Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

(71 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

Divisions of Nervous System

A

CNS - brain and spinal cord

PNS - somatic and autonomic

Autonomic - sympathetic and parasympathetic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Brain

A

Centre of all conscious awareness

Cerebral cortex is highly developed and distinguishes is from animals

Hemispheres

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Spinal cord

A

Relays info between brain and body

Also contains circuit of nerve cells the enable us to perform reflex actions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Somatic

A

Sensory and motor info to and from CNS

Controls skeletal muscle movement

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Autonomic

A

Carries motor info to and from CNS

Controls internal organs and glands

E.g. breathing and heart rate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Sympathetic

A

Responses that help us deal with emergencies

Preparing body for rapid action

Released energy stores, pupil dilation

Slows down bodily processes such as digestion and urination

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Parasympathetic

A

Returning to body at rest state after emergency has passed

Slows down heart and breathing rate

Bodily processes inhibited by sympathetic are returned to normal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Neurones

A

Cells that carry info throughout body via chemical and electrical signals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Structure of neurones

A

Dendrites at one end - receive signals from other neurones

Connected to cell body

Axon - impulse carried to axon terminal
Covered in myelin sheath which protects and speeds up transmission

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Sensory neurones

A

Carries from sensory receptors in PNS to brain (or spinal cord when reflex)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Relay

A

Carries from one part of CNS to another

Allows communication between sensory and motor

Shorter dendrites and axon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Motor

A

Carries from CNS to effectors

When stimulated, NTs to receptors on muscle which triggers response

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Synaptic transmission

A

Impulse reaches end of presynaptic neurone
Triggers release of NTs from synaptic vesicles
Diffuse across synapse
Bind to receptors on dendrites at postsynaptic neurone
Chemical message converted to electrical impulse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Reuptake

A

Some NTs travel back to presynaptic neurone to be stored again

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Neurotransmitters

A

Chemical messengers that diffuse across synapse and bind to receptors to convert chemical message to electrical impulse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Inhibition

A

E.g. GABA
Inhibits postsynaptic neurone
Negatively charged
Off switches
Decrease likelihood of neurone firing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Excitation

A

E.g. adrenaline
Excites postsynaptic neurone
Positively charged
On switches
Increase likelihood of neurone firing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Summation

A

Receives both excitatory and inhibitory NTs
Adding up effect for net effect
Either more inhibitory or excitatory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Endocrine system

A

Chemical system of communication that instructs glands to release hormones directly into bloodstream

Regulates bodily functions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Glands

A

Organs in body that produce and secrete hormones

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Pitituary

A

Master gland

Regulates many bodily functions

Hypothalamus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Pineal

A

Biological rhythms e.g. sleep cycle

Melatonin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Adrenal

A

Fight or flight

Adrenaline

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Testes

A

Testosterone

Male sex hormone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Ovaries
Oestrogen and progesterone Involved in menstrual cycle
26
Hormones
Chemical that circulates bloodstream and influences target organs in order to regulate bodily activity
27
Fight or flight
Aliens ———————— acute stressor Triggers Have ————————— hypothalamus Directs Somehow ———————- sympathetic branch Send NTs Always ——————————adrenal medulla Releases Adored —————————- adrenaline Triggers Foam —————————-fight or flight Results in Parties —————————-physiological response
28
Localisation of function
Specific functions have specific locations in brain
29
Motor cortex
Voluntary movement Back of frontal lobe Contralateral Damage causes loss of control over fine movements
30
Somatosensory cortex
Detects sensory info from skin Front of parietal lobe Contralateral Damages causes feeling non existent sensations or not feeling existent sensations
31
Visual cortex
Processes visual info from retina transmitted via optic nerve Occipital lobe Contralateral Damage causes blindness
32
Auditory cortex
Processes auditory info processed by cochlea transmitted via auditory nerve Temporal lobe More extensive damage causes more extensive loss of hearing
33
Broca’s area
Speech production Left frontal lobe Inability to produce speech - Broca’s aphasia
34
Wernicke’s area
Understanding language Left temporal lobe Inability to produce coherent speech - Wernicke’s
35
Localisation of function - strengths
+brain scans Patterson - brocas is active during reading task and wernickes is active during listening Tulving +Brocas aphasia - Tan Wernickes aphasia
36
Localisation of function - weaknesses
-more complex than suggests Communication between areas is more important than specific areas Patients lost ability to read when damage between wernickes and visual -animal studies that contradict Lashley - removed 10-50% of rat cortex Learning a maze no area was more important than another Learning is too complex to be localised -brain plasticity Lashley - brain damaged - particular areas are lost or compromised - reorganises to compensate - stroke victims More adaptive and holistic than suggested
37
Hemispheric lateralisation
Two halves are functionally different e.g. language centres
38
Split brain
Sperry Patients with severe epilepsy who had undergone surgery Cutting of corpus collosum Asked to focus on dot in centre whilst words or images are projected to either visual field followed by task
39
Describe what you see
Right visual field - can easily describe due to language centre in left Left visual field - can’t describe due to no language centres in right In normal brain, info must be related across hemispheres
40
Recognition by touch
Left visual field - select matching object with left hand - can’t verbally identify
41
Composite words
LVF - ‘face’ - write word with left hand RVF - ‘key’ - can say it
42
Hemispheric Lateralisation - strengths
+well controlled Blindfold 1/10th of a second
43
Hemispheric lateralisation - weaknesses
-flawed - unusual sample All received drug therapy for different length of time Control group didn’t have epilepsy- poorly matched -language may not be restricted to left Gazzaniga - JW developed ability to speak out of either -complicated by age Changes throughout life Szflarski - more left as a child and less lateralised later -differences are overstated No clear cut distinction Much messier as both sides in constant communication
44
Brain plasticity
Ability to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning During infancy - 15000 synaptic connections Synaptic pruning - over time, rarely used are deleted and frequently used are strengthened Changes can occur at any stage of life Boyke - 60 years olds taught to juggle Grey matter in visual increase and then decrease when stop practising
45
Functional recovery
When areas are damaged, unaffected areas adapt and compensate - neural plasticity - spontaneous recovery Secondary neural pathways are activated or unmasked -axonal sprouting - new nerve endings grow to connect to undamaged nerve cells and form new pathways -reformation of blood vessels -recruitment of similar areas on opposite side of brain
46
Brain plasticity - strengths
+animal study Rats in complex environment increased number of new neurones compared to lab cages Larger hippocampus for navigation +human study MRI - London taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus Longer they’ve been a taxi driver, larger hippocampus +practical application Neurorehabilitation Movement therapy and electrical stimulation Stroke patients
47
Brain plasticity - weaknesses
-more complex Certain individuals are more able Adults require more intensive training than children College education 7x more likely to be disability free one year after damage than someone who didn’t finished high school -negative consequences 60-80% of amputees suffer from phantom limb diseases Unpleasant and painful Due to cortical reorganisation in somatosensory cortex caused by loss of limb
48
fMRI
Functional magnetic resonance imaging Detects change in blood oxygenation and flow that occur as a result of neural activity When a brain area is more active, it consumes more oxygen and to meet this increased demand, blood flow is directed to active area - haemodynamic response Produces 3D activation maps
49
fMRI strengths
+records specific brain activity which can pinpoint specific responses and the exact source E.g. it shows detail to the mm Improve understanding of LoF +detects activity in deeper regions E.g. hypothalamus Insight into areas of the brain that other techniques can’t detect
50
fMRI weaknesses
-low temporal resolution 5 second time lag Cannot provide real time recording -ignored networked nature of brain Ignores communication between areas Provides little insight into how brain areas work together to function
51
EEGs
Electroencephalogram Measure electrical activity within the brain via electrodes that are fixed to an individuals scalp using a skull cap Recording represents brainwave patterns that are generated from the action of millions of neurons Often used by clinicians as diagnostic tool
52
EEGs strengths
+high temporal resolution +takes account of networked nature
53
EEGs weaknesses
-records general brain activity - cannot pinpoint specific responses -can’t detect deeper regions
54
ERPs
Event related potentials EEG is an overly general measure - but the data contains all the neural responses associated with specific sensory, cognitive and motor events These specific responses can be isolated using stat averaging technique Extraneous brain activity is filtered out leaving only ERPs Types of brainwaves that relate to specific function
55
ERP strengths
+records specific responses to specific stimulus Stat tests used to filter out extraneous activity Helps improve our understanding of specific brain functioning +high temporal resolution
56
ERP weaknesses
-cannot detect deeper regions -lack of standardisation between researchers over the way that the data is statistically analysed Disagreement on how best to filter out extraneous
57
Post-mortem exam
Analysis of a persons brain following death Individuals whose brains are subject to this are likely to be those with rare disorder and have experienced unusual deficits in mental processes and behaviour Establishing likely cause and comparison with neurotypical brain
58
Post-mortem strengths
+deeper regions of brain +provided vital foundation for our early understanding of brain Broca and Wernicke both relied on this technique decades before neuroimaging Other techniques used can build on this early work
59
Post-mortem weaknesses
-retrospective Already dead Cannot follow up on anything that arises from exam Limits usefulness -raises ethical issues Not able to provide consent Other techniques are more ethical
60
Biological rhythms
Cycles in biological or psychological activity that occur over a certain amount of time
61
Endogenous pacemakers
Internal biological clocks Free running rhythm
62
SCN
Suprachiasmatic nucleus Main endogenous Tiny cluster of neurons located in hypothalamus Maintains bodily rhythms Can receive info about light levels and respond to external cues Keeps rhythm in synchrony with environment
63
Exogenous zeitgebers
External time givers Any external cues Influence or entrain our biological rhythms Light, social cues, alarms
64
Circadian rhythms
Every 24 hours Sleep-wake cycle Endo- SCN - pineal gland - melatonin Exo- light - influences SCN
65
Circadian strengths
+ hamsters - remove SCN - rhythms disappear reestablished when SCN from foetal implanted +siffre - underground cave - no exo Free running - 25 hours - however not generalisable +aschoff and Wever - WWII bunkers +practical app - shift workers
66
Circadian weaknesses
- Folkard - conscious control 22 hour clock - couldn’t keep up
67
Infradian rhythms
Less than 24 hours Menstrual - endo - SCN -pituitary gland Exo - pheromones SAD - light
68
Infradian strengths
+ armpits + practical app - light therapy
69
Infradian weakness
- Nomothetic - individual differences
70
Ultradian rhythms
More than 24 hours Sleep stages 92 mins Stages 1 + 2 - light sleep - alpha and theta waves Stages 3 + 4 - SWS - slow wave sleep - delta waves Stage 5 - REM - rapid eye movement - dreams All humans have display similar trend so endo
71
Ultradian strengths
+Dement and Kleitman REM is every 92 mins - likely to have vivid dreams when woken during rem + alcohol and drugs - aid sleep acceleration but more fragmented sleep Reduce time spent in rem Influenced by exogenous zeitgebers

Psychology (7 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions