Biopsychology Flashcards
Hemispheric lateralisation (contralateral)
the roles of the two hemispheres, controls opposite sides
Localisation of function
different parts of the brain perform different tasks in human behaviour
Corpus callosum
this is a bundle of fibres which enables both sides of the brain to exchange information
Broca’s aphasia
damage to this area of the brain leads to slow, labourious speech production, short sentences, effortful.
Wernicke’s aphasia
damage to this area makes it hard to understand speech and communicate
Hollistic theory
19th century theory that all parts of the brain were involved in the processes
What are the 2 main divisions of the nervous system?
Central Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System
Central nervous system
consisting of the brain and spinal cord
receives information from the senses and controls the body’s response
Peripheral nervous system
refers to the parts of the NS that don’t contain the brain
PNS is broken down into what?
somatic nervous system & autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system
controls skeletal muscles (for movement)
voluntary system (under conscious control)
Autonomic nervous system
controls actions of internal organs and glands
involuntary system (not under conscious control)
Autonomic system breaks down into what?
sympathetic: increases bodily activities such as heart rate, sweat, breathing rate. releases non-adrenaline (fight or flight)
parasympathetic: decreases bodily activities such as above (rest or digest)
Homeostasis
regulation of the internal environment, in normal conditions there is a balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
function of endocrine system
helps regulate psychological processes by regulating cells and organs
