A level psych paper 2

Draganski

They used MRIs of medical students before and after their final exams and saw that there was a change in volume of the hippocampus - evidence of plasticity in humans. This cannot be used to provide causal inferences, however the degree of similarity between the findings of this research and Kemperman’s are significant. They both have high reliability and when you combine the research it suggests that cognitive challenge can alter the hippocampus, which demonstrates the nature of plasticity.

Kemperman

They put rats into an enriched environment with notable cognitive challenge (difficult maze etc) and saw that there were new neurons in the rats hippocampi.

Mass action (Lashley)

This suggests that the degree of impairment after damage is directly proportional to the amount of brain damaged, not the location.

Nikbakhitian et al (2021)

They used an accelerometer (objective measure) derived sleep onset time (SOT) for over 100, 000 participants.

Nerves

These are cylindrical bundles of several thousand neuron axons (fibres)

Echolocation

This is something that blind people can learn to do to "see "the surroundings. Auditory information is processed by the visual cortex which demonstrates adaptation to maximise functioning.

McGuire et al

Found that London taxi drivers had more grey matter in their brain, and a bigger posterior hippocampus than the control group when tested using MRI machines.

Chronotypes

Peoples natural inclinations for wake and sleep patterns, so the technicalities about the precise time of the circadian rhythm can be partly influenced by genes. Approx 1/3 are larks, 1/3 are night owls and 1/3 have a mixed pattern. Many night owls to becoming chronically socially jet lagged, this can result in diminished integrity of white matter in the brain and increased risks for things like depression and alcohol use.

Functional recovery

When the brain can restore skills or behaviours after damage has occurred.

Szaflarski et al (2006)

Found that language became more lateralised to the left hemisphere as age increased, but after 25 it became increasingly less lateralised.

Freeze response

A momentary parasympathetic brake on the motor system as a form of behavioural inhibition, controlled by the periaqueductal grey. (Gray et al)

Biological rhythms

Patterns of physiological processes that occur and recur with a predictable regularity.

Post-mortem examinations

Involve studying the actual, physical brain of a deceased individual to look for lesions or causes for any phenomenological afflictions or mental health disorders an individual may have struggled with. They are used to find the underlying neurobiology of a particular behaviour and a brain may be compared to a neurotypical control.

Human NS

A complex network of nerve cells and fibres that enables the brain to receive information about the environment and to command responses.

Luckow et al (1998)

Found that "seeking and using social support "was massively significant in females (but not at all in males), (p

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Measures changes in brain activity by looking for changes of blood flow to certain areas. This allows researchers to create a visual map of activity in the brain, rather than just anatomy, to deduce that certain regions are involved in task performance.

PNS

This includes all the nerves external to the CNS.

Split brain research

Refers to the studying of individuals who have had split- brain surgery, in order to understand more about the individual specialisms of each hemisphere.

CNS

This is the major division of the NS that includes all nerves in the central system. Its 2 main processes are controlling behaviour and regulating the body’s physiological processes.

Tend and befriend

This response is controlled by oxytocin release and is known for its affiliative behaviours. Oxytocin could also inhibit glucocorticoids (stress hormones) and have a protective role.

Wernicke’s area

Responsible for the understanding and comprehension of language and is found in the posterior portion of the left temporal lobe. (fluency aphasia)

Autonomic NS

Works with smooth (organ) muscle to affect action and control involuntary bodily processes.

Endocrine system

This uses a negative feedback loop (this means the system responds when the conditions are no longer ideal) to maintain homeostasis (the regulation of internal bodily functions in an optimal state)

FM (radio)

The motor cortex is in the frontal lobe

PS (play station)

The somatosensory cortex is in the parietal lobe.

wTAf (teaching assistant/ wtf)

Wernicke’s area in the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe can cause fluency aphasia

OV (ovulation)

The visual cortex is in the occipital lobe

Two main language centres in the brain

Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area

Two regions of Broca’s area

For language and demanding cognitive tasks (Fedorenko et al, 2012)

The Principle of Equipotentiality

This suggests that every aspect of the cortex has equal potential to perform a function (this is how there can be a recovery of function without neural/ cortex recovery)

Re-routing

A neuron that has lost its target seeks a new connection to enable communication around the damaged area

Sprouting

Nerve fibres grow and become bushier to make new connections and enable connection

Recruitment

The homologous area on the opposite hemisphere begins to perform specific tasks previously undertaken by the damaged are. This tends to be a last resort because it is a difficult (metabolically) and drastic change

Denervation super-sensitivity

This is when intact cells become hyper-sensitive to stimulation so larger results are experienced from the same amount of neurotransmitters

Unmasking

Dormant synapses which were functionally blocked (e.g. as a result of under-stimulation) are “revealed” when input increases

Crowding hypothesis

A brain which is damaged congenitally, can often initially compensate with maximal rewiring, however this individual would struggle significantly more if there was more damage, or alternatively they would have difficulties adapting to acquire further mental skills (e.g. onset of school). It’s as if they “ran out of wiring”

NREM sleep

Non-REM sleep: slow-wave sleep (stages 1-4) and where plasticity and neural change occur.

REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement sleep: paradoxical and desynchronised. It is where dreams and emotional processing occur.

Stage 2

Slightly deeper sleep, breathing and heart rate slow. Neural activity is characterised by theta waves

Stage 3

Deep sleep where theta waves begin to turn into delta waves

Stage 4

Very deep sleep where healing and repair occur, this is also where sleep-walking occurs

Neurons

Specialised cells in the brain and NS that transmit electrical impulses, enabling thought, speech, movement etc.

Spatial summation

EPSPs are generated from many different pre-synaptic neurons, their effects are combined and summated.

Temporal summation

High frequency action potentials of a single pre-synaptic neuron.

Process of cortisol secretion

Hyp → CRH → Pit → ACTH → Ad C → Cortisol

HPA axis

Second wave of fight or flight or chronic stress.

Process of adrenaline secretion

Amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus Sympathetic NS is activated Bodily changes Adrenal medulla → adrenaline Adrenaline maintains these symptoms

Visual information

Received as light energy in the photoreceptors in the retina, before being translated in the ganglion cells in the retina. It travels along the optic nerve as an impulse before being received in the thalamus (relay station). Then it is directed and interpreted in the visual cortex in the occipital lobe.

Auditory information

Received in the cochlea in the inner ear, and is translated in the Organ of Corti. It travels along the auditory nerve and is first received in the brain stem (where basic decoding takes place), then the thalamus then the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe.

Somatosensory and motor humunculus

Both cortices have the whole body represented, but it is represented contralaterally, upside down and not proportionally. The size of the body part on the cortex is due to the sizes of sensory receptors and muscle effectors, not the actual size of the body part.

Broca’s area

Responsible for the production of language, found in the posterior portion of the left frontal lobe. (expressive aphasia)

Arcuate fasiculus

Supporting evidence for language centres: this neural loop links both centres suggesting they work together.

Global aphasia

All language capabilities are lost due to extensive damage.

Dronkers et al, 2007

They used MRI scans and found that the damage Broca found was more extensive than initially concluded, so language may be more distributed.

VJ case study

Epileptic convulsions led to bilateral hippocampal atrophy, most function was recovered but his episodic memory suffered.

Localisation of function

The theory that particular regions of the brain are responsible for specific functions. It means that behaviours originate from specific, discrete regions.

Hemispheric lateralisation

The theory that each hemisphere is specialised for distinct ways of processing and particular functions.

Case study of JW

Found that while recognition of familiar others is specialised to the right hemisphere, the left hemisphere has a preference for self-recognition (to a very high degree of significance). Speaking about lateralisation too simply is a problem, but this provides evidence for it but in a more complex way.

Case study of EB

He had his whole left hemisphere removed at 2.5 yrs and after intensive rehab was able to recover most of his language functions. This suggests that the brain is very able to adapt. However, he had a low IQ and systematic testing revealed difficulties with grammar which suggests that while the right hemisphere was able to create a left-like neural blueprint (copy what would have been on the left hemisphere), it was unable to fully take on the role of the left hemisphere.

Plasticity

The brain’s ability to adapt in response to experience

Congenital damage

Brain damage resulted from development so it was present at birth.

Acquired damage

Brain damage results from later trauma or insult.

Kennard Principle

Suggests that the younger the individual is when the damage occurs the better their chances of recovery. However, this is only true for acquired damage. For congenital damage, there was seen to be a negative relationship between a child’s IQ and their age.

7x

Schneider found that individuals are this many times more likely to be disability-free after a moderate to severe brain injury if they have a college level education. He called this “cognitive reserve”.

Circadian rhythms

Any bodily cycle that lasts about 24 hours, even in the absence of environmental stimuli

Free-running

Any biological rhythm that continues in the absence of environmental stimuli.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Region in the brain which sits close to the hypothalamus. It is entrained (synchronised to stimuli) by light signals and then it sends signals to the peripheral oscillators.

Stage 1 sleep

Light sleep where we feel drowsy and muscle activity slows down: the brain has alpha waves

Endogenous pacemakers

Mechanisms within the body that govern bodily rhythms (SCN)

Exogenous zeitgebers

External, environmental cues that regulate the body clock (light)

Stimulus

Anything internal or external that brings about a change

Response

Any reaction in the presence of the stimulus

Reinforcement

The process by which a response is strengthened

Classical conditioning

Learning through association: a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired so a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.

UCS

Unconditioned stimuli - stimuli that automatically triggers a response

UCR

Unconditioned response - an unlearned, natural response to the UCS

NS

Neutral stimulus - stimulus that does not elicit a response prior to conditioning

CS

Conditioned stimuli - after association with the UCS, elicits a certain response

CR

Conditioned response - the learned response to a previously neutral response .

Operant conditioning

Learning through reinforcement or punishment

Positive punishment

Adding an undesirable stimulus to stop or decrease a behavior

Negative punishment

The removal of a stimulus to decrease the probability of a behavior's recurring

Positive reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus to increase the frequency of a desired behaviour

Negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock. A negative reinforcer is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response. (Note: negative reinforcement is not punishment.)

Social learning

Learning through the observation of others and imitating the behaviours that appear to be rewarded.

Modelling

Learning through the observation of other people (models) which may lead to imitation (repetition) of behaviour.

Mediational process

ATTENTION is payed to the model
RETENTION allows an individual to copy the observed behaviour at a later date
MOTOR REPRODUCTION is the imitation of the behaviour (has to be physically possible)
MOTIVATION can result from direct or indirect (vicarious) reinforcement or punishment

Behavioural genetics

The study of whether a trait runs in families. If it occurs more frequently in those who are related, we assume the trait has a genetic component.

Molecular genetics

The study of gene variants in the DNA sequence that co-occur with disorders or diseases

Genotype

The inherited genetic material that provides the code/instructions for the living organism

Phenotype

How the genetically inherited code is expressed - the resulting, often observable characteristic - which is a result of the interaction between the genotype and the environment

Adaptive

Traits which are useful and are likely to confer increased survival or reproductive success on the carrier are considered adaptive

Traits

Characteristics, or features or behaviours

Evolution

Change over successive generations of the genetic make-up of a particular population.

Natural selection

The process by which inherited characteristics that enhance an individual's reproductive success, or 'fitness' are passed on to the next generation and so become more widespread in the gene pool

Concordance

The degree of 'agreement' or sharing of trait between related individuals

Monozygotic

Identical twins - share 100% of their DNA

Dizygotic

Non-identical twins - share on average 50% of their DNA

Heredity

The passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another

Pre-dispose

A likelihood / vulnerability