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psych bio > pack 1 bio, brain and behaviour > Flashcards

pack 1 bio, brain and behaviour Flashcards

1
Q

what are the key assumptions of bio psych?

A

All behaviours is determined by biological factors, CNS is a major influence on behaviour, and behavioural and psychological developments is assumed to be based on changes in the brain and general biology

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2
Q

Advantages of use of ethical guidelines in psychological research w animals

A

Rigourous legislation and clear guidleines protect aniamsl that unable to defend themselves, means research can be carried out with benefit to humans without the cost of findings being too high for animals,adhering to society’es moral standards means people are comfortable with research being carried out on animals ensuring good rep of psychological research

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3
Q

Disadvantages of ethical guidelines in psychological research w animals

A

replications might be prevented so study cannot be repeated ,licences from home office are expensive and difficult to acquire limiting researching opportunities, cannot use endangered species eg Bonobo apes are our closest relatives increasing generalisability but endangered

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4
Q

what is the function of the frontal lobe?

A

decision making, problem solving, and planning

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5
Q

what is the function of the parietal lobe?

A

concerned with the reception and processing of sensory info from the body

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6
Q

what is the function of temporal lobe?

A

memory, emotion, hearing and language

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7
Q

what is the function of the occipital lobe?

A

sight and sense of movement

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8
Q

what is the role of the cerebellum?

A

balance, movement, co-ordination

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9
Q

describe the prefrontal cortex

A

part of the frontal lobe sits behind forehead, develops at age 20 and several executive functions inhibiting inappropriate responses, decision making, motivational behaviour`

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10
Q

briefly describe phineas gage’s case study?

A

railway worker who suffered accidental damage t his pre-frontal lobe when a bolt went through his cheeck and up through his eye into his brain. recovered physically not psychologically sober,quiet family man to angry irritableand showed poor social judgement

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11
Q

what is the right hemisphere associated with ?

A

creativity, intuition and movement of the left hand side of the body

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12
Q

what is the function of the left hemosphere

A

concerned with the right hand side of the body and important role to play in language functioning

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13
Q

what is the corpus callosum?

A

how the hemispheres are joined together and ensures the hemispheres can communicate with each other

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14
Q

what are the ventricles?

A

linked system of cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid. which is produced to ensure it circulates around the brain as it bathes and cushions the brain and ensures the chemical stability and the provision of nutrients

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15
Q

what is the limbic system?

A

complex system of structures and nerve networks deep inside the brain linked to instinct and mood and basic emotions like fear and pleasure and drives like hunger and sex

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16
Q

function of the thalamus? (limbic system)

A

relays info from 5 senses to relevant parts of the cortex which play an important role in emotions because we react to stimuli around us inc stimuli we perceive as threatening

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17
Q

function of amygdala? (limbic system)

A

emotions such as anger, fear are linked to this structure eg if our sense perceive a threat this region is stimulated the flight/fight response is linked to this area

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18
Q

what is the function of the hippocampus? (limbic system)

A

memory formation eg converting STM into LTM therefore this area could be linked to emotions in evolutionary terms it makes sense to remember things that frighten them so they can be avoided in the future

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19
Q

function of hypothalamus? (limbic system)

A

regulates bodily functions via stimulating hormones this structure linked to flight or fight response which req lots of energy so it involves the release of hormone called adrenaline it diverts oxygen to our muscles speeds uo our heart rate and lowers our pain threshold which enables us to act aggressively in order to defend ourselves

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20
Q

what is action potential’s direction?

A

from the main body cell, down the long axon to the synaptic terminals

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21
Q

what is the CNS

A

central processor of info and control centre for human behaviour made up of all the neurons in the brain and spinal cord

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22
Q

what is the peripheral nervous system? (PNS)

A

branches out from spinal cord it’s a web of nerves carrying info to and from the CNS to the rest of the body

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23
Q

what is the role of the nervous system?

A
  • monitors and co ordinates internal organ function
  • responds to changes in the external environment
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24
Q

what two parts is the nervous system divided into?

A
  • central
  • peripheral
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25
Q

describe the process of information passing through the CNS

A
  • nerves send information to the brain via the spinal cord
  • the spinal cord receives information from the skin, joints and muscles
  • the brain receives information from the senses via the spinal cord
  • the brain processes the information and sends a message to the body via the spinal cord
  • the brain uses the information to react, remember, think and plan
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26
Q

what is the role of neurons?

A
  • pass messages via electrical impulses
  • receive and transmit between brain cells in response to info received from the rest of the body
27
Q

what is the function of the neuron

A

to communicate with 1000s of other cells at a time in huge networks. these networks adapt as we have new experiences new networks are formed when we learn something new

28
Q

describe the axon

A

long branch from the cell body that passes electrical impulses down to the other end of the neuron

29
Q

describe dendrites

A

branches at the top end of the neuron that receive messages from the other neurons

30
Q

describe cell body

A

main point of the cell where the nucleus sits and it contains mitocondria

31
Q

describe the axon hillock

A

the area that connects the cell body to the axon and where action potential is generated

32
Q

describe the myelin sheath

A

fatty deposit that provides electrical insulation for an axon and allows electrical nerve impulse to be passed along faster

33
Q

describe the nodes of ranvier

A

gaps between adjacent myelin sheaths speed up action potential

34
Q

when do neurons transmit signals?

A

when stimulated by the sensory input or triggered by neighbouring neurons

35
Q

what is sent across the synaptic gap?

A

chemical messengers called neurotransmitters

36
Q

what happens if the neurotransmitter isn’t accepted into the next neuron?

A

it is reabsorbed by the pre synaptic neuron

37
Q

define ‘neuron’

A

fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, responsible for receiving sensory input and sending electrical impulses between the brain and body to transfer messages

38
Q

describe the axon terminal

A
  • at ends of axon
  • has terminal buttons
  • pass nerve impulse from cell body to part of body they control or activate
  • contains vesicles which store neurotransmitters
39
Q

summarise the process of how a message is sent via neurons

A
  • electrical impulse travels down axon
  • electrical impulse arrives at terminal button
  • synaptic vesicles in terminal button release neurotransmitters
  • electrical signals are transferred to chemical signals
  • each neurotransmitter binds to a specific receptor
  • after transmission, neurotransmitter is broken down or reabsorbed
40
Q

what is meant by the ‘action potential’?

A

the method by which the nerve impulse passes down the axon of the neuron to stimulate the release of neurotransmitters

41
Q

what is the synapse?

A

where the communication between one neuron and the next takes place it has three main elements pre-synaptic neuron where action potential starts, post-synaptic neuron where the message travels to and the tiny gap between the two called the synaptic cleft which neurotransmitters are released into and travel across it

42
Q

what’s the function of neurotransmitters?

A

chemical messengers that take around info that are released from pre-synaptic neuron into the synaptic cleft after an action potential then stimulate post-synaptic neuron and assist neuron to make its own action potential and also inhibit the post-synaptic neuron making it less likely to produce an action potential. allow neurons to communicate.

43
Q

describe the processes of synaptic transmission

A
  • action potential moves down pre-synaptic neurons and causes vesicles with neurotransmitters to move close to the terminal membrane
  • vesicles fuse with the membrane in a process called exocytosis which causes neurotransmitters to be released into synaptic cleft
  • neurotransmitters bind to protein receptors on the post-synaptic neuron & stimulate both neurons the activation of the receptors on the post-synaptic neuron causes the post-synaptic to increase the probability of producing an action potential
  • once neurotransmitter released into cleft removed by reuptake taken back up to pre-synaptic neuron
    degraded by enzymes in the synaptic cleft
    diffusion dispersed away from synaptic cleft
44
Q

describe serotonin

A

neurotransmitter
- happiness and good mood
- regulates sleep-wake cycle with melatonin
- low levels linked to depression and anxiety
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors prescribed for mental disorders

45
Q

describe dopamine

A

neurotransmitter
- produces pleasure when the reward pathway is activated
- memory, learning, movement

46
Q

describe endorphins

A

neurotransmitter
- relieves pain and stress
- during pleasurable activities

47
Q

strength of synaptic transmission as an explanation of how messages move around the brain

A

Much of the evidence comes from brain scans such as PET scans. This provides objective and reliable evidence of the brain functioning which increases reliability. For example, PET scans have shown differences in synaptic receptor sites related to the serotonin pathway in women with PMDD suggesting synaptic transmission is important for the brain. However, PET scans do not give microscopic detail on transmission

48
Q

weakness of synaptic transmission

A

Much of the evidence that has come from animals to generalise from rats and cats to human brains isn’t valid as there are differences in animal brains to humans for example Van den Oever uses rats to study changes in the synapses of heroin-addicted rats when they relapse which may not be accurate for humans. Additionally, individual differences isn’t taken to account as it assumes everyone’s synaptic transmission is used in the brain in the same way. Some ppt with diff levels of neurotransmitters so processes can be the same but messages are influenced

49
Q

Define recreational drugs

A

used in the absence of medical grounds for personal enjoyment altering brain function eg changing mood,perception and conscious experience

50
Q

What happens when dopamine pathways are activated?

A

activated by rewarding behaviour eg sex,eating food which stimulate the release of normal levels of dopamine in nucleus accumbens,ventral tegmental area in the limbic system. messages are sent to the frontal cortex and we exp pleasurable feelings likely to exist to encourage us to repeat these behaviours to survive

51
Q

Effect of recreational drugs on the transmission process in the CNS

A

altering the dopamine system. increase the levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, and ventral tegmental area (cocaine and heroin target this system)

52
Q

how do recreational drugs work?

A

change the way dopamine works in the synapses of the brain and alter the communication of neurons. Intensify and prolong activity in the reward system ensuring dopamine levels continually excites post-synaptic neuron within the system so that they keep firing

53
Q

how does heroin affect synaptic transmission?

A

increasing amount of dopamine released into the system by indirectly leading to excitation of dopamine neurons in the VTA so that more dopamine is released into the synapse

54
Q

how does nicotine affect synaptic transmission?

A

stopping the action of enzymes that would normally breakdown dopamine so more dopamine is left in the synaptic cleft

55
Q

define euphoria

A

intense pleasurable feeling is known as a ‘high’

56
Q

how does cocaine affect synaptic transmission?

A

blocks transport receptors on the presynaptic neurons in VTA the pre-synaptic neuron doesn’t reuptake dopamine meaning dopamine remains in the synaptic cleft for longer this prolongs and intensifies the stimulation of the post-synaptic neuron and VTA activates nucleus accumbens and user ex euphoria

57
Q

describe the effect of cocaine

A

immediate effects after a single dosage and disappear within a few minutes or an hour making the user feel euphoric, energetic, energetic, talkative and mentally alert to sight, sound and touch. Decreases need for food and sleep temporarily

58
Q

Describe how addiction is formed.

A

The brain is a self-regulating system and reacts to this over-production of dopamine by reducing how much dopamine it naturally produces the plasticity of the brain allows it to adapt to changes imposed by the use of the drug means the brain won’t operate without drugs. After a ‘high’ there are feelings of dysphoria which leads to repeated use and then tolerance is built so one needs a greater dose of the drug and then becomes physically dependent on drug

59
Q

Define withdrawal

A

When a drug is no longer active in our nervous system resulting in unpleasant symptoms which can be dangerous

60
Q

weakness of ethics for effects of drugs

A
  • evidence often using animals to support conclusions on how drugs affect the brain eg
    Straiker at al found cannabis affected the functioning of the hippocampus in mice such research wouldn’t be ethical to do on humans/Van den Oever affect of herorin on Winstar rats by getting them addicted then decapitating them to investigate effects of the drug
61
Q

strength psych as a science for the effects of drugs

A

Well-controlled and standardised this means scientific credibility is high brain scans are also often used eg Li et al fMRI scan on ppts to show heroin changed functioning and connections in the brain in humans so addictive thinking became associated with the reward. however, brain scans cannot give an accurate picture of brain functioning when drugs have been taken they cannot show tiny changes of synapse

62
Q

what is heroin?

A

drug made from morphine extracted from opium poppy- very strong painkiller

63
Q

effects of heroin?

A

highly addictive, administered through injections -HIV, intense euphoria

psych bio (11 decks)

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