IGCSE Psychology: Neuropsychology

What is the function of the Frontal Lobe?

Controls decision-making, planning, problem-solving, impulse control, and personality.

What is the function of the Parietal Lobe?

Processes sensory inputs like touch, temperature, taste, and spatial awareness.

What is the function of the Temporal Lobe?

Manages auditory processing (hearing), language comprehension, and memory.

What is the function of the Occipital Lobe?

visual processing and interpreting

What is the function of the Cerebellum?

Coordinates motor movements, balance, posture, and fine muscular control.

What does asymmetrical function mean in the brain?

The two hemispheres look similar but are specialized to control different skills.

What are the main responsibilities of the Left Hemisphere?

Controls the right side of the body and dominates language, speech, logic, and calculations.

What are the main responsibilities of the Right Hemisphere?

Controls the left side of the body and specializes in spatial awareness, face recognition, and creativity.

What is the role of the Corpus Callosum?

A thick band of nerve fibers that connects and passes information between both hemispheres.

How do sex differences affect brain lateralisation?

Males show higher lateralisation, while females have a thicker corpus callosum leading to more bilateral brain activity.

What makes up the Central Nervous System (CNS)?

The brain and the spinal cord.

What is a neuron and how does it send information?

An interconnected nerve cell that transmits information using electrical impulses.

What is a synapse?

The microscopic gap between two neurons where signals pass.

What are neurotransmitters?

Chemical messengers released by neurons that cross the synaptic gap to bind with receptors.

What is the difference between an excitatory and an inhibitory neurotransmitter?

Excitatory triggers the next neuron to fire, while inhibitory stops/prevents it from firing.

What is visual agnosia?

An inability to recognize everyday objects by sight, even though vision itself works perfectly.

What is prosopagnosia?

A specific condition known as face blindness where a person cannot recognize familiar faces.

What are the symptoms of visual agnosia?

Patients cannot name an object just by looking at it, but can identify it if they touch or hear it.

What are the symptoms of prosopagnosia?

Patients fail to recognize familiar faces and must rely on voices, clothes, or hairstyles to identify people.

What is the impact of damage to the pre-frontal cortex?

Alters personality drastically, destroys impulse control, and causes extreme emotional instability.

What was the aim of Damasio et al. (1994)?

To map the exact path of the iron rod through Phineas Gage’s skull to identify damaged areas.

What were the findings of Damasio et al. (1994)?

Damage affected both hemispheres, concentrated specifically in the ventromedial frontal lobes.

What was the conclusion of Damasio et al. (1994)?

The pre-frontal cortex controls emotion regulation and social behavior.

Name one strength and one weakness of Damasio et al. (1994).

Strength: Used objective 3D computer modeling. Weakness: Relied on 150-year-old anecdotal data from a single case study.

What was the aim of Sperry (1968)?

To find out how independent the two hemispheres are in split-brain patients.

What happened when Sperry flashed an image to the Right Visual Field (RVF)?

The image went to the Left Hemisphere and patients could easily say what they saw.

What happened when Sperry flashed an image to the Left Visual Field (LVF)?

The image went to the Right Hemisphere and patients could not speak the name but could pick it up with their left hand.

What did Sperry (1968) conclude?

The left hemisphere dominates language and speech, while the right hemisphere is non-verbal but handles tactile recognition.

Name one strength and one weakness of Sperry (1968).

Strength: High internal validity due to strictly controlled lab conditions. Weakness: Tiny sample size of 11 patients who all had severe epilepsy.

How did technology change how psychologists study the brain over time?

Moved from historical post-mortem exams to live brain scans, turning psychology into an empirical science.