Biopsychology

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  • Created by: ciongill
  • Created on: 11-04-19 13:42
what is the human nervous system?
complex network of nerve cells that carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord to different parts of the body.
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what two systems are the NS divided into? And what do the sub systems do?
CNS= processes, interprets and stores information. also orders muscles, glands and organs PNS= transmits information to and from the CNS
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what are the two components of the CNS?
Brain and Spinal cord
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what are the two components of the PNS?
somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
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what does the somatic nervous system within the PNS do?
receives information from sensory receptors (5 senses) which stimulates action in the CNS
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what does the autonomic nervous system within the PNS do?
carries out actions that you are unconsciously aware of, involuntary actions - heart rate
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which sub system of the Peripheral nervous system further divides in to two more systems?
autonomic
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what are the two sub systems of the autonomic nervous system?
sympathetic and parasympathetic
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what is the sympathetic nervous system?
causes increased heart rate, breathing rate, causes vasoconstriction and pupil dilation
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what is the parasympathetic nervous system?
conserves energy so causes a decrease in heart rate and breathing rate. Also causes vasodilation and pupil constriction
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which side of the Brain is responsible for producing creative abilities and feelings?
right side
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the left side of the brain is associated with what?
analytical thinking and logical abilities
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name 2 key areas of the Brain?
cerebellum and brain stem
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name is largest part of the brain?
cerebrum
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what is the function of the brain stem?
is the area in which the spinal cord joins the brain and is involved in life sustaining functions. Brain stem includes the medulla oblongata- controls heart beat, breathing, blood pressure and digestion. Damage to the brainstem is fatal!
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what is the purpose of the cerebellum?
controls a persons motor skills and balance, coordinating muscles to allow movement. Abnormalities in this are can cause epilepsy
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where is the cerebellum located?
beneath the back of the cerebrum
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what is the function of the spinal cord?
to relay information between the brain and the rest of the body
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how many pairs of cranial nerves make up the somatic nervous system?
12
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how many pairs of spinal nerves make up the somatic nervous system?
31
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which two nervous systems are involves with the flight or fight response?
sympathetic and parasympathetic
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name the 4 lobes of the cerebrum and their function?
Frontal - thought and speech production. Parietal - processing touch, temperature and pain. Occipital - interpretation of visual info. Temporal - understanding language
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what are the 3 types of neurons?
Sensory/Relay/Motor
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what is a sensory neuron?
it carries nerve impulses from sensory receptors to the spinal cord and the brain
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what is a relay neuron?
most common type of neuron in the CNS. they allow sensory and motor neurons to communicate with eachother
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what is a motor neuron?
form synapses with muscles and control their contractions (away from the CNS)
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function of dendrites?
receives signals from other neurons or from sensory receptor cells
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function of cell body?
contains the nucleus
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function of the axon?
carries nerve impulses known as action potentials
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function of myelin sheath?
insulates the axon allowing the electrical impulse to travel faster
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what are the types of neurotransmitters?
Excitatory and inhibitory
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what are inhibitory neurotransmitters and an example?
make the post synaptic cell less likely to fire - GABA
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what are excitatory neurotransmitters and an example?
make the post synaptic cell more likely to fire - NORADRENALINE
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what is the endocrine system?
works along side of the nervous system. It is a network of glands across the body that secrete chemical messages called hormones
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how does the endocrine system transport hormones around the body?
in the blood
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what does the Hypothalamus do within the endocrine system?
stimulates and controls the release of hormones from the
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what hormone does the ANTERIOR pituitary gland release and its effect?
ACTH - stimulates the adrenal cortex and the release of cortisol during stress response
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what hormone does the POSTERIOR pituitary gland release and its effect?
OXYTOCIN - responsible for uterus contractions during child birth
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what hormone does the pineal gland release and its effect?
MELATONIN - responsible for important biological rhythms, sleep-wake cycle
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what hormone does the thyroid release and its effect?
THYROXINE - regulates metabolism
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what hormone does the adrenal medulla release and its effect?
ADRENALINE/NORADRENALINE - key hormones in the flight or fight response
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what hormone does the adrenal cortex release and its effect?
CORTISOL - stimulates the release of glucose to provide the body with energy
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what hormone does the ovaries release and its effect?
OESTROGEN - regulates the female reproductive system
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what hormone does the testis release and its effect?
TESTOSTERONE - development of male sex characteristics
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what part of the limbic system is activated when a person enters a stressful event?
Amygdala
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describe the first 3 steps of the flight or fight response pathway?
1. Person enters stressful/dangerous situation. 2. Amygdala is activated and sends distress signal to the hypothalamus. 3.Hypothalamus activates SAM pathway- that path running to the adrenal medulla and SNS.
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the last 3 steps of the flight or fight response pathway?
4. SNS stimulates the adrenal medulla. 5.Adrenal medulla secretes ADRENALINE and NORADRENALINE into the blood stream. 6. Adrenaline causes a number of different physiological changes to prepare the body for fight or flight
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name the 5 physiological changes caused by the fight/flight response?
Increased heart rate/Increased breathing rate/Pupil dilation/Sweat production/Reduction of non-essential functions- digestive system and salivation
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what nervous system returns the body back to its normal resting state?
Parasympathetic nervous system
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what is localisation of function?
idea that certain functions have certain locations within the brain
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LOF - what are the 4 key areas?
motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, auditory cortex and visual cortex
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where is the motor cortex located?
frontal lobe
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what is the function of the motor cortex?
is responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles in the body
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how was the motor area first discovered?
by electrically stimulating this area in a dogs brains and found muscular contractions occurred around the body
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where is the somatosensory area located?
parietal lobe
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what is the function of the somatosensory cortex?
receives incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pressure, pain, temp e.t.c
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where is the visual cortex located?
occipital lobe
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what is the function of the visual Cortex?
receives and processes visual information, right visual field is processed in the left hemisphere, left visual field is processed in the right hemisphere
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where is the auditory cortex located?
temporal lobe
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what is the function of the auditory cortex?
analysing and processing auditory information
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what are the two language centres within the brain?
brocas area and wernickes area
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where is the brocas area located?
left frontal lobe
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where is the wernickes area located?
left temporal lobe
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what is the brocas area thought to be associated with?
language production
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what is the wernickes area thought to be associated with?
language comprehension
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what is hemispheric lateralisation?
the idea that the two halves of the brain have different functional specialisms- left is language and right is visual motor tasks
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what connects the two hemispheres of the brain?
corpus callosum
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what does the corpus callosum allow?
interhemispheric communication; both halves can talk to each other
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what is meant by brain plasticity?
refers to the brains ability to adapt because of experience
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what is meant by functional recovery?
the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas
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how is functional recovery able to happen?
through a process of neural unmasking; dormant synapses open connections to compensate for a nearby damaged area of the brain
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evidence for brain plasticity - video games
KUHN- found a significant increase in grey matter in various regions of the brain after participants played video games for 30 minutes a day over a two-month period.
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evidence for brain plasticity - meditation
DAVIDSON - demonstrated the permanent change in the brain generated by prolonged meditation: Buddhist monks who meditated frequently had a much greater activation of gamma waves (which coordinate neural activity) than did students with no experience
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evidence for brain plasticity - taxi
MAGUIRE - the posterior hippocampal volume of London taxi drivers’ brains was positively correlated with their time as a taxi driver and that there were significant differences between the taxi drivers’ brains and those of controls
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evidence for functional recovery - rats
TAIJIRI - ound that stem cells provided to rats after brain trauma showed a clear development of neuron-like cells in the area of injury. This demonstrates the ability of the brain to create new connections using neurons manufactured by stem cells.
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evidence for functional recovery - age
ELBERT - concluded that the capacity for neural reorganisation is much greater in children than in adults, meaning that neural regeneration is less effective in older brains. This may explain why adults find change more demanding than do young people
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what is a circadian rhythm?
biological rhythm that lasts 24 hours
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give an example of a circadian rhythm
the sleep wake cycle
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what is a infradian rhythm?
rhythms that last longer than 24 hours
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give an example of an infradian rhythm
the female menstural cycle
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what is a ultradian rhythm?
rhythms that last less than 24 hours
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give an example of a ultradian rhythm?
sleep stages
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what are endogenous pacemakers?
internal mechanisms that govern biological rhythms
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what are exogenous zeitgebers?
external events that are responsible for resetting the body clock
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what are the 4 ways to study the brains?
fMRI/EEGs/ERPs/post mortem
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what is functional magnetic resonance imaging?
brain scanning technique that measures blood flow to the brain whilst preforming a task
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what is electroencephalogram?
measures electrical activity through electrodes on the scalp
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what is event related potentials?
similar to EEGs but measure brain activity in relation to a stimulus
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what are post-molten examinations?
researching the psychical brain of a dead person due to them displaying a particular behaviour whilst they were alive
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Card 2

Front

what two systems are the NS divided into? And what do the sub systems do?

Back

CNS= processes, interprets and stores information. also orders muscles, glands and organs PNS= transmits information to and from the CNS

Card 3

Front

what are the two components of the CNS?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

what are the two components of the PNS?

Back

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Card 5

Front

what does the somatic nervous system within the PNS do?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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