Biopsychology (A2) PAPER 2 Flashcards
Using an example, what is meant by ‘localisation of function’
Localisation is when different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes or activities. e.g the parietal lobe deals with sensory information such as taste, smell, touch.
State the location in the brain of:
The motor area
The visual area
The auditory area
motor area - frontal lobe
visual area - occipital lobe
auditory area - temporal lobe
Explain how Brocas and Wernickes areas contribute to the localisation of language in the brain
Brocas area is in the left frontal lobe and it is responsible for speech production. People with damage in this area experience brocas aphasia which causes speech to be slow and lacks fluency.
Wernickes area is in the left temporal lobe and it is responsible for language processing. People with damage in this area experience wernikes aphasia which means people cant understand language but they say nonsense meaningless language.
Outline one procedure used in split-brain research
Sperry wanted to investiagte what functions of the brain are lateralised so he got 11 ptps who had split brain opperation and showed them a word or a picture on either side of the visual field, and then the ppts were then asked aba the stimuli.
Evaluate split-brain research on hemispheric lateralisation
(+) supporting research - Gazzaniga showed that SB ppts perform better than people without SB on certain tasks. e.g they were faster at identifying the odd one out in an array of similar objects than normal controls. Supports Sperry findings that left and right brain are distinct.
(-) Generalisation issues - Sperrys ppts behaviour was compared to a control group, however the control group didnt have epilepsy. This is a confounding variable as any differences could be the result of epilepsy not split brain.
Explain what is meant by plasticity in the brain
plasticity is the brains apparant ability to change and adapt both physically and functionally.
Outline what research has shown about functional recovery of the brain after trauma
After trauma, unaffected areas of the brain are able to take over and compensate for the damaged areas. This shows that functional recovery is another example of plasticity. Scientists believe it can happen quickly after trauma and then slow down, and a person may need to undergo rehabilitation for futher recovery.
Outline one difference between EEGs and ERPs as ways of studying the brain
EEG is a continuous measure of electrical brain activity, whilst ERPs are short segments of EEG data that is specific to the task.
Briefly evaluate post mortem examinations as a way of studying the brain
(+) provides usefull information
- post mortum evidence was vital in understanding how the brain worked
- Broca and Wernicke both relied on post-mortum evidence in there research
(-) ethical issues
- issue of consent
-e.g HM had his brain studied when his memory was damaged, but he couldnt give consent
Outline one example of a circadian rhythm
One example of circadian rhythms is the sleep wake cycle as you feel drowsy in the night time and alert in the daytime, demonstrating the effect of sunlight (an exogenous zeitgeber) on the sleep wake cycle. The sleep wake cycle is goverened by an internal endogenous pacemaker (a biological clock) called SCN. Once the SCN registers light, meletonin decreases.
Describe what research on circadian rhythms has shown about biological rhythms in general
Siffre did a cave study where he investigated what would happen to peoples CR if they were cut off from all zeitgebers and had to rely soley on endogenous pacemaker to tell them when to eat and sleep.
He spent over 2 months in a cave, deprived from light and sound.
When he came out, he thought he was under for a month, but it was two. This shows his 24hr sleep cycle increased by the lack of external clues, one day was longer than the other.
We dont need external clues to regulate our CR
Outline one example of an ultradian rhythm
One example of ultradian rhythms is the sleep stages. Psychologists have identified a 90min cycle consisting of 5 distinct stages that continues throughout the night.
stage 1 - light sleep
stage 2 - breathing pattern and heart rate slows
stage 3 - deep sleep begins (brain generates slow delta waves)
stage 4 - Very deep sleep (brain produces delta waves)
stage 5 - rapid eye movement
Describe what psychological research has shown about infradian rhythms
seasonal affective disorder
- a type of winter depressive disorder
- low mood, lack of intrest in life
- during the night the pineal gland secreates melatonin untill dawn, during winter the lack of light means the secreation happen for longer. This is said to effect the production of seratonin in the brain which is linked to the onset of depressive symptoms.
Using an example, explain what is meant by an endogenous pacemaker
endogenous pacemaker is the internal body clock that affect our biological rhythms. An example is the SCN (sleep wake cycle).
- tiny clusters of nerve cells lie in the hypothalamas just aboved the optic chiasm
- Even when eyes are shut, light can penetrate through the eyelids and send light signals to the SCN
- our endogenous pacemakers are slow so morning light shifts the clock ahead so it is in synchrony with the world.
Explain the difference between endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers
Endogenous pacemakers are the body’s internal biological clocks whilst exogenous Zeitgebers are external cues (light) that help to regulate this internal biological clock
