Psychology Unit 3

Question 1

What are neurons responsible for?

Answer 1

Receive process and transmit sensory information or motor commands to each other

Question 2

What is the importance of neurons?

Answer 2

It allows our bodies to respond to what’s happened in our internal and external environments

Question 3

Do neurons transmit all the information it receives?

Answer 3

No. People receive lots of information everyday as we see and sense lots of things, however, we do not transmit everything

Question 4

What is the reflex arc?

Answer 4

The neural pathway followed by a reflex action

Question 5

What is a reflex?

Answer 5

A fast, automatic, unplanned sequence of actions that occurs in response to a particular stimulus to enhance our safety and chances of survival; e.g. pulling your hand away from a hot stove

Question 6

Break down the peripheral nervous system

Answer 6

Peripheral nervous system
- Motor neurons and sensory neurons
From motor neurons:
Somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
From autonomic nervous system:
- Sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions

Question 7

What does the somatic nervous system do?

Answer 7

Controls voluntary movements

Question 8

What does the autonomic nervous system do?

Answer 8

Controls involuntary movements

Question 9

What is the spinal reflex?

Answer 9

When the reflex arc occurs within the spinal cord, without involving the brain or conscious thought

Question 10

What does the spinal reflex do?

Answer 10

Enables an organism to respond faster, enhancing safety and survival

Question 11

Name the kinds of spinal reflex arcs

Answer 11

Monosynaptic and polysynaptic

Question 12

What is monosynaptic reflex arc?

Answer 12

Involving only one synapse, an effector neuron brings a sensation from receptors in the body and an effector neuron carries motor messages to the muscles of the body

Question 13

What is polysynaptic reflex arc?

Answer 13

Involving interneurons connecting the affector and effector neurons and, therefore, at least two synapses

Question 14

Recall the steps in reflex response

Answer 14

Receptor - a special transducer that registers the stimulus and transfers it to an electrical response
Sensory (afferent) neurons - transmits electrical response from the receptor to the spinal cord (CNS)
Integration centre - (interneuron) transfers electrical impulses to lower motor neuron
Motor (efferent) neuron - sends information to an effector
Effectors - perform action

Question 15

What are efferent neurons?

Answer 15

Motor neurons

Question 16

What are afferent neurons?

Answer 16

Sensory neurons

Question 17

What are the characteristics of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 17

• Contains billions of neurons
• Large cognitive capacity; increased surface area due to many folds (gyrus/gyri) and grooves (sulcis/sulci)
• Responsible for receiving information from the environment, controlling our responses and allowing us complex voluntary movements and higher order thinking processes

Question 18

What are the characteristics of the frontal lobe?

Answer 18

• Planning, initiating movement, language, judgment, problem solving, personality
• Primary motor cortex located at rear of each FL

Question 19

What are the characteristics of the occipital folds?

Answer 19

• Vision (colour, size, distance, depth)

- Primary visual cortex located in the back of the OL

Question 20

What are the characteristics of the parietal lobe?

Answer 20

• Perceives 3D shapes, perceives your own body and space around you, processing sensation (touch, temperature, pain)
• Primary somatosensory cortex located at front of each PL

Question 21

What are the characteristics of the temporal lobe?

Answer 21

• Process auditory information
• Primary auditory cortex located in upper part of each TL
• Parts of the lobe are sensitive to specific sounds

Question 22

What can damage to the parietal lobe lead to?

Answer 22

Inability to process sensation or that part of the body feeling numb

Question 23

What can damage to the temporal lobe lead to?

Answer 23

Forms of deafness

Question 24

What is the role of the thalamus

Answer 24

• Receives signals from sensory receptors
• Selects which information most requires our attention at any given moment
• Regulates states of sleep and wakefulness

Question 25

Language is mainly the responsibility of the right hemisphere

Answer 25

False

Question 26

What does the Geschwind’s territory do?

Answer 26

Enables the brain to interpret and classify things

Question 27

Where is the Broca’s area located?

Answer 27

Left frontal lobe

Question 28

What is Broca’s aphasia characterised by?

Answer 28

Non fluent speech (broken, long pauses 1-2 words at a time, mispronounced), production of speech requires much effort, speech lacks grammar, writing difficulty

Question 29

Where is the Wernicke’s area located?

Answer 29

Left temporal lobe

Question 30

What is Wernicke’s aphasia characterised by?

Answer 30

Fluent unbroken speech, unable to understand speech, difficulty producing written speech

Question 31

Where is the geschwind’s area located?

Answer 31

Towards the back parietal lobe (the posterior)

Question 32

Name some characteristics of the Geschwind’s territory

Answer 32

• Connects sensory (Broca) and motor (Wernicke’s) regions of the brain involved in language via a bundle of nerve fibres
• Develops with age