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Paper 2 - only named researchers are Broca + Wernicke
Action potential reaches axon terminal
Calcium channels open
Ca2+ causes vesicles to release neurotransmitter
Neurotransmitter crosses synapse
Neurotransmitter binds to neuroreceptors
Triggers signal in Post synaptic neurone
Hypothalamus sends signal to pituary gland
Pituary Gland secretes a stimulating hormone into bloodstream
Adrenal Gland produces target hormone
Hypothalamus shuts down secreteing hormone and pituary shuts down stimulating hormone to balanc target hormone levels
Pituary Gland
Adrenal Gland
Ovaries
Testes
Increased heart rate
Dilate pupils
Inhibited saliva production
Decreased Heart rate
Decreased blood pressure
Increased Digestion
Hypothalamus commands the…
AUTONOMIC Nervous system to activate the…
SYMPATHETIC branch stimulating the…
ADRENAL MEDULLA to release…
ADRENALINE and NORADRENALINE activating the…
FIGHT/FLIGHT response
Localisation is biologically reductionist in nature and tries to reduce very complex human behaviours and cognitive processes to one specific brain region
↳ The idea of lateralisation iself is nomothetic however the research that support this uses case studies as support which is idiographic
Left and right hemispheres of the brain have different functions
Information presented to one hemisphere cannot be accessed by the other hemisphere
Each hemisphere can operate independently
Quasi Experiment
Small Sample (11 pps)
Case Study
↳ Looked at the brains of London cab drivers who had taken ‘The Knowledge’ exam
They found significantly more volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus compared to a control
Kempermann (1999) conducted a study on mice
He found that environmental enrichment increased the production of new neurons in the hippocampus, a brain region important for learning and memory.
This study provided evidence for the concept of neuroplasticity, which suggests that the brain is capable of changing and adapting in response to environmental stimuli
↳ Neuroplasticity takes an interactionist approach where it considers both the environment and biological predisposition in its develoment
fMRI measures blood flow changes to detect brain activity.
Patients lie in a tube-like machine while magnetic fields and radio waves create brain images.
They perform tasks or rest during the scan.
Images show active brain areas.
fMRI is used to diagnose neurological disorders
Non-invasive
More data means more understanding of localisation of function
Good spatial resolution (1-2mm)
Determine areas of function with greater accuracy
EEG is a non-invasive test that measures electrical activity in the brain.
Electrodes are placed on the scalp to detect the electrical signals produced by the brain.
The test is used to diagnose and monitor conditions such as epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain injuries.
EEG can also be used to study brain function and activity in research settings.
Used in clinical diagnosis, e.g. epilepsy
Has real world application
High temporal resolution (detect changes at 1 millisecond)
Accurately measure particular task with associated brain activity
Cheap
Only detect superficial brain activity can't look at deeper parts, e.g. hippocampus
Poor spatial resolution - can't pinpoint where electrical signal originated from
Unable to distinguish between activities from different but adjacent parts
It measures the electrical activity of the brain in response to a stimulus
Electrodes are placed on the scalp to record the brain activity
The resulting waveform is analyzed to determine cognitive processes such as attention, memory, and language
ERP provides insight into the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes
It can identify abnormalities in brain function associated with various disorders.
Measure processing of stimuli in absence of behavioural response, e.g. reaction to seeing an unfamiliar object
They can monitor processing of stimulus without requiring person to respond
Analysing the brains of someone after they've died
↳ most likely if they have a rare disorder or experienced u
usual deficits in mental processes or behaviour
Areas of damage examined to try and correlate to structural abnormalities
More detailed exam of anatomical areas of brain, e.g. hippocampus and hypothalamus
Contributed towards understanding of key processes in the brain, e.g. making link between language and the Brocas and Wernickes areas
Can't establish cause and effect as
Only shows physiology, not actual brain activity
Confounding influences, e.g. disease, time between death and examination, medications, age
Retrospective meaning they can't follow up on interesting findings
He destroyed SCN in 30 chipmunks which destroyed their sleep wake cycle
They were then transferred back to their natural habitat
A significant number of them had been killed by predators as they were awake when they should have been aslep (and vice versa) leaving them vulnerable to attack
↳ Spent time underground (no natural light, sounds) for 2 and 6 months (he did it twice)
Found that his biological rhythm settled to 25 hours, with him falling asleep on a regular basis
Practical application to shift work
Practical + economic implications as can maintain worker productivity + prevent workplace accidents
Useful for timing drug dosing
Supporting evidence (Siffre) = increased validity
Research lacks external validity as small sample
Siffre’s research is idiographic
Doesn't look at gender or age influence
Poor control in studies, e.g. only assuming natural not artificial light having an influence = lacks validity
↳ Sleep/Wake cycle is reductionist as it reduces the functioning of sleep cycles to the biological control - SCN, and ignores psychological factors such as stress
↳ They monitored the body temperatures of 15 volunteers who slept in a laboratory
They introduced light to the during the night at a series of intervals by shining a beam of light onto the back of their knees
They were woken at different times and a light pad was shone on the back of their knees
The participant’s circadian rhythms were disrupted by up to three hours
This shows that it is not necessary for light just to enter the eyes to have a physiological effect on biological rhythms and shows the EZ do have an effect on our biological rhythms
Issue of generalising animal studies to humans
Lack of reliability found for exogenous zeitgebers
↳ approx. 28 days
ovulation occurs in middle when oestrogen is highest
next progesterone increases to prep for pregnancy
If pregnancy doesn’t occur egg is absorbed and leaves with womb lining
↳ 10 year longditudinal study
29 women with irregular periods, collected pheromones from 9 from armpit using cotton wool
Other 20 had it rubbed on their upper lip; pads were collected on different days of the cycle
68% experienced changes to their menstrual cycle which bought it closer to their ‘donors’
Pheremones of other women
Stress
Diet
Beneficial for women to fall pregnant around the same time
Collective caregving to the social group
Sperry and Gazzaniga's (1967) study involved split-brain patients who had undergone surgery to sever the corpus callosum
The researchers presented visual stimuli to either the left or right visual field of the patients.
When stimuli were presented to the left visual field, which is processed by the right hemisphere, patients say ‘I saw nothing’ but could draw the object with their left hand.
When stimuli were presented to the right visual field, which is processed by the left hemisphere, patients were able to say what they had seen but couldn’t draw the object with their right hand.
