Psychology A4 - concept three - biological

Question 1

what is neuroanatomy?

Answer 1

-structure of the brain and nervous system
-most basic neuroanatomical feature of the brain is that it is divided into two (connected) halves
1. left hemisphere (LH)
2. right hemisphere (RH)

Question 2

localisation of brain function

Answer 2

-psychologists accept view that different brain areas perform certain specific functions = localisation
-if brain area is damaged, function associated with area = affected/impaired
-brain’s outer layer = cortex, thin and folded layer that covers inner structures of the brain
-part of brain = highly developed in humans and source of higher localised functions

Question 3

three major areas

Answer 3

-found in both hemispheres
-motor area – controls voluntary movements of opposite side of the body (contralateral control), damage causes a loss of control over fine movements
-somatosensory area – sensory information from skin on the opposite side of body = represented here in proportion to the sensitivity of the body part, damage causes sensory problems such as tingling etc.
-visual area – each eye sends information from right ‘half’ of visual field to the left visual area, vice versa, why damage to one visual area can cause partial blindness in both eyes

Question 4

lateralisation of brain function

Answer 4

-some brain functions are found in just one hemisphere
-these functions are lateralised
-means that the two hemispheres are functionally different – one or the other is specialised for some functions
-language – main areas of brain for language = LH, this is why damage to RH doesn’t cause language problems
-damage to LH would mean that the person would have a difficulty speaking

Question 5

plasticity of the brain

Answer 5

-brain = plastic, it is flexible and can change throughout life
-two example of plasticity:
1. synaptic pruning – 3 yo our brains have about 15,000 connections (synpases) per neuron, as we develop, synpases are ‘pruned’ to allow new connections to form
2. functional recovery – when areas of brain = damaged, unaffected areas can adapt and ‘take over’ functions, new synaptic connections are formed close to damaged area or same areas in opposite hemisphere takes over, recovery process = rehabilitation therapy

Question 6

evaluation: practical applications (+)

Answer 6

-has real-world applications to help patients
-example, programmes have been developed to help protect elderly people against age-related cognitive decline
-one programme uses 200 hours of device-based game-type activities, target attention, memory and coordination (Merzenich et al., 2014)
-approach is based on knowledge of brain plasticity
-activities help support neurotransmitter-producing neurons, would decline with age
-shows that understanding neuroanatomy can lead to interventions that benefit range of conditions where brain injury is involved

Question 7

evaluation: research support (+)

Answer 7

-support brain lateralisation
-example, some studies suggest our ability to make emotional facial expressions = controlled by RH
-RH is also dominant in recognising emotions in others facial expressions and identifying emotions in music
-evidence that damage to part fo RH disrupts these abilities (Lindell, 2013)
-shows there are some significant functions that are lateralised in human brain, with one hemisphere or other specialised for each function

Question 8

evaluation: not so localised (-)

Answer 8

-brain functions may be less localised and lateralised than thought of
-example, language, brain scans become more advanced, researchers can study brain activity with more clarity
-language is distributed widely in brain rather than being localised
-some language processing may take place in RH as well as LH
-suggests localisation and lateralisation theories don’t fully explain organisation of language in brain, same may be true for other functions