Biopsychology key words

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  • Created by: Sarahj385
  • Created on: 07-07-16 10:47
Broca's area
An area in the frontal lobe of the brain, usually in the left hemisphere, related to speech production
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Localisation of function
Refers to the belief that specific areas of the brain are associated with specific cognitive processes
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Motor Cortex
A region of the brain responsible for the generation of voluntary motor movements
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Somatosensory cortex
A region of the brain that processes input from sensory receptors in the body that are sensitive to touch
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Wernicke's area
An area in the temporal lobe of the brain important in the comprehension of language
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Hemispheric lateralisation
refers to the fact that some mental processes in the brain are mainly specialised to either the left or the right hemisphere
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Split-brain research
Research that studies individuals who have been subjected to the surgical separation of the two hemispheres of the brain as a result of severing the corpus callosum
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Brain plasticity
refers to the brain's ability to modify its own structure and function as a result of experience
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Functional recovery
refers to the recovery of abilities and mental processes that have been compromised as a result of brain injury or disease
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Electroencephalogram (EEG)
A method of recording changes in the electrical activity of the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp
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Event-related potential (ERP)
A technique that takes EEG data and uses it to investigate cognitive processing of a specific event. It achieves this by taking multiple readings and averaging them in order to filter out brain activity that is not related to the stimulus appearance
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Functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI)
A technique for measuring brain activity. It works by detecting changes in blood oxygenation and flow that indicates increased neural activity
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Post-mortem examinations
Ways of examining the brains of people who have shown particular psychological abnormalities prior to their death in an attempt to establish the possible neurobiological cause for this behaviour
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Circadian rhythm
A pattern of behaviour that occurs or recurs approximately every 24 hours and which is set and reset by environmental light levels
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Sleep-wake cycle
refers to alternating states of sleep and waking that are dependent on the 24-hour circadian cycle.
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Ifradian rhythms
Rhythms that have a duration of over 24 hours and may be weekly, monthly or even annually
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Ultradian rythms
Cycles that last less than 24 hours, such as the cycle of sleep stages that occur throughout the night
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Endogenous pacemakers
Mechanisms within the body that govern the internal, biological bodily rhythms
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Exogenous pacemakers
An environmental cue, such as light, that helps to regulate the biological clock in an organism
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Card 2

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Refers to the belief that specific areas of the brain are associated with specific cognitive processes

Back

Localisation of function

Card 3

Front

A region of the brain responsible for the generation of voluntary motor movements

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

A region of the brain that processes input from sensory receptors in the body that are sensitive to touch

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

An area in the temporal lobe of the brain important in the comprehension of language

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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