biological influences

Question 1

Define Psychology

Answer 1

The systematic study of behaviour and mental processes

Question 2

What’s in the forebrain? What do these parts do?

Answer 2

Cerebrum - responsible for complex thoughts
Thalamus - relay motor and sensory info, memory, alertness, consciousness, memory and cognition.
Corpus Callosum - connects right and left hemispheres and allows info to pass between them.

Question 3

function of the forebrain

Answer 3

sensory integration, voluntary movement, intellectual functions

Question 4

What is in the midbrain? What do these parts do?

Answer 4

Reticular activating system - regulates the shift between sleep and awareness, vital role during sleep and dreams, responsible for providing joint response.

Question 5

function of the midbrain

Answer 5

motor functions, never fibres that connect the cerebral hemispheres to the cerebellum

Question 6

What is in the hindbrain? What do these parts do?

Answer 6

Cerebellum - controls complex muscular movement, coordination, balance, posture, timing
Pons - regulates breathing, taste and autonomic functions
Medulla oblongata - controls vital functions you don’t think about
Spinal cord - transmits messages between the brain and PNS

Question 7

Where’s the frontal lobe? What is its functions? What are the problems after injury?

Answer 7

Located at the front.
Function is planning, organising, problem solving, decision making, memory, attention and controlling behaviour, emotions and impulses.
After injury there can be problems with emotions, impulses, language and memory,

Question 8

Where’s the parietal lobe? What is its functions? What are the problems after injury?

Answer 8

Located at the middle at the top.
Functions are joins sensory info from various parts of the body, contains sensory cortex, tells which way is up and stops us bumping into things.
After injury you may not be able to locate or recognise parts of your body.

Question 9

Where’s the occipital lobe? What is its functions? What are the problems after injury?

Answer 9

Located at the back.
Functions are receiving and processing visual info, containing areas that perceive shapes and colours.
After injury you can have visual field defects and distorted perceptions of size, colour and shape.

Question 10

Where’s the temporal lobe? What is its functions? What are the problems after injury?

Answer 10

Located at the middle base
Functions are recognising and processing sound, understanding and producing speech and various aspects of memory
After injury you can have hearing loss, language issues and memory problems.

Question 11

What does the CNS consist of? What is its function?

Answer 11

Consists of brain and spinal cord
Acts as the control centre receiving and messages from all parts of the body
Interprets messages then sends info back to the body parts to instruct what to do.

Question 12

What does the PNS consist of? What is its function?

Answer 12

Consists of sensory receptors and nerves

Continually informs the CNS of changing conditions

Question 13

Where is the brocas located? What is the function? What happens after injury?

Answer 13

Located at the left of the frontal lobe
Function is language production and comprehension of complex syntax
When injury occurs you can get brocas aphasia which includes halting speech, repetitive speech, disordered syntax, grammar and disordered structure of words.

Question 14

Where is the wernicks located? What is the function? What happens when damaged?

Answer 14

Located in the left hemisphere at the left back of the temporal lobe
Function is language comprehension
When damaged you can get wernicks aphasia which has inappropriate words, inability to understand spoken language and trouble synchronising objects with the words that signify them.

Question 15

What is the left hemisphere responsible for?

Answer 15

Language, learning, maths and logical thinking

Question 16

What is the right hemisphere responsible for?

Answer 16

Artistic, musical, intuitive and perceptual abilities

Question 17

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 17

Section that connects the right and left hemispheres

Question 18

What is the function of a neurotransmitter?

Answer 18

Neurotransmitters are the brain chemicals that communicate information throughout our brain and body. They relay signals between nerve cells called neurons.

Question 19

Where are neurotransmitters located?

Answer 19

Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles in synapses into the synaptic cleft, where they are receive by receptors on other synapses.

Question 20

What is the structure of a neuron?

Answer 20

Dendrite - receives info 
Cell body - sends message down axon
Axon - message 
Synapse - transfers message 
Myelin sheath - protects axon

Question 21

What is the function of a sensory neuron?

Answer 21

recieve info from the external environment and from within the body and transmit this info to the CNS

Question 22

What it is the function of a motor neuron?

Answer 22

Transfer messages from the CNS to effector organs such as muscles

Question 23

What is the function of an interneuron?

Answer 23

Transfer messages within the CNS

Question 24

function of an axon

Answer 24

threadlike extension that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body

Question 25

function of myelin sheath

Answer 25

function of the myelin sheath fatty covering that increases their communication speed

Question 26

function of dendrites

Answer 26

recieve messages and conduct impulses toward the cell

Question 27

function of the somatosensory cortex

Answer 27

recieve and process infomation from our senses

Question 28

function of the motor cortex

Answer 28

recieves, processes and sends infomation about voluntary bodily movements

Question 29

function of the visual cortex

Answer 29

receiving and processing visual information from the eyes

Question 30

function of the auditory cortex

Answer 30

responsible for sound and the ability to hear

Question 31

ability to come to conclusions depends on

Answer 31

- selection of representative sample - appropriate allocation of participants - ensuring participants are unaware - eliminating the possibility of experimenter bias

Question 32

strengths of a case study

Answer 32

provides detailed info useful for research permits investigation of impractical situations

Question 33

limitations of case studies

Answer 33

can't generalise results researchers feelings may influence difficult to duplicate time consuming

Question 34

effect of endorphins

Answer 34

painkilling lifts mood energy

Question 35

dopamine effects

Answer 35

``` inhibits certain synpases and slows down motor responses regulates blood flow modulates eating habits pleasure reward motivation memory attention mood ```

Question 36

seratonin effects

Answer 36

``` mood appetite digestion memory sexual disuse muscle constriction transmits impulses ```

Question 37

noradrenaline effects

Answer 37

hormone increase heart rate and other arousal processes effects on learning and memory excesses and deficiencies lead to mood disorders

Question 38

depressant definition

Answer 38

slows down mental processes and the nervous system

Question 39

hallucinogens definition

Answer 39

interfere with the brain and CNS in a way that results in radical distortions of a users perception of reality

Question 40

stimulant definition

Answer 40

speeds up mental processes and excites the nervous system

Question 41

what are the three functions of the nervous system?

Answer 41

- recieve info - process - coordinate responses

Question 42

what are the two parts of the peripheral nervous system?

Answer 42

somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system

Question 43

what is the somatic nervous system?

Answer 43

transmits info from sense receptor sights in all parts of the body to and from the CNS voluntary muscle movement and skeletal nervous system

Question 44

what is the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 44

network of nerves that carry neural messages between the CNS and the heart, lungs and other organs and glands divided into two divisions

Question 45

what are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 45

parasympathetic and sympathetic

Question 46

what is the parasympathetic nervous system?

Answer 46

rest and digest

Question 47

what is the sympathetic nervous system?

Answer 47

fight or flight

Question 48

what is the function of neurons?

Answer 48

recieve, process and transmit info to other neurons in the form of neural impulses

Question 49

what is within the axon terminal?

Answer 49

many mitochonria to provide energy for all cell functions and a number of vesicles that contain neurotransmitters

Question 50

how does the action potential effect the vesicles?

Answer 50

when it arrives in the terminal it causes them to move towards the membrane of the terminal and to merge with it so the NT's spill into the synaptic gap and diffuse across the post synpatic dendrite membrane

Question 51

what is a neuromodulator?

Answer 51

Chemical substance that influences (modulates) the activity of neurotransmitters at the synapse; Make neurons more or less receptive to a neurotransmitter.