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Biopsych Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the nervous system

A

A specialised network of cells in the human body, and our primary internal communication system.

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2
Q

What are the two main functions of the nervous system

A

Collect, process and respond to information in the environment
Co-ordinate workings of different organs and cells in the body

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3
Q

What are the two subsystems of the nervous system

A

Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system

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4
Q

What is the CNS made up of

A

The brain and spinal cord

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5
Q

What is PNS made up of

A

Autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system

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6
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system do

A

Govern vital functions in the body like breathing, digestion and stress responses
Contains sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Involuntary system

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7
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do

A

Controls skeletal muscles
Is voluntary

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8
Q

What do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems do

A

Sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for emergencies, and slows non-essential functions like digestion.
Parasympathetic nervous system reverses these changes once threat has passed

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9
Q

How does the sympathetic nervous prepare a body for emergencies

A

Increases heart rate
Dilation of pupils
Sweating
Relax bladder

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10
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do

A

Governs muscle movement and receives information from sensory receptors

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11
Q

What is the endocrine system

A

Instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream, which are carried towards target organs

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12
Q

Give an example of a hormone and its use

A

Thyroxine, released from thyroid gland, increases heart rate and metabolic rate, affecting growth rates.

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13
Q

What is the pituitary gland

A

“Master gland” controls release of hormones from all the other endocrine glands

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14
Q

Describe the process of entering fight or flight

A

Part of the brain called hypothalamus activates pituitary gland, triggering the sympathetic nervous system. Adrenaline releases from adrenal gland, causing physiological changes of increased breathing and heart rate and relaxing bladder. Once threat has passed, parasympathetic nervous system reverses the changes.

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15
Q

What is a neuron

A

Building blocks of central nervous system. Nerve cells that process and transmit messages through chemical and electrical signals.

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16
Q

What are the three types of neuron and their functions

A

Sensory neuron - carry messages from PNS to CNS.
Long dendrites and short axons.

Relay neuron - Connect sensory neurons to motor neurons.
Short dendrites and long axons.

Motor neuron - Connect CNS to effectors like muscles and glands.
Short dendrites and long axons

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17
Q

What are the parts of a neuron

A

Cell body (contains nucleus)
Dendrites (extend from cell body carrying nerve impulses)
Axon (carries impulses away from cell)
Myelin sheath (fatty layer protecting axon)

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18
Q

What is synaptic transmission

A

Process by which neighbouring neurons communicate with each other by sending chemical messages across the gap (synapse) that separates them.

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19
Q

How are signals transmitted in a neuron vs between them

A

Within the neuron = electrically
Between neurons = chemically

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20
Q

What are neurotransmitters

A

Chemicals that diffuse across a synapse to the next neuron in a chain.

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21
Q

What happens when a neurotransmitter crosses the synapse

A

Picked up by a postsynaptic receptor site on dendrites of next neuron. Chemical message is converted to an electrical signal, where it is taken along the axon to the synapse where the process repeats.

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22
Q

What are the two effects neurotransmitters can have

A

Excitatory - increases positive charge of post-synaptic neuron, increasing chance that the neuron will pass on electric signal

Inhibitory - increases the negative charge of the postsynaptic neuron, decreasing chance of electric signal passing on

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23
Q

What is the localisation theory

A

That different parts of the brain carry out different functions

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24
Q

What and where is the motor area

A

Region in the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement

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25
What and where is the somatosensory area
Area in the parietal lobe that processes sensory information like touch
26
What and where is the visual area
Part of occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information
27
What and where is the auditory area
Located in temporal lobe and concerned with analysis of speech based information
28
What and where is Broca's area
Area of frontal lobe in LEFT hemisphere responsible for speech production
29
What and where is Wernicke's area
Area of the temporal lobe in LEFT hemisphere responsible for language comprehension
30
What are three strengths of localisation theory
Neurosurgery Brain scans Phineas Gage
31
How does neurosurgery support localisation theory
Neurosurgery is used as a last resort in treating some mental illnesses, by targeting regions of the brain associated with the illness' behaviours. Dougherty et al (2006) reported on 44 people with OCD who had undergone neurosurgery, and 30% had a successful response, and another 14% had a a partial response. This suggests that behaviours associated with these illnesses may be localised.
32
How do brain scans support localisation theory
Petersen et al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke's area was active during a listening task, and Broca's area active during a reading task.
33
Who was Phineas Gage and how did he support localisation
In 1848, Phineas Gage was in an accident and an iron bar went through his head, removing most of his left frontal lobe. He survived, but went from being a calm and reserved person to quick tempered and aggressive. This suggests that mood regulation is localised to the left frontal lobe.
34
What are two challenges to the localisation theory
Lashley (1950) Dick and Tremblay (2016)
35
How did Lashley's experiment weaken localisation, and what was the experiment
Removed 10-50% of different areas of the cortex of rats learning a maze. No area was proven to be more important than any other in terms of the rats' ability to learn the route. Learning appeared to use every part of the cortex rather than one specific area, suggesting higher cognitive processes like learning were more holistic.
36
Who was Phineas Gage and how did he support localisation
In 1848, Phineas Gage was in an accident and an iron bar went through his head, removing most of his left frontal lobe. He survived, but went from being a calm and reserved person to quick tempered and aggressive. This suggests that mood regulation is localised to the left frontal lobe.
37
What did Dick and Tremblay do and how does it weaken localisation
Found only 2% of researches believe language is localised to Broca's and Wernicke's areas. fMRIs found that language in the brain is distributed holistically and that "language streams" have been identified across the cortex.
38
What is plasticity
The brains ability to adapt and change due to environment, e.g damage or learning new skills
39
What is functional recovery
Brains ability to move functions from damaged areas of the brain to other undamaged areas
40
What is synaptic pruning
Synapses that are frequently used get stronger over time, while unused synapses are lost, to increase the brain communication efficiency
41
What did Boyke et al find (2008)
Found evidence for plasticity in the brain Taught 60 year olds a new skill (juggling). Found increased grey matter in the visual cortex, but these changes reversed when the Ps stopped practising
42
What is grey matter
Contains most of the brains neuronal cell bodies. The grey matter includes regions of the brain involved in muscle control and sensory perception like seeing hearing and memory making.
43
What is neural unmasking
Part of functional recovery Some synaptic connections are physically intact but ‘dormant’. Normally input rate too low to activate them, but if input rises, for example surrounding area gets damaged, then these neural connections would be unmasked.
44
What is Maguire's study (name, process and findings)
Taxi driver study MRI of 16 male taxi drivers compared to MRI of 16 non taxi drivers (matched on age/gender). Posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers significantly larger than controls, suggesting physical brain structure is plastic and adaptable. Research support of plasticity
45
What are two strengths of plasticity
RWA for rehabilitative therapy - stopping patients from using coping methods like body language can help them improve via functional reorganisation Maguire taxi driver study - research support
46
What 3 ways can stem cells help recovery
Implanted stem cells could be used to replace dead or dying cells Transplanted stem cells could secrete growth factors that rescue the injured cells Transplanted stem cells could form a neural network that links an uninjured brain site (where new stem cells are made) with the damaged region of the brain.
47
What does contralateral mean
Each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.
48
What is the function of a motor cortex
Voluntary muscle movements across the body
49
What can happen if motor cortex is damaged
Loss of muscle function Paralysis in severe cases
50
What does the somatosensory cortex do
Receive info from the senses
51
What happen if somatosensory cortex is damaged
Loss of sensation in opposite side of body to damage
52
What is the auditory cortex
Receive sound information from ears
53
Where is the visual cortex
Occipital lobe
54
What does visual cortex do
Take in visual information from eyes from opposite visual field
55
Outline Sperrys split brain research
Quasi-experiment with 11 patients that underwent corpus callosotomy Projected info to each visual field so that info to each hemisphere was controlled. Participants told to either say or draw what they had seen
56
What were the results of Sperrys split brain research
Picture presented to right visual field (processed by left hemisphere) could be described. Left visual field was not as clear or could not see anything. Picture presented to left visual field (processed by right hemisphere) could be drawn well and clearly, while right visual field had poor drawing.
57
What does Sperrys study suggest
Both hemispheres can act independently Language centres in left side of brain
58
Who conducted split brain research and when
Sperry (1968) Gazzanigas (1983)
59
How did Gazzanigas conduct split brain research
Corpus callosotomy patients Presented each hemisphere of the brain with faces The right hemisphere was much better at recognising the faces, suggesting facial recognition is specialised in right hemisphere
60
Evaluate split brain research - limitations
Small samples of varying degrees of surgical alteration - varying amounts of connection cut and all had undergone drug therapy. Lacks mundane realism, in real world head will move side to side and use other cues to pass information to both hemisphers. Low validity.
61
Evaluate split brain research - positive
Fundamantal impact on psychological understanding of consciousness and identity. Suggests brain is a combination of separate intelligent units working together.
62
What is Maguire's study (name, process and findings)
Taxi driver study MRI of 16 male taxi drivers compared to MRI of 16 non taxi drivers (matched on age/gender). Posterior hippocampi in taxi drivers significantly larger than controls, suggesting physical brain structure is plastic and adaptable. Research support of plasticity
63
What is a circadian rhythm
A biological rhythm lasting around 24 hours
64
What are examples of circadian rhythms
Regulating sleep Release of hormones Body temperature
65
What is an endogenous pacemaker
Internal body clocks that keep biological processes to time
66
What is an exogenous zeitgeber
External cues that change endogenous pacemakers to match the environment
67
What is the suprachiasmatic nucleus
The EP for sleep wake cycle
68
What did Siffre do to support circadian rhythms
Lived in a cave for 6 months with no natural light or other potential exogenous zeitgebers. Siffres body clock maintained a regular cycle of around 25 hours. However, was criticised for having artificial lights which could have disrupted the circadian rhythm
69
What did Vetter do to support circadian rhythms
Found 27 office workers who were exposed to strong blue light shifted the timing of their circadian rhythms to match the office lighting, suggesting artificial light is a strong EZ for sleep wake cycle.
70
What are 3 supports for circadian rhythms
Siffres cave study Vetter blue light office study RWA - understanding how blue light from devices affects sleep, combat effects of jet lag and shift work.
71
What is an infradian rhythm
A biological rhythm that takes longer than 24 hours to complete a cycle
72
What is an example of an infradian rhythm, and what are its endogenous pacemakers
Menstrual cycle Oestrogen (pre ovulation) Progesterone (post ovulation)
73
What did Stern and McClintlock do to support infradian rhythms
20 women given pads from armpits of donor women to wipe on their top lip Found women would shorten or extend their menstrual cycle to match the donor. Suggests synchronisation due to pheromones acting as EZs However, not widely accepted humans can detect pheromones
74
What is an ultradian rhythm
Takes less than 24 hours to complete
75
What is an example of ultradian rhythms
Sleep stages
76
How long is a sleep stage cycle
90 mins
77
What is the process of one sleep stage cycle
NREM NREM NREM REM
78
What did Dermot and Kleitman study to support sleep cycle
EEG to record brainwaves of 33 participants during one nights sleep. Followed a cyclic activation pattern, with NREM being slow-wave and REM during high activation.
79
What are two benefits to ultradian rhythms
RWA - devices based on sleep improvement founded due to knowledge of sleep stages. Makes a happier and more economically productive society Dermot and Kleitman sleep study

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