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Biopsychology Flashcards

(49 cards)

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1
Q

2 parts of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

A

Brain and spinal cord

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2
Q

What is the Peripheral Nervous System and what does it entail to two systems

A

Made up of neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

It stems to two different systems:

Autonomic nervous system (unconscious)
Somatic nervous system (conscious)

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3
Q

What does Autonomic nervous system do and what are the divisions

A

Controls unconscious activities

2 divisions
- Sympathetic nervous system: fight or flight system (increased heart rate, stop digesting)
- Parasympathetic nervous system: rest and digest system (decreases heart rate, starts digestion)

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4
Q

What is the divisions of nervous system

A

NERVOUS SYSTEM
- CNS
- Peripheral

PERIPHERAL
- Autonomic (UNCONSCIOUS)
- Somatic (CONSCIOUS)

AUTONOMIC
- Sympathetic (FIGHT OR FLIGHT)
- Parasympathetic (REST AND DIGEST)

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5
Q

How do neurons transmit information?

A

Electrical impulses

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6
Q

What part of the neuron receives information?

A

Dendrites

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7
Q

What do EXICTATORY neurotransmitters do

A

Increase the likelihood of an electrical impulse will be trigged in the post synaptic neuron

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8
Q

What do INHIBITORY neurotransmitters do

A

Decrease the likelihood that an electrical impulse be trigged in the postsynaptic neuron.

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9
Q

How does reflexes help prevent injury

A

Reflexes are fast, automatic responses to stimuli. It bypasses your conscious brain and go through the spinal cord to avoid damage. (Like a burn and you put away your finger).

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10
Q

What is acetylcholine and what happens if you have too much/little

A

EXCITATORY neurotransmitter and involved with movement, memory, learning and sleep.

TOO MUCH can lead to depression and TOO little is dementia

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11
Q

What is dopamine and what happens if you have too much/little

A

Helps with movement, attention and learning.

TOO MUCH: schizophrenia
TOO LITTLE: depression

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12
Q

What is noradrenaline and what happens if you have too much/little

A

Similar to adrenaline, it is associated with fight or flight response.

TOO MUCH: schizo
TOO LITTLE: depression

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13
Q

What is serotonin and what happens if you have too much/little

A

Involved in emotion, mood, sleep and eating

TOO LITTLE: depression

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14
Q

What is GABA and too little affects

A

INHIBITORY NEUROTRANSMITTER, prevents uptake

TOO LITTLE: anxiety disorders

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15
Q

What is a gland

A

Group of cells that are specialised to secrete hormones.

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16
Q

What is a hormone and how do they travel

A

Chemical messengers through blood

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17
Q

What does the hypothalamus secrete

A

Produces hormones that control the pituitary gland

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18
Q

What does the pituitary gland secrete

A

Releases hormones to control other glands in the endocrine system.

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19
Q

What is the pineal gland secrete

A

Produces melatonin for sleep patterns

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20
Q

What does the thyroid gland secrete

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A

Thyroxine, controls the body’s metabolic rate and regulating growth and maturation

21
Q

What does the thymus glands do

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A

Regulates the immune system

22
Q

What do the adrenal glands do and secrete

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A

Adrenaline, responsible for fight or flight response

23
Q

What does the pancreas do and secrete

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A

Release insulin and glucagon, for blood sugar levels

24
Q

What do ovaries + testes secrete

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A

Oestrogen and testosterone, responsible for reproduction and development of sex organs and secondary sexual characteristics.

25
How does the hypothalamus prepare for fight or flight
When the body is threatened, it responds by preparing for action (fight or run). The hypothalamus does this by triggering the SYMPATHETIC system and the adrenal glands releases ADRENALINE and NORADRENALINE into the bloodstream. Then it increases: - Heart rate - Breathing rates - Pupil size Decreases: - Digestion and salivation This is to use energy in the right places to ensure safety or protect.
26
What does the motor cortex do
Controls voluntary movement
27
What does the somatosensory cortex do
Processes information about touch, pain and temp
28
What does the visual cortex do
Processes information from our eyes
29
What is the wernicke's area
Responsible for understanding language
30
What is auditory cortex
Processes information from our ears
31
What is broca's area
Responsible for the production of speech
32
What does the left hemisphere do
Logic, analysis and problem solving.
33
What does the right hemisphere do
Spatial comprehension, emotion and face recognition
34
How is information dealt with for a part of the brain
LEFT VISUAL goes to RIGHT RIGHT VISUAL goes to LEFT Processes through the corpus callosum
35
What is Sperry's study about split brain surgery and evaluate
- Is a combination of case studies and experiments. - PPs had undergone split brain surgery as a result of severe epilepsy. - Control group with no severed corpus callosum - PPs were asked to cover one eye and look at a fixed point on a screen from the left and right side quickly. FINDINGS: - Picture shown in the right visual field which uses problem solving etc can be seen and written by the PPs - Left visual field however couldn't be seen. - However, they can pick an object related to the image shown in the visual field SHOWS THAT: - LEFT: can convert sight into spoken and written language - INFORMATION can't however be transferred because they don't have a corpus callosum. EVALUATION - Small sample size so lacks generalisability - Can't determine whether the split brain treatment affected the findings or the medication etc. - High internal validity: lab experiment high control of variables - Support for lateralisation theory
36
What is plasticity and how does it work
When the brain alter its structure and function in response to changes in the environment. - Information through the brain comes from synapses and travels to neurons - New information creates new neural pathways - Using this neural pathway strengthens it, the more it is used, the stronger the connections become. - If it isn't used it becomes weaker BASICALLY THE MORE YOU PRACTISE THE STRONGER PATHWAYS GET.
37
What is Elbert's study about plasticity and evaluate
- Musicians who can play a range of instruments like the guitar were compared to non-musicians. - Using magnetic source imaging, it was used to measure the somatosensory cortex representing the digits of left hand of each participant FINDINGS Musicians had bigger somatosensory cortex than non-musicians, supporting the plasticity theory. SUGGESTS that - Learning the instrument over time resulted in structural changes in the brain. EVALUATION - Good support for plasticity - Objective brain measurements
38
What is CIMT (constraint-induced movement therapy) and strengths/weaknesses
When a stroke has happened and the person loses function on one side of the body they are told to use their affected side for everything and forces them to re-learn how to use their affected arm. STRENGTHS - Real life application - Works with aphasia WEAKNESSES - Can be very time-consuming and annoying for the patient - Needs to be intensive
39
What are fMRI scans and uses
3D scans that provide structural and functional information. Show brain activities over time. Oxygenated bloods flows to the more active areas of the brain and this therefore can identify areas. USES - Research an area of the brain to explain their function by doing a task - Used to diagnose medical problems because it shows damaged areas of the brain. - Also mental disorders like schizophrenia.
40
What are EEGs and uses and a downside
EEG show the overall electrical activity of the brain using electrodes on the scalp and gives a pattern of waves. USES - Commonly for sleep studies - For depression and schizo - Good for diagnosing mental health disorders DOWNSIDE - Lacks spatial resolution: hard to workout which area of the brain the waves originate from.
41
What are ERPs and uses
Show electrical activity in the brain responding to a stimulus. There will be a specific change in the wave pattern when it responds USES - Used loads in memory research for information processing - Used for phobias.
42
What are post-mortem examinations and uses
Involve cutting up the brain of someone who has died to examine the internal structure of the brain USES - Can find structural abnormalities to explain a condition - Provides evidence for the theory of localisation of function in the brain (Broca's area is an example).
43
What are circadian rhythms
Cycles that occur once every 24 hours SLEEP-WAKE cycle is an example
44
What are infradian rhythms
Cycles that occur less than once every day MENSTRUAL CYCLE is an example
45
What are ultradian rhythms
Cycles that occur more than 24 hours. THE SLEEP CYCLE is an example as we enter deeper stages of sleep.
46
What are endogenous pacemakers and give a study and example
Internal body clocks that regulate biological rhythms like the sleep-wake cycle. EXAMPLE Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) are from the hypothalamus, Helps control circadian rhythms like sleep HOW? - Receives light info from the eyes and adjusts the body clock - Sends signals to the pineal gland to release melatonin and makes us sleep and drops it when there's light in the morning. STUDY (RALPH) - Mutant hamsters bred with a 20hr circadian rhythm - SCN was transplanted into normal hamsters - Normal hamsters then adopted the 20h cycle too - Shows that SCN is the main controller of circadian rhythms.
47
What are exogenous zeitgebers and give a study and example
Environmental signals that help reset our biological rhythms EXAMPLES - Light - Social cues This can affect sleep STUDY (Siffre) - Lived in a cave with no natural light for 6 months - His body settled into a sleep-wake cycle of around 25 hrs not 24. Shows that ENDOGENOUS PACEMAKER runs the rhythm but LIGHT resets it
48
What are the consequences of disrupting these biological rhythms and give example
JET LAG - When you travel to a different time zone, you may feel sleepy/awake at local times where it's abnormal. - Takes about a week to sync to a new time zone Time zones that are more west are easier to adapt according to studies.
49
What are some limitations on biological rhythm studies
- Many used animal studies and therefore it can't be generalised to humans as we're more complex - Many studies have used artificial light to try test natural light but artificial light has the same properties as natural.

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