The brain and neuropsychology Flashcards
1
Q
What is the nervous system?
A
It is a complex network of nerve fibres and nerve cells which passes information around the body.
2
Q
What are the first divisions of the nervous system?
A
- The Central Nervous system.
- The Peripheral Nervous system.
3
Q
What is the CNS?
A
It is the central nervous system, which makes decisions about movement or other activities.
4
Q
What structures does the CNS consist of?
A
- The brain.
- The spinal cord.
5
Q
What is the PNS?
A
It is the peripheral nervous system, which is the network of nerve fibres connecting the various parts of the body with the central nervous system. It is made up of the SNS and the ANS.
6
Q
What are the two sections of the PNS?
A
- The Autonomic nervous system.
- The somatic system.
7
Q
What is the SNS?
A
The Somatic nervous system, which is the network of myelinated sensory and motor neurons that carry sensory information to, and instructions for movement from, the central nervous system.
8
Q
How does the SNS pass information?
A
It is a network of nerve fibres that run throughout our body, and sense receptors such as those in our skin, muscles and internal organs. The nerve fibres pass information to and from the CNS using sensory and motor neurons, and they are myelinated.
9
Q
What does myelinated mean?
A
They are covered with the myelin sheath, a fatty wrapping, which helps the messages to travel quickly.
10
Q
What is the ANS?
A
It is the autonomic nervous system, which is a network of un-myelinated nerve fibres running through the body and connecting the senses and internal organs with the central nervous system.
11
Q
What is different about the ANS in comparison with the SNS?
A
It transfers information slower because its nerve fibres are not myelinated.
12
Q
What kind of information does the ANS respond directly to?
A
Stressful or emotional events.
13
Q
What is the function of the central nervous system?
A
It is to coordinate incoming sensory information and to respond to it by sending appropriate instructions to the other parts of the nervous system.
14
Q
What is sensory information?
A
It is information that is picked up by the sense organs of the body and passed on to the central nervous system.
15
Q
Why does the central nervous system contain our store of knowledge, habits and other kinds of learning?
A
So we can combine our past experiences with what is happening right now and make relevant decisions.
16
Q
So what are the three main parts of what the central nervous system does?
A
- Thinking.
- Memory.
- Decision-making.
17
Q
What are the functions of the SNS?
A
It collects information, both from the outside world and from our internal organs, and passes it on to the central nervous system. It also receives instructions from the central nervous system, for big movements or small reactions to stimuli. In general, it is what allows us to feel and move.
18
Q
What are the functions of the ANS?
A
It acts more slowly, because the neurons are un-myelinated, and because it is concerned with moods and feelings. It deals with the many different emotions that we feel, responds to threats and is also involved in major changes to the body like those which happen during puberty or pregnancy.
19
Q
What are the two divisions of the ANS?
A
- The parasympathetic division.
- The sympathetic division.
20
Q
What is the parasympathetic division responsible for?
A
It allows the body to store up energy when we are not ‘under threat’.
21
Q
What is the sympathetic division responsible for?
A
It sets off arousal, which can be mild like a feeling of anxiety, or extreme like the fight or flight response. It is activated when we are ‘under threat’.
22
Q
With these two divisions in mind, what part of the nervous system is the ANS?
A
It is the part of the nervous system that helps us react quickly and strongly in an emergency. It has lots of other functions too: for instance, it controls breathing and digestion, and is the main link between the brain and the endocrine system.
23
Q
What does the endocrine system comprise of?
A
A set of glands in the body that releases hormones into the bloodstream.
24
Q
What does adrenaline do?
A
It activates the heart, making it ready for action.
25
What is the first step after the body detects a threat?
You will need all the energy and strength you can manage, so that you can survive. There is no point in keeping reserves of energy, if it means you end up dead, so this is where the ANS steps in.
26
What does the ANS do when it detects a threat?
- It sends messages all over your body to make you ready for action. This is called the fight or flight response.
- It switches from parasympathetic activity to sympathetic activity during the fight or flight response.
27
What is the switch from the parasympathetic to sympathetic activity so efficient?
We breathe more deeply, our heart rate increases, and our blood carries more oxygen. We sweat more to cool our muscles, the pupils of our eyes dilate, and our digestive system changes so we metabolise sugar quickly, for instant energy. We also prepare for possible injury: the blood thickens so it clots more quickly, and the brain produces natural painkillers called endorphins.
28
What other system are these and other changes controlled by?
The endocrine system, which releases adrenaline into the body to keep the aroused state going. It also helps to make us as efficient as possible, so we can fight or escape successfully.
29
Under normal circumstances, which division is in control of the body?
The parasympathetic division.
30
But if a threat is detected, what happens to the divisions in the body?
The parasympathetic division switches to the sympathetic division and the body prepares for action.
31
What happens once a threat has gone away in terms of the divisions?
The ANS switches back to having the parasympathetic division in control.
32
What part of the nervous system switches between the divisons?
The Autonomic nervous system.
33
What are some bodily changes that can be observed when the body switches to the sympathetic division?
- Pupil dilates.
- Salivation changes.
- Heart rate increases.
- Lungs expand.
- Stomach contracts.
- Bladder dilates.
- Adrenal glands are stimulated.
34
What is the James-Lange theory of emotion?
One of the founding fathers of psychology, William James, noticed how the fight or flight reaction happens. He gave the example of tripping as you go downstairs, and saving yourself from falling by grabbing the banister. Your reaction happens very quickly. But afterwards, you feel your heart speeding up, you breathe deeply, you start sweating - in short, arousal kicks in. And it is then, James said, that you begin to feel scared. You experience the changes felt by your body and then interpret these as the emotion.
35
What did William James believe?
That our emotions are really us perceiving physical changes in the body. The brain makes sense of these changes by concluding that we are feeling certain emotions.
36
What is the phrase by William James that explains his theory?
'We do not weep because we feel sorrow: we feel sorrow because we weep.'
37
What is an evaluation of the James-Lange theory of emotion?
- Not all researchers have not been convinced that the theory is an accurate explanation of how we experience emotional arousal. This is especially the case because for the theory to be correct, there would need to be separate and distinctive patterns of physiological arousal and a different pattern for every different emotion we experience. Researchers have found this is not the case which undermines the James-Lange theory of emotion.
- Schachter and Singer suggested it is not only physiological changes that occur when we perceive a threatening situation, but there was also a cognitive component. The argument is that when we experience stimulation in the ANS, we also interpret the situation we are in. It is these two things that lead to the emotion we then experience. This idea is supported by research evidence which shows physiological change and cognitive interpretations both lead to emotional experiences.
- The James-Lange theory did promote a great deal of research and recognised the importance of the ANS in emotional experiences.
38
What is emotion?
The moods or feelings that a person experiences.
39
How does your brain work?
With electricity. Your nervous system is made up of special cells which exchange chemicals to generate small electrical impulses. This is how they pass information around.
40
What are these special cells called?
Neurons.
41
What is a neuron?
A specialised nerve cell which generates and transmits an electrical impulse.
42
What are the three different types of neurons?
- Sensory neurons.
- Motor neurons.
- Relay neurons.
43
What is a sensory neuron?
A nerve cell that picks up information from sense receptors and carries it to the CNS.
44
What is an image of a sensory neuron?
45
What explains the image of a sensory neuron?
They have a cell body with two 'stems' on either side. One end receives information from the sense organs, and the other passes it on. Each stem ends in small branches called dendrites which spread out and connect with other cells.
46
What is a motor neuron?
A nerve cell that takes messages from the CNS (brain) to muscles to cause them to move.
47
What is an image of a motor neuron?
48
What explains the image of a motor neuron?
The messages they transfer begin in the spinal cord, and a long axon, or 'stem', leads to the muscle, where it divides into a spread-out set of dendrites called the motor end plate, which connects with the muscles.
49
What is a relay neuron?
It is a nerve cell that passes messages within the CNS.
50
What is an image of a relay neuron?
51
What explains the image of the relay neuron?
It has a cell body entirely surrounded by dendrites. These neurons make millions of connections between each other, the sensory neurons, and the motor neurons.
52
What is an example of an activity that involves all three types neurons?
If you tap a ruler right below your knee. When your knee was tapped, it stimulated sense receptors which generated an electrical impulse. That impulse was picked up by the sensory neurons and carried to the CNS - in this case, to your spinal cord. There, it was passed on to the relay neurons, which in turn stimulated motor neurons, which carried electrical impulses to your leg muscles, causing your leg to kick out. It was an automatic reaction, known as a reflex. the fatty myelin sheath covering the axons helps the electrical impulse to travel fast, so you react quickly.
53
What is an image that represents the reflex arc?
54
How do neurons pass messages to other neurons or muscles?
By releasing special chemicals, called neurotransmitters, into tiny gaps called dendrites.
55
What is a neurotransmitter?
A chemical which is released into the synapse by one neuron, and picked up by the next neuron.
56
What is a synapse?
The small gap between the dendrite of one neuron and the receptor site of the next one.
57
What is the structure at the end of each dendrite?
A synaptic knob.
58
What is synaptic transmission?
The process by which messages are passed from one neuron to another by sending neurotransmitters across the synaptic gap so they can bind with receptors on the next neuron.
59
How does synaptic transmission take place?
These synaptic knobs contain pockets of neurotransmitter chemical, and when an electrical impulse reaches them, the vesicles open and spill their chemicals into the synapse. The chemicals are then picked up at receptor sites on the next neuron, which are sensitive to that particular chemical.
60
What happens due to the fact that each time a neurotransmitter is picked up at a receptor site it alters that neuron's chemistry a little?
- Excitation.
- Inhibition.
61
What is excitation?
It is when a neurotransmitter binds with a receptor on the next neuron, and increases the chance that the next neuron will fire an electrical impulse.
62
What is inhibition?
It is when a neurotransmitter binds with a receptor on the next neuron, and decreases the chance that the next neuron will fire an electrical impulse.
63
What follows either excitation or inhibition?
Once the next neuron has fired or not, the neurotransmitter in the receptor sites will be released back into the synapse.
64
What happens after the neurotransmitter in the receptor sites are released back into the synapse?
The reuptake process.
65
What is the reuptake process?
A process by which neurotransmitter is reabsorbed into the synaptic knob after it has been used during synaptic transmission.
66
What is an image that demonstrates the synapse?
67
What is Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth?
He suggested that if a neuron repeatedly or persistently excites another neuron, neuronal growth takes place, so the synaptic knob becomes larger. This means that when certain neurons act together frequently, they become established as a connection and form neural pathways. Hebb called these combinations of neurons 'cell assemblies', and suggested that each cell assembly formed a single processing unit.
68
What did Hebb argue?
That whenever we learn to do or remember certain things, we are developing stronger cell assemblies, and the more we use them, the better we learn and hold on to the information in that neural pathway.
69
What is an advantage of Hebb's theory?
Although this theory was proposed in the 1950's, it has been the basis for some research into how computers should be developed, and modern neuropsychology supports Hebb's ideas.
70
What is the brain made up of?
Millions of relay neurons that are tightly packed together.
71
What is the top layer of the brain?
The cerebrum.
72
What is the cerebrum?
It is the largest part of the brain in humans, which consists of two large cerebral hemispheres.
73
How are the lobes divided?
There are two cerebral hemispheres, one on each side of the head, and each hemisphere is divided into four areas known as lobes.
74
What are the lobes, and how many are there?
There are four lobes.
- The frontal lobe.
- The parietal lobe.
- The temporal lobe.
- The occipital lobe.
75
What is the frontal lobe?
The area at the front of the brain that controls cognitive processes such as thought and memory.
76
What does the frontal lobe control?
It controls thought, memory, planning, problem-solving, cognitive and social behaviours, and movement such as facial expressions.
77
How is the frontal lobe commonly affected?
By traumatic brain injuries, particularly those caused by the forces that occur in motor vehicle accidents.
78
What is the parietal lobe?
The area in the top middle of the brain that is responsible for integrating information from other areas to form complex behaviours.
79
What does the parietal lobe do?
It is responsible for integrating information from other areas to form the basis of complex behaviours, including all behaviour involving the senses (such as vision, touch, body awareness and spatial orientation), so we are aware of our body position. It also has responsibility for language, helping us to form words and thoughts.
80
What is the temporal lobe?
It is the area underneath the parietal lobe which is responsible for aspects such as the comprehension and production of spoken language.
81
What does the temporal lobe do?
It helps us to understand and process what we hear. It is responsible for the comprehension and production of spoken language. It is also involved in how we learn and organise information, and is responsible for emotions and emotional memory.
82
What is the occipital lobe?
It is in the back of the brain where visual information is processed.
83
What does the occipital lobe do?
This is where all visual information is processed such as colour, shape and distance.
84
What does injury or damage to the occipital lobe cause?
Vision impairments such as blindness or blind spots in visual fields.
85
What is the fifth structure in the brain?
The cerebellum.
86
What is the cerebellum?
It is a small, wrinkled structure at the back of the brain which coordinates motor movement, dexterity, and balance, among other things. It is concerned with balance and coordination.
87
How are activities concerned when it comes to the cerebellum?
They are carried out automatically by this area of the brain and are not under conscious control. As we become more practiced in our physical skills like walking and running, the cerebellum controls these actions so they become smoother and more automatic.
88
What is an image that shows all these different structures and their positions in the brain?
89
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90
What is cognitive neuroscience?
It is the study of how cognitive processes connect with brain activity and structure.
91
Who are neuropsychologists?
They are psychologists, who study how brain activity relates to psychological processes. They look at which different areas of the brain are involved in cognitive activities, and how these areas link up with one another.
92
Does carrying out a process involve only one specific lobe?
No. For example, there is no single part of the brain for memory, but neuropsychologists have found that our memory for places links the temporal lobes of the cortex with a small sub-cortical structure called the hippocampus.
93
So, what does this say about how the specific structures of the brain work?
Some areas of the brain have specific functions, some are part of complex systems processing other functions, and some appear to be involved in the general functioning of the brain but are not, as far as we know, involved in any specific psychological process.
94
What have brain scans helped us to do?
Brain scans have helped neuropsychologists to find out more about how the brain works, but we are still far from understanding everything.
95
What are the three types of brain scan?
- CT scans.
- PET scans.
- fMRI scans.
96
What is a CT scan?
It stands for Computerised Tomography, which scans the brain by building up a 3D image from a series of X-ray 'slices', which combine these slices to build up a full image.
97
What shows up in CT scans?
Some types of tissue are denser than others, and this shows up in the X-rays. Bone is the most dense, but nerve cell bodies (grey matter), are less dense than myelinated nerve fibres (white matter), so they look different too.
98
Why are CT scans useful for medical purposes?
Tumours and blood clots also show up with this method, so it is useful for medical purposes.
99
What is an image that shows a CT brain scan?
100
What is a PET scan?
It stands for Positron Emission Tomography, which locates blood flow in the brain by detecting radioactive tracers.
101
How can a PET scan see which parts of the brain are active?
Active brain cells use more blood than passive ones, so the scanner can see which parts of the brain are particularly active.
102
What do PET scans do?
They can highlight brain pathways as well as specific areas of activity, and they can show if there are blockages in the blood flow around the brain.
103
Why aren't PET scans used much anymore?
PET scanning is not used by researches much nowadays because of the slight risk from radioactivity. But it can still be useful in medical contexts.
104
What is an image of a PET brain scan?
105
What is an fMRI scan?
It stands for functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which scans the brain by identifying the magnetic activity of water molecules in active brain cells.
106
Why do fMRI scans work?
They work because the water molecules in brain cells have tiny magnetic fields which can be influenced by the strong magnetic fields of the scanner, and are slightly different if the cell is active than when it is quiet.
107
Why are fMRI scans so popular?
A whole fMRI scan only takes about 2 seconds, because of its accuracy and also because of the fac that there are no X-rays or radioactive substances involved.
108
What is an example of something you could be asked in an fMRI scan?
The person may read a word, or think of a special event, and the scan shows which parts of the brain are active as they do it.
109
What does an fMRI scan look like?
110
What is neurological damage?
It is injury or harm to the nervous system, which affects how the neurons work.
111
What is an example of neurological damage?
An injury to the spinal cord.
112
What can neurological damage cause?
Physical problems like paralysis, or an inability to control particular muscles.
113
What happens if motor nerve fibres are severed?
The brain cannot sed messages to the muscles, and if sensory nerves are damaged, the person cannot feel anything in those areas.
114
What does the location of where the damage is affect?
Which parts of the body are affected.
115
What is an example that shows this?
Damage to the spinal cord near the neck may paralyse the whole body; damage lower down may paralyse the lower limbs, and so on. Head injuries that damage the motor cortex can sldo produce paralysis, and if the cerebellum becomes damaged the patient may lose their balance and become unable to coordinate movements.
116
What is another way that the brain can become damaged?
By a stroke.
117
What is a stroke?
It is a sudden interruption to the blood supply, either through bleeding or because some blood vessels have been blocked, in a part of the brain.
118
Why could the blockage or bleeding from a stroke cause permanent damage?
Nerve cells can die because of a lack of nutrients carried by the blood, so if the blockage or bleeding continues, it can produce permanent damage.
119
How could damage be minimised?
If the blood supply is restored quickly.
120
So how do strokes need to be treated?
They need to be treated quickly, usually with drugs that will thin the blood and remove clots.
121
What is the definition of a symptom?
One of a collection of physical changed that tell us that some kind of disorder or problem exists.
122
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
- Slurred speech.
- Dragging muscles on one side of the face.
- Lessened function of the muscles on one side of the body.
123
What happens after a stroke?
People often experience emotional and behavioural changes.
124
Why do people experience these changes?
This is because a stroke affects the brain, and our brain controls all of our behaviour and our emotions, not just our movements. Injury from a stroke may make a person forgetful, careless irritable or confused. Stroke survivors may also feel anxiety, anger or depression.
125
Is recovery from neural damage possible?
Yes, but it is always very hard work.
126
Why is recovery from neural damage difficult?
Because the brain has to learn to create new neural pathways, and that needs lots of effort. But recent research has shown that sometimes, those efforts can even result in growing new nerve fibres, although this could take months or years.
127
What is the aim of Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
To explore connections between types of memory and brain activity.
128
What was the study design of Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
Case studies.
129
What was the method of Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
Six volunteers were injected with a gold radioactive isotope which spread within the bloodstream and up to the brain. The gold isotope had a half-life of only 30 seconds and therefore presented little risk to participants. The distribution of the isotope was measured using a PET scanning technique called regional cerebral blood flow, which measures blood flow in different areas of the brain.
Tulving’s study compared episodic memory, in this case, the memory of something participants had experienced personally like a trip or holiday, with semantic memory, such as knowledge they had learned through reading a book. Researchers also compared whether the memory was recent or established some time ago. The volunteers all chose their own topics.
Each volunteer lay on a couch and closed their eyes and began thinking about their chosen topic. After 60 seconds, the gold isotope was injected and 7-8 seconds, a rCBF reading was taken. The reading lasted 2.4 seconds and consisted of 12 rapid scans of 0.2 seconds each.
Each participant experienced eight trials in total, with a two-minute rest in-between.
130
What were the results found from Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
Three volunteers were dropped from the analysis because their results were inconsistent. The remaining three however showed a clear difference in blood flow patterns depending on whether what they were remembering was episodic or semantic information. This difference was the same regardless of whether what they were remembering was a recent memory or a memory from some time ago. Episodic recollection generally produced more activation of the frontal and temporal lobes, while semantic recollection produced more activity in the parietal and occipital lobes of the cerebral cortex.
131
What was the conclusion drawn in Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
Tulving concluded that semantic and episodic memories produce activity in different parts of the brain.
132
What are some advantages of Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
- The study was one of the first to show how we can investigate cognitive processes in the living brain.
- The study showed how different areas of brain are related to cognitive processes.
- It used ethical procedures and the participants were fully informed before giving their consent.
133
What are some limitations of Tulving's 'Gold' memory study?
- Only three participants showed the effects, so they may not apply to everyone.
- There was no way of controlling what people were actually thinking about at the exact moment of the scan.
- The participants were fully informed volunteers who may have tried very hard to get the procedure to work.
134
What is an image that shows how Tulving's 'Gold' memory study deciphered between episodic and semantic memory?
