biopschology Flashcards

Question

Describe re uptake

Answer 1

When neurotransmitters are released across the synapse, they do not all make it across to the post-synaptic neuron 1 Once the post-synaptic neuron is full, its receptor sites will close 2 The remaining neurotransmitters recycled back into the original pre-synaptic neuron, where they can be used again – this is called re-uptake.

Answer 2

when a neurotransmitter increases the positive charge of the postsynaptic neuron. This increases the likelihood that the neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse.

Answer 3

when a neurotransmitter increases the negative charge of the postsynaptic neuron. This decreases the likelihood that the neuron will fire and pass on the electrical impulse.

Answer 4

The notion that specific functions have specific locations in the brain

Answer 5

The Frontal lobe The parietal lobe The occipital lobe The temporal lobe

Answer 6

Cognitive skills like memory

Answer 7

Visual information

Answer 8

Sensory information

Answer 9

Auditory information

Answer 10

Located in the frontal lobe – (precentral gyrus) ⚫ Found in both hemispheres of the brain, but controls the opposite side of the body Is in charge of deliberate movement

Answer 11

Located in the parietal lobe – (postcentral gyrus) ⚫ Lives in both hemispheres and processes sensory info on the opposite side of the body ⚫ Uses information from the skin to produce sensations such as touch, pressure, pain and temperature

Answer 12

Located in the occipital lobe – (visual cortex) 1. Processing starts in the retina (back of the eye) 2.Nerve impulses from the retina to the brain via optic nerve 3.Typically end up in the thalamus – then relayed to the visual cortex ⚫ The visual centre lives in both hemispheres ⚫ Right visual field processed by left visual cortex ⚫ Left visual field processed by right visual cortex

Answer 13

⚫ Located in the temporal lobe in both hemispheres 1 Sound waves are converted into nerve impulses at the cochlea (inner ear) 2 The impulses travel via the auditory nerve to the brain stem to be decoded 3 They then reach the thalamus and are relayed to the auditory cortex (where appropriate responses are initially processed)

Answer 14

⚫ Treated a patient he called ‘Tan’ – the only syllable he could pronounce ⚫ He could understand language, but could only say/write ‘tan’ in response ⚫ Studied 8 other similar patients (1865) – found they all had a lesion in a particular area of the frontal lobe in the left hemisphere ⚫ Called this the language centre – critical for speech production

Answer 15

⚫ Found an area involved in understanding language – found at the top of the left temporal lobe ⚫ Patients with a lesion in this area could speak and write, but could not understand language

Answer 16

The idea the two halves of the brain (hemispheres) are functionally different that certain processes and behaviours are mainly controlled by one hemisphere rather than the other

Answer 17

Language centres such as Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas have only been identified within the left hemisphere of the brain ⚫ This suggests that processing and understanding language is controlled by the left side of the brain

Answer 18

-sensory stimulus from the right side of the body -motor control -speech language -analysis and calculation -recognition motion of words

Answer 19

-sensory stimulus for the left side of the body -motor control of the left side -creativity -spatial ability -recognition of faces

Answer 20

via the corpus callosum. This is a network of fibres that allows information from one hemisphere to be passed over to the other hemisphere

Answer 21

• Object in the LVF • Seen in both eyes • Sent from both eyes to the RH Object in the RVF • Seen in both eyes • Sent from both eyes to the LH

Answer 22

Sperry studied a unique group of epileptic patients that had undergone surgery known as a commissurotomy ⚫ This involves the cutting of the corpus callosum ⚫ This meant that these patients no longer had communication between the hemispheres ⚫ This allowed Sperry to investigate which hemisphere was responsible for specific functions

Answer 23

The cutting of the corpus callosum

Answer 24

He would ask patients to fixate on a dot in the centre of a screen and would project an image in the patient’s left or right visual field ⚫ They would then be asked to make a response with either their left or right hand ⚫ Or they would be asked to respond verbally, without being able to see what their hands were doing

Answer 25

Petersen et al. used brain scans to show activity in the brain during reading and listening tasks. They found activity in Broca’s area during a reading task (use of inner voice) and activity in Wernicke’s area during a listening task (language comprehension). This validates the locations of language processes in the brain and also confirms that language is lateralised to the left hemisphere.

Answer 26

case study on patient J.W – developed the capacity to speak using just the right hemisphere ⚫ He can now speak about info presented in both visual fields (unlike Sperry’s patients)

Answer 27

Studied brain scans of over 1,000 people aged 7 to 29. • Found that: • Yes, people do use certain hemispheres for certain tasks (i.e., lateralisation) • But there is no evidence that “mathematical” people or “artistic” people tend to have a “dominant side” It may therefore also be too much of a leap to say that LH is the ‘analyser’ and RH is the ‘synthesiser’.

Answer 28

One weakness of hemispheric lateralisation is that the research it is based on (Sperry’s split-brain research) has low generalisability One strength of language centres in the brain is research support. Petersen et al. used brain scans to show activity in the brain during reading and listening tasks. Although RH seems to be dominant in certain tasks, and LH seems to be dominant in others, it doesn’t mean there are “right-brained” or “left-brained” personalities. Jared Nielsen et al (2013):

Answer 29

One weakness of hemispheric lateralisation is that the research it is based on (Sperry’s split-brain research) has low generalisability. He only studied 11 patients that originally had epilepsy. One strength it is has high practical application can be used to help stroke patients

Answer 30

The brain’s tendency to change and adapt functionally and physically as a result of experience and new learning

Answer 31

As we age, we lose the connections that we rarely use and more frequently used connections are strengthened

Answer 32

A form of brain plasticity. Following damage through trauma, the brain’s ability to transfer functions usually performed by

Answer 33

Neural unmasking Axonal sprouting The opposite hemisphere Stem cells

Answer 34

found that certain synapses in the brain are ‘dormant’ because the areas around them are too inactive. ⚫ If an area of the brain becomes damaged, the surrounding areas increase in activity. Any dormant synapses in these surrounding areas are suddenly opened. ⚫ These synapses can then activate new areas of the brain, leading to the development of new structures

Answer 35

New nerve endings grow. These connect with undamaged nerve cells to form new pathways.

Answer 36

If neurons in one hemisphere are damaged, homologous (similar) areas in the other hemisphere are called in to take over the function For example, the language centre. If Broca’s area is damaged on the left side, the right-sided equivalent may carry out its functions for a while.

Answer 37

Stem cells can be implanted into the brain – they should directly replace dead/dying cell

Answer 38

Functional magnetic resonance imaging Electroencephalogram Event related potential Post -mortem examinations

Answer 39

A method used to examine brain activity while a person is performing a task ⚫ It uses technology that detects radio waves from changes in magnetic fields ⚫ This enables researchers to detect the regions in the brain that are rich in oxygen

Answer 40

fMRI detects changes in blood oxygenation (oxygen in the blood) ⚫ When a specific area of the brain is more active it consumes more oxygen ⚫ This also increases the blood flow to that specific area

Answer 41

A record of tiny electrical impulses produced by the brain’s activity. ⚫ EEGs measure electrical activity via electrodes that are fixed onto the scalp using a skull cap ⚫ Brainwave patterns are recorded – generated from the action of millions of neurons – representing overall brain activity

Answer 42

The brain’s electrophysiological response to a specific sensory, cognitive or motor event ⚫ This is the opposite to EEG – rather than measuring overall brain activity, we can tease out specific neurons and isolate the response

Answer 43

High spatial resolution – produces images depicting detail by the millimetre – clear indication for localisation ⚫ Non-invasive – doesn’t rely on radiation or injecting other substances (e.g. PET scans)

Answer 44

Low temporal resolution – can only capture an image if the individual stays perfectly still ⚫ Has a 5 second time-lag behind the image on screen ⚫ Only measures blood flow – doesn’t tell us about the type of brain activit

Answer 45

Strong application – has diagnosed conditions such as epilepsy and has helped our understanding of sleep stages ⚫ High temporal resolution – can accurately detect brain activity at a single millisecond

Answer 46

Unable to pinpoint the exact source of neural activity, only overall activity – unable to distinguish between activity in different but adjacent location

Answer 47

High specificity – can pinpoint exact neural brain activity ⚫ High temporal resolution – ERPs are derived from EEGs – can also pick up activity by the millisecond ⚫ Application – different types of ERP have been used to describe cognitive functions (e.g. P300 component involved in working memory)

Answer 48

Lack of standardisation across different research ⚫ Difficult to remove background noise

Answer 49

Application – has provided a foundation for understanding key processes in the brain – (Broca and Wernicke both relied on this method to investigate links to language) ⚫ Improves medical knowledge – allows new hypotheses to be generated for further study

Answer 50

- Causation – unable to confirm whether a deficit/abnormality in the brain caused issues during lifetime ⚫ Difficult to gather informed consent

Answer 51

A type of biological rhythm ,subject to a 24 hour cycle,which regulates a number of body processes such as the sleep /wake cycle and changes in core body temperature

Answer 52

The sleep/wake cycle is largely affected by daylight – an important exogenous zeitgeber ⚫ Daylight helps set the body clock to the correct time – so we are awake in the day and asleep at night

Answer 53

The cycle is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) – known as the master circadian pacemaker, located in the hypothalamus

Answer 54

this then resets to make sure our bodies are synchronised with the outside world

Answer 55

Siffre was a self-styled caveman who spent several extended periods of time underground to study the effects of his own biological rhythms

Answer 56

his first venture, he went underground for two months – believing it was mid August when he returned, when it was actually mid September.

Answer 57

A type of biological rhythm with a frequency of more than one cycle in 24 hours

Answer 58

Sleep stages

Answer 59

One example is sleep stages, as the five stages occur across a 90 minute period, and this cycle repeats throughout one nights sleep

Answer 60

named each sleep cycle as the BRAC ⚫ He proposed that the sleep cycle continues throughout the day, as well as the night ⚫ We progress through stages of alertness which decline and progress into states of physiological fatigue every 90 minutes ⚫ This suggests that the human mind can only focus for a maximum of 90 minutes at a time ⚫ The body runs out of resources, resulting in poor concentration, hunger and fatigue

biopschology Flashcards

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