weaknesses biopsych Flashcards
what is a gland?
an organ that synthesises hormones
what is a hormone?
chemical substance that targets organs
what is the pituitary gland?
master gland that controls other hormones
how does the fight or flight response occur?
stimulus is detected aroused sympathetic state physical changes occur adrenaline released parasympathetic back to its resting state
what is a neurotransmitter?
brain signals released from synaptic vesicles relay signals
what does the somatic branch of the nervous system control?
muscle movement
what does the automatic branch of the nervous system control?
vital functions such as digestion and breathing rate
what is the nervous system?
specialised cell network that collects, processes and responds to information, and co ordinates organs
what is the role of the sensory neuron?
transmits information from the PNS to the CNS
what is the structure of the sensory neuron?
long dendrites
short axons
what is the structure of the relay neuron?
short dendrites
short axons
what is the role of the motor neuron?
transmits messages from the CNS to the effector
what is the structure of a motor neuron?
short dendrites
long axons
what is the job of a dendrite?
carries nerve impulses
what is the charge of a neuron when it is resting?
negative
what is the charge of a neuron when it is activated?
positive
what is an action potential?
electrical impulse- charge goes from negative to positive for a split second
what model can be used to describe synaptic transmission?
lock and key
how are signals between neurons transmitted?
chemically
how are signals within neurons transmitted?
electrically
where is Broca’s area located?
in the frontal lobe
where is Wernicke’s area located?
temporal lobe
where is the motor area located?
frontal lobe
where is the somatosensory area located?
parietal lobe
where is the visual area located?
occipital lobe
where is the auditory area located?
temporal lobe
what is the haemodynamic response?
when a more active area of the brain consumes more oxygen
what is an EEG scan?
electrical activity in the brain measured by electrodes fixed to an individual’s scalp using a skull cap
what is an ERP scan?
statistical analysis of EEG looks at brain’s electrophysical response to a cognitive/motor event
what is synaptic pruning?
where rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened
when do synaptic connections peak?
around age 2
what did Maguire find when researching brain plasticity?
looked at London taxi drivers
who take a test called the Knowledge- assesses street recall
more grey matter in posterior hippocampus
develops spatial and navigational skills
the longer in the job, the bigger the difference
what happened in Aschoff and Wever’s study into biological rhythms?
participants spent 4 weeks in a WW2 bunker
had no natural light
for all but one participants their natural circadian rhythms remained at 24-25 hours
what happened in Folkard et al’s study into biological rhythms?
cave study that lasted 3 weeks
turned back clocks
only one participant adjusted to the 22 hour sleep/wake cycle
what are the waves called in sleep for stage 1?
alpha
what are the waves called in sleep for stage 2?
theta
what are the waves called in sleep for stage 3?
delta
what happened in Stern and McClintock’s study?
29 women with a history of irregular periods
samples of pheremones gathered via cotton pad under the arm
rubbed onto the upper lip of participants
68% experienced changes to their cycle which bought them closer to their odour donor
what are the causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder?
depressive disorder onset seasonally
melatonin secretion lasts longer due to a lack of light in the mornings
affects serotonin production
what happened in Draginski’s study?
studied the brains of medical students 3 months before and after their final exams
learning induced changes in the posterior hippocampus
what is functional recovery?
transfer functions usually performed by damaged areas
what is axonal sprouting?
growth of new nerve endings connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuron pathways
what is reformation of blood vessels?
the blood vessels are reformed to help the brain functions in affected areas
what is recruitment of homologous areas?
similar areas on opposite sides of the brain are recruited to perform similar tasks
why was the corpus collosum separated in split brain patients?
to reduce epilepsy
what happened in Sperry’s split brain research?
image was projected to the right visual field and the same/a different image was projected to the left visual field
what happened in split brain research during describe what you see?
picture was presented to the patients left or right visual field, and had to describe what they could see
what were the results for describe what you see?
in the right visual field the patient could describe what they saw
in the left visual field the participnt often reported that there was nothing present
what happened in split brain research during tactile test?
participants were given an object in their left or right hand, had to describe what they felt or select a similar object
what were the results for tactile test?
in the right hand the patiend could verbally identify what they felt
in the left hand the participant could not describe what they felt but could idenitify a similar object
what happened in drawing task in split brain research?
participants saw a picture in the left or right visual field
had to describe what they saw
what were the results for drawing task?
the right hand attempted but failed to draw the image
left hand was consistently clearer even though all participants were right handed
what are endogenous pacemakers?
internal body clocks that regulate many of our biological rhythms
what are exogenous zeitgebers?
external cues that may affect or entrain our biological rhythms
what is the suprachiasmatic nucleus?
bundle of nerve cells located in the hypothalamus, primary endogenous pacemaker which influences circadian rhythms
how does the suprachiasmatic nucleus process light?
receives information about light from the eyes, which has been processed by the visual area in the occipital lobe
relayed to the SCN via the optic chiasm between hemispheres
processes information and triggers different rates of melatonin release from the pineal gland
increase in melatonin decreases serotonin levels
