The Brain and Neuropsychology Flashcards
Describe the structure of the brain
It is divided into 2 halves called hemispheres
The upper part of the brain is called the cerebrum. it is the largest part of the brain where all the higher processing happens, it includes the cortex. the cortex is like a shell around the outside that has a lot of folds in in to increase the surface area.
the gyri are the bumps and the sulci are the creases.
the large surface area allows the brain to have more nerve cells and controll more functions.
How does the brain communicate with the rest of the body
through the spinal cord, a pathway of nerves inside the spine. info passes from the brain to the spinal cord through the brain stem, which also controls reflexes
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
Impulse control, decision making, problem solving, conentation. contains the motor cortex (a large area in front of the central sulcus) for voluntary movements.
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
Hearing and understanding sounds, hearing and creating speech. auditory cortex for hearing. also some parts for memory
WHat are the functions of the parietal lobe?
perception (ability to understand the world around us). facial recognition. somatosensory cortex for sense of touch
occipital lobe functions
sight, visual cortex for processing visual information
what does the cerebellum do?
movement, coordination, balance. takes in info from other parts of the brain and combines them to coordinate behaviour
WHat is lateralization of the brain? what is it?
It means that both hemispheres play different roles. they have asymmetrical functions
right:
control of left hand and visual field
spatial awareness
facial recognision
musical ability
creativity
left:
control over right hand and visual field
understanding written language logical thinking
understanding what is heard
speech
How do both hemispheres communicate
Corpus collosum. a thick bundle of nerve fibers connecting both hemispheres so they can communicate and work as one complete organ
What is the Broca’s area?
an area in the left hemisphere that controls speech production. linked to the control of nerve cells in the face that help us speak, and the general processing of language based info
What is spatial awareness?
The ability to negotiate space and make our way around our environment.
strengths and weaknesses of lateralization as an explaination of gendered differences
Harasty et al. (1997) suggeests that the parts of the brain the produce language are bigger in females
Rilea et al. (2005) found that men were better at some spatial tasks, especially those that use a lot of activity in the right hemisphere. but males did not always do better, and some spatial tasks were used in the study that doesn’t use a lot of right brain activity.
Sommer et Al. (2004) suggested there was no strong evidence that females used both hemispheres for language tasks
what are the central nervous and peripheral nervous systems?
CNS= the brain and the spinal cord, which relays messages from the brain to the rest of the body to instruct it what to do
PNS= the system of nerves that connect the CNS (mainly the spinal cord) to the skin, organs, and muscles in the body
what is a neuron and neurotransmitter?
neuron= a nerve cells that transmits info
neurotransmitter= chemicals found within the nervous system which pass messages from one neuron to another across a synapse
Describe 3 neurotransmitters
dopamine= learning and paying attention. not enough dopamine makes it difficult to concentrate on tasks
GABA= gamma-aminobutryic acid. plays a role in calming us down when we feel stressed
serotonin= plays a role in mood. too little can make us feel depressed
define synaptic transmission and a synapse
synaptic transmission= the process by which neurotransmitters are released by a neuron, move across a synaptic gap, and are then taken in by another neuron
synapse= the space between 2 neurons that allow messages, in the form of neurotransmittors , to pass from one cell to another
define axon, terminal button, vesicles, receptors
axon= the long structure that connects the cell body of a neuron to the terminal button at the end of a cell
terminal button= the end of a neuron
vesicles= small sacs containing neurotransmitter (chemical) molecules
receptors= special sites on neurons that are designed to absorb neurotransmitter molecules
define neurological damage, agnosia, prosopagnosia, and visual agnosia
neurological damage= damage to the bodies CNS and PNS
agnosia= an inability to interpret sensations and thus to recognize things
prosopagnosia= an inability to recognize faces
visual agnosia = the inability to recognize things that can be seen
State two processes that occur in synaptic functioning.
The neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic gap
The neurotransmitters will bind to the receptor like a lock and
key .
evaluate damascio et all. (1994)
It is hard to generalise from the study because the brain damage is so unique to Gage.
The reports of the damage are over 150 years old, meaning they may not be reliable.
Damasio et al were able to use modern day technology making the study quite scientific.
The use of a computer model is more reliable than the reports from 1848.
We can now make predictions about damage to the frontal lobes.
We can now treat people who have similar brain damage based on what happened to Gage.
The study is based on a real life case of brain damage so is valid.
evaluate sperry (1968)
Strengths
Reliability: Sperry gathered a lot of consistent information, which improves the reliability of the study.
Reliability: The procedure was kept the same for each participant, keeping it standardised. This makes that the data was gathered in a more reliable way.
Real world
application: The study tells us a lot about the lateralisation of the brain so strategies can be put in place to support individuals with damage to one side of their brain.
Weaknesses
Generaliability: It is hard to generalise findings from the study because the sample size is small (11) and so specific.
Generalisability: We can’t say that split brains represent normal brains. This means the findings do not necessarily represent the wider population.
Validity: The study was a lab experiment which is an artificial setting which means it lacks ecological validity
Validity: Our visual fields normally work together, so we would not have these difficulties in real life. The task is not something we would naturally do and so it lacks mundane realism.
