Paper 2: Section B - Biopsychology Flashcards
(93 cards)
1
Q
What is the nervous system ?
A
- Specialised network of cells
- Enable communication within body
- Responsible for regulating and coordinating voluntary and involuntary processes
2
Q
What’s the division of the nervous system ?
A
- Human nervous system
- Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (somatic and autonomic) nervous system
3
Q
What does the peripheral nervous system do ?
A
Transmit messages to and from CNS to test if the body through nerves
4
Q
What’s the role of the somatic nervous system ?
A
- Voluntary movements
- transmit sensory info between body and brain
- motor neurons used between CNS and effectors
5
Q
What’s the role of autonomic nervous system ?
A
- involuntary movements
- transmit info to and from internal bodily organs
- work alongside endocrine system
6
Q
What’s the role of the sympathetic nervous system under the autonomic nervous system ?
A
Produce fight or flight response
7
Q
What’s the role of the parasympathetic nervous system under the autonomic nervous system?
A
Produce and rest and digest response
8
Q
What is the structure of a neuron ?
A
DENDRITES: branched like structures receive electrical signals from other neurons
CELL BODY (SOMA): contain nucleus which control neurons activity and provide energy
AXON: long fibre, transmit electrical impulse away from cell body
MYELIN SHEATH: fatty layer that insulate axon, increasing speed of signal transmission
NODES OF RANVIER: gaps in myelin sheath where action potentials ‘jump’ from node to node, speeding up transmission
AXON TERMINAL: endpoint of neuron, signal are transmitted to other neurons via synaptic transmission
9
Q
What are the three types of neurons ?
A
Sensory
Relay
Motor
10
Q
What’s the structure and function of a sensory neuron ?
A
STRUCTURE:
- long dendrites
- short axons
- cell body usually in middle
FUNCTION:
- carry info from sensory organs to CNS
11
Q
What’s the structure and function of relay neuron ?
A
STRUCTURE:
- short dendrites
- short axons
- lack of myelin sheath
FUNCTION:
- connect sensory neurons to motor
- critical in processing and interpreting informatio
12
Q
What’s the structure and function of motor neuron ?
A
STRUCTURE:
- short dendrites
- long axons
- cell body in CNS
FUNCTION:
- transmit signal from CNS to effectors I.e muscles and glands
13
Q
What are the stages of the reflex arc ?
A
- Receptors in skin detect
- Info sent down Sensory neurons
- Then into relay neuron with the spinal cord
- Then to motor neuron
- Then effector
14
Q
What is synaptic transmission ?
A
How neighbouring neurons send messages to each other
Signal sent between neurons is chemically
15
Q
What’s a neurotransmitter?
A
Brain chemicals released that relay signals across neurons via the synapse which are excitatory or inhibitory
16
Q
What is excitation ?
A
Increases positive charge of postsynaptic neuron and therefore increases likelihood of electrical passing on
17
Q
What’s inhibition ?
A
Increases negative charge of postsynaptic neuron and therefore decreases the likelihood of it passing on the electrical impulse
18
Q
What’s summation ?
A
- Process of the total amount of excitatory and inhibitory signals arrived at post synaptic neuron are inter grated to determine if neuron will fire action potential.
- happens at axon hillock
- this process determines if action potential threshold has been reached or not
19
Q
What’s the process of synaptic transmission ?
A
- Action potential reach axon terminal
- Trigger vesicles in pre synaptic membrane to release neurotransmitters across synapse vis diffusion (making signal chemical)
- Chemical signal then arrives and locks onto special post synaptic receptors found on membrane of adjacent post synaptic neuron (signal converted back to electrical)
- Post synaptic receptors stimulated result in excitation or inhibition via summation
- Enzymes are released to break down excess neurotransmitters
- Vesicles are replenished with new and reused neurotransmitters ready for next impulse or excess neurotransmitters are re absorbed by synaptic terminals from which it was released
20
Q
What’s the endocrine system ?
A
Network of glands that secrete hormones into bloodstream to regulate physiological processes
21
Q
What’s a gland ?
A
Specialised organs that secrete substances such as hormones, enzymes or other fluids
22
Q
What are hormones ?
A
Chemical messengers that are released in bloodstream and travel to specific area and bind to specific receptors on target cells
23
Q
What are the diff glands ?
A
Pituitary
Hypothalamus
Thyroid
Parathyroid
Adrenal
Pancreas
Testes
Ovaries
24
Q
What’s the role of hypothalamus ?
A
Controls pituitary gland
25
What’s role of pituitary gland ?
Secrete many different hormones
Regulate endocrine system
26
What’s the role of parathyroids ?
Help regulate level of calcium in blood
27
What’s the role of thyroid gland ?
Produce thyroxine
Affects cells in heart, control metabolic rate and growth rate
HYPOthyroidism: lack of thyroxine - depression, slow movement, weight gain, tiredness
HYPERthyroidism: too much thyroxine - nervousness, anxiety, weight loss, hyperactivity, insomnia
28
What’s the role of adrenal glands ?
Produce adrenaline
Prepare body for rapid activity
Increase heart rate
Increase blood sugar levels
Divert blood to muscles and brain
29
What’s the role of pancreas ?
Produce insulin which controls blood sugar level
30
What’s the role of the ovaries ?
Produce oestrogen
Cause change in puberty
Help,control menstrual cycle
31
What’s the role of testes ?
Produce testosterone
Cause change at puberty
Stimulate sperm production
32
What is oxytocin ?
Produced in pituitary gland
Released when bonded with another person
Important in women:
- cause contraction during birth
- help shrink uterus after birth
- released during breastfeeding to stimulate ‘let down’ of milk
- involved in mother child bonding process
33
How is fight or flight response formed ?
1. Person enter stressful/dangerous environment
2. Amygdala activated sends distress signal to hypothalamus
3. Hypothalamus activates sympathomedullary pathway which runs to adrenal gland and sympathetic nervous system
4. SNS stimulates adrenal medulla part of adrenal gland to secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline into blood
5. Adrenaline prepares body for fight or flight with physiological changes
34
How does body respond to prolonged stress ?
Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal system (HPA axis)
HPA axis: sequence of bodily activities in response to stress that involve hypothalamus pituitary gland and adrenal cortex
Hypothalamus: release chemical messenger called corticotropin
Causes pituitary gland to produce and release adrenocortictropic hormone (ACTH) which stimulates adrenal cortex to release cortisol as it gives quick bursts of energy and lowers our sensitivity to pain
35
What is spatial resolution ?
Smallest measurement that a scanner can detect
36
What is temporal resolution ?
Accuracy if scanner in relation to time.
how quickly scanner can detect changes in brain activity
37
What are the 4 ways of studying the brain ?
1.fMRI
2.EEG
3.ERP
4.Post Morton
38
39
What is an fMRI ?
- Detects changes in both blood oxygenation and flow that occur as a result of neural activity in specific parts of brain
- high spatial resolution 1-2 mm accuracy
- low temporal resolution 1-4 seconds
40
What is an EEG ?
- Measures electrical activity within brain via electrodes that are attached to individuals scalp using a skull cap.
- low spatial resolution
- high temporal resolution
41
What’s an ERP ?
- technique of EEG it’s a statistical averaging of EEG output
- low spatial resolution
- high temporal resolution
42
What’s a post Mortem ?
- study brain after death
- high spatial resolution
- low temporal resolution
43
What are the ads and disads of fMRI ?
ADS:
- not rely on radiation
- high spatial resolution
- help plan safe surgeries and estimate risk on surgical routes
DISADS:
- expensive to use
- poor temporal resolution
- can’t see communication between parts of brain
- impressive to get causation at neural level
44
What are the ads and disads of EEG ?
ADS:
- high temporal resolution
- non invasive and no radiation
- cheaper than fMRI
- used to study sleep and epilepsy
DISADS:
- low spatial resolution
- can be uncomfortable
45
What are the ads and disads of ERP ?
ADS:
- more specific measurements of processing changes related to stimulus manipulation m- non invasive and cheaper than other methods with same temporal resolution as EEG
DISADS:
- no impossible to eliminate ‘background noise’
- uncomfortable
- low spatial resolution
46
What are the ads and disads of post mortem ?
ADS:
- high spatial resolution
- vital in understanding brain
DISADS:
- lack of causation due to changes after death
- low temporal resolution
- ethical issues, consent and specific permission
47
What is localisation ?
Specific areas of the brain are associated with specific physical and psychological functions
48
What is lateralisation ?
Two side of brain called hemispheres (left and right)
49
What are the four lobes of the brain ?
Frontal
Temporal
Occipital
Parietal
50
What’s the role of frontal lobe ?
Area of the cortex relating to thinking, decision making and social skills
51
What’s role of the temporal lobe ?
Area of cerebral cortex that’s related to auditory processing
52
What’s the role of occipital lobe ?
Area of cerebral cortex that’s related to visual processing including colour and depth perception
53
What’s the role of parietal lobe ?
Area of cerebral cortex that is vital for sensory perception and integration
54
What are the four cortexes ?
Auditory
Somatosensory
Visual
Motor
55
What’s the role of somatosensory cortex ?
Area of parietal lobe and it processes sensory info from the skin
56
What’s the role of auditory cortex ?
Area of temporal lobe and analyses speech based info
57
What’s the role of visual cortex ?
Area of occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information
58
What’s role of motor cortex ?
Area in frontal lobe involved in regulating movement
59
What is Broca’s area ?
Area in frontal lobe involved left hemisphere responsible for speech production
60
What is broca’s aphasia ?
Damage to area of left frontal lobe causing speech production deficits
61
What is wernickes area ?
Area in temporal lobe of left hemisphere which is responsible for language comprehension
62
What is wernickes aphasia ?
Damage to left temporal lobe causing language comprehension deficits
63
Research to support idea of localisation
BUCKNER AND PETERSEN:
- review long term memory
- revealed semantic and episodic memories reside in diff parts of prefrontal cortex
- Peterson et Al used brain scans to show how wernickes area was active in listening task and Broca’s area was active during reading task
DOUGHERTY ET AL:
- reported on 44 ppl with OCD who underwent cingulotomy
- did post surgical follow up 32 weeks later
- 30% had met criteria for successful response to surgery
- 14% for partial response
64
Research against idea of localisation
LASHLEY:
- removed areas of cortex in rats that were learning the route through maze
- no area in brain was sought to be most important when coming to learn the route
- process of learning seemed to use most of cortex
- proposed EQUIPOTENTIALITY THEORY: basic motor and sensory function can be localised but higher mental functions can’t
65
66
What’s contralateral ?
Opposite side of something
Left hemisphere control right side of body
Right hemisphere control left side side of body
67
What is ipsilateral ?
Located on same side of body
68
What is split brain research ?
- severing the connections between left and right hemisphere
- mainly by corpus callosum
- study how the hemispheres function when they can’t communicate with each other
69
ROGER SPERRY split brain research:
AIM: to see how two separated hemispheres deal with speech or vision
SAMPLE: 11 ppl who had split brain operation
METHOD: image projected to ppt right field of view (processed by left hemisphere) and the same or diff image projected to left field of view (processed by right hemisphere)
FINDINGS:
- info presented to RFV could be described in speech and writing with right hand
- images show in LFV couldn’t be named but could draw and point with left hand to match picture up
CONCLUSION : these observations shows how certain functions are lateralised in the brain and support the view that LH is verbal and RH is ‘silent’ but emotional
70
Research to support lateralisation:
KIM PEEK CASE STUDY:
- born wi no corpus callosum
- memory was prodigious
- word for word recalled over 12,000 books
- read two pages in around 10s
- able to simultaneously read one page with RFV and other page with LFV
ROGERS ET AL RESEARCH ON CHICKENS:
- showed that lateralised chickens could find food whilst watching for predator but normal chickens couldn’t
- following damage to area of brain some functions can be taken over by non specific areas in opposite hemisphere
71
Research against lateralisation:
TURK ET AL:
- case study on patient know as J.W
- developed capacity to speak using right hemisphere
- alongside this findings from plasticity studies show compensation by undamaged regions on opposite hemisphere (Danielle et Al)
72
73
What are the strengths and weaknesses of split brain research ?
STRENGTHS :
- scientific experiments so high reliability due to lab conditions
- enabled discoveries of lateralisation of function
WEAKNESS:
- lack of control groups
- ppt variables
- not generalisable
- oversimplified lateralisation
74
What is neural plasticity ?
Brains ability to change and adapt by forming new neural connections in response to learning, experience or environmental changes
Most strong during childhood
75
What is functional recovery ?
Type of plasticity
Refer to brains ability to compensate for damage by reallocating functions to undamaged areas
76
What axonal sprouting ?
Growth of new nerve endings which connect with other undamaged nerve cells to from new neuronal pathways
77
What reformation of blood vessels ?
Facilitates growth of new neural pathways
78
What’s denervation super sensitivity ?
Axons that do similar jobs become aroused to higher level to compensate for the pens that are lost
Can cause over sensitivity to messages such as pain
79
What is recruitment of homologous areas ?
Actions that happen in one side of brain once damaged can be performed in the opposite side of the brain
80
Maguire et Al TAXI DRIVER STUDY:
- Found significantly more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus than in matched control group
- Hippocampus associated with spatial and navigational skills
- London cabbies memorised streets and routes of London
- found learning these grew their size of hippocampus (positive correlation)
- support idea of neural plasticity
81
Kuhn et Al neural plasticity research:
- increase in grey matter in hippocampus and cerebellum
- after ppt played super Mario for 30 min daily over two months
- indicate experience-induced changes in brain region relate to memory and coordination
82
Davidson et Al research on neural plasticity:
- Tibetan monks who meditated frequently showed greater gamma wave activity compared to non meditators
- suggest meditating lead to lasting changes in brain function
83
Research to support functional recovery:
TAIJIRI ET AL:
- gave rats stem cells after they had brain trauma
- led to neural-like cell development in injury site
- suggesting brain damage can be repaired
DANELII ET AL:
- found patients recovering from LH strokes recruited RH regions for language functions
- demonstrates brain ability to adapt to injury
84
What’s a circadian rhythm ?
Rhythms that last around 24 hours
85
What are infradian rhythms ?
Rhythms that last longer than 24 hours
86
What are ultradian rhythms ?
Rhythms that are shorter than 24 hours
87
What are the two factors that affect rhythms ?
ENDOGENOUS PACEMAKERS: internal mechanisms that govern biological rhythms in particular circadian rhythms
EXOGENOUS ZEITGEBERS: external factors in environment that reset biological clocks through process know as entrainment
88
Two examples of circadian rhythms :
Sleep/wake cycle
Body temp
89
Light as an exogenous zeitgeber:
1. Light intensity detected by photosensitive retinal ganglion cells located in eye
2. This detects brightness of surroundings
3. This info is then sent to SCN (superchiasmatic nuclei) via optic nerve
4. SCN coordinates all tiny clocks that govern behaviour of the cells throughout body
5. SCN can be upset by too much little light are the wrong time of day which will disrupt rhythm of on cells which could have problems with health and wellbeing
90
Research into the impact of circadian rhythms:
SHIFT WORK AND MISTAKES:
- night workers experience reduced concentration around 6am (circadian trough) meaning mistakes and accidents are more likely (Bolyn et Al)
SHIFT WORK AND POOR HEALTH:
- 3x likely to develop heart disease than those who work more typical patterns (Knutson)
91
Research abt teenagers sleep/wake cycle:
WOLFSON AND CARSKADON:
- recommend to start school couple hours later to fit typical teenage chronotype
SLEEP WORKING GROUP:
- research show benefits for academic and behavioural performance when lessons start later in day including reduced dependence on caffeine
92
How does light affect melatonin production ?
1. Light intensity detected by basal ganglion cells in eye
2. Info sent to SCN this process the light intensity
3. If intensity high causes pineal gland to release more and if it’s low then cause to produce less melatonin
93
Research into variations in sleep wake cycle in animals:
DECOURSEY ET AL:
- destroyed SCN connection of 30 chipmunks
- returned to habitat for 80 days
- sleep/wake cycle disappeared and by end of the study most of them where killed by predators
RALPH ET AL:
- bred hamster wi mutation that gave 20hr sleep/wake cycle
- SCN cells from foetal tissue of mutant hamster given to normal ones cycle of second group defaulted to 20 hr
