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Psychology > Biopsychology > Flashcards

Biopsychology Flashcards

(65 cards)

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1
Q

what is the purpose of the nervous system

A

to collect, process and respond information and to coordinate the working of organs

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2
Q

what are the two divides of the nervous system

A

Central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system

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3
Q

what is the central nervous system divided into

A

brain and spinal cord

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4
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system divided into

A

the autonomic nervous system, the somatic nervous system, the sympathetic nervous system and the para-sympathetic nervous system

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5
Q

what is the function of the brain

A

center of conscious awareness

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6
Q

what is the function of the spinal cord

A

passes messages to and from the brain

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7
Q

what is the function of the autonomic nervous system

A

governs function of breathing, heart rate and digestion

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8
Q

what is the function of the somatic nervous system

A

controls muscle movement

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9
Q

what is the endocrine system made up of

A

glands and hormones

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10
Q

what is the main gland in the body and what is its function

A

the pituitary gland - controls the release of hormones

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11
Q

how are hormones transported around the body

A

in the bloodstream

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12
Q

what are the three types of neuron

A

motor neuron, sensory neuron and relay neuron

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13
Q

what is the order of the neurons

A

sensory neurons, relay neurons, motor neuron

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14
Q

what is the role of the pituitary gland

A

to control and stimulate the release of hormones

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15
Q

what hormone is released from the pineal gland and what is its purpose

A

melatonin - creates biological rhythms

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16
Q

what hormone is released from the adrenal gland and what is its purpose

A

adrenal medulla - stimulates fight or flight response

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17
Q

what is the female hormone

A

oestrogen

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18
Q

what is the male hormone

A

testosterone

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19
Q

what happens during the fight or flight response

A

the sympathetic nervous system is activated which results in the Arenal medulla hormone to be secreted into the bloodstream

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20
Q

what does the endocrine system travel through

A

bloodstream

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21
Q

define localisation

A

the idea that certain functions have certain locations in the brain

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22
Q

what does the left hemisphere control

A

the right side of the body

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23
Q

what does the right hemisphere control

A

the left side of the body

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24
Q

which hemisphere are brocas and wernickes area located

A

left

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25
where in the brain is the brocas area located
frontal lobe
26
where in the brain is the wernickes area located
temporal lobe
27
what is the role of the occipital lobe
2x visual cortex - processes visual information
28
what is the role of the temporal lobe
2x auditive cortex - processes sounds
29
what is the role of the frontal lobe
decision making
30
what is the role of the parietal lobe
sense
31
what is the role of the wernickes area
language processing and comprehension
32
what is wernickes aphasia
where you produce sentences fluently but they have no meaning
33
what is the role of the brocas area
speech production
34
what is brocas aphasia
slow and inarticulate speech
35
where is the motor cortex located and what is its function
located in the frontal lobe of both hemispheres and controls involuntary movements
36
evaluation of localisation
1. STRENGTH: phones gage - able to walk and talk after being shot, resulted in a change of personality 2. LIMITATION: idiographic research - lacks population validity
37
define lateralisation
the belief that each hemisphere has a different function
38
who were the participants in the Sperry research
participants all had split hemispheres
39
what was the procedure of the Sperry research
an image was shown in only the participants left visual field and then the image was shown to only the right visual field
40
what was the result of image being shown to the left visual field
could not verbally say what you saw
41
what was the result of the image being shown to the right visual field
you could verbally say what you saw
42
conclusion of the Sperry research
left hemisphere has language centres but right hemisphere does not
43
evaluation of lateralisation
1. STRENGTH: standardised procedure - always used same pictures/questions 2. LIMITATION: only 11 participants - lacks population validity 3. LIMITATION: lately rat experiment - rats completed a course, then completed the same course with part of their brain missing and could no longer complete the course 4. STRENGTH: animal studies - when dolphins sleep they only shut down one hemisphere of their brain and the other hemisphere is used for swimming
44
define plasticity
the way our brains are constantly changing
45
what its the updated belief about plasticity
before it was thought changes to the brain one,y took place during childhood but now we know the changes happen throughout life
46
what is synaptic pruning
if synapses are connected regularly they strengthen and if they're used rarely then they are deleted
47
briefly outline Macguires experiment
an experiment was done on London taxi drivers, it was found that there is a positive correlation with the size of the hippocampus and knowledge of locations in London, more knowledge = strengthened synaptic connections
48
what is axonal sprouting
undamaged axons grow new nerve endings to reconnect lost neutrons
49
what is reformation of blood vessels
reforming the blood vessels to an undamaged area
50
what is recruitment of homologous brain area
making an area of the opposite side of the brain take over
51
evaluation of plasticity and functional recovery
1. STRENGTH: practical application - neurorehabilitation, surgeries can speed up recovery 2. LIMITATION (counter): Elbert et al - functional recovery greater in children than adults so surgery may not always help 3. LIMITATION: phantom limb syndrome - people can feel sensations in limbs they no longer have as a result of brain neutrons moving to inactive areas 4. STRENGTH (counter): mirror treatment
52
what is the role of endogenous and exogenous zeitgebers
they are factors which influence are sleep wake cycle
53
how do endogenous and exogenous zeitgebers work together
they form a balance of both internal and external factors which create our sleep wake cycles
54
example of endogenous pacemakers
SCN - internal body clock
55
example of an exogenous zeitgeber
temperature
56
which hormone makes us feel tired
melatonin
57
which hormone makes us feel awake
cortisol
58
evaluation of endog and exog
1. STRENGTH: practical application: companies have adapted products to combat sleep wake disorder 2. LIMITATION: ethical issues - research into the SCN meant that 80 chipmunks had their SCN removed 3. STRENGTH: research - light shone on participants legs whilst sleeping disrupted their sleep wake cycle 4. STRENGTH: Siffres research - stayed in a cave with no light or clocks, when he came out he thought the date was a month earlier meaning his body clock had been altered
59
what is a circadian rhythm
our sleep wake cycle - 24 hours long
60
what is an infradian rhythm
female menstrual cycle - lasts more than 24 hours
61
what is an ultradian rhythm
sleep cycle - lasts less than 24 hours
62
what is entrainment
when our exogenous zeitgebers can change our endogenous pacemakers
63
evaluation of circadian rhythms
1. STRENGTH: research support where shining a light on the back of your leg wakes you up 2. LIMITATION: siffre cave study - had a 25 hour sleep/wake cycle 3. STRENGTH (counter): WW2 bunkers: siffre cave study repeated with lots of participants 4. STRENGTH: hamster research - shows endog is important for circadian rhythms
64
evaluation of infradian rhythms
1. STRENGTH: sweaty betty study 2. STRENGTH: practical application - help with fertility 3. LIMITATION: confounding variables 4. STRENGTH: produces scientific data
65
evaluation of ultradian rhythms
1. STRENGTH: Randy Gardner - world record for not sleeping 2. LIMITATION (counter) idiographic research 3. STRENGTH: practical application - sleep disorders can be treated 4. STRENGTH: research suggests that REM sleeping is when you can record dreams

Psychology (12 decks)

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