Biopsych Flashcards

Question

AO3 Outline one weakness of localisation of function (Localisation of language questioned)

Answer 1

One limitation is that language may not be localised just to Broca's and Wernicke's areas. A review by Dick et al found that only 2% of modern researchers think that language in the brain is completely controlled by Broca's and Wernicke's areas. It seems that language function is distributed far more holistically in the brain than was first thought. Language streams have been identified across the cortex, including brain regions in the right hemisphere, as well as subcortical regions such as the thalamus. This suggests that, rather than being confined to a couple of key areas, language may be organised more holistically in the brain, which contradicts localisation theory.

Answer 2

One strength is evidence from brain scans that supports the idea that many everyday brain functions are localised. For instance, Petersen et al used brain scans to demonstrate how Wernicke's area was active during a listening task and Broca's area was active during a reading task. Also, a review of long-term memory studies by Buckner and Petersen (1996) revealed that semantic and episodic memories reside in different parts of the prefrontal cortex. These studies confirm localised areas for everyday behaviours. Therefore objective methods for measuring brain activity have provided sound scientific evidence that many brain functions are localised. A challenge to localisation theory comes from the work of Karl Lashley (1950). Lashley removed areas of the cortex (between 10% and 50% in rats that were learning the route through a maze. No area was proven to be more important than any other area in terms of the rats' ability to learn the route. The process of learning seemed to require every part of the cortex rather than being confined to a particular area. This suggests that higher cognitive processes, such as learning, are not localised but distributed in a more holistic way in the brain.

Answer 3

-One weakness of localization of brain function is that there is the concept of plasticity. -When some of the brain has been damaged and a particular function has been lost, other parts of the brain can take over the function. For example, several stroke victims have been able to recover these abilities that were seemingly lost as a result of illness -The law of equipotentiality suggests that surviving brain circuits 'chip in' so the same neurological action can be achieved. This suggests learning is too complex to be localized and this weakens our acceptance of the theory .

Answer 4

Visual motor tasks - Creativity, art and music

Answer 5

Dominant for language - Science, maths and language

Answer 6

A nerve impulse occurs if multiple excitatory post-synaptic potentials summate in the post-synaptic neuron.

Answer 7

Brain and spinal cord All neurons outside the brain and spinal cord

Answer 8

Controls posture and balance

Answer 9

-Involved in fight or flight response -Prepares the body for stressful or emergency situations - Increased heart rate, vasodilation, increased strength

Answer 10

-To secrete the hormones which are required to regulate many bodily functions. -To provide a chemical system of communication via the bloodstream.

Answer 11

-Adrenal glands: secretes adrenaline / controls the sympathetic division in the fight or flight response -Thyroid gland: secretes thyroxine/increases metabolic rates and affects growth

Answer 12

-Adrenaline is released from the adrenal medulla -Helps the body respond to stressful situations as am evolutionary adaptation to aid survival -Adrenaline has a range of effects on the body -Increase heart rate -Constricts blood vessels

Answer 13

-The cells in the endocrine system group into clusters called glands, whereas the cells in the nervous system are called neurons. -The endocrine system communicates via glands through hormones released into the bloodstream. On the other hand, the nervous system communicates through electrical signals sent from one neuron to the next

Answer 14

-The adrenal medulla releases adrenaline in response to stress but the adrenal cortex produces cortisol -The adrenal medulla is the inside part but the adrenal cortex is the outer layer

Answer 15

A stimulus causes the pituitary gland to release a hormone into the bloodstream, hormones travel around the bloodstream until they reach target cells and they bind to the receptors on the target cells, causing a response in the target cell

Answer 16

-Quasi experiment -11 ppts -Ppts were epileptics who could not be treated with drugs. Already had corpus callosums split. No ethical issues -Ppts gazes at fixation point on a translucent screen -Slides projected either side of fixation point at a rate of one image per 1/10 seconds

Answer 17

When a picture of an object was shown to participants right visual field they could describe what was seen, when a picture was projected into the ppts left visual field they could not describe it. (Often report there was nothing there)

Answer 18

-The study has not been consistently replicated -The study contains a confounding variable -The participants’ brains were abnormal -The study lacks generalisability

Answer 19

One weakness of lateralisation and split brain theory is that language may not be restricted to the left hemisphere only as the theory suggests. For example, research has suggested that damage to the left hemisphere is more detrimental to damage to the right hemisphere. However, one patient known as J.W developed the capacity to speak out of the RIGHT HEMISPHERE with the result that he can now speal about information presented to the left hemisphere or right side of the brain

Answer 20

One strength of lateralisation and split brain research is that there is evidence that even in connected brains the two hemispheres process information differently. For example, Fink et al used PET scans to identify which brain areas were active during a visual processing task. When ppts with connected brains were asked to look at an image, regions of the right hemisphere were much more active. When required to focus on finer details the specific areas of the left hemisphere were dominant. This suggests that at least as far as visual processing is concerned, hemispheric lateralisation is a feature of the connected brain as well as the split-brain. Therefore this supporting research validates the key principles of hemispheric lateralisation, thus strengthening acceptance of the theory.

Answer 21

One weakness of hemispheric lateralisation is that there is research evidence from patient EB which contradicts this theory For example, patient EB had a tumour on his left hemisphere when he was 2.5 years old and he lost all of his language skills. However, by age 8, he had regained his language skills. Researchers found that when EB spoke, his right hemisphere was active, meaning EB's right hemisphere had taken over the function of language, suggesting that there are exceptions to hemispheric lateralisation which the theory doesn't account for, thus weakening acceptance of hemispheric lateralisation.

Answer 22

It is possible that there are confounding variables within the study that would jeopardise the validity of his conclusions. It may be that epileptic seizures or the drugs used to treat epilepsy caused this effect, and not the absence of the corpus callosum. Therefore this is a confounding variable in the interpretation of the study, because it may actually be the drugs or seizures that cause any results rather than their corpus callosum being severed, as Sperry suggests, therefore this jeopardizes the validity of the findings

Answer 23

-First, it only involves a small number of patients with brain abnormalities so the research may lack generalisability -Second, because patients have brain abnormalities, this may act as a confounding variable. -Finally, not all findings on hemispheric lateralisation have been replicated: for instance, more recent studies have shown that not all aspects of language are controlled by the left hemisphere.

Answer 24

One weakness of is the idea that the LH is an analyser and the RH is a synthesiser may be wrong. There may be different functions in the RH and LH, but research suggests that people do not have a dominant side of their brain which creates a different personality. Nielsen et al analysed brain scans from over 1000 people aged 7 to 29 and did find that people used certain hemispheres for certain tasks (supports lateralisation). But there was no evidence of a dominant side i.e. not artist's brain or mathematician's brain. This suggests that the option of right or left brained people is wrong

Answer 25

A case study of Gazzaniga called J.W. is an exception to the idea that speech is lateralised to the left hemisphere. He is a split brain patient that has learned to produce and understand speech using his right hemisphere as well as his left hemisphere. This provides direct evidence against the idea that the separate hemispheres have separate functions

Answer 26

One weakness of split brain research is that the case studies used in research use a very small sample. Split brain studies are rarely done today and those that have been done previously have as few as one or two ppts making up the study Therefore this means we cant properly generalise the findings from one or two ppts to the wider population. Therefore this weakens our acceptance of this research as it can

Answer 27

-Suggests the brain can change and adapt overtime -In infancy the brain experiences growth in the number of synaptic connections it has peaking at around 15000 at age 2-3 years -As we age, rarely used connections are strengthened in a process known as synaptic pruning -Brain is more plastic when its younger meaning it is more capable to forming new synaptic connections.

Answer 28

Maguire et al (2000) studied the brains of London taxi drivers and found that they had significantly more volume of grey matter in the posterior hippocampus then a matched control group The hippocampus is associated with navigational skills in humans and animals

Answer 29

-Kuhn (2014) got ppts to play super Mario for 30 minutes a day for 2 months and then compared brain development to a control group not playing video games -Found ppts differences in grey matter of the video gaming ppts, particularly in the areas controlling fine movement control, spatial skills, and planning. Used brain scans -Kuhn’s study found that learning is accompanied by plastic changes in the brain, like rewiring.

Answer 30

Neural unmasking Axon sprouting Recruitment of homologous areas

Answer 31

The brain rewires and reorganises itself by forming new synaptic connections close to the damage Secondary neural pathways that would not typically be used to carry out certain functions are activated or 'unmasked' to enable functioning to continue

Answer 32

Growth of nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neural pathways

Answer 33

When the same/similar area of the brain on the opposite side is used to perform a specific task E.g. Jody miller - Right hemisphere was removed from her brain but she was still able to walk

Answer 34

Researchers found an increased number of new neurons in the brains of rats who were in a maze comparted to rats in a cage These rats had more neurons in their hippocampus, part of their brain responsible for memory but also the ability to navigate from one area to another This provides clear evidence that the brain can change

Answer 35

One limitation of plasticity it that it may have negative behavioural consequences. Evidence has shown that the brain's adaption to prolonged drug use leads to poorer cognitive functioning later in life, as well as an increased risk of dementia. Also 60-80% of amputees have been known to develop phantom limb syndrome - the continued experience of sensations in the missing limb as if it were still there. These sensations are usually unpleasant and are thought to be the cortical reorganisation of the somatosensory cortex that occurs as a result of a limb loss. This suggests that the brain's ability to adapt to damage is not always beneficial. Therefore this weakens acceptance of the theory.

Answer 36

Schneider found that college graduates are 7x more likely to be disability-free after brain damage than those who didn't finish high school and suffered with brain damage Schneider argues that the 'cognitive reserve' is associated with educational attainment and is a crucial factor in functional recovery. 50% of those who recovered disability free, had more than 16 years education compared to 10% of those who had less than 12 years education. This would imply that people with brain damage who have insufficient disability free recovery are less likely to achieve a full recovery Therefore this has useful applications - encouraging students to build up their 'cognitive reserve' through attending school

Answer 37

One strength of functional recovery research is its real-world application. Understanding the processes involved in plasticity has contributed to the field of neurorehabilitation. Simply understanding that axonal growth is possible encourages new therapies to be tried. For example constraint-induced movement therapy is used with stroke patients whereby they repeatedly practise using the affected part of their body (such as an arm) while the unaffected arm is restrained. This shows that research into functional recovery is useful as it helps medical professionals know when interventions need to be made.

Answer 38

-fMRI -EEG -ERPIs -Post mortem examinations

Answer 39

-Works by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and flow which occurs as a result of neural activity in specific parts of the brain - Active brain areas consume more oxygen -fMRI produces 3D images that are activation maps showing which areas are consuming more oxygen

Answer 40

-Don't use radiation like PET scans -Non-invasive, risk-free and straight-forward to use -Very high spatial resolution, giving very high detail

Answer 41

+One key strength of fMRI is, unlike other scanning techniques such as PET, it does not rely on the use of radiation. If administered correctly it is virtually risk-free, non-invasive and straightforward to use. +It also produces images that have very high spatial resolution, depicting detail by the millimetre, and providing a clear picture of how brain activity is localised. This means that MRI can safely provide a clear picture of brain activity. -FMRI is expensive compared to other neuroimaging techniques. -It has poor temporal resolution because there is around a 5-second time-lag behind the image on screen and the initial firing of neuronal activity. This means MRI may not truly represent moment-to-moment brain activity.

Answer 42

+EEG has been useful in studying the stages of sleep and in the diagnosis of conditions such as epilepsy, a disorder characterised by random bursts of activity in the brain that can easily be detected on screen. +Unlike MRI, EEG technology has extremely high temporal resolution. Today's EEG technology can accurately detect brain activity at a resolution of a single millisecond (and even less in some cases). This shows the real-world usefulness of the technique. -The main drawback of EEG lies in the generalised nature of the information received (that of many thousands of neurons). The EEG signal is also not useful for pinpointing the exact source of neural activity. Therefore it does not allow researchers to distinguish between activities originating in different but adjacent locations.

Answer 43

+The limitations of EEG are partly addressed through the use of ERPs. These bring much more specificity to the measurement of neural processes than could ever be achieved using raw EEG data. As ERPs are derived from EEG measurements, they have excellent temporal resolution, especially when compared to neuroimaging techniques such as MRI. This means that ERPs are frequently used to measure cognitive functions and deficits such as the allocation of attentional resources and the maintenance of working memory. -Critics have pointed to a lack of standardisation in ERP methodology between different research studies which makes it difficult to confirm findings. -A further issue is that, in order to establish pure data in ERP studies, background noise' and extraneous material must be completely eliminated. This is a problem because it may not always be easy to achieve.

Answer 44

+Post-mortem evidence was vital in providing a foundation for early understanding of key processes in the brain. Paul Broca and Karl Wernicke both relied on post-mortem studies in establishing links between language, brain and behaviour decades before neuroimaging ever became a possibility. Post-mortem studies were also used to study HM's brain to identify the areas of damage, which could then be associated with his memory deficits. This means post-mortems continue to provide useful information. -Causation is an issue within these studies, however. Observed damage to the brain may not be linked to the deficits under review but to some other unrelated trauma or decay. -A further problem is that post-mortem studies raise ethical issues of consent from the individual before death. Participants may not be able to provide informed consent, for example in the case of HM who lost his ability to form memories and was not able to provide such consent - nevertheless post-mortem research has been conducted on his brain. This challenges the usefulness of post-mortem studies in psychological research.

Answer 45

-Most expensive technique -Poor temporal resolution, there is a 5 second lag between the image on screen and firing of neurons

Answer 46

-Measures electrical activity by fixing a skull cap on a head with electrodes -The brain wave patterns are a representation of electrical activity/activity from neurons -Used by clinicians to diagnose abnormalities -Unusual arrhythmic patterns of activity can indicate neurological abnormalities

Answer 47

Strengths: -Only technique which can diagnose abnormalities -High temporal resolution Weakness: -Tend to produce very generalised information so it is not useful for pinpointing the exact source of neural activity

Answer 48

-Way of teasing out and isolating specific neural responses associated with sensory, cognitive and motor events -Work by using a statistical averaging technique, that filters out extraneous brain activity from the original EEG CERTAIN EVENTS OR THINGS PRODUCE CERTAIN BRAIN WAVES (Louise Theroux's Peedo documentary)

Answer 49

Strengths: -Excellent temporal resolution, measures it to the millisecond -Addresses limitations of EEGs Weaknesses: -Not easy to carry out. To establish pure data in ERP studies, background noise and extraneous material can all affect the brain wave produced

Answer 50

-Analysis of a person's brain after death. E.g. HM had no hippocampus -Those whose brains are subjected to a post-mortem are likely to be those who have a rare disorder

Answer 51

-Vital in providing a foundation for early understanding E.g. broca relied on PM studies in establishing links between language, brain and behaviour -Provide medical knowledge

Answer 52

-Patients can't give informed consent E.g. HM had research carried out on his brain and wasn't able to provide consent -Problems with cause and effect -If there are multiple areas of damage in the brain it is hard to know what caused what

Answer 53

-A biological rhythm which operates on a 24-hour cycle -Our internal body clock drives the circadian rhythm -Our body clock is constantly reset so that our bodies are in sync with the outside world -Light provides the primary input, allowing our internal body clock to be set to the correct time

Answer 54

-Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland in the brain, which chemically causes drowsiness and lowers body temperature -Melatonin is highest at 2 am which is when we are in deepest sleep and body temp is lowest

Answer 55

SCN - Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Answer 56

Sensory receptors that detect light can send information directly to the SCN to influence melatonin release

Answer 57

-Put ppts in a ww2 bunker for 4 weeks and ppts were deprived of natural light -All but one of these ppts had a circadian rhythm between 24 and 25 hours -Both Siffre's experience and bunker experiment suggest the 'natural' sleep wake cycle -Aschoff & Weber made participants sleep in a bunker with no natural light. -The participants had lamps.

Answer 58

-The participants still had access to some artificial light, which may have helped reset their circadian rhythm. -The results may have underestimated the importance of light, and overestimated the importance of endogenous pacemakers.

Answer 59

The artificial light used in these studies might have reset the body clocks of the participants. Therefore, if no artificial light was present participants might have had even greater irregularities in their circadian rhythms.

Answer 60

-Siffre conducted a case study -Siffre lived in a cave for 6 months with no access to natural light -Siffre’s sleep/wake cycle increased to a 25-30 hour cycle without access to light.

Answer 61

-Transplanting the abnormal hamsters’ SCN into the normal hamsters caused them to adopt an abnormal 21 hour sleep/wake cycle. -Transplanting the normal hamsters’ SCN into the abnormal hamsters caused them to adopt a normal 24 hour sleep/wake cycle. -Both the abnormal and normal hamsters lost their sleep/wake cycle when their SCN was removed

Answer 62

-Ralph et al conducted a study investigating the sleep/wake cycle in hamsters -Ralph et al had a control group with a normal sleep/wake cycle and an experimental group with an abnormal 21 hr sleep/wake cycle -He removed the SCN in both hamsters and placed the abnormal hamster's SCN into the normal hamster's brain and vice versa However, we cant generalise the findings to humans as human brain may operate differently to hamster brains

Answer 63

One weakness of research into circadian rhythms is that they are affected by confounding variables Although ppts are deprived of natural light, TV, clocks and radios, meant they weren't deprived of artificial light because at the time, researchers didn't believe artificial light would have an effect on circadian rhythm Later research suggested this may not be true. This suggests that there is no way of establishing cause and effect as there were uncontrolled confounding variables which could have afected the outcome of the study. Therefore this weakens acceptance of research as there are problems with establishing cause and effect

Answer 64

One limitation of research into circadian rhythm is that generalisations are difficult to make. For example, Aschoff and Weber's study as well as Siffre's study are based on very small samples of ppts. It seems that sleep/wake cycles may vary widely from person to person. Research by Czeisler et al found individual differences within sleep wake cycles lasting from 13-65 hours. In addition, Duffy et al suggested that some people have a natural preference for going to bed early and rising early whereas others prefer the opposite. This means it is difficult to use the research data to discuss anything more than averages, which may be meaningless

Answer 65

One strength of research into circadian rhythm is that it provides an understanding of the adverse consequences that occur when they are disrupted. For example, night workers engaged in shift work experience a period reduced concentration at 6am meaning mistakes and accidents were more likely. Research has also pointed out to a relationship between shift work and poor health - shift workers are three times more likely to develop heart disease than people who work in more typical work patterns. This suggests that research into the sleep wake cycle may have real world economics implications in terms of how best to manage worker productivity. HOWEVER, studies investigating the effect of shift work tend to use correlational methods. This means it is difficult to establish whether desynchronisation of the sleep wake cycle is actually a cause of negative effects. There may be other factors. For example, researchers suggested that high divorce rates in shift workers might be due to the strain of deprived sleep and other influences such as missing out on important family events. This suggests that it may be biological factors that create the adverse effects consequences associated with shift work

Answer 66

-Buhr argues that temperatures controls our body clock rather than light -Although light is undoubtedly the trigger, the SCN transforms this info into neural messaging that set the body temp -Body temp fluctuates over a 24 hour period an even the smallest change to our body temperature can be enough to massively influence our internal body clock and cause tiredness

Answer 67

A biological rhythm which has a cycle shorter than 24 hours

Answer 68

A biological rhythm which has a cycle of more than 24 hours

Answer 69

Stage 1 - Light sleep - Muscle activity slows down Stage 2 - Light sleep - Breathing and heart rate slow down. Body temperature decreases Stage 3 - Deep sleep begins - Brain starts to generate slow delta waves Stage 4 - Very deep sleep - Rhythmic breathing, limited muscle activity Stage 5 - REM sleep - Brainwaves speed up. Heart rate increases. Breathing is rapid. Atonia (paralysis of muscles) - As the night progresses, REM sleep increases towards the 4-5th cycle

Answer 70

During full wakefulness - high frequency - no reliable pattern

Answer 71

Deep NREM sleep. Activity dramatically decelerates. Ten times slower than wakefulness. Highly predictable in pattern

Answer 72

Almost identical to the frequency we have during full wakefulness - the brain seems awake but the body is asleep. Emotions, motivations, and memories are played out like a movie. Hence dreaming occurs

Answer 73

Dement and Kleiman monitored the sleep patterns of 9 adult ppts in the sleep lab. Brain wave activity was recorded on an EEG and the researchers controlled for the effects of caffeine and alcohol. They found that REM sleep was highly correlated with the experience of dreaming, brain activity varied according to how vivid the dreams were, and ppts woken during their dream reported very accurate recall of their dreams This suggests that the REM stage of sleep is associated with dreaming and that this is distinct from other stages In the ultradian rhythm, which is what coincides with the theory of ultradian rhythms, strengthening acceptance of the theory HOWEVER, It has been found that not all dreams happen during the REM sleep stage of the cycle e.g. hypnogogic dreams occur during stages 1 and 2 of sleep cycle

Answer 74

One strength of research into Ultradian rhythms is that it has improved understanding of age-related changes n sleep. Sleep scientists have observed that (slow wave sleep) SWS reduces with age. Growth hormone is mostly produced during SWS therefore this is reduced in older people. According Cauter et al, the resulting sleep deficit ay explain various issues in old age, such as reduced alertness . IN order to increase SWS, relaxation and medication may be used. This suggests that knowledge of ultradian rhythms has practical value.

Answer 75

One limitation of ultradian rhythms research is there is significant variation between people. Adrienne Tucker et al. (2007) found large differences between participants in terms of the duration of each sleep stage, particularly stages 3 and 4. Tucker et al. suggest that these differences are likely to be biologically determined. This makes it difficult to describe 'normal sleep' in any meaningful way.

Answer 76

McClintock studied 29 women with a history of irregular periods. Samples of pheromones were gathered from 9 of the women at different stages of menstrual cycle via a cotton pad to be rubbed on the upper lip of other ppts. Found that 68% of women experienced changes to their cycle which brought them closer to the cycle of their odour donor This indicates that the menstrual cycle is influenced by exogenous factors

Answer 77

One strength of menstrual synchrony research is that it may be explained by natural selection. Synchronisation of the menstrual cycle, of the kind observed in McClintock's study, is thought by some to have evolutionary value. For our distant ancestors it may have been advantageous for women to menstruate together and become pregnant at the same time. In a social group, this would allow babies who had lost their mothers during or after childbirth to have access to breast milk, thereby improving their chances of survival. This suggests that synchronisation is an adaptive strategy.

Answer 78

One limitation of synchronisation studies is their methodological shortcomings. There are many factors that may effect change to the menstrual cycle, including stress, changes in diet, exercise, etc. These may act as confounding variables, which means that any supposed pattern of synchronisation is no more than would have been expected to occur by chance. This may explain why other studies have failed to replicate the findings. This suggests that menstrual synchrony studies are flawed.

Answer 79

One strength of infradian rhythms is they have real life applications. For example, research into seasonal affected depression suggests that SAD is due to the SCN not receiving sufficient amounts of light. This suggests through understanding infradian rhythms, we can better explain seasonal affected depression, thus strengthening our acceptance of the theory

Answer 80

Light sleep Muscle activity slows down, preparing us for sleep

Answer 81

Light sleep Breathing and heart rate slows down and body temp decreases

Answer 82

Deep sleep begins The brain starts to generate slow delta waves

Answer 83

Very deep sleep Rhythmic breathing, limited muscle activity

Answer 84

REM sleep. Brainwaves speed up, heart rate increases, atonia of muscles

Answer 85

Adrenal glands: secretes adrenaline / controls the sympathetic division in the fight or flight response Thyroid gland: secretes thyroxine/increases metabolic rates and affects growth

Answer 86

When a nerve impulse arrives at the pre-synaptic terminal, the pre-synaptic neuron releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft. These neurotransmitters travel across the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the post-synaptic membrane, allowing charged particles to flow into the neuron. The charged particles create a change in voltage, leading to either an excitatory post-synaptic potential or an inhibitory post-synaptic potential, depending on whether the neurotransmitter is excitatory or inhibitory.

Answer 87

Firstly, the number of neurotransmitters released by the pre-synaptic neuron can be increased, which means that more neurotransmitters bind to post-synaptic receptors, allowing more charged particles into the post-synaptic neuron. Second, the number of receptors available to pick up neurotransmitters on the post-synaptic neuron can be increased. This also means that more neurotransmitters bind to post-synaptic receptors, which again means there are more charged particles in the post-synaptic neuron. Both of these mechanisms lead to an increase in the likelihood of nerve impulses being transmitted between the two neurons, meaning that the synapse has been strengthened.

Answer 88

One weakness of Maquire's study is that it was a quasi experiment. For example, Maquire couldn't control participant variables by randomly allocating participants to groups. This suggests there may be unknown participant variables (e.g. taxi drivers have a very social job) which may have affected the size of the taxi drivers hippocampus. Therefore this weakness acceptance of Maquire's research into plasticity as there is a lack of control over participant variables

Answer 89

One weakness of Maquire's research into plasticity is that we can't establish cause and effect. For example, these taxi drivers may have had a large hippocampus, which is why they became taxi drivers to begin with. This suggests we cannot understand causation as there was no brain scan imaging for the taxi driver's brain prior to the experiment, so there is no way of telling if being a taxi driver caused increased hippocampus volume in taxi drivers. Therefore this weakens acceptance of the research as there is no way of understanding causation

Answer 90

The ability to visually process and identify the image isn’t hemispherically lateralised. Therefore regardless of which hemisphere the information was presented, the participant had still processed the information and could point to the correct stimulus from the choice of four.

Answer 91

The ability to say what was processed by the left hemisphere occurred because language is hemispherically lateralised to the left hemisphere. If a stimulus is presented to the right hemisphere, a split-brain patient is unable to identify or describe it, because language is not processed in the right hemisphere.

Answer 92

CONTRLATERALLY

Answer 93

An EEG measures general brain activity e.g. when a person is awake or a sleep (1) whereas an ERP measures brain activity in response to a stimulus. (1)

Answer 94

-Damage to Broca’s area will result in Stan suffering from Broca's aphasia / expressive aphasia. -This will be characterised by slow, laborious speech lacking in fluency; inarticulate speech; short meaningful sentences will take a lot of effort. -Damage to Wernicke’s area will result in Wernicke’s aphasia / receptive aphasia. -This will be characterised by patients producing nonsense words in the content of their speech / difficulty comprehending speech.

Answer 95

-To secrete the hormones which are required to regulate many bodily functions. -To provide a chemical system of communication via the blood stream.

Answer 96

-Neurotransmitters can be excitatory or inhibitory -If the neurotransmitter is excitatory then the post synaptic neurone is more likely to fire an impulse -If the neurotransmitter is inhibitory then the post synaptic neurone is less likely to fire an impulse -The excitatory and inhibitory influences are summed, if the net effect on the post synaptic neurone is inhibitory, the neurone will be less likely to 'fire' and if there is the net effect is excitatory, the neurone will be more likely to fire

Answer 97

Research indicates that the traditional fight or flight model may exhibit gender bias. Taylor et al proposed that females are more likely to engage in a 'tend and befriend' response—protecting offspring and seeking social support rather than confronting or fleeing from threats. This suggests that early studies, often based on male participants, may not fully represent female stress responses, highlighting issues of androcentrism and beta bias in psychological research

Answer 98

While the fight or flight response was advantageous for early humans facing immediate physical dangers, it can be maladaptive in today's world. Modern stressors, such as work pressure or financial concerns, often don't require physical action. However, the body's physiological response remains the same, leading to prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Chronic stress can result in health issues like hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Answer 99

Gray (1988) suggested that the first reaction to a threat is often a 'freeze' response, characterized by hyper-vigilance and heightened alertness. This state allows individuals to assess the situation and decide on the most appropriate course of action. The inclusion of the freeze response indicates that the fight or flight model may be overly simplistic, as it doesn't account for this initial stage of threat assessment.

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