New biopsychology Flashcards
(81 cards)
1
Q
What is a biological rhythm?
A
Biological rhythms are fluctuations in an organism (patterns of behaviour) that correspond to and is in response to environmental change
2
Q
What are the three types of biological rhythm?
A
Circadian- the cycle length is about 24hours
Infradian- cycle length is longer than 24 hours
Ultradian- cycle length is less than 24hours
3
Q
What are the two types of factors influencing biological rhythms and give examples?
A
Endogenous- Internal factors ie. endogenous pacemakers- biological clocks in the brain controlling rhythms.
Exogenous- External factors, i.e. exogenous zeitgebers- environmental stimuli help regulate biological rhythms in the outside world.
4
Q
Talk about the role of SCN’s in circadian rhythms
A
the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) located in the hypothalamus. This pacemaker can be constantly reset so our bodies are in line with the outside world.
It coordinates activities from exogenous factors
5
Q
Talk about the role of light in circadian rhythms.
A
Light provides the primary input to this system by setting the body clock. Light- sensitive cells in the eye act as brightness detectors sending messages about environmental light levels directly to the SCN via the optic nerve.
6
Q
Talk about the first step in the sleep-wake cycle.
A
In the morning, the cells in the eye detect light and so messages are sent to the SCN to raise our body temperature and blood preassure. It also delays the bodys release of melatonin from the pineal gland cauing us to feel awake.
7
Q
Talk about the second step in the sleep- wake cycle.
A
As the sun disappears, the messages cool our body temperature and lowers blood preassure as well as releasing melatonin, signaling its time to sleep.
8
Q
What is the process of Michel Siffre’s study?
A
Psychologists have investigated what happens when a person is free of external cues such as time.
Michel Siffre went to live in a cave for 7 months, where he couldn’t tell the time and had no natural light.
9
Q
What did they find out from siffre’s study?
A
They found that his sleep/ wake cycle lengthened to 24.9 hours and he reported the time passed quickly.
10
Q
What do the findings of Michel Siffre’s study show?
A
This shows that circadian rhythms persist despite isolation from natural light which demonstrates the existance of an endogenous clock.
However, it also shows that external cues are important as the clock was not entirely accurate and varied from day to day. So therefore, external cues entrain our endogenous pacemakers.
11
Q
Talk about Aschoff and Wever’s process.
A
55 participants were deprived of natural light whilst spending 4 weeks in an underground
bunker. The researchers found that “all subjects showed free-running circadian rhythms, with the 12 average periods of wakefulness and sleep ranging from 23.9 to 50.0 hours. 36 subjects remained internally synchronized during the whole experiment”.
12
Q
What do Aschoff and Wever’s study show?
A
these findings demonstrate that although the free-running circadian rhythm is more than
24 hours long, as a society we have specific exogenous zeitgebers which entrain the rhythm to
conform to a 24 hour cycle.
13
Q
What does Aschoff and Wever support?
A
Support Siffre as reliable
14
Q
What is the downside to Siffre’s study?
A
CASE STUDY:
Although Siffre conducted
multiple isolation studies, his results may not be able to be generalised to the wider population, especially as individual differences in the duration and stages of circadian rhythms has been shown, hence his results may lack ecological validity.
15
Q
Talk about the Mutant Hamster Study
A
Bred hamsters so they had a circadian rhythms of 20 hours insted of 24. Their SCN’s were than transplanted into normal hampsters resulting in mutant rhythms. This suggests the SCN is the basis of endogenous pacemakers and circadian rhythms.
However, extrapolation is limited
16
Q
What is the menstural cycle?
A
The menstrual cycle occurs approximately every 28 days governed by monthly changes in hormone levels which regulate ovulation. The cycle refers to the time between the first day of a woman’s period to the day before her next period.
The menstrual cycle is an endogenous rhythm but research shows it can be affected by external cues.
17
Q
Talk about the process of the menstural cycle.
A
- The pituitary gland releases FSH and LH, which causes the release of oestrogen. This then inhibits the production of FSH and increases more LH
- Rising levels of oestrogen cause the ovary to develop an egg and release it in a process known as ovulation.- This happens roughly halfway through the cycle for about 16-32 hours
- After ovulation. the levels of progesterone increase which grows the womb lining readying the body for pregnancy
- If pregnancy doesnt occur, the egg is absorbed and the womb lining comes away and leave the body leading to mensuration
18
Q
Talk about McClintock’s study.
A
McClintock got a number of women who either were about to ovulate or had just ovulated to wear a pad under their arm to absorb their sweat. These women were then given to other women to sniff. The menstrual cycles of these women were monitored to see if there was any effect. McClintock found that when women who were about to ovulate , their menstural cycle became shorter and when inhaled secretions from women who just ovulated, their cycles became longer.
19
Q
What does McClintocks study show
A
It shows that the cycle isnt only due to endogenous factors.
20
Q
Talk about McClintock’s evolutionary explanation
A
- This could be seen as having an evolutionary advantage as it ensures women in close proximity could consieve and birth at the same time which is beneficial as they could share breast feeding.
- Further research to support McClintock shows women in male dominated areas have a shorter menstural cycle which shows male pheromones reset womens biological clocks and increase ovulation- has an adaptive function as increases chances of reproduction
21
Q
What is SAD
A
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
This is a disorder affecting people in winter where they are depressed but recover in summer.) It is a yearly cycle so therefore infradian
22
Q
What causes SAD
A
Its caused by increased darkness leading to more melatonin being released. This means on the other hand that less seretonin is produced which is linked to depression.
23
Q
Talk about the real world applications of SAD
A
Real World Application- Phototherapy, this is when a person uses a 10,000 lux light in the morning to change the levels of melatonin and seretonin being produced. Sufferes say that this is enough light to relieve them of their depressive syndromes- shows that its regulated by light levels.
24
Q
Talk about the undermining research of SAD
A
Eastman et al.- found that the placebo effect could be at work in measuring the positive effects of phototherapy. They found that 32% reported improvement with the placebo light. This questions the effectivness of the light and shows it could be more psychological then others.
25
Talk about a different explanation of SAD
Also, SAD could be explained differently in that it may not be infradian. Psychologists say that it could be due to a disrupted circadian rhythm similar to a jet lag as we tend to go to sleep earlier in winter putting our rhythms out of phase.
26
Talk about the sleep cycle
Psychologists have found five stages of sleep that together span around 90 minuites and repeates itself over the course of the night. They are characterised by a different level of brainwave activity.
27
Talk about the 5 stages of sleep
Stages 1 and 2- these are the light sleep stages where a person can be easily waken. Brainwave patterns as slower, alpha waves becoming even slower as sleep becomes deeper- theta waves
Stages 3 and 4- These involve delta waves which are slower with a greater amplitude. This is slow wave sleep.
Stage 5- This is the deepest form of sleep where the body is essentially paralised but brain activity speeds up significantly. REM sleep occurs here which stands for rapid eye movement where dreaming takes place.
28
Talk about EEG's
This is a research method which depicts brain activity through electrical activity occuring on the surface of the brain. The electrical charge is maintained by neurons to produce a readout on a screen appearing as waveforms of varying frequency and amplitude.
29
Talk about supporting evidence for sleep cycle- EEG's
Dement and Kleitman- Monitored the sleep patterns of nine participants in a sleep lab using EEG machines. They. found evidence for stages of sleep specifically REM sleep. They also found evidence of cycles of sleep as REM occurred regularly in a 90 minute cycle Participants woken during REM sleep reported dreams 80 to 90% of the time. The dreams were recalled in great detail and included visual images. This suggested that sleep is an ultradient rhythm as our brain cycles through different phases.
30
Talk about criticism for sleep cycles
Methodological Criticism- Sleep in a laboratory may be qualitatively different from sleep in a person's own bed. So the study lacks ecological validity.
31
Talk about BRAC
Basic Rest Activity Cycle (BRAC)- Psychologists suggest a similar 90 minute rhythm cycle continues during waking hours. This includes. a period of alertness followed by a spell of physiological fatigue. Research suggests that the human mind can focus for about 90 minutes. The body begins to run out of resources, resulting in a loss of concentration fatigue and hunger
32
What is localisation of Function?
Localisation of function is the idea that certain areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours, processes and activities. This means that if a certain area of the brain becomes damaged due to injury or illness, the function associated with that area is also affected.
33
What is lateralisation?
The Brain is divided into two symmetrical halves called the left and right hemisphere. Some of our physical and physiological functions are dominated by a particular hemisphere
Activity on the left hand side of the body is controlled by the right hemisphere and vice versa.
34
What is the Cerebal Cortex?
The outer layer on both hemispheres. It is split into four lobes
35
Talk about the frontal lobe.
Frontal Lobe- This containes the motor area, (both hemispheres) which controls voluntary movement in the opposite side of the body.
36
Talk about the Parietal Lobe
Parietal Lobes- They contain the somatosensory area which is where sensory information from the skin is represented.
37
Talk about the Occipital Lobe
Occipital Lobe- This holds the visual area which holds information from both eyes. Each eye sends information from the right visual field to the left visual cortex.
38
Talk about the Temporal Lobe?
Temporal Lobe- This houses the autitory cortex which analyses speach based information
39
Talk about the language area of the brain- Broca's area
Language is restricted to the left hemisphere in most people. In 1880, Paul Broca identified a small area of the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production. Damage to this area says speech becomes slow and lacking fluency. This became known as the Broca’s area.
40
Talk about the language area of the brain- Wenicke's area
Around the same time, Karl Wenicke was describing patents who had no problem producing language, but had problem understanding it. This lead to the finding of the Wernicke’s area, a small region in the left temporal lobe.
41
Evaluate Localisation- brain scanning evidence
Brain Scanning Evidence- Peterson et al used brain scans to demonstrate how the Wernicke area was active during a listening task and Broca’s area was active during a reading task, suggesting these areas have different functions. Also in Tulvings study of Long-term memory, found that semantic and episodic memories are active in different sections of the prefrontal cortex
42
Talk about the Neurosurgical evidence of localisation.
Neurosurgical Evidence- The practice of surgically removing areas of the brain control ascpecys of behaviour. Early attempts of a lobotomy were brutal and typically involved severing connections in the **frontal lobe** in an attempt to control aggressive behaviour.
This still exists today, contreversially, to control extreme cases of OCD or depression. For example a report on 44 OCD patients who went through similar precidures showed that after 32 weeks, a third had met their criteria and 14% had a partial response. This strongly suggests behaviours are associated with serious mental disorders are localised
43
Talk about case study evidence of localisation
Phinneas Gage- whilst trying to blast a section of rock to create a new railway, Gage dropped his tamping iron into the rock causing the explosive to explode and hurl the metre long pole through his left cheek, behind his eye and exiting his skull. This damaged most of his brain mainly the frontal lobe. However, he survived, but his personality switched from someone who was calm and reserved to a short-tempered, rude man. This shows that behaviour can be infuenced by lateralisation.
However, Due to the study being a case study, the conclusions are only based on one person which limits generalisability
44
What is Plasticity?
The brain is described as having plasticity- This refers to the brains tendency to change and adapt, both functionally and physically, as a result of experience and new learning.
As we age, rarely used connections are deleted and frequently used connections are strengthened in a process known as cognitive pruning. This shows that the brain is continually changing.
45
Talk about Maguire.
Taxi Driver study: AIM- to investigate weather or not the hippocampus plays a role in human spatial memory.
Various ages of taxi drivers with differing experiences were compared against a group of non-taxi drivers of the same age and gender. MRI scans were used to find how the brains of taxi drivers compared to non-taxi drivers.
They found that Taxi drivers showed significantly more grey matter in both the left and right hippocampus compared to the control group. This supports plasticity as the longer theyve been a taxi driver, the greater the volume of the hippocampus.
46
Weakness of Maguire
However, the study may lack validity as the difference in the taxi drivers hippocampus may have always been there which is wh they chose a job where navigation skills were important.
47
What is Negative Plasticity?
Negative plasticity is when neural adaptations result in negative consequences for the individual. It contrasts with positive plasticity, where changes improve cognitive function or aid recovery. an example is Phantom Limb Syndrome:
After amputation, the area of the somatosensory cortex linked to the missing limb can be taken over by nearby regions.
This maladaptive reorganisation can cause painful sensations in the missing limb.
48
What is functional Recovery?
This is a form of plasticity following damage to trauma. The brain can redistribute or transfer functions usually performed by a damaged area to another area.
The transfer of functions to undamaged areas is known as neural reorganisation, and it explains how people recover. New neurons may grow to compensate for the damaged areas where neurons are lost. This is known as neural regeneration (axon sprouting).
When the brain is maturing, recovery from trauma is more likely because maturing brains are constantly adapting to more experiences and learning.
49
Talk about evidence to support functional recovery?
Grouped rats with traumatic brain injury to one of two groups. 1 group received transplants of stem cells into the region of the brain affected by traumatic injury. The control group received a solution infused into the brain containing no stem cells. Three months after the brain injury, the brains of stem cells rats showed clear development of neuron-like cells in the area of injury. This was a. accompanied by a solid stream of stem cells migrating to the brain sight of injury
- Ethical issues
- hard to generalise
50
Talk about Sperry's Split-brain research.- introduction
Sperry's studies involved a unique group of individuals of whom had undergone the same surgical procedure in which the corpus colossum and other tissues which connect the two brain hemispheres were cut down the middle in order to separate the two hemispheres and control frequent and severe epileptic seizures. This meant that for these split brain patients, the main communication line between the two hemispheres was removed. This allowed Sperry and his colleagues to see the extent to which the two hemispheres were specialised for certain functions, and whether the hemispheres performed task independently from one another.
51
Talk about Sperry's initial procedure
He devised a general procedure in which an image or word could be projected to a patient's right visual field, and the same or different image could be projected to the left visual field. in the normal brain, the corpus callosum would immediately share the information between both hemispheres, giving a complete picture of what the visual word was. However, presenting the image to one hemisphere of a split brain patient meant that the information could not be conveyed from that hemisphere to the other.
52
Talk about Sperry: describing what you see
When an image was shown to the participant’s right visual field they could easily describe what was seen (the information had gone to their left hemisphere)
When a picture was presented to their left visual field they could not describe it in words, in fact, they often reported that there was nothing there (the information had gone to their right hemisphere)
53
Talk about Sperry- recognition by touch
he participants’ hands were covered and they could not see the objects that were then presented to them
Sperry placed a series of objects in the participants’ hands (objects placed in the right hand are processed in the left hemisphere and vice-versa)
When an object was placed in the right hand the participant could describe it using speech or writing
When an object was placed in the left hand the participant made wild guesses as to what it was and often seemed unaware that they were holding anything, but they could select a matching object from a ‘grab bag’ using their left hand
54
Talk about Sperry- composite words
When two words were presented simultaneously (e.g. key and ring, one word to each visual field), the participant would write the word ‘key’ with their left hand (left-hand goes to right hemisphere linked to the left visual field) and say the word ‘ring’ (right visual field links to left hemisphere)
55
Talk about Sperry- Matching Faces
When participants were asked to draw a picture presented to the right visual field (left hemisphere), the right hand performed worse than the left hand (right hemisphere)
When participants were asked to draw a picture presented to the left visual field (right hemisphere), the drawings from the left hand were much better than from the right hand (all the participants were right-handed)
56
Talk about sperry's conclusions
The left hemisphere is responsible for speech and language. And the right hemisphere is responsible for visuospatial processing and facial recognition.
However, split brain research has not shown that the brain is organised into discreet regions with specific sections responsible for specific tasks, as stated in localization.. Just that the connectivity between the different regions is as important as the operation of the different parts.
57
Evaluate Sperry
- **Strong Methodology:** Sperry’s research used well-designed, standardised procedures, such as flashing images quickly to one eye while the other was blindfolded, ensuring precise control over which hemisphere was exposed. These methods allowed for replicable experiments, increasing the reliability of findings.
- **Theoretical Contributions:** The research sparked debate about the extent of communication between the brain’s hemispheres. Some psychologists suggested the hemispheres function so differently that they represent a form of duality, challenging traditional views of unified brain function.
- **Evidence for Lateralisation:** Split-brain research clearly demonstrated lateralisation of brain function. The left hemisphere was shown to specialise in language tasks, while the right was dominant in visuo-spatial tasks. This supported the idea of hemispheric specialisation, with the left as the analyser and the right as the synthesiser.
- **Sample Limitations:** The use of epileptic patients who had undergone commissurotomy introduced confounding variables. Differences in medication use and the extent of corpus callosum lesioning could have influenced results, making it harder to draw reliable causal conclusions about lateralisation.
58
Talk about Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
fMRI works by detecting the changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occurs as a result of neural activity in specific parts of the brain. When a brain area is more active, it consumes more oxygen and to meet increased demand, blood flow is directed to the active area. This produces 3D images showing which parts of the brain are involved in particular mental processes and this has important implications for our understanding of Localisation of function.
59
Evaluate fMRI
**Strengths-** One key strength of fMRI is unlike other scanning techniques, it doesnt rely on the use of radiation so is less risky and invasive and subsequently more straight forward to use. It also has high spatial resolution depicting detail by the milimeter to preduce a clear picture.
**Weaknesses-** It is expensive in comparison to other techniques and can only capture a clear picture if a person is extremely still. It also has poor temporal resolution as there is a 5-second-lag between the image on the screen and the initial firing of neuronal activity. It also only measures blood flow, not the type of brain activity.
60
Talk about Electroencephalogram's (EEGs)
These measure electrical activity within the brain via electrodes that are fixed to the scalp. The scan recording represents the brainwave patterns that are generated from the actions of millions of neurons. It can indicate abnormalities alike epilepsy, tumours or sleep disorders.
61
Evaluate EEG's
**Strengths-** EEG has contributed much to our understanding of the stages involved in sleep stages and ultradian rhythms as well as valuable in diagnosis of conditions such as epilepsy. Unlike fMRI, EEG technology has extremely high temporal resolution and can accuratly detect brain activity within a milisecond.
**Weaknesses-** Poor spatial resolution- fails to pinpoint the exact location of neural activity and doesn’t allow researchers to distinguish between activities sourcing from different but adjacent locations.
62
Talk about Event- Related potentials (ERPs)
This is when the brains electrophysical response to a specific sensory, cognitive or motor event can be isolated through statistical analysis of the EEG data. This leaves only the responses to a specific stimuli or performance of a specific task.
63
Evaluate ERP's
**Strengths-** Limitations of EEG’s have partly been addressed in ERP’s which bring much more specificity to the measurment of neural processes than from raw EEG data. They have high temporal resolution and are widespread used in the measurment of cognitive functions and defecits.
**Weaknesses-** there is a lack of standardisation between different research which makes it hard to confirm findings. In order to get correct data, background noise and extreneous material needs to be completely eliminated which may not always be easy to get.
64
Talk about Post- Mortem Exams
The brain is analysed after death to determine whether certain observed behaviours during the patients life can be linked to abnormalities in the brain. The subjects are likely to have a rare disorder or experienced unusual defectis and so their brain is compared with another ‘normal functioning’ brain
65
Evaluate Post- Mortems
**Strengths-** Post-mortem information is critical in providing a foundation for early understanding of key processes in the brain for example with Broca and Wenicke’s studies showing that it can help improve medical knowledge.
**Weaknesses-** Observed damage may not be linked to the defecits under review so causation is an issue. They also raise ethical issues regrading consent before death alinke HM who underwent an examination but didnt provide consent.
66
Two main divisions of the nervous system
- Peripheral nervous system
- Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
67
Somatic nervous system
- part of PNS
- unlike Autonomic, it is responsible for carrying sensory and motor information to and from CNS
68
What is synaptic transmission
-process by which a nerve impulse passes across the synaptic cleft from one neuron to another (pre to post synaptic)
69
What are hormones?
The body’s chemical messengers. They travel through the bloodstream, influencing many different processes including mood and the stress response.
70
Describe autonomic nervous system
- part of PNS
- controls brain’s involuntary activities
-self-regulating (autonomous)
- further divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
71
Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
- antagonistic pair during ‘fight or flight’ and ‘rest and digest’
Sympathetic: increases heart rate, breathing rate, pupil dilation
Parasympathetic: decreases heart rate, breathing rate, pupil constriction
72
Endocrine system
Main chemical messenger system of the body, where hormones are secreted into the bloodstream from glands, and are then transported towards target cells in the blood, with complementary receptors.
Pituitary gland considered to be ‘master gland’.
73
What is fight or flight response?
The fight or flight response is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.
It prepares your body to either confront (fight) or flee from the threat by triggering changes like increased heart rate, quickened breathing, and heightened alertness.
74
Process of fight or flight
1. Threat perceived → hypothalamus activates sympathetic ANS.
2.Adrenal medulla releases adrenaline.
3.Adrenaline leads to physiological changes e.g increased heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, glycogen → glucose.
4.Post-threat, parasympathetic branch returns body to normal (rest & digest).
75
Strength of fight or flight response
Adaptive: Useful in short-term threats. A strength is that it is an evolutionary adaptation for dealing with real physical threats.
76
Limitation of fight or flight ( modern day)
The fight or flight response is an evolutionary survival technique however modern day life can trigger this too frequently in inappropriate situations. This can be detrimental to out health and cause coronary heart disease. Furthermore too much cortisol can result in us being more prone to illness. Therefore the very process that is designed to save our lives could in fact cause illness.
77
Weakness of fight or flight ( women)
Research suggests that females have a different behavioural response to stress, known as tend and befriend. This is due to women's role as a PCG ( primary caregiver)they are thus more likely to protect themselves and their children through nurturing behaviours and forming alliances with other women. This suggests that therefore women may have evolved differently saying that the fight or flight response can not be applied to both genders.
78
Weakness of fight or flight (another response)
Research suggests that there are other responses before fight or flight. He said that humans are more interested in avoiding confrontation rather than fleeing it. This is known as the freeze response where by people are hyper vigilant and alert to any danger. The freezing focuses attention and helps people find new information in order to deal with the threat.
This limits the value of insight psychologists have in accurately explaining response to stress.
79
Process of synaptic transmission
1. Electrical signal within a neuron reaches the axon terminal of that neuron.
2.Neurotransmitters are released from vesicles and cross over the synapse where they are taken up by receptors in the dendrites of the other neuron.
3. Neurotransmitter is converted back to an electrical signal which passes along the axon of that neuron until it reaches the axon terminal where the chain can continue.
80
Excitation and inhibition
Excitatory: Increase the likelihood of the neuron firing
Inhibitory: Decrease the likelihood of the neuron firing
81
Three types of neurons
Sensory neurons: Transmit information from the senses (e.g. the eyes or fingertips) to the central nervous system
Motor neurons: Transmit information between the central nervous system and the organs and muscles (e.g. an instruction to the adrenals to produce adrenaline)
Relay neurons: Connect neurons to other neurons (e.g. motor neurons to sensory neurons) and transmit information within the central nervous system (also called interneurons)
