Brain and Neuropsychology Flashcards
(26 cards)
Brain and Neuropsychology
What is the nervous system?
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The Nervous System
The nervous system is a network of cells in the human body, the body’s internal communication system which collects, processes, and responds to information from the environment.
Brain and Neuropsychology
How do the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous syetm (PNS) work together to process information and perform actions?
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The Nervous System
The PNS notices changes in the environment through sensory receptors. This sends information through the PNS to the CNS, where the brain processes and interprets it. Once the brain processes the information, it decides an appropriate response which could be voluntary or involuntary.
Brain and Neuropsychology
What are the main components of the CNS and what role do they play?
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The Nervous System
Brain
* Divided into two hemispheres
* Left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and the right controls the left side of the body
* The brain is the centre of conscious awareness and where decision making takes place
Spinal cord
* Sends messages to and from the brain
* Connects the brain with the rest of the body
* Controls reflex actions
Brain and Neuropsychology
What are the main 2 components of the PNS and what role do they play?
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The Nervous System
Automatic NS
* Responsible for involuntary responses for vital functions (e.g. breathing, digestion, heart rate)
* Controls smooth and cardiac muscles and glands
WHERAS
Somatic NS
* Responsible for voluntary movements (e.g. walking, talking)
* Transmits information from the brain to control skeletal muscles
Brain and Neuropsychology
What are the main 2 branches of the ANS and what role do they play?
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The Nervous System
Sympathetic Branch
* Fight or flight response
Parasympathetic branch
* Returning body to homeostasis (relaxed)
Brain and Neuropsychology
Outline the process of ‘Fight or Flight’
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Physiology and Psychology
- A stressor in the environment is identified by the hypothalamus and activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
- Adrenaline is released into the bloodstream
- The ‘Fight or Flight’ response is produced, preparing the body for sudden physical changes. This produces physiological changes such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. This is an immediate, automatic response
- The parasympathetic response returns the body back to normal (homeostasis) once the stressor has been removed
Brain and Neuropsychology
Outline the James-Lange theory of emotion.
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Physiology and Psychology
The theory suggests physiological changes in the body come before emotions.
* Event: A stressor or threat in the environment is detected by the hypothalamus which activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS
* Arousal: This leads to the release of adrenaline in the blood stream which causes physiological arousal, such as increased heart rate, dry mouth, blood pressure, etc.
* Interpretation: It is then up to the brain to interpret and decide what those physiological changes mean
* Emotion: Once the brain has interpreted these changes, it will then result in an emotion.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Evaluate the James-Lange theory of emotion.
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Physiology and Psychology
A weakness of this theory is that it is based on correlations and observations from doctors. This is a problem because correlations only show a link between physiological arousal and emotions, meanwhile there may be a third factor such as an individual’s social cues that may have an affect on emotion. Correlations also only indicate a relationship, so a causation cannot be established. This lowers the validity of the James-Lange theory.
Another weakness of the theory is that there is an alternative explanation. The Cannon-Bard suggests that physiological changes and emotion happen at the same time, for example blushing at the same time you feel embarassed. The theory also argues that not all physiological changes, such as those you experience when you exercise, result in an emotion. Therefore, the James-Lange theory may not be the only theory to consider when explaining emotion.
However, a strength of the theory is that there are real-life examples of physiological changes coming before emotion, such as in panic disorders or phobias. For example, an individual may be bitten by a dog which leads to an emotional reaction of anxiety or fear. This may lead to them avoiding areas where dogs might be, such as in a park, because they have developed an association between the event and emotion due ti the physiological reaction, supporting the James-Lange theory.
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the following structures in the neuron:
Terminal button,
Dendrites,
Cell body,
Myelin sheath,
Nodes of ranvier,
Axon
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Neurons
Terminal button: The end of the neuron where neutransmitters (messages/information) are released onto the next neuron
Dendrites: Where the neurotransmitter receptors are found. Once the receptor and neurotransmitter bind, this causes a new electrical impulse to occur
Cell body: Includes the nucleus where genetic information is stored
Myelin sheath: Protects the axon and speeds up the transmission of messages
Nodes of ranvier: Speeds up the transmission of impulses by forcing them to ‘jump’ across the gaps along the axon
Axon: Sends a nerve impulse through the neuron to be transmitted to the next neuron
Brain and Neuropsychology
Describe the location, structure and function of the sensory neuron.
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Neurons
- Located in the PNS
- They send information from the senses in the PNS towards the brain. Receptors are found in the eyes, ears, tongue, skin
- Long dendrites and short axons.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Describe the location, structure and function of the relay neuron.
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Neurons
- Located in the CNS
- They carry messages between neurons within the CNS, allowing motor and sensory neurons to communicate. Involved in analysing the information from the sensory neurons and deciding how to respond.
- Short dendrites and short axons. No myelin sheath
Brain and Neuropsychology
Describe the location, structure and function of the motor neuron.
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Neurons
- Cell bodies are found in the CNS but the long axons form part of the PNS
- Send information from the CNS to the effectors such as glands or muscles
- Short dendrites and long axons
Brain and Neuropsychology
Describe the process of synaptic transmission.
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Neurons
- The process of synpatic transmission begins in the pre-synaptic neuron. Electrical impulses are sent down the axon until they reach the pre-synaptic terminal button
- This causes neurotransmitters, stored in vesicles, to diffuse across the synapse and bind to bind with their specific receptor sites on the post-synaptic neuron.
- Once enough neurotransmitters have attached to the receptor sites, some will be recycled to be stored in the vesicles of the pre-synaptic neurons via reuptake mechanism.
- If not, the next neuron will be ready to fire an electrical impulse depending on whether the neurotransmitter has an excitatory or inhibitory effect.
- An excitatory effect means the neurotransmitter (e.g. noradrenaline) increases the neurons positive charge, which also increases the likelihood of the next neuron firing an electrical impulse.
- Whereas an inhibitory effect means the neurotransmitter (e.g. serotonin) increases the negative charge of the neuron, decreasing the likelihood that it will fire an electrical impulse.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Outline Hebb’s theory of learning and neuronal growth.
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Neurons
- Hebb suggests that when we learn, new connections are made in the brain, and the more we use these synaptic connections, the stronger they become. This is called plasticity.
- If a neuron repeatedly excites another neuron, neuronal growth occurs and the synaptic connections between neurons grow stronger
- During learning, groups of neurons (cell assembelies) fire and act together. If this happens frequently, neural pathways are developed.
- The more we rehearse the task we have learnt, the stronger and more efficient these new neural pathways become, and eventually they will become permanent.
- If we do not rehearse or practice using these synpatic connections, they will not strengthen and eventually be deleted.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Evaluate Hebb’s theory of learning and neuronal growth.
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Neurons
A strength of Hebb’s theory is that the methods used to research are scientific. Although his theory was created in the 1950s, modern research in cognitive neuroscience has used objective technqiues such as brain scans to support the theory that learning occurs due to the strengthening of synaptic connections in the brain. Therefore, this increases the validity of Hebb’s theory.
However, a weakness of his theory is that it is reductionist. This is because it reduces the process of learning down to neuronal growth and connections in the brain. This ignores the holistic approach which would consider other psychological and social factors such as learning disabilities. This lowers the validity od Hebb’s theory.
Furthermore, Hebb’s theory is affected by individual difference. Factors such as age, gender, and stress can affect neural growth. Males, people who are older and those who experience high levels of stress are less likely to easily experience neuronal growth compared to females, people who are younger, and those who have less stress. Therefore, more research needs to be conducted to give a full explanation of the theory of learning and neuronal growth.
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the frontal lobe.
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The Brain
Contains the motor cortex in both hemispheres and the Broca’s area in the left hemisphere. It controls thinking, planning, language, problem-solving, decision making, and movement.
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the parietal lobe.
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The Brain
Processes sensory information and helps with spatial awareness. Within the front lobe is the somatosensory area, which processes sensations such as touch, heat, and pressure
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the occipital lobe.
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The Brain
Within this lobe is the visual cortex, which processes the information seen by the eyes.
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the temporal lobe.
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The Brain
Within this lobe is the auditory cortex which processes hearing, and Wernicke’s area which is responsible for understanding language.
Brain and Neuropsychology
State the function of the cerebellum.
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The Brain
It coordinates movement such as balance, sensory information with motor information, and has some input with regards to langauge and emotion.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Describe Penfield’s study of the Interpretive Cortex.
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The Brain
Penfield’s aim was to investigate psychological responses in the brain as a result of electrical stimulation. His sample consisted of epileptic patients who he was electrically stimulating to destroy neurons and reduce seizures. Patients were consious and having brain surgery. The doctor applied gentle electrical stimulation to different areas of the cortex and asked the patients to describe what happened to them. As a control, the doctor sometimes told the patients he was stimulating the brain but wasn’t actually. Penfield found that when the temporal lobe was stimulated, patients described re-living memories. Some experience feelings such as fear, and others heard different things (e.g. pianos). When the visual cortex was stimualted, they said they saw different things such as colours and shadows. When the motor and somatosensory areas were stimulated, patients made different physical movements or believed someone had touched them. These findings support the idea of localisation of function as different areas of the brain resulted in different actions. Penfield also concluded the temportal lobe must have a strong role in memory.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Evaluate Penfield’s study of the Interpretive Cortex.
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The Brain
One weakness of Penfield’s study is that it has low population validity. He used case studies of epilaptic patients, which is a unique and small sample, making the findings difficult to generalise to a wider population as epilepsy may have altered their brain structure. This reduces the validity of Penfield’s research.
However, a strength of using case studies is that they are a good way of studying unusual behaviours and phenomenas such as localisation of function in the brain. This research would not have been conducted if it were not for the epileptic patients needing electrical stimulation to reduce seizures. Penfield took advantage of this in order to study the brain where he can find unexpected results and make new discoveries into the localisation of function.
Brain and Neuropsychology
What is cognitive neuroscience?
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The Brain
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific study of the influence of brain structure on an individual’s mental processes. The aim is to identify which aspects of behaviour and cognition are related to which areas of the brain.
Brain and Neuropsychology
Outline CT scans as a scanning technique of the brain. Give one strength and one weakness.
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The Brain
A CT scan works by taking a large number of x-rays of the brain to build up a detailed image.
* An individual lies in the scanner
* The scanner slowly rotates around the indivudal, taking a large number of x-rays of the brain from many different angles
* All the images are put together to produce one detailed imagd
* They do not show localisation of function but can identify brain abnormalities (e.g. tumours)
Strength: non-invasive as nothing has to go into the body and less radiation compared to PET scans
Weakness: does not produce a live image of the brain unlike fMRI scans, so they can only identify abnormalities
