Biopsychology Flashcards

Question

What is the role of neurotransmitters

Answer 1

Their role is to transmit information from one neuron to another so that a person performs an action

Answer 2

Beginning: 1) action potentials are sent down the axon in the presynatic neuron until they reach the presynaptic terminal Middle: 2) this causes neurotransmitters which are stored in vesicles and are only located in the pre synaptic neuron to be diffused into the synaptic gap 3) neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic gap (high to low conc) and bind with specific receptor sites that are only located on the post synaptic neuron End: 4)once enough neurotransmitters attached there are two outcomes: Next neuron is ready to fire an impulse depending on if inhibitory or excitatory effect OR Neurotransmitters are recycled in presynaptic neuron in a process called reuptake

Answer 3

1) When excitatory transmitter binds to post synaptic receptor the post synaptic cell becomes positively charged 2) more likely to fire an impulse down the axon 3) increases the brain activity in the CNS

Answer 4

1) when the inhibitory neurotransmitter binds to the post synaptic receptor sites the post synaptic cell becomes negatively charged 2) prevents the likelihood that the post synaptic cell will fire and impulse 3) this decreases the brain activity in the CNS

Answer 5

1) This occurs when inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters influences are added together 2) if it is mainly inhibitory so is negatively charged and reduces the likelihood that the next neuron will fire 3) If it is mainly excitatory it becomes positively charged and the impulse will fore a impulse down the axon

Answer 6

Neurotransmitters are only located in the pre synaptic neuron Receptors are only present on the post synaptic neuron High to low concentration

Answer 7

Chemical message released by glands into the blood stream

Answer 8

An organ that secretes specific hormones for use in the body

Answer 9

Regulate the activity of cell and organs in the body Slower than the nervous system but effects are more widespread and powerful Send chemical messages called hormones which are released by glands to regulate many bodily function

Answer 10

Secretes melatonin Which is involved in regulating the sleep wake cycle and making the person fell tired so they can be ready for sleep

Answer 11

Release adrenaline Which causes physiological changes involved in the flight or fight response Such as increased blood flow to transport oxygen to the brain for rapid response planning

Answer 12

Secretes many different hormones that controls the functions of the other glands

Answer 13

Ovaries: Pituitary gland releases LH and FSH which encourages ovaries to release oestrogen and progesterone to regulate the female menstrual cycle and prepare body for reproduction Testes: Pituitary gland releases LH and FSH which encourages testicles to release testosterone which is involved in production of sperm and male characteristics

Answer 14

Autonomic nervous system ——-> sympathetic branch Endocrine system

Answer 15

A stressor (stress stimuli) is identified by the hypothalamus Activates the pituitary gland which triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the ANS Adrenaline is released by adrenal medulla into blood stream Flight of fight is produced, preparing the body for sudden physical action This produces physiological reactions such as increased respiration and reduced saliva production and digestion This is immediate and automatic The parasympathetic branch returns the body back to normal once the stressor has been removed.

Answer 16

Another issue is that it does not explain the stress response in females. For example, research has found that women are more likely to protect their offspring (tend) and form alliances with other women (befriend) than to fight or run away. This suggests there is a gender bias as the fight or flight response assumes that men and women respond in the same way to a threatening situation prior to this research, limiting the explanation of the fight or flight response. One issue with the fight or flight response is that human behaviour is not limited to two responses. Some psychologists argue that the first response to danger is to avoid confrontation altogether through a ‘freeze’ response. During the response humans consider the best course of action for the threat they are faced with. This suggests that the fight or flight response does not consider other factors such as thought processes.

Answer 17

Specific ares of the brain are specialised for certain jobs E.g. the motor cortex is responsible for voluntary movements. Only this area of the brain is responsible for this job.

Answer 18

The brain is spilt into two symmetrical halves called the left and right hemisphere. The idea that the two different hemispheres are responsible for different mental processes E.g. left hemisphere is responsible for language and the right hemisphere is responsible creativity ad recognition

Answer 19

Holistic Theory Before investigations into localisation and lateralisation, scientists believed that ALL parts of the brain worked together when processing information

Answer 20

Motor cortex - both hemispheres Somatosensory cortex - both hemispheres Visual cortex - both hemispheres Wernickes area - left hemisphere Auditory cortex - both hemispheres Broca’s area - left hemisphere

Answer 21

1) responsible for voluntary movements 2) each hemisphere controls the movement of the opposite side of the body Damage: 1) loss of control of fine movements on opposite side of the body e.g picking up small objects

Answer 22

1) processes information fro the senses in the skin. 2) Such as touch, pressure, pain and temperature from all areas of the body Damage: 1) produce problems in perceiving touch, failure to recognise object by touch

Answer 23

1) receives information directly from the eyes RVF- LH and the LVF-RH 2) it processes information such as colour and shape Damage: 1) can produce blindness, hallucination or inability to see colour or motion

Answer 24

1) involved with the understanding of language Damage: 1) cause wernickes aphasia where ppl can not understand spoken language 2) or a person produces nonsense words as part of their speech

Answer 25

1) associates with analysing speech based information such as hearing pitch and volume Damage: 1) produce partial hearing loss or full hearing loss

Answer 26

1) involved in the production of spoken and written language Damage: 1) broca’s aphasia where a person will show slow speech that lack fluency 2) or complete absence of speech 3) or short meaningful speech that requires great deal of effort

Answer 27

Moreover , research to support localisation of function in the brain was by Broca. He reported the case study of man who lost the ability to speak, except for one word ‘Tan’, even though he could understand language. Post mortems showed damage in one area in the left hemisphere, which is now named Broca’s area. This shows that language production is localised to one specific brain area as the theory predicts. Research to contradict localisation of function further comes from a case study on a patient named EB. EB suffered from brain damage that resulted in the removal of his left hemisphere and therefore his language centres. Despite this, after some time EB managed to regain some of his language ability that would not be possible if the language centres were completely localised to the left hemisphere. This demonstrates that language must be in more areas than just the left hemisphere, arguing against localisation of language centres in the brain. However both case studies lack population validity. It may not be appropriate to generalise the findings on the localisation of function to the typical population, as these are unique case studies where brain dam,age may have affected the way in which the brain functions and some individuals may be able to process language in other areas of the brain. Therefore suggesting that more research is needed with more diverse samples before firm conclusions on the localisation of language areas are possible.

Answer 28

Language as the 2 main language centres located here. Broca’s area, responsible for language production and wernicke’s area responsible for speech comprehension

Answer 29

Recognition of faces, places and objects and creativity and can only produce basic simplistic words and phrases but contributes to emotional context of what was being said.

Answer 30

Bundle of fibres in the brain that enables corresponding regions of the right and left hemispheres to communicate

Answer 31

Research to support hemispheric lateralisation was conducted by sperry using split brain patients who had a severed corpus collosum. He found that when ppts were shown an image of an object in their RVF the patient could verbally name was at the object was however when they were presented an object in there LVF they could not name the object verbally but could identify the object by pointing at it. This supports that the brain is lateralised and that the hemispheres are responsible for different functions such as left being responsible for language abilities. Therefore, spilt brain research supports the theory of hemispheric lateralisation. Moreover, research to contradict hemispheric lateralisation of the brain comes from a case study on a patient named EB. EB suffered from brain damage that resulted in the removal of his left hemisphere and therefore his language centres. Despite this, after some time EB managed to regain some of his language ability which would not be possible if the brain was completely lateralised. This demonstrates that language must be in more areas than just the left hemisphere, arguing against lateralisation of function in the brain. However, the case study of EB lacks population validity. It may not be appropriate to generalise the findings on lateralisation of function to the population, as these are unique case studies where brain damage may have affected the way in which the brain functions and some individuals may be able to process language in the right hemisphere. For example some research has suggested that language is not entirely lateralised to the left hemisphere but is found in the dominant cerebral hemisphere which is usually the opposite to dominant handedness. Therefore, suggesting that more research is needed with more diverse samples before firm conclusions on the lateralisation of language is possible.

Answer 32

Patients who have had surgery, to treat epilepsy, to cut the area that connects the two hemispheres of the brain (corpus collosum)

Answer 33

Aim: to investigate the effect of severing the corpus collosum on functioning / lateralisation of function Method: natural experiment (naturally occurring IV) Participants: 11 individuals who has their corpus collosum severed Procedure: 1) Ppts had to fix their gaze on a spot in the middle of a screen. 2) They were then presented with an image in either they RVF or LVF for 1/10th of a second (so not enough time to switch between visual fields) Results: 1) Objects seen in RVF could be verbally identified. 2) Objects seen in LVF could only be identified through pointing not verbally. Conclusion 1) The two hemispheres have different abilities and functions but only left can produce language 2) right hemisphere can recall and identify but not verbalise.

Answer 34

A strength of the research into hemispheric lateralisation is that it uses scientific methods. This is because it is based on objective and empirical techniques such as controlled laboratory settings. These are used in order to identify which hemisphere of the brain is responsible for which task, for example the split brain patients were only able to say what they saw when the image was presented to the right visual field, which suggests the left hemisphere is activated during language tasks. Arguably, this increases the overall internal validity of hemispheric lateralisation research, therefore, raising Psychology’s scientific status. One limitation of the research is individual differences in the participants, in relation to how lateralised their brain was. The degree to which the corpus callosum was severed for each participant varied greatly with some having a greater disconnection between the two hemispheres than others. This is a weakness because the research may not be measuring the effects of lateralisation effectively which reduces the internal validity of the research. Moreover, research to contradict hemispheric lateralisation of the brain comes from a case study on a patient named EB. EB suffered from brain damage that resulted in the removal of his left hemisphere and therefore his language centres. Despite this, after some time EB managed to regain some of his language ability which would not be possible if the brain was completely lateralised. This demonstrates that language must be in more areas than just the left hemisphere, arguing against lateralisation of function in the brain.

Answer 35

The brain’s ability to change and adapt its structures and processes as a consequence of experience and new learning

Answer 36

As we age the connections that are not used as regularly are deleted and ones we use regularly are strengthened.

Answer 37

1) Conducted by Maguire et al 2) Studied the brain of London taxi drivers 3) Found there was greater volume of grey matter in the hippocampus (responsible for spatial and navigational skills) in those who had been a taxi driver for a long time compared to those who had been taxi drivers for shorter time. 4) this difference was due to the greater knowledge of the roads which suggests the structure of their brain has been altered by their experience which is what plasticity predicts.

Answer 38

This is a type of plasticity and refers to recovery of abilities and mental processes such as (movement or language) that has been affected as a result of brain damage or disease

Answer 39

Axonal sprouting Recruitment of homologous areas

Answer 40

The growth of a new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways.

Answer 41

Areas from the opposite side of the brain take over the function of the damaged area of the brain e.g. if Broca’s area was damaged in the LH, the right side would carry out its functions

Answer 42

Use the acronym PAGES P- perseverance - take a great deal of effort to recover from trauma. Lose function if person is not trying A- age - younger people are more likely to recover than older individuals. As there is a deterioration of the brain in old age which can affect the extent and speed of recovery G- gender - some research suggests that females are more likely too recover than males E- education - more time people with a brain injury had spent in education the greater their chance of recovery S- stress and alcohol - can make it more difficult to regain the ability to function. Links to perseverance

Answer 43

Research to support comes from a case study on a patient named EB. EB suffered from brain damage that resulted in the removal of his left hemisphere and therefore his language centres. Despite this, after some time EB managed to regain some of his language ability, which would not have been possible if the brain was completely lateralised. This suggests that EB’s brain has experienced recruitment of homologous areas and demonstrates the brain can adapt to produce language even when the left hemisphere is not present or functioning, therefore supporting the idea of plasticity and functional recovery. However, this research lacks population validity as the case study only involves one participant, EB who had severe brain damage. This is an issue as it may have caused unique changes in the brain that may have influenced the plasticity and functional recovery of the brain. This limits how well the research can be generalised to the wider population as different genders or age groups may experience different levels of plasticity in the brain. Thus, this lowers the external validity of the research into plasticity and functional recovery. A strength of the research investigating plasticity and functional recovery is that it has practical applications. This is because the principles of the theory that it is possible for an individual’s brain to recover from damage through axonal sprouting has led to the development of neurorehabilitation. This is where the patient practices repeatedly using the affected side of the body e.g. an arm, whilst restraining the unaffected arm. Therefore, this is an important area of applied psychology as it helps to treat people in the real world.

Answer 44

fMRI EEG’s ERP’S Post-mortem

Answer 45

Identifying changes in oxygen levels that occurs due to brain activity in that area When a brain area is more active more oxygen ad increase in blood flow to this area FMRI produces a 3d image showing part of brain that are active. Called activation map Used to identify which specific parts of the brain are active in particular mental processes

Answer 46

Where specifically in the brain How quickly you can see the brain activity occur

Answer 47

fMRI is a much safer technique to measure brain activity As it is non invasive and doesn’t use radiation to identify the difference in brain areas Unlike the use of PET scans which uses radiation Therefore, fMRI is a more appropriate technique to use that could reduce the risk of potential harm to individuals fMRI have higher spatial resolution than EEG and ERP Which is an important feature of brain scans because it can accurately identify specific brain areas involved in behaviour, depicting detail by the millimetre and providing a clear image of how the brain is localised However, fMRI have poorer temporal resolution as there is around a 5 second time lag behind the image on the screen and the initial firing of the neuronal activity . Therefore fMRI’s may not represent moment to moments brain activity.

Answer 48

EEG’s is a brain scanning technique that works by: Placing electrodes on the scalp using a skull cap They detect small electrical changes from the activity The electrical signals are graphed over period of time to see a persons general brain activity EEG’s are used to detect sleep patterns and states such as sleep or arousal Helps diagnose brain tumours and epilepsy

Answer 49

A strength of the use of EEG is that it had high temporal resolution This enables the researcher to take a real time recording of the brain activity rather than a still image of the brain unlike the use of fMRI or post-mortem This means that researcher can gain a more accurate measure of the brain activity. Therefore providing a greater insight into the processes of the brain such as the activity of the brain during sleep, increasing its validity as a way of studying the brain However a limitation of the use of EEG is that it is low in spatial resolution, Therefore can only provide information on general activity in the brain It cannot pinpoint exact source of neural activity that is involved in behaviour, unlike fMRI which enables a researcher to identify specific brain activity during certain mental processes Therefore findings may be less valuable in developing understanding than by usuing alternative ways of scanning the brain such as fMRI’s.

Answer 50

Electrodes placed on the scalp Shows general brain activity of a specific event A stimulus is presented and brain activity is measured in the same way as EEG All extraneous brain activity from the original EEG recording is filtered out leaving only responses that link to presentation of the stimulus

Answer 51

ERP’s also have high temporal resolution, especially when compared to an fMRI. This means ERP’s can identify brain activity every millisecond so researchers can see brain activity in real time. However ERP’s have poorer spatial resolution than fMRI as they can only detect brain activity in general brain areas rather than identify the specific location of the brain activity It can be hard to obtain meaningful data from the use of ERP because they can be affected by external factors such as background noise Which means that it can take many trials to obtain meaningful data as it is hard to control these other factors This limits the internal validity of ERP’s as a means of studying the brain for a range of brain processses.

Answer 52

Brain of dead patient is examined and dissected to see if any abnormalities Compare brain to brain that does not show this behaviour or mental process Used on people with rare disorders

Answer 53

This is the only invasive way to study the brain Which means that it is possible to get a more detailed examination of the brain than using only EEG’s or ERP’s brain scanning techniques For example it has meant researchers have been able to study deeper areas of the brain such as hypothalamus which has helped understand brain functioning in many different behaviours It is hard to establish cause and effect worth post mortem studies as there are many confounding variables which cannot be easily controlled Such as how long a person has had a particular disorder, age at time of death or whether they have received drug treatment. Therefore it limits the internal validity of the findings of these studies and therefore the appropriateness of using post-mortem to study the brain.

Answer 54

Physical, mental and behavioural changes over a period of time

Answer 55

Circadian rhythm’s- cycle that lasts 24 hours e.g body temperature and the sleep wake cycle Ultradium rhythms - cycle that lasts less than 24 hours e.g. stages of sleep which lasts approximately 90 minutes Infradium rhythms - chelicerae that lasts over 24 hours e.g female menstrual cycle

Answer 56

Sleep wake cycle Controlled by the endogenous pacemaker - suprachiasmatic nucleus found in the hypothalamus Eyes notice a change in light as it gets dark and less light is received by the retina This sends information to the SCN which stimulates the pineal gland to release melatonin and promote sleep When our eyes detect light (exogenous zeitgeber) the SCN is reset which maintains the sleep wake cycle to around 2r hours so that we can be in synchrony with the outside world

Answer 57

Research to support circadian rhythms lasting 24 hours was conducted by siffre. He isolated himself in a cage for 6 months where his biological clock (endogenous pacemaker) was able to be free running and unaffected by exogenous factors such as clocks and natural light. It was found that within a few days he had developed a consistent 25 hour cycle and continued to fall asleep and wake up ion a regular schedule. Therefore, this supports that the sleep wake cycle is a circadian rhythm which is mainly controlled by an endogenous pacemaker, the SCN, to maintain a circadian rhythm and lasts around 24 hours. DISCUSSION: However one limitation of the research by Siffre is low population validity. It was conducted as a case study with Siffre as the only participant so it may not be appropriate to generalise findings on the sleep wake cycle beyond Siffre due to individual differences in the sleep wake cycle and circadian rhythms. For example, older people’s circadian rhythms may be slower and more easily influenced by exogenous zeitgebers, as even in one of Siffre’s later replications he found that his own circadian rhythm had slowed. Therefore, lowering the external validity of the research investigating circadian rhythms. A strength of the research investigating circadian rhythms is that it has practical applications. This is because the basic principles of the theory, that a circadian rhythm is around 24 hours and maintained by endogenous pacemakers, has given researchers a better understanding of the negative consequences that can occur as a result of disrupting their rhythm. For example, night workers who experience shift work have a period of reduced concentration around 6am meaning mistakes and accidents are more likely. This can be used by employers to manage worker productivity, which consequently improves the economy. Therefore, this research investigating circadian rhythms is an important part of applied psychology.

Answer 58

Biological rhythms that last longer than 24 hours. One example is the female menstrual cycle that operates on a 28 day cycle

Answer 59

1)The menstrual cycle is an endogenous system which typically lasts between 28-35 days 2)It begins on the first day of a womens period when the womb lining is shed to the day before her next period 3) In the brain the pituitary gland releases FSH which activates the release of oestrogen from the ovaries and causes an egg to mature 4)The increase of oestrogen increases levels of LH which promotes the release of an egg 5) Oestrogen envelops a lining of the womb and progesterone helps it to grow thicker, readying the womb for pregnancy 6)If pregnancy does not occur, the egg is absorbed into the body, the womb lining comes away and leaves the body and the cycle begins again 7) Although the menstrual cycle is mainly an endogenous system that maintains the infradian rhythm it can be affected by exogenous factors such as stress and pheromones (chemical scent given off my females and males)

Answer 60

Research to contradict that infradian rhythms such as the menstrual cycle are mainly governed by an endogenous system was conducted by Russell. They asked a sample of women to wear cotton pads under their arm. The pads were then rubbed on the upper lip of 5 sexually inactive women.This process was repeated daily for five months. They found that 4 out of 5 women developed menstrual cycles that synchronised to within one day of the donor cycle. Therefore, suggesting that the infradian rhythm of the menstrual cycle can be affected by exogenous factors as well as controlled by endogenous factors which may influence the length of the infradian rhythm. Discussion: However Russell’s research into the effect of exogenous zeitgebers on the menstrual cycle was a field experiment and so has low control over extraneous variables. The research took part in the participant’s natural environment, where other exogenous factors, such as light, changes in diet and stress, could also have affected the infradian rhythm. Therefore, it is difficult to establish cause and effect between the influence of pheromones on maintaining an infradian rhythm. This weakens the extent to which Russell’s research can contradict the importance of endogenous pacemakers on maintaining infradian rhythms. However, despite the methodological flaws in infradian synchronisation studies the research findings can be explained by evolutionary psychologists. It would have been advantageous in our evolutionary past for a social group to synchronise pregnancies so that many women would be breast feeding at the same time so one mother could take over child caring for an orphaned child to improve chances of survival. Therefore, showing that synchronisation of infradian rhythms such as the menstrual cycle, is an adaptive strategy and supports exogenous factors influencing infradian rhythms.

Answer 61

Biological rhythm that lasts less than 24 hours Stages of sleep - lasts 90 minutes and consists of 5 stages and alternates between rapid eye movement and non rapid eye movement. It is known as the sleep escalator, a person can experience up to 5 cycles per night that repeat in rhythmic pattern.

Answer 62

Stage 1 and stage 2 - this is a light sleep and the person can easily be woken - NREM Stage 1 - experiences alpha waves Stage 2 - alpha waves continue but occasional random changes in pattern called sleep spindles Stage 3 and 4 - deep sleep - NREM Stage 3 and 4 is knows as deep sleep or slow wave sleep The brain waves are delta waves with lower frequency and higher amplitude. It is difficult to wake someone at this point Stage 5 - REM The body is paralysed Brain activity closely resembles that of the awake brain. The brain produces theta waves an the eyes occasionally move around - this is called rapid eye movement Dreams often experienced in this stage but may also occur in Deep sleep

Answer 63

A strength of research investigating ultradian rhythms is that it has practical in understanding age related changes in sleep. The knowledge that growth hormone is produced during stage 4 of sleep (slow wave sleep) has been associated with sleep deficit in old age as research has found older people experience less stage 4 sleep. As a result of this research, medication and relaxation techniques have been developed to increase stage 4 sleep in older individuals and therefore, prevent some issues associated with old age such as reduced alertness. Therefore, research investigating ultradian rhythms is an important part of applied psychology. In addition a further strength of research into ultradian rhythms is that it uses scientific methods. This is because it is based on objective and empirical techniques such as EEGs to measure brain activity and controlled lab settings. These scientifically measure the activity of the brain throughout the five stages of sleep to identify the length of rhythm and how many times the rhythm occurs throughout the duration of sleep whilst excluding extraneous variable that may affect sleep such as n Ouse and temperature. Thus, psychologists would argue that this increases the overall internal validity of research investigating ultradian rhythm, therefore, raising psychology’s scientific status However, the research may have low ecological validity. Research on ultradian rhythms is conducted in an artificial setting and so the sleep experienced by participants in these studies may not reflect their genuine sleep patterns due to the unfamiliar surroundings and because they are attached to electrodes. This may alter the length of the ultradian rhythm, making it difficult to generalise findings to explain how ultradian rhythms work in real life

Answer 64

Endogenous pacemakers are internal factors which help us to maintain our biological rhythms. It is also thought that are rhythms are entrained (synchronised) by exogenous zeitgebers (external factors) such as light and meal times

Answer 65

Difficulty in sleeping (harder to sleep or falling asleep whilst driving) Decreased attention which can lead to accidents Digestive problems Tiredness and poorer reasoning skills Increased anxiety and irritability

Answer 66

Keep to local times for eating Keep to local times for sleeping e.g. sleeping when it is dark and forcing yourself to get up when it is light. Stimulate yourself during the day by being social and active, such as talking and eating. Use black out curtains at night to limit any artificial light Not using phone later at night

Biopsychology Flashcards

(90 cards)