psychology- Unit 1

Q: What is the mind–body problem?

The question of whether the mind and body are separate things or the same thing — whether mental processes (thoughts, feelings) are physical brain processes, or something distinct from the body.

Q: What is the materialist approach ? (Galen)

The view that the mind and body are the same — that mental processes are entirely physical processes of the brain. Claudius Galen was an early proponent, arguing that the brain was the source of thought and feeling, based on his dissections and observations of animals and injured gladiators.

Q: What is the dualistic approach ?

The view that the mind and body are separate and distinct entities — the mind is non-physical and can exist independently of the body. René Descartes proposed this, suggesting the mind and body interact (he thought via the pineal gland) but are fundamentally different substances.

Q: What was phrenology?

An old technique developed by Franz Gall that claimed personality traits and mental abilities could be determined by measuring the bumps and shape of the skull, based on the idea that different brain areas controlled different functions.

Q: What did Pierre Flourens contribute to brain research?

He used experimental ablation (removing/damaging parts of animal brains) to observe resulting changes in behaviour, showing different brain areas control different functions, and argued against phrenology.

Q: What did Wilder Penfield contribute to brain research?

He used electrical stimulation of exposed brain tissue during surgery on conscious patients (for epilepsy) to map brain areas to specific sensations and movements, creating the sensory and motor "homunculus" maps.

Q: What does PET (positron emission tomography) show?

Brain activity, by tracking a radioactive tracer injected into the blood — areas using more glucose (more active) show up as "hotspots," showing function/metabolism.

Q: What does MRI show?

Detailed static images of brain structure, using magnetic fields and radio waves to show anatomy (not activity).

Q: What does fMRI (functional MRI) show?

Brain activity over time, by detecting changes in blood oxygen levels (BOLD signal) in active areas — combines structure and function.

Q: What does EEG show?

Electrical activity of the brain via electrodes on the scalp, showing patterns of neural activity with excellent timing (temporal) resolution but poor spatial detail.

Q: What are the two main divisions of the nervous system?

The central nervous system (CNS: brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS: all nerves outside the CNS).

Q: What are the two divisions of the peripheral nervous system?

The somatic nervous system (controls voluntary movement and relays sensory info) and the autonomic nervous system (controls involuntary functions like heart rate and digestion).

Q: What are the main structures of a neuron?

Dendrites (receive signals), cell body/soma (contains nucleus, processes signals), axon (carries signal away from cell body), myelin sheath (fatty coating that speeds up signal transmission), and axon terminals (release neurotransmitters to the next neuron).

Q: What is the difference between sensory, motor and interneurons?

Sensory neurons carry information from receptors to the CNS; motor neurons carry signals from the CNS to muscles/glands to produce a response; interneurons connect neurons within the CNS, processing information between sensory input and motor output.

Q: What are the three main brain regions?

Hindbrain (basic survival functions — e.g. medulla, cerebellum), midbrain (relay and coordination, e.g. reticular formation), and forebrain (higher-order thinking, e.g. cortex, involved in complex cognition and emotion).

Q: What is Broca's area and its function?

Located in the frontal lobe (usually left hemisphere); responsible for speech production. Damage causes Broca's aphasia — difficulty producing fluent speech, though comprehension remains largely intact.

Q: What is Wernicke's area and its function?

Located in the temporal lobe; responsible for language comprehension. Damage causes Wernicke's aphasia — fluent but meaningless/nonsensical speech, and difficulty understanding language.

Q: What is Geschwind's territory and its function?

A region in the parietal lobe connecting Broca's and Wernicke's areas; integrates auditory, visual and other sensory information to link written and spoken language, supporting reading and naming.

Q: How is infancy a period of rapid brain change?

Rapid synaptic growth and myelination occur, especially in the forebrain, supporting rapid gains in sensory, motor and early cognitive abilities.

Q: How is adolescence a period of rapid brain change?

The forebrain (especially the prefrontal cortex, involved in planning and decision-making) continues to develop; synaptic pruning removes unused connections and myelination increases, improving efficiency of neural communication.

Q: What is myelination?

The process of forming a myelin sheath around axons, which speeds up neural transmission; continues from infancy into early adulthood, especially in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence.

Q: What is synaptic pruning?

The elimination of weak or unused synaptic connections to increase the efficiency of neural communication; occurs heavily in infancy and again during adolescence.

Q: What is neural plasticity?

The brain's ability to change and reorganise itself — by forming new neural connections — in response to learning, experience, or injury.

Q: How do deprived vs enriched environments affect brain development?

Enriched environments promote greater synaptic connections and brain development whereas deprived environments can result in reduced synaptic connections and weak cognitive development.

Q: What are sensitive and critical periods?

A critical period is a fixed window during which a specific skill must develop or it cannot develop later (e.g. binocular vision). A sensitive period is a window when the brain is optimally receptive to certain experiences, but development can still occur (less efficiently) outside it (e.g. language acquisition).

Q: How does plasticity relate to brain damage?

After brain damage, the brain can sometimes reorganise itself — healthy areas can adapt or take over functions of damaged areas, aiding recovery (more effective in younger brains).

Q: What is the role of attachment in psychological development?

Secure attachment to a caregiver provides a foundation for emotional regulation, social skills, and healthy relationships later in life; it supports the child's sense of safety needed to explore and learn.

Q: What are the effects of early abuse on cognitive development?

Can result in impaired brain development (e.g. smaller brain volume, disrupted synaptic pruning/myelination), delayed language and cognitive skills, poor emotional regulation, and long-term difficulties with attachment and learning.

Q: What is the cognitive theory of development (Piaget)?

Development occurs through discrete stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational) as children actively construct understanding of the world through interaction with their environment.

Q: What is the sociocultural theory of development (Vygotsky)?

Cognitive development is shaped by social interaction and culture; learning occurs through guidance from more knowledgeable others within a "zone of proximal development."

Q: What is the information processing theory of development?

Cognitive development is viewed as gradual improvement in how the mind processes information, including increases in processing speed, more effective cognitive strategies, and improved metacognition (awareness/control of one's own thinking).

Q: What is the continuum of arousal?

A spectrum ranging from low arousal (coma/sleep) and to hyperarousal (extremely heightened alertness, e.g. panic).

Q: What is the difference between selective and divided attention?

Selective attention is focusing on one specific stimulus while ignoring others, divided attention is splitting attention across two or more stimuli simultaneously.

Q: How do the hypothalamus and pineal gland regulate sleep?

The hypothalamus detects light/dark levels and signals the pineal gland to release melatonin in low light, which promotes sleepiness and regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

Q: How do the thalamus, cortex and reticular formation direct attention?

The reticular formation regulates arousal/alertness; the thalamus acts as a relay station, filtering and directing sensory information; the cortex processes this information consciously — together they help focus attention on relevant stimuli.

Q: What does EEG measure in sleep studies?

Electrical activity of the brain (brain waves), used to identify different stages of sleep.

Q: What does EMG measure in sleep studies?

Electromyography measures muscle activity/tension, used to detect muscle movement and the loss of muscle tone during REM sleep.

Q: What does EOG measure in sleep studies?

Electrooculography measures eye movements, used to detect the rapid eye movements characteristic of REM sleep.

Q: What are the stages of NREM sleep?

NREM has three stages: Stage 1 (light sleep, drowsiness), Stage 2 (deeper sleep, sleep spindles), Stage 3 (deep/slow-wave sleep, restorative, hardest to wake from).

Q: What characterises REM sleep?

Rapid eye movement, high brain activity similar to wakefulness, vivid dreaming, and near-total muscle paralysis (atonia).

Q: What is the restoration theory of sleep?

Sleep serves to restore and repair the body and brain — replenishing energy, repairing tissue, and consolidating memory/clearing waste products from the brain.

Q: What is the evolutionary theory of sleep?

Sleep evolved as an adaptive behaviour to keep organisms safe and conserve energy during times when activity would be dangerous or unproductive (e.g. at night).

Q: How does the sleep–wake cycle change across the lifespan?

Newborns sleep the most, adolescents experience a circadian phase delay and older adults tend to have lighter, more fragmented sleep. sleep amount and REM proportion decrease with age.

Q: What is the sleep-wake shift in adolescence?

A biological delay in melatonin release causes adolescents to naturally feel sleepy later at night and wake later, often conflicting with early school start times.

Q: What are the effects of total sleep deprivation?

Impaired concentration, memory, and reaction time; mood disturbances (irritability); microsleeps; in severe cases, hallucinations and impaired immune function.

Q: What are the effects of partial sleep deprivation?

Cumulative effects on concentration and mood similar to total deprivation but building up gradually over repeated nights of insufficient sleep — reduced alertness, impaired decision-making, irritability.

Q: What is narcolepsy?

A sleep disorder causing sudden, uncontrollable episodes of sleep during waking hours, sometimes with cataplexy (sudden muscle weakness).

Q: What is sleep-onset insomnia?

Difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the sleep period.

Q: What is sleep apnoea?

A disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, causing fragmented sleep and reduced oxygen levels.

Q: What is sleepwalking ?

A disorder occurring during NREM (deep) sleep where a person walks or performs other activities while still asleep.

Q: What is CBT for insomnia ?

A treatment involving changing thoughts and behaviours around sleep — e.g. addressing anxiety about sleep, establishing consistent routines, and stimulus control — to improve sleep onset and quality.

Q: What is bright light therapy?

Exposure to bright artificial light at specific times to help reset the circadian rhythm, used to treat circadian phase disorders (e.g. delayed sleep phase).

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