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UPDATE - PSYCH > Paper 2: 6. Biopsychology > Flashcards

Paper 2: 6. Biopsychology Flashcards

1
Q

1) What is the nervous system?

A

The nervous system is a specialised network of cells in the human body and is our primary internal communication system.

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2
Q

2) What are the two main functions of the nervous system?

A
  1. To collect, process and respond to information in the environment.
  2. To co-ordinate the working different organs and cells in the body.
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3
Q

3) What are the two sub systems in the nervous system?

A
  1. The Central Nervous System - The Brain & Spinal Cord are responsible for passing messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the peripheral nervous system.
  2. The Peripheral Nervous System - Nerves
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4
Q

4) Describe the brain’s function in the Central Nervous System.

A

The brain is the centre of all conscious awareness. It receives and processes sensory information. The brain’s outer layer is called the cerebral cortex which is responsible for higher mental functions and it distinguishes us from other animals. The brain is divided into two hemispheres (L & R).

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5
Q

5) Describe the spinal cord’s function in the Central Nervous System.

A

The spinal cord is an extension of the brain. It is responsible for reflex actions such as pulling your hand away from a hot plate.

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6
Q

6) Describe the Periphernal Nervous System

A

Transmits messages via millions of neurons to and from the CNS. There’s two parts - the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

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7
Q

7) Describe the Central Nervous System.

A

This is responsible for passing messages to and from the brain and connects nerves to the periphiral nervous system.

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8
Q

8) What is the Autonomic Nervous System?

A

This controls vital functions in the body such as breathing, heart rate, digestion, sexual arousal and stress response.

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9
Q

9) What are the two branches of the Autonomic Nervous System?

A
  1. Sympathetic branch

2. Parasympathetic branch

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10
Q

10) Describe the sympathetic branch.

A

This increases your heart rate, increases blood pressure, inhibits digestion, inhibits saliva production and pupils become dilated.

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11
Q

11) Describe the parasympathetic branch

A

This tries to bring the heart rate down, decrease the blood pressure back to normal, stimulates digestion, stimulates saliva production, and constricts pupils.

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12
Q

12) What is the difference between the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system?

A

The somatic nervous system deals with voluntary actions and functions (ie picking up a pen) whereas the autonomic nervous system deals with involuntary actions and functions (accidentally dropping a pen).

Inhibitory means the message isn’t likely to be passed on to the next neurone (autonomic), whilst excitatory is likely to pass on the message to the next neurone (somatic)

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13
Q

18) What are the three types of neurones?

A

Motor neurons
Sensory neurons
Relay neurons

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14
Q

19) Discuss motor neurons. (5 marks)

A
  • Motor neurons are nerve cells that process and transmit messages through electrical and chemical signals.
  • They’re located in the CNS and directly or indirectly control muscles.
  • This is because motor neurones form synapses with muscles and release neurotransmitters into the synapse that binds to muscle receptors.
  • This then triggers muscle movement.
  • The strength of the muscle contraction depends on the rate of firing with the axons of the motor neurons.
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15
Q

20) Discuss sensory neurons

A
  • Sensory neurons carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors (ie for vision, taste etc) to the spinal cord and the brain.
  • These sensory receptors are found in various locations in the body (eyes, tongue) and convert information from the sensory receptors into nerve impulses.
  • Sensory impulses convert information from these sensory impulses into nerve impulses.
  • When these impulses reach the brain, they’re translated into sensations. This allows an appropriate reaction.
  • Some sensory information travels all the way to the brain or down the spinal cord for quick reflex actions.
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16
Q

21) Discuss relay neurons

A
  • Relay neurons connect the Central Nervous System to effectors and glands.
  • They have short dendrites and long axons.
  • They allow sensory and motor neurones to communicate with each other.
  • These relay neurons can only be found within the brain and spinal cord.
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17
Q

22) What does the cell body include? (in relay, motor or sensory neurons)

A
  • Nucleus
  • Dendrites
  • Axon
  • Myelin Sheath
  • Nodes of Ranvier
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18
Q

23) What is the function of the nucleus?

A

Holds the genetic material of the cell.

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19
Q

24) What are dendrites?

A

Branch like structures that protrude from the cell body. These carry nerve impulses from neigbouring neurons towards the cell body.

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20
Q

25) What is the axon?

A

Carries the impulses away from the cell body down the length of the neuron.

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21
Q

26) What is the myelin sheath?

A

A fatty sheath that protects the axon and speeds up the electrical transmission of the impulse.

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22
Q

27) What are the nodes of ravnier?

A

The gaps in the myelin sheath which speeds up the electrical transmission by forcing impulses to jump across the gaps.

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23
Q

28) What are terminal buttons? (pronounced boo-tons)

A

At the end of the axon and comunicating with the next neuron in a synapse.

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24
Q

29) Describe an electrical transmission

A
  1. When a neuron in a resting style, the inside of the cell is negatively charged compared to the outside.
  2. When a neuron is activated by a stimulus, the inside of the cell now becomes positively charged for a split second causing an action to occur.
  3. This creates an electrical impulse that travels down the axon towards the end of the neuron.
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25
Q

30) Describe a chemical transmission.

A
  1. Signals between neurons are transmitted chemically across the synapse.
  2. When the electrical impulse reaches the Presynaptic terminal it triggers the release of a neurotransmitter from tiny sacs called the synaptic vesicles.
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26
Q

31) What is a neurotransmitter?

A

A neurotransmitter is a chemical messagethat spread across the synapse to the next neuron in the chain.

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27
Q

32) What happens at the synapse?

A
  1. A neurotransmitter crosses the gap and binds to the post synaptic receptor site of the next neuron.
  2. `The chemical message is then converted back into an electrical impulse and the transmission process starts again in the new neuron.
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28
Q

33) What two effects can neurotransmitters have on the neighbouring neurons?

A

Excitation and Inhibition

29
Q

34) What is serotonin’s effect?

A

Serotonin causes inhibition which leads to an increase of the negative charge of the post-synaptic neuron. This makes the neuron less likely to fire.

30
Q

35) What is inhibition?

A

The neuron is less likely to fire (pass on electrical impulses)

31
Q

36) What is adrenaline’s effect?

A

Adrenaline (hormone and transmitter) causes excitation of the post-synaptic neuron which leads to an increase of the positive charge of the post synaptic neuron. This makes the neuron more likely to fire.

32
Q

37) What is exhibition?

A

The neuron is more likely to fire (pass on electrical impulses).

33
Q

38) Describe a synaptic transmittion?

A
  1. Inbetween each neuron is the synaptic neuron.
  2. The electrical signal cannot jump over that gap. Instead, the electrical signal is translated into a neurotransmitter by the presynaptic neuron.
  3. The neutrotranmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft until it reaches the other neuron. The other neuron then translates the chemical signal back into an electrical one.
  4. This new electrical message travels down the neuron until it reaches a new synaptic junction.
34
Q

39) What did Paul Broca and Karl Wernike discover

A
  • They discovered that specific areas of the brain are associated with specific physical and psychological functions.

This means that if a ceryain part of the brain becomes damaged, then a certain part of the body will also be affected

35
Q

40) What did scientists believe before Broca and Wernicke’s discovery

A

Psychologists thought that the entire brain was responsible for processing information. This was called the ‘holistic theory of the brain’.

36
Q

41) Define lateralisation

A

The idea that the brain is divided into two symmetrical halves called left and right hemispheres. They both control different physical and psychological functions

37
Q

Why is the brain considered contralateral?

A

In most people, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body

38
Q

What is the left hemisphere responsible for

A
  • Language

- The Broca and the Wernicke area

39
Q

What is the right hemisphere responsible for?

A
  • Recognises emotions or faces.

- Spatial relationships.

40
Q

The function of the motor cortex. Where about’s is it in the body. What effects happens when it’s damaged

A

CONTRALACTURAL
It is located at the top of the brain on the left side AKA the back of the frontal lobe. It is right next to the somatosensory cortex but it’s separated by a fold (centeral suclus).
Voluntary muscle movement across the body.

DAMAGE: Injuring results in the loss of muscle function or paralysis on the opposit side of the ody

41
Q

The function of the somamatosensory cortex. Where about’s is it in the body. What effects happens when it’s damaged

A

It is located at the top of the brain on the left side AKA the front of the frontal lobe. It is right next to the motor cortex but it’s separated by a fold (centeral suclus).

Recieving sense impressions from tround thebody.

DAMAGE: Loss of sensation in opposide side to damage ignoring areas of the body

42
Q

The function of the broca area Where about’s is it in the body. What effects happens when it’s damaged

A

Located in the left frontal lobe only.

It’s responsible for speech production

DAMAGE: Motor aphasia & difficulty producing fluent speech

43
Q

The function of the wernicke’s area Where about’s is it in the body. What effects happens when it’s damaged

A

Located in the left frontal lobe only. Responsiblefor speech comprehension

DAMAGE: Sensory aphasis / Difficulty understanding speech

44
Q

The function of the auditory Where about’s is it in the body. What effects happens when it’s damaged

A

it’s located in both hemispheres

recieves and processes sound information from the ears.

45
Q

The function of the visual cortex Where about’s is it in the body.

A

Visual processing each hemisphere recieves info from opposit visual field

46
Q

What are the four lobes in the brain? (FPOT

A
  1. The frontal lobe
  2. The parietal lobe
  3. The occipital lobe
  4. The temporal lobe
47
Q

Tell me everything about the frontal lobe?

A
  • Behind it is the motor area, which controls movement. Damage to this results in a loss of control of movement.
48
Q

Tell me everything about the parietal lobe?

A
  • In front of the parietal lobe is the somatosensory area. This is where sensory information (heat or pain) is represented. The amount of area devoted to a particular body part relates to how sensitive a particular body part is.
    An example is the receptors in our hands
49
Q

Tell me everything about the temproal lobe?

A 
remembering
recognising 
speaking
finding words
understanding speech
50
Q

Tell me everything about the occupital lobe?

A
51
Q

brain plasticity

A

The brain has the ability to change throughout life.
During infancy, the brain experiences rapid growth in the number of synaptic connections it has, peaking at approximately 15,000 at age 2-3 years old; twice as many as there are in the adult brain.
As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened. This is a process called Synaptic pruning.
At any point in life, existing neural connections can change and new neural connections can be formed as a result of learning and experience. This is called Plasticity.

52
Q

research into plasticity

A

Maguire et al aimed to investigate whether or not the hippocampus plays a role in human spatial memory.
London taxi drivers with a range of age and experience were the participants because their work requires the use of spatial navigational skills.
Two different types of MRI scans were used to assess how the brains of the taxi drivers differed from the control group.
It was found that Taxi cab drivers showed significantly more grey matter in both left and right hippocampus compared to the control group.
This part of the brain is associated with spatial and navigational skills. As a result of having to use these skills on a daily basis, the structure of the taxi driver’s brains had been altered.
Draganski et al imaged the brains of medical students 3 months before and after their final exams. Changes in the posterior hippocampus and the parietal cortex had occurred possibly as a result of the exam.

53
Q

functional recovery of the brain after trauma

A

Functional recovery is a process whereby, following a stroke or other forms of trauma, unaffected areas of the brain are able to adapt and compensate for those areas that are damaged.
This functional recovery is another form of plasticity.
Healthy brain areas may take on functions of the brain that are damaged or even missing.

54
Q

What happens in the brain during recovery?

A

The brain is able to rewire itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the area of damage.
Secondary neural pathways that would not normally be used to carry out certain functions are activated to enable functioning to continue.
At this time, a number of changes happen in the brain:
Axonal sprouting; the growth of new nerve endings which connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways
Reformation of blood vessels
Recruitment of similar areas on the opposite side of the brain to perform specific tasks. An example would be if Brocas area was damaged on the left side of the brain, an equivalent area on the right side of the brain would carry out its functions.

55
Q

evalation plascity

A

support from animal studies - Evidence of neural plasticity and functional recovery comes from animal studies.
Hubel & Weisel (1963) sewed one eye of a kitten shut and analysed the brains responses.
It was found that the area of the visual cortex associated with the closed eye was not inactive but continued to process information (FROM to TO) the open eye.
Key point: This shows that nearby cells process information from nearby visual fields.

Practical application - Research into plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation.
If the brain is injured, recovery slows down after a number of weeks so forms of physical therapy are needed to maintain improvements in functioning. (for example electrical stimulation of the brain)
This shows that although the brain is able to fix itself, this process requires further intervention for it to be completely successful.

negative plasticity - Plasticity can sometimes have maladaptive consequences.
60-80% of patients who have had a limb removed suffer from phantom limb syndrome; the continued experience of feelings and sensations in the missing limb.
These sensations are often uncomfortable and unpleasant and are due to changes in the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of limb loss.

age & plasticity - Functional plasticity tends to reduce with age. However, that being said….
Bezzola demonstrated how 40 hours of golf training produced changes in the neural representation of movement in participants aged 40-60. Using a fMRI researchers found that there was reduced motor cortex activity in novice golfers compared to the control group, suggesting more efficient neural representations after training.
This shows that neural plasticity does continue throughout the life span.
Key point: Reduced motor cortex activity suggests - more efficient neural representations (connections) following training.

the concept of cognitive reserve - A person’s educational attainment may influence how well the brain functionally adapts after injury.
Eric Schneider et al discovered that the more time brain injury patients spent in education, the greater their chances of recovery.
2/5ths of patients who recovered had more than 16 years of education compared to about 10% of patients who recovered who had only 12 years of education.

56
Q

what is functional mgnetic reasonance imaging

A

fMRI looks at blood flow in the brain to detect areas of activity.
These changes in blood flow, which are captured on a computer, help doctors understand more about how the brain works.
When a brain area is more active, it consumes more oxygen and blood flow is directed to the active area.
A computer processes these signals into a three-dimensional image of the brain that doctors can examine from many different angles.
This has important implications for our understanding of localisation of brain function.
fMRIuses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create an image of the brain.
fMRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the body/brain.

57
Q

Electroencephalogram EEG

A

An EEG measures and records electrical activity of the brain. It is typically non-invasive, with the electrodes placed along the scalp using a skull cap.
The scan represents brainwave patterns that are generated from activity within the neurons, providing an overall account of brain activity.
EEG records general brain activity e.g. with states such as sleep and arousal. It is also used to diagnose epilepsy, which causes abnormalities in EEG readings.

58
Q

Event-related potentials (ERP’s)

A

An ERP is a more specific version of an EEG.
Event-related potentials (ERPs) are a type of brain wave that is associated with a response to a specific stimulus, such as a particular wave pattern observed when a patient hears a clicking sound.
Research has revealed many different forms of ERP and how these are linked to cognitive processes such as attention and perception.

59
Q

POST MORTEM EXAMINATIONS

A

This involves analysing a persons’ brain after they have died. Individuals who have a post mortem often have a rare disorder or have displayed unusual behaviours during their lifetime.
Areas of the brain are examined to establish the cause of illness.
The brain may be compared to a normal brain to identify key differences.

60
Q

EVAL OF FRMI

A

Strength of fMRI
Unlike other scanning techniques, fMRI does not rely on the use of radiation. It is risk free, non-invasive and easy to use. Images produced have a high spatial resolution showing a lot of detail and providing a clear picture of how brain activity is localised.
Weakness of fMRI
It is expensive and can only capture a clear image if the person stays still. It also only measures blood flow in the brain and cannot pinpoint the activity of particular neurons. Because of this, it can be difficult to tell exactly what kind of brain activity is being represented on the screen. There is also a time lag between the image on the screen and the activity of the brain. Because of this, the FMRI is said to have poor temporal resolution.

61
Q

EVAL OF POST MORTEMS

A

Strengths
Post mortem evidence was vital in understanding key processes in the brain. Broca Wernicke relied on post mortems to establish links between language, the brain and behaviour before scans had been invented. Post mortems improve medical knowledge and help generate new hypotheses for further study.
Weaknesses
Cause and effect from just finding a link. For instance we cannot be certain that large ventricles caused schizophrenia; it may be an effect of schizophrenia.

62
Q

EVAL OF EEG

A

Strength of EEG
EEG has proved valuable in the diagnosing conditions such as epilepsy, as the disorder is characterised by random bursts of activity in the brain which is easily detectable on screen. It has also helped our understanding in the stages of sleep. It also has a high temporal resolution (unlike fMRI).
(Please note temporal is about time).
Weakness of EEG
The main drawback of EEG is that it is not useful for pinpointing the exact source of neural activity, and it does not allow researchers to distinguish between activities originating in different but nearby locations.

63
Q

EVAL OF ERP

A

Strength
They are more specific at measuring neural processes. As ERP’s come from EEG measurements, they have excellent temporal resolution compared to an FMRI and this has led to widespread use in the measurement of cognitive functions.
Weaknesses
There is a lack of standardisation in ERP methodology between different research studies which makes it difficult to confirm the findings. Also, in order to establish pure data in ERP studies, background noise must be completely eliminated and this may not always be easy to achieve.

64
Q

WHAT IS HEMISPHREIC LATERLISATION

A

The idea that two halves (hemispheres) of the brain are functionally different and that certain mental processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other. For example specialised areas associated with language are found in one of the brains hemispheres (the left) rather than both.

65
Q

SPIT BRIN STUDIES

A

Split brain research initially involved epileptic patients who had experienced a surgical separation of the hemispheres of the brain. This allowed researchers to investigate the extent to which brain function is lateralised.
Sperry’s studies focused on epileptic patients, all of whom had undergone a surgical procedure known as commissurotomy (in which the corpus callosum and other tissues which connect the two hemisphere were cut down the middle in order to separate the hemispheres). This was done in a hope that it could help control and reduce seizures in such patients.
Split brain patients give (gave) a good opportunity for Sperry to see the extent to which the two hemispheres were specialised for certain functions, and whether the hemispheres performed tasks independently of one another.

66
Q

OUTLINE SPERRY’S BRAIN RESEARCH

A

Procedure
Sperry devised a general procedure in which a person would be shown an image or word. The stimulus would be projected to the patients right visual field (processed by the left hemisphere) and the same or a different image could be projected to the left visual field (processed by the right hemisphere).
How would a normal person do on this task and why?
In a normal brain, the corpus callosum would immediately share the information between both hemispheres giving a complete picture of the visual world.
How would a split brain patient do on this task?

FINDINGS
Key findings with split brain patients
When a picture of an object was shown to a patient’s right visual field, the patient could easily describe what was seen. This is because language is processed on the left hemisphere. Therefore they could state what they had seen in the right visual field.
If, however, the same object was shown to the left visual field, the patient could not describe what was seen, and typically reported there was nothing there. Patients were unable to state what they had seen because the right hemisphere has no language centre.

67
Q

RECOGNITION BY TOUCH AND DRAWINS SPLIT BRAIN

A

RECOGNITION BY TOUCH
Although patients could not say what was seen in the left visual field, they could select a matching object using their left hand. Objects were either in a bag or behind a screen and could not be seen. Although the patient could not verbally identify what was seen (the word ball), they could “understand” what the object was and, using (THE) he right hemisphere, chose the correct object using their left hand.

RECOGNITION BY DRAWINGS
Some research has shown that that split brain patients were able to draw the object they had seen in their left visual field. Showing that the info goes in but due to a lack of connection to the language centre they are unable to verbalise what they saw.

68
Q

Evaluation of Split Brain Research 3✅2❌

A

✅Research support - Sperry’s research into split brain patients has produced a lot of research evidence that supports the idea that the left hemisphere deals mainly with analytical and verbal tasks whilst the right hemisphere plays more of a role in performing spatial tasks and music. This is a key contribution to our understanding of brain processes. It supports the idea that lateralisation is true.

✅Split brain studies involved highly specialised standardised procedures.
In order to present information to one visual field at a time, Sperry would ask patients to stare at a point whilst one eye was blindfolded. An image would then be flashed for one tenth of a second meaning that the patient would not have enough time to move their eyes across the image and would not be able to spread the information across both sides of the visual field.
Thus he developed a very useful and well controlled method

✅Sperry’s work prompted a theoretical and philosophical debate about the degree of communication between the two hemispheres and the nature of consciousness.
Some theorists have stated that the two hemispheres are so functionally different that they represent a form of duality in the brain; in other words, we have “2 minds”. Other researchers argue that the functioning of the brain is not separate but that the 2 hemispheres work together and are both involved in everyday tasks.

❌Differences in function may be overstated. - Some psychologists argue that Sperry’s work exaggerates the distinction between the left and the right hemisphere. Modern neuroscientists argue that some tasks require the use of both hemispheres working together and this is more common than carrying out separate functions

❌Issues with generalisation - All the patients studied had a past of epielitic seizures, which may have caused unique changes in the brain that might have influenced the findings. It’s also the case that some participants had experienced more disconnetion between the hemispheres than others, so the control group with no eplisey suffers may have been inappropriate as the findings may just be applicable to eplielsy sufferes

UPDATE - PSYCH (12 decks)

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