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Brain And Neuropsychology Flashcards

(73 cards)

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1
Q

The 8 parts to the nervous system

A 
The peripheral nervous system
The somatic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic division
Parasympathetic division
The central nervous system
The brain
The spinal cord
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2
Q

The central nervous system function

A

The brain is the centre of all our conscious awareness and where we make decisions. The spinal cord carries incoming and outgoing messages between the brain and the rest of the body

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3
Q

The peripheral nervous system function

A

It supports the actions of the actions of the CNS, it receives messages from it and sends messages to it

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4
Q

The autonomic nervous system function

A

It is automatic so it cannot be controlled, it coordinates functions that are vital for life, such as breathing. It also controls homeostasis, where the process by which the body maintains a constant and balances internal state

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5
Q

The somatic nervous system function

A

Controls voluntary movement of our muscles, they are controlled consciously. It also takes in information from sensory organs, such as eyes and the skin

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6
Q

Sympathetic nervous system function

A

It prepares the body for flight or flight response, it responds to a state of physical arousal

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7
Q

The parasympathetic nervous system function

A

It provides the rest and digest response when the body is in its normal resting state

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8
Q

The fight or flight response process

A

The brain detects a threat
The body releases adrenaline
Increase of heart rate and breathing and inhibits digestion
Then returns to rest and digest

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9
Q

The 3 points to the James-Lange theory of emotion

A

Physiological arousal first
Emotion after
No physical change = no emotion

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10
Q

The James-Lange theory of emotion - summary

A

Event - arousal - interpretation - emotion

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11
Q

The James-Lange theory of emotion - physiological arousal first

A

An event activates the hypothalamus which instructs the sympathetic division, this leads to the release of adrenaline creating physiological arousal such as high breathing and heart rate

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12
Q

The James-Lange theory of emotion - emotion after

A

The brain interprets the physiological changes and the result of the interpretation is an emotion

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13
Q

The James-Lange theory of emotion - no physical change = no emotion

A

It’s the physical changes in the body that cause the emotion we feel and cause us to react in certain ways so if we don’t have a physical change in our body then we can’t experience an emotion

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14
Q

Neurons

A

They are nerve cells that send electrical and chemical signals from one to another to communicate

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15
Q

The 3 types of neurons

A

Sensory neurons
Relay neurons
Motor neurons

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16
Q

Sensory neurons

A

Carry messages from the PNS to the CNS

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17
Q

Sensory neuron features

A

They have long dendrites and short axons

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18
Q

Relay neurons

A

Connect sensory neurons to motor neurons

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19
Q

Relay neuron features

A

They have short dendrites and short axons

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20
Q

Motor neurons

A

Carry messages from the CNS to effectors in our body, such as muscles and glands

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21
Q

Motor neuron features

A

The have short dendrites and long axons

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22
Q

Stoma

A

The cell body, contains the nucleus

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23
Q

Nucleus

A

Contains genetic material

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24
Q

Dendrites

A

They carry electrical signals from neighbouring neurons to the cell body

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25
Myelin sheath
Protects the axon and also speeds up the electrical signal
26
Nodes of ranvier
Gaps in the myelin sheath that make the signals go faster because they have to jump
27
Axon
Carries the electric signal away from the cell body and down the length of the neuron
28
Terminal button
They communicate with the next neuron in the chain across a gap called the synaptic cleft
29
Synaptic vesicle
Stores neurotransmitters
30
Synaptic cleft
Gap between the dendrite and the terminal button
31
Neurotransmitters
Tiny neuron storing the message
32
Postsynaptic receptor sites
Where the neurotransmitters land on the dendrites
33
Excitatory
Some neurotransmitters, such as adrenaline, increase the positive charge of the next neuron making it more likely to fire
34
Inhibitory
Some neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, generally increase the negative charge of the next neuron, making it less likely to fire
35
The 4 parts of Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth
The brain is plastic The brain adapts Learning produces an engram Cell assemblies and neuronal growth
36
Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth - the brain is plastic
The brain is not a fixed structure and is mainly changing as new connections are made when we learn and synaptic connections become stronger
37
Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth - the brain adapts
It can change structure and form new connections as we learn
38
Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth - learning produces an engram
Learning something new leaves a trace in the brain, an 'engram'. It can be made permanent if we continually practice
39
Hebb's theory of learning and neuronal growth - cell assemblies and neuronal growth
During learning, groups of neurons, known as cell assemblies, fire together. The more this happens, the stronger the synaptic connections between them become. "Cells that fire together, wire together"
40
The 4 lobes in the brain
Frontal lobe Temporal lobe Parietal lobe Occipital lobe
41
Frontal lobe functions
It controls thinking, planning and also includes the motor area. It also contains the Broca's area
42
Frontal lobe location
At the front of the brain
43
Parietal lobe functions
At the front of the parietal lobe there is the somatosensory area where sensations are processed
44
Parietal lobe location
On top of the brain
45
Occipital lobe function
Contains the visual area so received information from the eyes and interprets it
46
Occipital lobe location
At the back of the brain
47
Temporal lobe function
Includes the auditory area and the Wernicke's area
48
Temporal lobe location
Sides of your head, along your temples
49
Damage to parts of the brain - motor area
If the left side was damaged then movement on the right side of the body would be effected and opposite on the right
50
Damage to parts of the brain - somatosensory area
The person would be less able to feel pain and change in temperature
51
Damage to parts of the brain - visual area
Can cause blindness
52
Damage to parts of the brain - auditory area
Partial or total hearing loss
53
Damage to parts of the brain - Broca's area
Difficulty in remembering and forming words
54
Damage to parts of the brain - Wernicke's area
Difficulty in understanding language and unable to produce meaningful speech
55
Broca's area
Controls speech production
56
Wernicke's area
The understanding of language
57
Penfield's study - aim
To describe the psychological responses patients gave when parts of their brain were electrically stimulated
58
Penfield's study - method
People with epilepsy were put under local anesthetic and Penfield stimulated different parts of their brain and recorded the patients response
59
Penfield's study - results
If the visual area was stimulated then the patient described colours and shadows. If the somatosensory area was stimulated then it produced a tingling sensation. If stimulation was applied in the temporal lobe then the patient either experienced things that had happened in the past or they felt emotions or feelings related to experiences
60
Penfield's study - conclusion
The temporal lobe must have a role in storing memories and they were stores as facts of the experience and the meaning of the facts
61
Cognitive neuroscience
The scientific study of how biological structures influence or control mental processes
62
Amygadala
Plays a key role in processing emotions and is often linked to aggressive behaviour
63
Cognition
Refers to mental processes of the mind
64
Neurological damage
Any event that could cause neuron damage in the brain and can lead to loss of function or change in behaviour
65
The 3 scanning techniques
CT scan PET scan fMRI scan
66
CT scan
They are like an x-ray in the shape of a doughnut so they can produce in detail 3d images
67
PET scan
They record which parts of the brain are most active at one time. They will be injected with a small amount of radioactive substance and the most active parts of the brain will absorb it
68
fMRI scan
They record blood levels in different parts of the brain. When an area of the brain is more active then more blood is directed to that area
69
Haemodynamic response
When blood is directed to an active area
70
Tuliving's gold study - aim
To see whether thinking about episodic memories produced blood flow in different parts of the brain than thinking about semantic memories
71
Tuliving's gold study - method
6 participants were injected with a small amount of radioactive gold, they would then use a PET scan to show the active areas. They were asked to think about memories from their childhood and recalling facts
72
Tuliving's gold study - results
When thinking about semantic memories, there was more blood flow to the back of the brain and when thinking about episodic memories, there was more blood flow to the front of the brain
73
Tuliving's gold study - conclusion
Different types of memory are localised to different parts of the brain

Psychology (4 decks)

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