Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

SK298 - Brain, the mind & mental health > Week 1 - Perspectives on the Brain, Mind and Mental Health > Flashcards

Week 1 - Perspectives on the Brain, Mind and Mental Health Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
The Brain flashcards
1
Q

In what most basic way might you define what the brain is?

A

An organ of the human body

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is an organ in the biological sense?

A

A structure of the body that serves a particular function, such as the lungs or heart

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the definition of a biological system?

A

A group of interrelated organs and tissues that work together to serve a particular function

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What are the constituent parts of the nervous system?

A
  • Brain
  • Spinal cord
  • All of the peripheral nerves of the body
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are neurons?

A

Brain cells that relay messages within and between brain areas, and from the brain to the rest of the body and back

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the five different types of neuron?

A
  • Multipolar neuron
  • Pyramidal neuron
  • Purkinje cell
  • Bipolar neuron
  • Unipolar neuron
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the main similarity between the different types of neuron?

A

They all have a cell body and lots of branching dendrites

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What are glial cells?

A

Cells that play a supporting and protective role within the brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What function do glial cells perform?

A

They clear away waste, such as dead neurons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is meant by the term plasticity?

A

The ability of the brain to adapt and change as a result of experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What does the field of cognitive neuroscience investigate?

A

The ‘thinking’ functions, and the processes within the brain that support these

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does the field of neuroanatomy investigate?

A

The structure and organisation of the brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How would a cognitive neuroscientist study the brain?

A

They would monitor living participants using a variety of technical equipment, such as fMRIs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

How would a neuroanatomist study the brain?

A

They would study the brain postmortem using techniques such as slicing and staining to make features of the brain tissue more easily visible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What does the field of neurogenetics investigate?

A

The genetics which underpin the nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What does the term translational research mean?

A

Reserarch which is conducted in a laboratory setting and can be carried across to have a clinical impact

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is meant by the term mental state?

A

Mental activities which include thinking, beliving and feeling

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What viewpoint regarding the brain did the French philosopher Rene Descartes propose?

A

That the body and mind are different entitities - the brain is physical, whereas the mind takes on a more ethereal form

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What approach to the mind did the American philosopher John Searle propose?

A

That minds and bodies are not different entitiies, and that mental states are an intrinsic property of complex biological systems - that you could not have mental states without a functioning brain

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What may be a problem with John Searle’s approach to the mind?

A

His proposition would mean that when the brain dies, the mind dies with it, which could raise ethical questions about when the mind begins and ends

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are the three components of the mind which Sigmund Freud proposed?

A
  • Id
  • Ego
  • Superego
22
Q

What areas of personality do the Id, Ego and Superego deal with?

A
  • Id: instincts
  • Ego: reality
  • Superego: morality
23
Q

What does the Id component of the mind do?

A

It operates on the pleasure principle, making demands based on basic instincts such as hunger, and then provides a sense of pleasure when these demands are satisfied

24
Q

What does the Ego component of the mind do?

A

The Ego sits between the Id and the Superego, mediating between them, and is also our conscious decision-making component

25
Q

What does the Superego component of the mind do?

A

It is the seat of social morality, telling us right from wrong. It is our conscience and includes our personal aspirations of our ideal selves

26
Q

What is meant by the term psychodynamic approach?

A

It is an approach to understanding the mind which infers that the mind is created from a dynamic interaction between the Id, Ego and Superego

27
Q

What explanation for the cause of mental health problems did Freud propose?

A

That mental health problems arose due to an unresolved conflict between the Id and Superego

28
Q

What is meant by the term behaviourism?

A

An approach in psychology that is concerned with observable behaviours, rather than the concept of the mind (it does not take in to account thoughts or feelings)

29
Q

What is the behaviouristic approach to psychology?

A

That to understand ourselves, we do not need to refer to the concept of the mind at all, that all behaviours are learned through interaction with environment

30
Q

Which psychologists were pioneers of behaviourism?

A

Ivan Pavlov and Burrhus Skinner

31
Q

What is subjective evidence?

A

The type of evidence given when a person reports how they are thinking or feeling

32
Q

What is objective evidence?

A

The type of evidence that can be verified by others and includes the outward behaviours of an individual

33
Q

What is quantitative data?

A

Data that can be counted or measured in numerical values

34
Q

What is qualitative data?

A

Non-numeric information such as interviews, diaries, answers to survey questions, audio-visual recordings and images

35
Q

What is cognitive psychology?

A

It is the study of internal mental processes such as perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem solving and learning

36
Q

What processes does cognitive psychology help us to understand?

A
  • Perception
  • Thinking
  • Memory
  • Attention
  • Language
  • Problem solving
  • Learning
37
Q

How do cognitive psychologists conduct research?

A

By gathering empirical data from scientific research methods

38
Q

What is the evolutionary approach?

A

A scientific view which argues that humans and other organisms are a product of biological evolution

39
Q

What is plasticity?

A

The idea that biological organisms change as a response to their environment

40
Q

What is phenotypic plasticity?

A

The property of organisms to produce distinct phenotypes in response to environmental variation

41
Q

What is a phenotype?

A

An individual’s observable traits, such as height, eye colour, blood type

42
Q

What is the medicalised approach (with regards to mental health in particular)?

A

An approach which suggests that mental health is the same as or an extension of physical health, and therefore requires medical treatment

43
Q

What is psychopharmacology?

A

A field of psychiatry which focuses on how substances such as drugs affect the brain and mind

44
Q

What is the name of the holistic model of health psychology as developed by George Engel?

A

The biopsychosocial model

45
Q

What does the biopsychosocial model propose?

A

That biological, psychological and social factors are all

46
Q

What are the different types of self?

A
  • Bodily self
  • Perspectival self
  • Volitional self
  • Narrative self
  • Social self
47
Q

What is interoception?

A

The sense that helps you understand and feel what is going on inside your body

48
Q

What are the two big changes that the WHO wants to bring about with regards to mental health?

A
  • Reduce stigma and discrimination
  • Improve services for mental health
49
Q

What is reductionism?

A

A level of analysis that narrows the focus from large to small scale

50
Q

What is the WEIRD population effect?

A

The particular focus of psychological studies on people from Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic countries

SK298 - Brain, the mind & mental health (19 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions