PSY251 V4

Question 1

Regulatory behaviours.

Answer 1

Behaviours motivated to meet an animals survival needs.

Internal body temperature

Easting and drinking

Salt consumption

Waste elimination

Question 2

James-Lange theory of emotion

Answer 2

A constructivist theory.

The idea that we first have a physiological response to stimuli, this response tells us we are afraid.

Question 3

Synaptic homeostasis memory theory of sleep.

Answer 3

Theory that says

Sleep allows synapses to return to quiet state and so conserve energy

Synapses in this state are able to return to a plastic state that was lost through use and ready to be used again when awake.

Synapses that have been under heavy metabolic state due to use take longer to move to resting state, this allows them to undergo structural changes when other neurons around them are in a state of rest.

Question 4

Circadian rhythm

Answer 4

Daily cycle including, pulse rate, blood pressure, alertness, metabolic rate, sexual drive, cognitive ability, and emotions.

Nearly every cell in our body produces a circadian rhythm.

Can be entrained and disrupted with zeitgebers. Eg. Light at night, jet lag etc.

Question 5

Brain structure(s) underlying sleep

Answer 5

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the hypothalamus is the primary circadian pacemaker, regulating sleep and wake cycles

The thalamus and brainstem play a role in maintaining sleep and regulating transitions between different stages of sleep.

Reticular activating system (RAS) basal ganglia, median raphe are involved in waking.

The prefrontal cortex is involved in maintaining wakefulness and attention during the day and is inhibited during sleep.

Question 6

NREM

Answer 6

Non-Rapid Eye Movement or NREM sleep) dominates the early sleep periods, 3 levels.

Theta waves in N1
Spindles in N2 sleep.

NREM level 3 sleep remembering declarative facts and events.

Decrease in heart rate and temperature.

Growth hormone release.

Movement still possible eg. Teeth grinding or flailing.

Muscle posture maintained, can sleep sitting up.

Question 7

REM

Answer 7

(Rapid Eye Movement REM sleep) dominates later sleep.
REM is important for procedural memory, responsible for learning and executing motor skills.

Atonia - No tone; a condition of complete muscle inactivity produced as sleep regions of the brainstem inhibit motor neurons

Mechanisms that regulate body temperature decrease in activity.

Body temperature moves toward room temperature.

Vivid dreams

Sawtooth waves

Question 8

Seasonal affective disorder

Answer 8

Form of depression

Low levels of sunlight do not entrain circadian rhythm, therefore circadian rhythm is disrupted.

Can also be caused by lack of vitamin d.

Melanopsin which is sensitive to blue light used for light treatment.

Question 9

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 9

Increase in EPSP

Long-lasting increase in synaptic effectiveness after high-frequency stimulation.

Long term potentiation can be caused by structural changes at the presynaptic (greater release of neurotransmitters) and postsynaptic (More channels/protein gates) terminals.

NMDA receptors release magnesium ion after strong stimulation allowing influx of calcium, this creates the cascade that adds new protein to the post synaptic terminal.

Question 10

Long-term depression (LTD)

Answer 10

Decrease in EPSP
Caused by low level stimulation that is not enough to fire an action potential

Question 11

Operant conditioning.

Answer 11

Reward or Punishment = Behaviour.
Train behaviour
Positive reinforcement = add something the is pleasant, a reward.

Negative reinforcement = to remove something unpleasant.

Stop behaviour
Positive punishment - Add a punishment eg. A fine for speeding.

Negative punishment - Remove something as a punishment eg. remove license.

Punishment can only work to stop behaviour, it does not work well for teaching.

Question 12

Pavlovian (classical) conditioning.

Answer 12

Neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned response to create a conditioned response

Question 13

Learning

Answer 13

Persistent or even permanent change in behaviour from experience.

Question 14

Implicit memory.
Explanation and four things.

Answer 14

Unconscious memory (passive learning)

Skills eg. Riding a bike or language.

Habits

Priming

Condintioning

Question 15

Explicit memory

Answer 15

Conscious memory. Eg. The things that you learn in class.

Episodic:
Personal
Autobiographical

Semantic:
Facts
Knowledge.

Question 16

Spatial memory

Answer 16

Hippocampus involved, animals that need to remember where their food is have bigger hippocampus (Think of taxi drivers of London)

Question 17

Brain structures memory

Answer 17

Encoding (frontal lobe)
Consolidation (hippocampus)
Storage (distributed)

The basal ganglia and cerebellum are involved in procedural memory, which is responsible for learning and executing motor skills.

The amygdala is involved in the emotional valence of memories, influencing the strength and persistence of emotional memories.

Question 18

Alzheimer’s disease (risk and protective factors)

Answer 18

Risk factors:
Presence of the Apoe4 gene
Below average IQ
Poor education
Traumatic brain injury

Protective factors
Presence of the Apoe2 gene
Higher IQ
Higher educational attainment

Question 19

Alzheimer’s characteristics

Answer 19

Amyloid plaques in allocortex and neocortex. (clumps of dead astrocytes and neurons)

Neurofibrillary tangles in allocortex and neocortex

Brain atrophy

Posterior hippocampus more affected that anterior hippocampus.

Question 20

HPA axis

Answer 20

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. (slow stress)

When stressed activates the adrenal medulla to produce cortisol

Overactive HPA axis lead to an over secretion of cortisol which can then lead to depression

.

Question 21

Schizophrenia

Answer 21

Characterised by excess dopamine

Treated with antipsychotics, normally a dopamine antagonist. (Impacts of dopamine antagonist is weight gain, motor disturbance, and impact to motivation though the mesolimbic dopamine system)

Genetic component

Also attributed to glutamate and GABA abnormalities.

Question 22

Challenges to diagnosing psychiatric conditions

Answer 22

Most diagnostic information is reported by client and family members

Lack of objectivity in self-observation, or observation of a loved one

Selective noticing and reporting of symptoms
i.e., if someone thinks they have a memory problem, they may notice memory lapses that they typically don’t take notice and may minimise symptoms that does not fit with a memory-based condition

Lack of specificity in symptom descriptions
i.e., knowing that it is a “memory problem” is not enough

What kind of memory deficit underlies the problem?
Memory for Words? Places? Faces? Habits?

All involve different processes, different pathologies, and different brain systems
Likely require different intervention strategies
or could also be symptomatic of different conditions

Different members of a multidisciplinary team can view and interpret behavioural data differently
Their view/interpretation will inform:
Diagnostic questions they ask
Observations they make
Diagnostic tests they use

Behavioural and psychiatric disorders are complex and difficult to diagnose than organic disorders
Require subjective observations and interpretations
Depression/anxiety cannot be diagnosed with a blood test

Question 23

Nociception

Answer 23

Perception of pain, temperature, or itch.

Question 24

Proprioception

Answer 24

Body awareness, is the perception of body location and movement.

Question 25

Wernicke’s area

Answer 25

Area of brain for speech comprehension.

Question 26

Depolarisation vs repolarisation

Answer 26

Depolarization (Action potential) is caused when positively charged sodium ions rush into a neuron with the opening of voltage-gated sodium channels. Repolarization (After action potential) is caused by the closing of sodium ion channels and the opening of potassium ion channels

Question 27

THE 7-STEP PROCESS FROM NEUROTRANSMITTER RELEASE TO POSTSYNAPTIC EXCITATION OR INHIBITION

Answer 27

Question 28

What is spinal fluid made from

Answer 28

Sodium chloride.

Question 29

Brain areas relatively spared alzheimers deteriorated.

Answer 29

Primary sensory cortex
Motor cotices.
Especially visual sensoricortices.

Question 30

Cortical atrophy in alzheimers caused by?

Answer 30

Stripped branches.