Psych U3 AOS1

Question 1

CNS

Answer 1

major division of the NS comprising the brain and spinal cord, which receives neural messages and transmits neural messages to the peripheral nervous system

Question 2

Brain

Answer 2

complex organ that coordinates mental processes and behaviour, and regulates bodily activity

Question 3

Spinal cord

Answer 3

cable of nerve tissue that extends from the brain, connecting it to the PNS
- Route via which neural info travels between the brain and body

Question 4

PNS

Answer 4

major division of the NS comprising every neuron in the body outside of the CNS
- Send sensory info to CNS, receive info from CNS to enact behaviour

Question 5

Somatic NS

Answer 5

transmits neural messages related to voluntary movement
- Comprised of motor and sensory neurons

Question 6

Autonomic NS

Answer 6

regulates visceral muscles, organs and glands, and transmits neural messages to the CNS about their activity
- Connects CNS to internal organs and provides feedback to brain

Question 7

Sympathetic NS

Answer 7

activates visceral muscles, organs and glands, and prepares the body to respond to a threat or stressor

Question 8

Neurotransmitter

Answer 8

Chemical substance manufactured by the neuron that binds to receptor sites

Question 9

Neuromodulator

Answer 9

chemical released by neuron to alter overall effectiveness of neural transmission in entire brain areas

Question 10

Dopamine

Answer 10

responsible for voluntary motor movement, experience of pleasure and reward-based learning (primarily excitatory)
- linked with addictive behaviour

Question 11

Serotonin

Answer 11

responsible for regulation of sleep and mood (primarily inhibitory)
- 90% of serotonin found in gut

Question 12

Similarities between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators

Answer 12

• both released into synapse by presynaptic neuron
• both must bind to specific receptor sites to have effect on post synaptic neuron

Question 13

Differences between neurotransmitters and neuromodulators

Answer 13

• neuromodulators influence neural activity on a larger and slower scale than neurotransmitters (longer lasting diffuse effect)
• neuromodulators have effects on multiple postsynaptic neurons, neurotransmitters only have effects on one the adjacent post synaptic neurons

Question 14

Sprouting

Answer 14

dendrites grow new dendritic spines and axon terminals grow new filigree appendages to increase reach of neuron and enable new connections

Question 15

Rerouting

Answer 15

neuron connected to damaged neuron creates alt synaptic connection with an undamaged neuron

Question 16

Pruning

Answer 16

elimination of underused/inadequately activated synaptic connections to accommodate stronger and more essential synaptic connections

Question 17

LTP

Answer 17

long lasting strengthening of synaptic connections that are regularly coactivated

Question 18

LTD

Answer 18

long lasting weakening in strength of synaptic connections that aren’t repeatedly stimulated

Question 19

Stress

Answer 19

Physiological and psychological arousal to internal/external stressors that demand our ability to cope

Question 20

Eustress

Answer 20

stress characterised by a positive psychological state
- Energises us to meet demands of challenge

Question 21

Distress

Answer 21

stress characterised by a negative psychological state
- Impedes coping ability

Question 22

Fight-flight-freeze response in acute stress

Answer 22

involuntary and automatic response to a threat or stressor that takes the form of either escaping it, confronting it, or freezing in the face of it

Question 23

Cortisol

Answer 23

important stress hormone released by adrenal glands to aid body in initiating and maintaining heightened arousal in short/long stress responses

Short term – energise body, increase energy
- increase blood sugar
- improve metabolism
- energise body
- reduce inflammation
Long term – excessive levels in bloodstream impair immune system function
- positive in acute stress, negative in chronic
- immunosuppression

Question 24

Gut-brain axis

Answer 24

bidirectional means of communication between the enteric and central NS which occurs via the vagus nerve
- 80-90% of messages sent from enteric NS, 10-20% from CNS (Breit et al., 2018)

Question 25

Vagus nerve

Answer 25

connects cognitive and emotional regions of the brain to the intestinal tract via a collection of sensory and motor neurons

Question 26

Enteric NS

Answer 26

network of nerves in embedded in the walls of the gastrointestinal tract

Question 27

Microbe/microorganism

Answer 27

microscopic living thing in body (bacteria, fungus, viruses)

Question 28

Microbiome

Answer 28

genes/genetic makeup of all microbiotas in gut

Question 29

Microbiota

Answer 29

entire population of microorganisms that live in the gut that maintain gut health and functioning
- involved in production of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators (dopamine, serotonin, GABA)
- collection of millions of microorganisms
- impacted by chronic stress and cortisol
- influenced by food, alcohol, antibiotics, stress, genes, toxins

Question 30

Selye’s GAS

Answer 30

tracks physiological reactions to stress over time

Question 31

Shock

Answer 31

• Ability to deal with stressor falls below normal level
• Parasympathetic dominance
• Body acts as if injured (blood pressure + body temperature drops)

Question 32

Countershock

Answer 32

• Sympathetic NS activated, body’s ability to deal with stressor rises above normal level
• Adrenaline and cortisol released (via HPA axis)

Question 33

Resistance

Answer 33

• Physiological arousal remains above normal level
• Sustained release of cortisol into the blood stream to energise body and repair damage
• Cortisol brings immunosuppressing effects

Question 34

Exhaustion

Answer 34

• Resistance to stressor falls below normal level
• Body’s resources are depleted, unable to maintain heightened physiological arousal
• Individual can’t function properly; develops serious disease/illness

Question 35

Evaluating GAS

Answer 35

Strengths
- Acknowledges relationship between chronic stress and disease and illness
- Identifies biological process involved in stress
- Idea that body eventually runs out of resources if stress persists was previously not fully understood

Weaknesses
- Research based mostly on rats; low generalisability
- ‘one size fits all’ model, doesn’t account for individual differences
- Ignores psychological stress responses

Question 36

L&F Transactional Model of Stress and Coping

Answer 36

• stress involves an encounter (transaction) between individual and environment
• stress response depends on an individual’s interpretation (appraisal) and ability to cope with it
• stress occurs when there’s a perceived imbalance of stressor’s requirements and available coping resources

Question 37

Primary appraisal

Answer 37

• judge significance of a situation
• decide if stimulus is stressful

Question 38

Secondary appraisal

Answer 38

• evaluate coping resources
• coping strategies: emotion-focused and problem-focused

Question 39

Evaluating Lazarus and Folkman’s Transactional Model of Stress and Coping

Answer 39

Strengths
- focus on psychological influences
- emphasises personal nature and individuality of human stress response
- reappraisal stage acknowledges stressors, and their demands, can change over time

Weaknesses
- difficult to test/quantify, very subjective, lack of empirical evidence
- doesn’t acknowledge biological aspects of the human stress response, when in practice stress is a combo of biological and psychological factors
- people aren’t necessarily aware of why they feel certain kinds of stress, as suggested by primary appraisal.

Question 40

Coping

Answer 40

cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific internal and/or external stressors that are appraised as demanding or exceeding the resources of a person in a stressful situation

Question 41

Context-specific effectiveness

Answer 41

when there’s a match or good fit between a stressful situation and the chosen coping strategy

Question 42

Coping flexibility

Answer 42

ability to effectively modify one’s coping strategy to meet the unique demands of a stressful situation