaptive)
Circadian/Adaptive Theory says that sleep is a result of an internal timing mechanism, and it evolved to help protect us from dangers in the night and predators.
Circadian Sleep Cycles
**Circadian Sleep Cycles: ** Daily rhythmical changes in behavior, psychological process, and endogenous (born within) circadian rhythms for virtually all processes in body.
Genes produce PER and TIM proteins, which interact with clock to cause sleepiness.
Zeitgebers
Zeitgebers are environmental cues that rest circadian cycles. E.g. changes in light, or too much light at bedtime, are zeitgebers.
*Without Zeitgebers humans still have 24-25 hour circadian cycles.
Superchiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)
The Superchiasmatic nucleus is the main control for temperature and sleep, it resides in the hypothalamus. Master clock for circadian timing.
_Transplanting SCN will alter the recipient’s sleep cycle. _
Free Running Cycles
Regular sleep cycles are maintained in constant environments despite variations in mental and physical activity.
E.g. a runner has the same sleep cycle before and after running a marathon.
This counters the recuperation theory.
Comparative Sleep Studies
All mammals and birds sleep - it is not a higher-order function. It is not necessarily needed in large quantities.
_No relation between activity and sleep time. _
Effects of Sleep/REM Deprivation
**Effects of sleep deprivation and REM deprivation: **
increases sleep efficiency,
increased sleepiness,
poor performance on tests of vigilance (boring/passive).
Poorer on cognitive functions or motor performance.
More micro-sleeps.
REM deprivation causes us to proceed more rapidly into REM and REM rebound (spend more time in REM) suggests REM serves special sleep function.
Cat Studies in Sleep
Cat studies led to the discovery of the importance of the RETICULAR FORMATION in maintaining wakefulness. (Cervau Isole preparation).
Cutting #1 caused continuous short wave sleep.
Cutting #4 produces the encephala isole (normal sleep cycle)
Genes and Proteins involved in sleep
Genes and proteins involved in sleep: PER and TIM interact with the clock protein to cause sleepiness. More
TIM = More Sleepy.
Carousel Study
The Carousel Study was a sleep deprivation study with rats. Carousel would rotate when one rat falls asleep, and the experimental group experiened a lot of stress and died quickly. :(
Hypnotic Drugs
Hypnotic drugs, AKA benzodiazepines - increase drowsiness, make you fall asleep faster.
However, over time they can cause insomnia, disrupt sleep patterns, and lead to next-day drowsiness.
Sleep Disorders
There are two categories of sleep disorders: those involving insomnia or hypersomnia, and REM sleep disorders.
Insomnia - sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, hypersomnia - narolepsy, cataplexy (loss of muscle tone during wakefulness), sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations.
REM Disorder - acting out dreams.
Important brain areas for sleep and wakefulness
Hypothalamus - damage to anterior equals wakefulness and interior damage equals sleep. Reticular formation: wakefulness Superchiasmatic Nuclei, reticular REM sleep nuclei - controlling aspects of REM and SCN.
What is an Agonist Drug?
Agonists mimic the effects of natural neurotransmitters. It helps exaggerate the effects of the neurotransmitter.
What is an Antagonist Drug?
Antagonists decrease the effects of neurotransmitters. They inhibit neurotransmitter release from the pre-synaptic neuron.
Drug Administration Routes
Ingestion (Oral), absorbed through mucus membranes (e.g. nose or under tongue),
Injection (subcutaneus-skin, intramusculur-muscles, intravenious-veins).
Tolerance
Tolerance is a decreased sensitivity to a drug. Types: metabolic tolerance (less drug is getting to the site of action), functional (decreased responsiveness at the site of action). Most tolerance is FUNCTIONAL.
Withdrawal
What is Addiction?
Addiction is the continued use of a drug despite knowing its adverse consequences.
What are Pleasure Centers?
Pleasure Centers are brain circuitry that make certain behaviors pleasurable. Mesocorticolimbic pathway and reward. Dopamine increases here in self-stimulation studies (projecting from midbrain to areas in the telencephalon).
Nigrostriatal Pathway
The nigrostriatal pathway is involved drug pleasure center stuff (not sure)
What is Competitive Binding?
What is Non-Competitive Binding?
Non-Competitive Binding is when a drug binds to a different spot than the targeted neurotransmitter, but it blocks the channel.
Conditioned Place Preference Paradigm
In the Conditioned Place Preference Paradigm, rats repeatedly receive a drug in one compartment in a 2 compartment box.
Then during the test phase, a drug free rat is placed in the box. Then, the proportion of time it spends in the drug compartment, as opposed to the equally sized but distinctive control compartment, is measured.
Physical Dependence Theory of drug addiction
Physical Dependence Theory states that addicts continue to use drugs because they are trying to counteract the adverse effects of withdrawal.
Cross Tolerance (Drugs)
Cross Tolerance refers to how one drug can produce tolerance to other drugs if they act by the same mechanism.
Dose Response Curve (Tolerance)
In the Dose Response Curve, drug tolerance shifts the curve to the right. Therefore in tolerant persons, the same dose has less effect AND a greater dose is needed to produce the same effect.
Parasympathetic VS Sympathetic Nervous System
Parasympathetic NS is involved with activities that increase energy (regulating/saving energy?)
Sympathetic NS is involved with arousal and expenditure of energy (fight/flight)
