Neuropsychology Flashcards
What is the role of the Autonomic Nervous System? (3)
- It coordinates functions such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion
- It’s divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic division
- We have no control over it
What is the CNS made up of?
- Brain
2. Spinal cord
What is the role of the Peripheral Nervous System?
- Receives and sends messages to the CNS
- Divided into ANS and SNS
What is the role of the Somatic Nervous System?
- It controls movement
2. We have control over this system (other than reflexes)
How does the fight/flight response work?
- Brain detects threat
- Adrenaline released (ANS changes from parasympathetic to sympathetic)
- Fight of flight response (Physiological changes occur)
- Threat passes (sympathetic changes back to parasympathetic)
Sympathetic nervous system:
When the body is in a state of physiological arousal, preparing for fight/flight
Parasympathetic nervous system:
The body is in a state of rest. There is no threat.
What does the James-Lange theory argue?
Physiological changes occur FIRST, which then causes emotion.
Describe the James-Lange theory:
- Event
- Arousal
- Interpretation
- Emotion
Evaluate the James-Lange theory of emotion: (3)
+ Real-life examples
- Cannon-Bard theory: We experience some emotions (e.g. embarrassment) at the same time as physiological arousal and not one after the other.
- We need arousal plus social cues to correctly label the emotion we are feeling. Therefore the James–Lange theory does not explain how a person ‘decides’ what emotion they are experiencing
Name the different structures of a neuron: (7)
- Soma: carries nucleus
- Axon: carries message through neuron
- Nucleus: contains DNA
- Dendrites: carry electrical signals to nearby neurons
- Myelin sheath: protects axon and speeds up electrical signal
- Node of Ranvier: speeds up electrical signal
- Terminal buttons: communicates to nearby neurons
What is the role of sensory neurons?
Carries messages from receptors to CNS
What is the role of relay neurons?
Carries messages from sensory neurons to motor neurons
What is the role of motor neurons?
Carries messages from CNS to effectors (muscles/glands)
Describe synaptic transmission
- Electrical signal reaches the end of the presynaptic neuron
- Vesicles open and release chemicals into the synapse
- Chemicals are released from the synaptic knobs
- Chemicals are picked up at the receptor sites of the postsynaptic neuron
What is the frontal lobe’s function?
- Thinking and planning
2. Contains the motor area and Broca’s area
What does the parietal lobe contain?
The somatosensory area
What does the temporal lobe contain?
- Auditory area
- Wernicke’s area
Describe the motor area
- Frontal lobe
- Controls movement
Describe the somatosensory area
- Parietal lobe
- Responsible for touch
- Damage would mean you feel less pain and temperature
Describe the visual area
- Occipital lobe
- Eye sends information to the visual area
- Damage would lead to blindness
Describe the auditory area
- Temporal lobe
- Processes things we hear
Describe Broca’s area
- Frontal lobe
- Produces speech
Describe Wernicke’s area
- Temporal lobe
- Understanding speech
What was Penfield’s aim?
To describe the responses patients gave when parts of their brain were electrically stimulated
Describe Penfield’s method:
- Epileptic patients lay on an operating table whilst conscious.
- Penfield stimulated different areas of the brain and recorded patients’ responses.
- This also treated their epilepsy. - Over 30 years, Penfield did this more than 1,000 times
Describe Penfield’s findings:
- Visual area: patients could see colours, shadows and different objects
- Somatosensory: tingling sensation
- Temporal lobe: patients described things they had experienced in the past
- The interpretive cortex is responsible for our memories.
Evaluate Penfield’s study of the interpretive cortex:
+ Has benefitted neuroscience. Penfield was able to pinpoint exact brain locations for certain processes
- Unrepresentative sample: only epileptic patients
- Inconsistent results: study was repeated and only 7% of patients reported the same experiences
Describe a CT scan
- Brain is examined by taking a large number of X-rays
- Doughnut-shaped scanner
- Creates a very detailed image of the brain
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of a CT scan:
+ Useful for revealing abnormal structures such as tumors
+ High quality images
- Requires more radiation than normal X-rays
- Doesn’t show live activity
Describe a PET scan
Measures activity in the brain by injecting a radioactive chemical
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of using PET scans
+ Shows activity in the brain
+ Shows localisation of function
- Extremely expentive
- Limit to the number of PET scans you can have because of the radiation
Describe an fMRI
Requires no radioactive substance. Measures oxygen levels - when the brain is active is uses more blood, so this is shown on the scan
Describe the strengths and weakness of using an fMRI scan
+ Shows the brain in action
+ Safe because it doesnt use radiation
- Expensive
- 5-second delay in the brain activity
