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biological and cognitive psychology > biological fundamentals > Flashcards

biological fundamentals Flashcards

1
Q

What do theoretical models in psychology represent?

A

They describe how psychological processes are conducted (e.g.

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2
Q

Are theoretical models considered facts?

A

No

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3
Q

What happens to theories when new evidence emerges?

A

They are revised

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4
Q

What is bottom-up processing?

A

Processing that is purely driven by sensory input from the environment.

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5
Q

What is top-down processing?

A

Processing that is influenced by our knowledge and expectations.

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6
Q

Give an example of top-down processing.

A

Experienced police officers detecting emotional expressions better due to their experience.

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7
Q

What does experimental cognitive psychology study?

A

Human cognition using behavioral evidence under lab conditions.

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8
Q

What are the limitations of experimental cognitive psychology?

A

Limited ecological validity and no direct measurement of cognitive processes.

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9
Q

What is cognitive neuropsychology?

A

Study of brain-damaged patients to understand cognition.

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10
Q

What famous case study is linked to cognitive neuropsychology?

A

Phineas Gage.

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11
Q

What are the limitations of cognitive neuropsychology?

A

Brain damage is often not isolated to a single brain region.

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12
Q

What does cognitive neuroscience investigate?

A

Biological processes that underlie cognition (e.g.

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13
Q

Name four brain imaging techniques.

A

PET

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14
Q

What does a PET scan measure?

A

Brain activity by detecting glucose usage via radioactive tracers.

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15
Q

What does fMRI detect?

A

Brain activity based on blood oxygen level changes.

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16
Q

What does EEG measure?

A

Electrical activity of the brain using electrodes on the scalp.

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17
Q

What does TMS do?

A

Uses magnets to stimulate or inhibit activity in specific brain regions.

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18
Q

What is spatial resolution in brain scans?

A

Accuracy in identifying where brain activity occurs.

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19
Q

What is temporal resolution in brain scans?

A

Accuracy in identifying when brain activity occurs.

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20
Q

What is the Human Connectome Project?

A

A project mapping neural connections in the brain.

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21
Q

What is the “Glass Brain”?

A

A visual model showing real-time brain activity using MRI

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22
Q

What are limitations of cognitive neuroscience?

A

Scans often don’t directly measure neural activity and can be hard to interpret.

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23
Q

Why is brain mapping important?

A

It helps us understand how different brain regions are connected and function together.

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24
Q

What structures make up the Central Nervous System (CNS)?

A

The brain and the spinal cord.

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25
What is the division of the nervous system located outside the brain and spinal cord?
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
26
What are the two subdivisions of the Peripheral Nervous System?
Somatic Nervous System and Autonomic Nervous System.
27
What does the Somatic Nervous System do?
It includes afferent neurons (sensory to CNS) and efferent neurons (motor from CNS to muscles).
28
What does the Autonomic Nervous System regulate?
The body’s internal systems.
29
What are the two branches of the Autonomic Nervous System?
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic.
30
What is the role of the Sympathetic Nervous System?
Activation, action, effort, fight or flight.
31
What is the role of the Parasympathetic Nervous System?
Relaxation, rest, digestion, immobility.
32
What physiological changes occur during sympathetic activation?
Increased heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, sweat, and pupil dilation.
33
What is a key physiological marker of parasympathetic activation?
High frequency variability in heart rate.
34
What is Physiological Psychology?
The study of neural mechanisms using direct brain manipulation.
35
What does Psychopharmacology focus on?
Brain activity manipulation using drugs.
36
What is Neuropsychology?
Study of the effects of brain damage on behavior and cognition.
37
What is Psychophysiology?
Studies links between physiological activity and psychological processes.
38
What is Cognitive Neuroscience?
The study of how brain networks support cognition.
39
What techniques are used in Cognitive Neuroscience research?
Neuroimaging techniques like fMRI, PET, and EEG.
40
What is Comparative Psychology?
Comparing animal and human behavior to understand evolution and adaptation.
41
What does the Telencephalon of the brain control?
It is responsible for sensation, conscious movement, language, memory, and complex cognitive functions.
42
What role does the Diencephalon play in brain function?
It processes and relays sensory information, regulates motivation, hormone release, decision making, and memory.
43
What functions are controlled by the Mesencephalon (Midbrain)?
Eye movement, visual and auditory reflexes, reward, and movement.
44
What are the functions of the Metencephalon?
It controls facial movement and senses, balance, language and decision production, and sleep.
45
What is the primary function of the Myelencephalon (Medulla)?
It regulates spinal cord and facial input/output, heart activity, breathing, and arousal.
46
What is the role of the Myelencephalon in the hindbrain?
It carries signals between the brain and body and regulates arousal, sleep, attention, and movement.
47
What structures are housed in the Metencephalon?
The pons and cerebellum. The pons passes information between the forebrain and cerebellum and regulates facial muscle movement and sensory information from the mouth and ears. The cerebellum is essential for motor control and integrates sensory information.
48
What are the functions of the Midbrain (Mesencephalon)?
The midbrain contains the tectum (eye movement, motor functions, audition) and tegmentum (periaqueductal gray, substantia nigra, red nucleus).
49
What does the Diencephalon consist of and what are its functions?
It consists of the thalamus (relays sensory information) and the hypothalamus (regulates motivation, sleep, sexual arousal, and hormone release).
50
What are the main functions of the Telencephalon?
It is involved in the most complex brain functions, including conscious thought, reasoning, and memory, and is the largest part of the brain.
51
What does the Limbic system control?
It controls motivated behaviors such as fight or flight, feeding, and sexual behavior.
52
What role do the Basal Ganglia play in the brain?
They are involved in voluntary movement, decision making, and emotion regulation.
53
What are the components of the Basal Ganglia?
The striatum (including the caudate and putamen), globus pallidus, and other structures involved in motor control.
54
What is the function of the Ventricles in the brain?
They produce and contain cerebrospinal fluid, which suspends and protects the brain, removes waste, and distributes nutrients.
55
What is Long-term potentiation (LTP) and its significance?
LTP is the process where repeated stimulation of one neuron by another increases the likelihood that the second neuron will fire, which is thought to be the mechanism behind learning and memory formation.
56
What is the role of the Occipital Lobe in brain function?
It processes visual information, including receiving signals from the retina and visual cortex.
57
What is Blindsight?
A condition where the visual cortex is damaged but the person can still navigate around objects without consciously seeing them, using other visual pathways.
58
What is the function of the Parietal Lobe?
It processes somatosensation (touch) and integrates sensory information, especially related to body positioning and spatial awareness.
59
What is Ideomotor Apraxia and how is it related to the parietal lobe?
It is a condition where patients have difficulty with voluntary movements when they are out of context, due to damage to the left parietal lobe.
60
What functions does the Frontal Lobe control?
It controls motor movements, complex cognition, and decision making, and contains the prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher cognitive functions like planning and social behavior.
61
What is the role of the Prefrontal Cortex?
It is involved in complex functions such as working memory, decision making, task switching, and following social rules.
62
What is Object Permanence and how is it related to the prefrontal cortex?
Object permanence is the ability to understand that objects continue to exist even when not visible, a skill developed with the prefrontal cortex.
63
What is the significance of the Temporal Lobe?
It is involved in auditory processing, language comprehension, memory formation, and object recognition.

biological and cognitive psychology (8 decks)

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