Psychology ATAR yr 11

All of psychology Year 11 ATAR - Science Inquiry, Bio Psych, Dev Psych, Attitudes and Stereotypes, Social influences

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Consists of the brain and spinal chord

Peripheral Nervours System (PNS)

Made up of the nerve tissue outside of the CNS that connects the CNS with receptors, muscles and glands

CNS - Brain

Organ made up of nerve tissue that controls body functioning

CNS - Spinal chord

A cylindrical structure that runs down the buny vertebral column. Connects the brain to the PNS

Sensory Neuons

Transmit nerve impulses from receptors to the CNS

Motor Neurons

Transmit nerve impulses from CNS to effectors (muscles and glands.)

Interneurons

Transmit nerve impulses from sensory neurons to motor neurons. They are found within the spinal chord.

Neuron

Highly specialized cells that transmit nerve impulses (action potentials) from one neuron to another.

Somatic Nervous System (part of PNS)

Controls deliberate, conscioius action a person makes.

Autonomic Nervous system (part of PNS)

Regulates the function of internal involuntary organs such as the heart, degestive tract or lungs.

Sympathetic nervous system (part of Autonomic NS)

Arouses the body to expend energy, flight or fight response

Parasympathetic nervous system (part of Autonomic NS)

Calms down the body to conserve and maintain energy

Nerves

Bundles of neurons

Neuron structure

Nucleus, Cell body, Myelin Sheath, Axon Terminal, Axon, Dendrites

Myelin Sheath

Fatty meterial that wraps around the axon of sensory and motor neurons. PIS - Protectts, Insulates and Speeds up transmition of the neuron

Nerve impulse direction of transmission

Nerve impulses run down the Neuron from Dendrite to Cell body to Axon.

Synapse

A junction between neurons that occurs between teh axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron and dendrites of the post-synpatic neuron.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit the eletrical action potential across the synapse

Transmission across the Synapse

1. The action potential travels down the axon of the pre-synaptic neuron and reaches the axon terminal

2. The vesicles in the axon terminal release their neurotransmitter into the synapse

3. Neurotransmitters duffuse across the sunapse and bind to receptors on the dendrites of the post synaptic neuron

4. An action potential is generated in the post synaptic neuron

3 Major division of the brain

• Forebrain

• Midbrain

• Hindbrain

Hindbrain

Located at the back of the head at the base of the brain, contains the medulla oblongata and cerebellum

Medulla Oblongata - Hindbrain

Controls the involuntary process of the atonomic nervous system. If damaged, a person is “brain dead”

Cerebellum - Hindbrain

Recieves messages from muscles, tendons, joints and structures in our ear in order to control Balance, posture and coordination, Muscle memory and volountary automatic tasks

Midbrain

located in between the forebrain and the hindbrain in the centre of the brain. Houses Reticular formation

Reticular formation - Midbrain

A complex network of brainstem nuclei and neurons that seve as a major integration and relay centre for many vital system to coordinate

Forebrain

The ‘brain’ looking part. Contains Thalamus, Hypothalamus and Cerebrum

Thalamus - Forebrain

Relays sensory and motor signals to and from the cerebral cortex

Hypothalamus - Forebrain

Regulates WTFSS (What The F*cking Sh*t Sh*t): Water, Temperature, Food intake, Sleep, Sex drive

Cerebrum - Forebrain

• Primary control centre for voluntary muscle movements

• Primary processing centre of sensory information

• Higher functioning (Memory, logic, personality)

Cerebrum Subparts - Forebrain

Cerebral cortex, Corpus callosum

Lobes of the Cerebrum

Frontal lobe, Occipital lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe

Grey and White matter

Grey matter: Contains all the synapses, White matter: Made of axons that connect diffirent parts of grey matter

Cerebral cortex - Cerebrum - Forebrain

Outermost layer of the cerebrum. Comprimises of folded grey matter.

Corpus Callosum - Cerebrum - Forebrain

Connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate

Frontal Lobe - Cerebral cortex

Contains prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex and Broca’s area

Primary motor cortex - Frontal lobe

Generates neural impulses that control the exucation of voluntary movement.

Prefrontal cortex - Frontal lobe

Responsible for executive functioning such as abstract thinking, decision making, goal orientated behaviour and personality

Broca’s Area - Frontal lobe

Located only in the left hemisphere. Controls motor speech

Broca’s Aphasia

When there is an issue in the Broca’s area, a patient can sequence words to make meaningful speech but has difficulty producing the words

Occipital lobe - Cerebral cortex

Contains primary visual cortex

Primary visual cortex - occipital lobe

Recieves and processes visual information. Both left and right Primary visual coretex’s get data from the opposing eye.

Temporal lobe - cerebral cortex

Contains Primary auditory cortex and Wernicke’s area

Primary auditory cortex - temporal lobe

Processes auditory (sound) stimuli

Wernicke’s area - temporal lobe

allows for the sequencing of words so that sentences make logical sense

Wernicke’s aphasia

damage to the Wernicke’s area results in a patient who can product fluent speech but cannot form sequences of words that make sense to others.

Parietal lobe - cerebral cortex

Contains primary sensory cortex

Primary sensory cortex - Parietal lobe

Recieves general sensory information from skin and proprioceptors of skeletal muscle, joints and tendons. Is capable of spatial discrimination

Case study: Phineas Gage: Before the accident

Gage was capable, active, well organised, resonable and calm

Case study: Phineas Gage: accident

A railroad work accident forced a iron rod into the left side of Gage’s face under his cheek bone through his frontal lobe and out the top of his skull

Case study: Phineas Gage: Aftermath

The injury changed his behaviour and personality, he became arguementative and angry and knew no social inhibitions

Case study: Phineas Gage: Contributions to Psychology

This provided the first evidence that the prefrontal cortex was involved in personality and impulse control

The cerebrum - two hemispheres

The cerebrum is separated into the left and right cerebral hemispheres by the longitudinal fissure.

Contralateral control

Nerve impulses cross the body's midline to activate skeletal muscles on the opposite side of the body.

Hemispheric lateralization

The idea that each hemisphere is responsible for different functions

Hemispheric lateralization - Left hemisphere

Language and logical thinking

Hemispheric lateralization - Right hemisphere

Creative thinking

Corpus Callosotomy

Disconnects the two hemispheres of the brain by cutting the corpus callosum

Roger Sperry Split brain experiments(1968) Aim

To identify the specialization of the left and right hemispheres of the cerebrum

Roger Sperry Split brain experiments(1968) methodology

An object, image, or word was presented to only one visual field at a time (left or right). Due to contralateral control, the visual information was sent to only one isolated cerebral hemisphere for processing

Roger Sperry Split brain experiments(1968) Right visual field findings

The image was processed by the left hemisphere. Because language understanding and articulation are localized in the left hemisphere, the participant could successfully verbally state what they saw

Roger Sperry Split brain experiments(1968) Left visual field findings

The image was processed by the right hemisphere. Because the right hemisphere cannot process language, the participant could not verbally say what they saw, but they were able to draw the object with their left hand.

Roger Sperry Split brain experiments(1968) Conclusion

Sperry discovered that the left hemisphere of the brain was responsible for language understanding and articulation, while the right hemisphere could recognize a word, but could not articulate it.

Case study: Walter Freeman Lobotomies (1936-1945) Aim

To treat severe mental illnesses by stabilising the patient's personality and reducing extreme agitation

Case study: Walter Freeman Lobotomies (1936-1945) Psychological reasoning

Freeman believed that the thalamus was the centre of human emotion. He theorised that severing the neural connections between the thalamus and the prefrontal cortex would eliminate excessive, uncontrollable emotions.

Case study: Walter Freeman Lobotomies (1936-1945) Methodology

Under a local anaesthetic, an icepick-like instrument was inserted above the patient's eyeball. It was hammered through the thin bone and wriggled back and forth to sever the neural connections in the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe.

Case study: Walter Freeman Lobotomies (1936-1945) Negative consequences

Irreversible brain damage that led to severe cognitive and emotional impairment, including extreme apathy, loss of personality, and a lack of initiative^.

Case study: Walter Freeman Lobotomies (1936-1945) Conclusions

Illustrated that the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe plays a crucial role in personality, impulse control, executive functioning, and emotional regulation.

Structural Brain Techniques

MRI and CT scan

CT scan

Computerised Tomography Scan. A procedure that creates cross sectional images with the help of computer processing

MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Uses a strong magnetic field and radio frequency pulses to produce images of the brain to show brain structures

CT vs MRI: Image Detail

MRI images can show more detail than CT scan images

CT vs MRI: Cost

MRIs are typically more expensive than CT scans.

CT vs MRI: Time

MRIs may take longer than CT scans.

CT vs MRI: Metal Materials

MRIs expose patients to strong magnetic fields. MRI’s can not be used in patients with magnetic objects in them.

Functional Brain Techniques

fMRI and EEG

fMRI

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Measures activity in the brain where neurons consumer oxygen. Used in research t shwo specific brain areas activated when completing specific tasks.

EEG

Electroencephalography. Measures whole brain electrical activity. The EEG records changes in the amplitude and frequency of brain waves.

Neural plasticity

The ability of the brain’s neurons to increase, be modified and reorganised.

Stages of Plasticity

1. Proliferation

2. Migration

3. Synaptogenesis

4. Sunaptic pruning

5. Myelination

Stages of Plasticity - Proliferation

The growth and division of cells that will become neurons resulting in an increase in the total number of cells.

Stages of Plasticity - Migration

The newly formed neurons move outward to their specified destination in the brain. Ends around five months of age.

Stages of Plasticity - Synaptogenesis

Axons of the neurons branch out to target cells and form synapses with them, forming neural circuits

Stages of Plasticity - Synaptic Pruning

The loss of excess neurons and synapses usually formed in infancy and childhood. Pruning increases nervous system efficiency by allowing remaining connections to strengthen and grow in complexity.

Stages of Plasticity Myelination

The production of the white fatty covering that insulates a neuron’s axon preventing interference between neurons, speeds up neural transmission, and protects the axon.

Developmental Plasticity

The changes in neural connections that occur as part of normal growth and maturation, driven by genertic programming and sensory input from the environment

Adaptive plasticity

The ability of neural connections in the brain to reorganise in response to learning new information or to compensate for lost function

Adolescence and brain development

During adolescence there is a large amount of brain development involving the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex.

Prefrontal cortex and brain development

The last part of the brain to undergo myelination and thus development is the pre-frontal cortex.

Amygdala

Located deep temporal lobe. Functions: Autonomic responses associated with fear, emotional responses, processing and consolidating memory, hormonal secretions

Amygdala and development

The amygdala increases in volume and becomes more active in teenagers. So teenagers are over reliant on the amygdala to guide actions.

Lifespan stages

Infancy, childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle age, older age. ICA EMO

Key areas of Lifespan development

Physical, Cognitve, Social Emotional.

Key areas of Lifespan development - Physical

Changes in body

Key areas of Lifespan development - Cognitive

Changes in thinking, perceiving, remembering and language.

Key areas of Lifespan development - Social Emotional

Changes in the ability to perceive, understand and use emotions of ourselves and others as relationships form.

Gross motor skills

Large bodily movements made with the arms, legs, feet, or entire body.