Biopsychology Flashcards
(117 cards)
1
Q
what is the nervous system?
A
Consists of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. It communicates using electrical and chemical
signals.
2
Q
function of the brain ?
A
• Centre of all conscious awareness
• brains outer layer, the cerebral cortex is only 3mm thick + covers the brain
• Dided into two hemispheres
• receives signals from senses
3
Q
four main regions of the brain…
A
Occipital lobe- processes visual information
•Temporal lobe processes auditory information
• •Parietal lobe integrates information from the different senses and plays an important role in spatial navigation
•Frontal lobe is associated with higher-order functions, including: planning, abstract reasoning and logic
4
Q
what is the nervous system divided into
A
CNS
PNS
5
Q
what is the PNS (peripheral nervous system) further divided into
A
• somatic nervous system
• autonomic nervous system
6
Q
what is the autonomic nervous system further divided into?
A
sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic
7
Q
define each one:
• somatic ns
• autonomic ns
• sympathetic ns
• parasympathetic ns
A
Somatic nervous system:
• sensory receptars carry information to the spinal chord and brain
• motor pathways which allow the brain to control movement
• voluntary actions occurs
• connects to external senses (touch, sight etc).
8
Q
in the sympathetic nervous system what happens to each organ?
- gut
- salivary gland
- heart
- liver
- bladder
- eye
- lungs
A
gut = decreased digestion
- salivary gland = inhibits saliva production
- heart = increases heart rate
- liver = stimulates glucose production
- bladder = increased urination
- eye = dilate pupils
- lungs = dilates bronchi
9
Q
what happens to each organ in the parasympathetic nervous system?
- gut
- salivary gland
- heart
- liver
- bladder
- eye
- lungs
A
- gut = increase digestion
- salivary gland = stimulates saliva production
- heart = decrease heart rate
- liver = stimulates bile production
- bladder = decrease urination
- eye = constricts pupils
- lungs = constricts bronchi
10
Q
in terms of the nervous system what is an example if homeostasis
A
the sympathetic ns and parasympathetic ns work together to maintain the body at an optimum level of functioning
11
Q
explain the flight or fight response?
A
activates the adrenal medulla
-
release of adrenaline & noradrenaline
-
body ready for fight or flight
-
body returns to normal
-
parasympathetic activated (PNS)
12
Q
-
A
13
Q
whats a neuron?
A
nerve cell that send a message all over your body to allow you to do everything from breathing to walking
14
Q
what does each type of neuron do?
- sensory
- relay
- motor
A
carry nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal chord or brain
allow sensory and motor neurones to communicate with each other, lie within the brain and spinal chord
located in the PNS, form synapses with muscles and control their contractions, release neurotransmitters that bind to muscles and trigger a movement
15
Q
what does the endocrine system use to deliver hormones to their targets?
A
uses blood vessels to deliver hormones to their target sites
16
Q
what are hormones
A
chemical messengers
17
Q
which cells do hormones affect?
A
affect target cells - they have receptors for only that hormone
enough receptor sites stimulated -> physiological reaction
18
Q
what hormone is produced for the pituitary gland and the effect?
A
master gland
- controls hormone secretion in other glands
19
Q
what hormone is produced by the adrenal gland and the effect?
A
adrenal cortex - cortisol - regulates cardiovascular and anti inflammatory functions
adrenal medulla - epinephrine and non epinephrine - prepares the body for fight or flight response
20
Q
what hormone is produced in the overies and effect?
A
oestrogen - regulates female secondary sex characteristics & maintains growth of uterus lining
21
Q
which hormone is produced by the testes and its effect?
A
testosterone - regulates male secondary sex characteristics
22
Q
what hormones is produced by the thyroid and its effect?
A
thyroxine - effects the heart rate and metabolism rate
23
Q
what hormone is produced by the pancreas and its effect?
A
insulin and glucagon - stimulates release and absorption of glucose
24
Q
what hormone is produced by the hypothalamus and the effect?!
A
CRF, dopamine - controls the functioning of the pituitary gland
25
what hormone is released by the pineal gland and effect?
melatonin - affects the sleep/ wake cycle
26
outline the process of synaptic transmission? (6 steps)
• an electrical impulse travels along the axon of the presynaptic neuron
• triggers the nerve ending to release chemical messengers (neuro transmitters) from vesicles in nerve cell
• diffuse across the synapse gap
• bind with receptors on membrane of next neurone
• stimulates the post synaptic neuron to transmit and elec impulse
• neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the vesicle of the presynaptic neuron or are broken down chemically by enzymes in synapse
27
what is the process and an
example of excitatory neurotransmitters?
eg. noradrenaline
- on switches, increase likelihood of an excitatory signal being sent to the post synaptic cell
28
what is the process and an
example of inhibitory neurotransmitters?
eg. seratonin, GABA
- off switches, decrease likelihood of neurons firing
29
out of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, which id depolarisation and which is hyper-polarisation?
excite - de polar
inhibit - hyper polar
30
what is summation?
• excitatory and inhibatory imfluences are summed
• if net effect on the post synaptic neurons is inhabitory, neuron less
• if net effect is excitatory the neurons is more likely to fire
31
function of the spinal chord?
• An extenson of the brain, passing messages to and from the brain
• connects nerves to the PNS
• responsible for reflex actions (eg pull hand away from hot plate).
32
where is the motor cortex located??
at the back of the frontal lobe in both hemispheres
33
where is the somatosensory cortex located??
at the front of the parietal lobe in both hemispheres
34
where is the visual centre located?
in the occipital lobe (back) in both hemispheres
35
where is the auditory cortex located?
in the front of the temporal lobe in both hemispheres
36
where is broca’s area located?
in the bottom/ back of the frontal lobe in the LEFT hemispheres
37
where is Wernike’s area located?
the top back of the temporal lobe in the LEFT hemisphere
38
what is the corpus callosum?
conects the left and right side
of the brain + allows for them to communicate between them
39
what is localisation of function?
the theory that specific areas are specialised for specific functions
40
what is the function of the motor cortex? damage?
involved in the planning, processing and execution of voluntary muscle movement
damage = loss of control / paralysis on the opposite side of the body to the side of the brain damage (L to R)
41
what is the function of the somatosensory cortex?
involved in the detection and processing of sensory information from the outside environment
eg. temp, touch, pain, pressure
42
whats the function of the visual cortex?? damage??
involved in processing visual information from the eyes
• Shape, colour, movement.
- damage to the L hemisphere = blindness in right eye etc.
43
where is the auditory centre function? and damage?
involved in processing auditory information from ears: pitch, volume tempo
damage to L hemisphere loss in R ear
• more extensive damage = more serious hearing loss.
44
Broca’s area function? damage?
- speech production
- damage to area = Brocas/ expressive aphasia
45
Wernike’s area function? damage?
language understanding/ comprehension
- damage is Wernike’s aphasia = cant understand meaning of language
- produce fluent but meaningless speech
46
what is hemispheric lateralisation?
two halves of the brain are functionally different with each half having different specific functions
47
what is the function of the L hemisphere?
language/ speech production
48
what is the function of the R hemisphere?
visual motor tasks
49
what does the corpus callosum do?
facilitate inter hemispheric connections
50
in terms of hand and visual field what does the L hemisphere controll?
the R hand and R visual field
51
in terms of hand and visual field what does the R hemisphere controll?
Left Visual Field and Left Hand
52
whats a commissorotomy and when was it used?
for epilepsy patients, medical procedure that splits the corpus collosum (severed) in half
53
what was the aim of Sperry’s research?
examine the extent to which the two hemispheres are specialised for specific functions (testing hemispheric lateralisation)
54
what is the method of Sperrys split brain research?
- quasi experiment (IV pre-exist)
- controlled lab experiment
- 11 participants
- using divided field technique (an experimental technique that involves measuring task performance when visual stimuli are presented on the left or right visual hemisfields)
- word presented for 1/10th a sec to ensure only one visual field saw it
55
what are the findings of sperrys research?
describe what you saw condition
-object shown to the RVF → patient easily describes what is seen (L hemisphere)
- objects shown to the LVF → patient reports nothing (R hemisphere)
• Cant describe objects in LVF because RH lacks language centres
• messages received by RM are normally relayed by the corpus callosum to language centres in LH
laguagecervern LM .
56
whats the conclusion of sperrys research?
this study supports hemispheric lateralisation and demonstrates the superiority of the L hemisphere when it come to language production + the superiority of the R hemisphere when it comes to visual motor tasks.
57
what is brain plasticity?
refers to the brains ability to modify (change and adapt) its own structures as a result of EXPERIENCE
58
what is brain plasticity?
refers to the brains ability to modify (change and adapt) its own structures as a result of EXPERIENCE
59
what is synaptic pruning?
- plasticity reduces with age with peak being n childhood as there is the most synaptic connections
- fine tuning occurs throughout years and rarely used connections are made dormant and frequently used connections are strengthened
60
who is more likely to have a successful recovery?
children because they have more synaptic connections
61
who did research that provides evidence for neural plasticity?
Maguire - Taxi Driver Study
62
what was the aim of Maguire taxi driver study?
whether structural changed could be detected in the brain of people with extensive experience of spacial navigation
63
what is the method of Maguires study into brain plasticity?
16 right handed males
structural MRIs obtained
control group - scans of 50 healthy R handed males who DONT drive
mean age didn’t differ between groups
64
explain the two findings of Maguire’s research into neural plasticity of taxi drivers in london
- increased grey matter found in brains of taxi drivers compared with controls compared with the control group in their right and left hippocampi (increased volume found in the posterior hippocampus)
- changes with with navigation experience, a correlation was found between the amount of time spent as a taxi driver and volume in the right posterior hippocampus
65
whats the conclusion gathered from Maguire’s study?
evidence for structural differences between the hippocampi of london taxi driver’s and control participants, suggesting that extensive practice with spatial navigation affects the hippocampus
66
what is grey matter
density of cells
67
what is the hippocampus associated with?
spacial and navigational memory
68
other than maguire who did research into brain plasticity and what did they do?
- Kuhn
- video games (Super Mario)
- ppts to play supermario for at least 30m per day for 2 months, compared to controll group who didnt play
- increased grey matter in the motor cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum which is known for movement and coordination
69
what is functional recovery ?
an example of plasticity
- the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to another undamaged area
70
what process does functional recovery take place through?
neuronal unmasking
71
what is neuronal unmasking (or axon sprouting)
- dormant synapses (that previously have no received enough input to be active) open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of brain
- the brain is able to rewire itself by forming needles connections close to damaged area
- secondary neural pathways are activated to enable functioning yo continue
72
what structural changed help neuronal unmasking and therefor functioning recovery?
recruitment of homologous area
73
what structural changed help neuronal unmasking and therefor functioning recovery?
recruitment of homologous area
74
what does the recruitment of homologous areas mean and do?
on the opposite hemisphere to do specific tasks (eg Broca’s damaged -> right side equivalent would carry out its language functions)
75
what are the evaluation points for plasticity and functional recovery of the brain after trauma?
- research from studies (maguire)
- research from animal studies (rats in the maze)
- praccy appy to neuro rehabilitation
- age differences in plasticity (its more complex than thought)
- educational attainment can improve functional recovery (its more complex than thought)
76
evaluation: what are the advantages of hemispheric lateralisation?
- Sperry supports
- Pucetti (two hemispheres are so functionally different they represent a form if duality in the mind - we have two minds)
77
what are the disadvantages of hemispheric lat?
- after 25 years of age lateralisation decreases with each decade of life
- J.W. (went against sperrys)
78
what ate the strengths of the methodology of split brain research? (Sperry)
controlled lab exp
- standardised procedures eg image showed for 1/10th a second to ensure only one visual field could see it (high reliability)
- gives research more scientific credibility
79
what are the two limitations of sperrys split brain research?
low external validity - artificial tasks - in real life they would have full use of both eyes and unrestricted views so its not a true reflection of reality
quasi experiment - individual difference (when surgery was? what they were like before? extent to it was severed?)
- atypical sample - NOT GENERALISABLE
80
what are the critisisms of the findings of sperrys research?
some modern neuroscientists argue the distinctions are not clear out, J.W - developed capacity to speak about info presented to both sides - equipotentiality?? not fully severed??? not the case for all SO too simplified
81
what are four evals for localisation of the brain?
- brain scans (peterson et al wernikes area for listening and brocas tor reading out loud) and tulving for dif parts of prefrontal cortex store semantic and episodic memories
- aphasia studies (brocas - inparied ability to speak and wernkines - impaired ability to extract meaning)
- equipotentiality - holistic approach - Lashley - challanges
82
what is a circadian rhythm?
a pattern or behaviour that occurs approximately every 24 hours which is reset by light (eg. sleep-wake cycle)
83
talk through the sleep wake cycle?
• light (exogenous zeitgeber - the main external cue and primary input for the circadian system) is detected by light sensitive cells in the eyes which send signals about the level of light to the supra-chaismatic nucleus (SCN - which lies in the hypothalamus and known as the master clock)
• the SCN then uses this info to coordinate the activity of the circadian system
• for example - the coordination of the endocrine system - the pineal gland releases melatonin to induce feelings of sleepiness - increased melatonin when less light
84
when are the two sleep drive dips in a day?
2-4am
1-3pm
85
how does light influence your circadian rhythm?
it entrains/ fine tunes it
• psychologists are interested un whether the circadian rhythm is free running it whether it needs to be entrained
86
who conducted a cave study for circadian rhythm?
Siffre
87
whats the aim/method for Siffres study?
• spent several extended periods of time underground to study the effects on his own biological rhythms.
• deprived of exposure to sound and light but with access to adequate food and drink
88
what was found from Siffre’s research study?
• he found that the absence of external cues significantly altered his circadian rhythm
• when he returned from an underground stay with no clocks or light, he believed the date to be a month earlier than it was
• this suggests that his 24-hour sleep-wake cycle was increased by the lack of external cues, making him believe one day was longer than it was, and leading to his thinking that fewer days had passed.
89
what are the 5 evaluations for circadian rhythms?
• practical application to shift work - overnight shift work has been found to lead to desynchronisation of circadian rhythms which can have cognitive impacts - research shows a concentration lapse at 6am - knowing this means reducing injuries at the workplace as they aren’t allowed to operate heavy machinery at this time
• application to pharmacokinetics as by understanding circadian rhythms it can help to determine the best time to administer drug treatments - risk of heart attack most in morning so pills are now administered at night but released early morning - efficiency of pills and drug treatments increased
• Siffre’s cave study (+)
• poor controll of artificial light - his case study lacks validity and therefore cant be used as research support
• also individual differences as cave studies inly use very small sample sizes so lack generalisability and also age is meant to be a factor in circadian rhythms (siffre found it impacted him more in his cave study at 60 years old than before)
90
whats an endogenous pacemaker?
- internal biological clock that governs the internal biological rhythms such as the SCN
91
whats an exogenous zeitgebers?
external cues that may affect or entrain our biological rhythms such as light
92
explain the role of endogenous pacemakers and the sleep wake cycle?
• the SCN (supra chiasmatic nucleus) that lies in the hypothalamus above the optic chiasm
• even when eyes are shut - light penetrates the eyelids and photoreceptor cells send light signals to the SCN
• if our endogenous clock is running slow, morning light will shift it to be in synchrony
• SCN passes info to the pineal gland, which then releases the hormone melatonin (more when low levels of light are detected)
93
explain the role of exogenous zeitgebers and the sleep wake cycle?
• light is the key zeitbegers in humans - it cab reset the main endogenous pacemaker (SCN)
• social cues - babies rarely wake up on time until put on a schedule by parents
94
what are the three evaluations of endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitbegers?
• practical application to avoiding jet lag using light exposure - jet lag can cause severe impacts to appetite, sleep and mood - research into exo and endo can help because its found that those shown continuous bright light could shift their circadian rhythms by 2 hours - helps us be able to entrain to avoid jet lag
• role of exo zeitbegers may be overstated - examples of peiple where individual pacemakers have withstood exo - blind man since birth (no influence by social cues) with a circadian rhythm of 24.9 hours and couldnt be changed without medication - BUT this could be an individual circumstance
• siffres case study - BUT issues with generalisability - small samples
95
whats an infradian rhythm?
• a biological rhythm that has a duration of over 24 hours (weekly, monthly, yearly)
• eg menstrual cycle
96
whats an ultradian rhythm?
a cycle that lasts less than 24 hours as the cycle is short it occurs more than once in a 24 hour period
eg sleep stages
97
explain ultradian rhythms and sleep stages?
• most researched ultradian rhythm example is sleep stages
• 5 different stages that span across 90 mins altogether (a cycle that continues throughout the night)
• each stage characterised by different levels of brainwave activity on an EEG
• stage 1+2 is light sleep (brain patterns become slower and start with alpha waves and progress to theta)
• stage 3+4 deep sleep (delta waves)
difficult to wake
• stage 5 REM sleep - waves are desynchronised, body paralysed, dreaming occurs
98
explain the basic test activity cycle?
Kleitman - our body naturally moved through periods of high activity and rest (90mins) even while awake we go through periods of alertness and tiredness - important for managing energy and productivity
99
what are the evaluations for ultradian rhythms (sleep stages)
(-) significant variation between people that research doesn’t take into account - large differences between peoples stage 3/4 in terms of alcohol caffeine use and stress - also age (elderly spend less time in deep sleep - fatigue issues) differences are biologically predetermined so its difficult to describe sleep
• practical application to use of drugs such as melatonin etc
• can be tested with EEGs - scientific evidence - high validity
• research told us there is 5 stages - Kleitman - monitored sleep patterns of 9 people in sleep lab (BUT 9 isn’t generalisable) AND sleep labs produce artificial data - participants may be less comfortable AND dreams cannot be measured?
100
explain the infradian rhythms and the example of the menstrual cycle?
monthly (typically 28 day cycle)
• regulated by hormones
- ovulation promoted by oestrogen and occurs when levels are high (developing and releasing an egg) lasts for 16-32 hours
- after ovulation progesterone levels increase to help the womb lining grow thicker and prep for pregnancy
- if preg doesn’t occur then egg is absorbed and lining comes away
101
whats the study conducted to support infradian rhythms menstrual cycle?
russel et al
- other factors affect synchronisation such as other females pheromones in their hormones
- females became synchronised through odour exposure - sweat sample from one group onto upper lip of other
102
what are the evaluations for infradian rhythms (menstrual cycle)
(+) evolutionary value - explained by natural selection - synchronising provides advantage as allowed other mothers to feed babies if mother died - increases survival likelihood
(-) this adds too much compition for highest quality males
(-) individual differences in length of cycle, period and day of ovulation - and factors that influence such as stress and diet etc so confounding variables - too simplistic
103
what are the evaluations for infradian rhythms (menstrual cycle)
(+) evolutionary value - explained by natural selection - synchronising provides advantage as allowed other mothers to feed babies if mother died - increases survival likelihood
(-) this adds too much compition for highest quality males
(-) individual differences in length of cycle, period and day of ovulation - and factors that influence such as stress and diet etc so confounding variables - too simplistic
104
what are the four types of ways of studying the brain?
EEG
fMRI
ERPs
Post Mortem
105
how does an EEG work?
• electrode cap worn to measure the neural activity directly under
• information processed in the brain as electrical activity/ action potential
• different types of EEG waves (eg alpha)
• measure small electrical charges and graphed over a period of time
• help to detect alzheimer’s and epilepsy
106
how does an fMRI work?
• measures blood flow when a participant is performing a task (eg tap a finger) and correlate to neural activity
• active areas > more blood flow
• oxygenated + deoxygenated haemoglobin has different magnetic properties so lights up a different colour
• 3D map of the brain
107
how does an Event Related Potentials (ERPs) work?
• same method as an EEG
• stimulus presented to participant and researchers look for activity related to the stimulus
• stimulus presented over 100 times and average taken (high control)
• 2 types: sensory - ppt responds within <100ms
cognitive - > 100ms
108
method of a post mortem?
physical examination lf the brain of deceased and correlate structural changes to behaviour
• contributed to understanding of many disorders
• eg patient tan - presented abnormalities when alive (couldn’t produce speech) and correlate with post mortem exam - lesion in the L frontal lobe - Broca’s area
109
whats the temporal validity of EEGs?
very high
1-10 millisecs (nearly real time)
110
whats the temporal validity of fMRI?
very poor
1-4 second dif
111
whats the temporal validity of ERPs?
very high 1-10 millisecs
112
whats the spatial validity of EEGs?
poor
cant identify specific regions
113
whats the spatial validity of fMRI?
very high
1-2 millimetres of accuracy
114
whats the spatial validity of ERPs?
poor
cant identify where the change has occurred
115
which methods allow for causation to be established when studying the brain?
only ERPs
not EEGs (cant pinpoint exact region) and fMRIs (correlation between blood flow and neural activity)
116
whats the costing of each method to study the brain?
EEG- cheao and widely available
fMRI - expensive and not widely available and requires lots of training and small samples
ERPs - cheap and widely available and large samples
117
evaluation of post mortem?
• patient is deceased so not in real time its retrospective
• allows researchers to examine deep anatomical structures of the brain such as the hypothalamus
• correlation - no cause and effect as neural changes occur during process of dying and issue during a persons life may not be linked to deficit found
• ethical - need consent from family or patient before death - small sample
