Bio-Psychology


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  • Created by: ArronK99
  • Created on: 14-01-17 12:56
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  • Bio-Psychology
    • Nervous and endocrine system
      • Nervous system
        • Collects, processes and responds to info from the environment
        • Coordinates different cells and organs in the body
        • Made up of the Central and Peripheral nervous system (CNS & PNS)
          • PNS
            • Transmits messages via neurons and is made of the Autonomic and Somatic nervous systems (ANS & SNS)
              • ANS
                • Responsible for vital functions - breathing, heart rate etc
              • SNS
                • Controls muscle movement and receives info from sensory receptors
          • CNS
            • Made up of the brain and the spinal cord and is responsible for reflex actions
      • Endocrine system
        • Responsible for the secretion of hormones from glands
          • E.g. Thyroid gland produces thyroxine, which is responsible for heart rate and metabolic rate (affecting growth)
          • Main gland = Pituitary which is responsible for controlling all the other glands
        • Also responsible for fight or flight response
          • The ANS goes from its resting Parasympathetic state, to the aroused sympathetic state, causing adrenaline to be released
            • This causes changes such as increased heart and breathing rate and also inhibits things such as digestion and saliva production
    • Localisation of function
      • Certain parts of the brain do certain things
      • The brain is divided into two hemispheres, which are connected by the corpus callosum
        • Different functions are dominant in each hemisphere
          • Broca's and Wernicke's areas are generally found in the left hemisphere, which handles the bulk of language functions
            • Left hemisphere is also responsible for logic, analysis and problem solving
              • This is known as hemispheric lateralisation
          • The right hemisphere is responsible for spatial comprehension, emotions and face recognition
            • This is known as hemispheric lateralisation
      • Each hemisphere generally deals with info from the opposite side of the body
        • E.g. info from the right visual field, goes to the visual cortex in the left hemisphere and vice versa
          • Information passes through the corpus callosum to whichever side of the brain needs to deal with it
      • Spilt brain surgery
        • With extremely severe cases of epilepsy, the only available treatment is to sever the corpus callosum
        • However a side effect of doing this is that info can no longer move between hemispheres
        • Sperry - Effects of Split Brain Surgery (1968)
    • Plasticity
      • The brains ability to alter its structure and function in response to enviromental changes is known as plasticity
        • Information in the brain travels from one neuron to the next, via synapses. When we're given new information, new neural pathways form, and these are strengthened by using them more
          • The constant reorganisation of the brain is the basis of learning, and when we practice new things we get better at them. This process was thought to only occur in children
      • Elbert et al  - Plasticity in musicians (1995)
      • Functional recovery
        • Brain damage can cause a loss in function (e.g. damage to Broca's area can result in speech loss). The brain has the ability to recover some of this lost function due to plasticity.
          • There is evidence that healthy areas near the damaged part of the brain take over some of the function of the damaged areas
        • After having a stroke which has caused the loss of function in one side of their body, some patients are prevented from using their unaffected side
          • This forces them to learn to reuse their affected side, and is know as constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT)
            • CIMT Evaluation
              • Numerous studies have found that CIMT produces cortical reorganisation which results in regained or improved function
                • CIMT can also be applied to sufferers of aphasia. Instead of communicating in other ways e.g. sign language etc, they play a game that requires them to speak a word shown on a card
                  • This had caused dysfunctional areas near the damaged area to become functional again
              • CIMT can be extremely frustrating for the patient
                • It can be very intensive, with patients training the affected limb for 7 hours a day over consecutive weeks. The unaffected limb is also restrained for 90% of the time
    • Studying the Brain
      • FunctionalMagnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
        • 3D scans showing structural and functional info
          • They show changes in brain activity as oxygenated blood goes to specific
        • Uses
          • Can diagnose medical issues
          • Can study abnormal activity in the brain such as schizophrenia hallucinations
        • Evaluation
          • Non-invasive
          • Expensive,can trigger claustrophobia, poor temporal resolution
      • Electroencephalogram (EEG)
        • Shows electrical activity in the brain from neurons firing together
          • Produces patterns of waves which represent levels of arousal and consciousness
        • Uses
          • Can be used as a diagnostic tool due to study conditions such as depression
        • Evaluation
          • Non invasive, cheap, good temporal resolution
          • Poor spatial resolution
      • Event Related Potential (ERP)
        • Looks at how EEG patterns change in response to a stimulus
        • Uses
          • Uses in memory research to give clues about information processing
          • Shown differences in ERPs of psychiatric disorders and healthy individuals
    • Biological Rhythms
      • Each rhythm has various lengths
        • Circadian - generally occur once every 24 hours (sleep wake cycle)
        • Infradian - cycles that occur less than once every day (menstrual cycle)
        • Ultradian - occur more than once every 24 hours (stages of sleep)
      • Regulated by Internal  and external influences
        • Endogenous pacemakers (I) internal clock that keeps us on a 24 hour sleep/wake cycle)
        • Exogenous Zeitgebers (E) influences outside of the body that trigger biological rhythms (e.g. natural light)
      • Zeitgebers naturally change slowly, however jet lag and shift work can alter this leading to slowed reaction times and limited concentration
      • Evaluation
        • Animal studies (difficult to generalise)Reduced validity in some studies (natural light removed but artificial remained)
          • Difficult to establish cause and effect due to individual differences
        • Possible to minimise or avoid issues of shift work and jet lag if we can better understand them and there are ways to reduce these problems (e.g. drugs)

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