Biopsychology key terms

nervous system

consists of the CNS and PNS which communicate through electrical signals

Central Nervous System

the origin of all complex demands and decisions

components of the central nervous system

the brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

made up of nerves around the body that transmit messages between the CNS and the rest of the body

somatic nervous system

receives information from sensory receptors causing deliberate actions

autonomic nervous system

the source of involuntary responses

sympathetic nervous system

causes the fight or flight response

parasympathetic nervous system

causes the rest and digest state

glands

organs in the body that release hormones

hormones

chemical messages carried in the blood acting on target organs

the role of the hypothalamus

stimulates and controls the release of hormones from the pituitary gland

the role of the oxytocin/ACTH

released from the pituitary gland during stress triggering the release of cortisol

the role of the thyroxine

released from the thyroid to control metabolic rate

the role of adrenaline/cortisol

released from the adrenal gland during the fight or flight response

the role of insulin

released from the pancreas to control blood glucose levels

the role of oestrogen

released from the ovaries to regulate the female reproductive system

the role of testosterone

released from the testes to aid the development of male sex characteristics

neuron

a nerve cell that processes and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals

sensory neuron

carries messages from the PNS to the CNS

relay neuron

connects the sensory and motor neurons

motor neurons

connects the CNS to effectors

axon terminal

connects one neuron to another

myelin sheath

insulates the axon so that the electrical impulse can travel faster

axon

carries nerve impulses away from the cell body

cell body

the control centre containing the nucleus

dendrites

projections of the cell body which receive signals from other neurons

action potential

a nerve signal caused by a neuron becoming momentarily positively charged

synaptic transmission

the process by which neurons communicate with one another

neurotransmitters

chemical messengers that diffuse across the synapse

excitation

when neurotransmitters increase the positive charge of a neuron, increasing the likelihood that an action potential will occur

inhibiton

when neurotransmitters increase the negative charge of a neuron decreasing the likelihood of an action potential occuring

reuptake

the process by which neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the vesicles in the pre-synaptic membrane

post-synaptic receptor

where the neurotransmitters bind to on the post-synaptic membrane

ACh

a neurotransmitter found between a motor neuron and a muscle that causes muscle contractions

serotonin

an inhibitory neurotransmitter that stabilises mood

adrenaline

an excitatory neurotransmitter that prepares for the fight or flight response

dopamine

an inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter that aids concentration/motivation

summation

the net effect of inhibition and excitation that determines how likely a neuron is to fire

synaptic cleft

the gap between neurons

localisation of function

the idea that different areas of the brain are responsible for specific behaviours

motor area

a part of the frontal lobe involved in regulating movement

somatosensory area

a part of the parietal lobe that provides sensory information

visual area

a part of the occipital lobe that receives and processes visual information

auditory area

a part of the temporal lobe that is involved in the analysis of speech-based information

broca’s area

an area in the left frontal lobe involved in language production

Wernicke’s area

an area in the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension

holistic theory

the theory that all parts of the brain were involved in the processing of thought and action

lateralisation

the theory that some physical/psychological functions are dominated by a particular hemisphere

brain hemispheres

the two symmetrical halves of the brain

cerebral cortex

the outer layer of the brain hemispheres associated with higher level processes

cerebellum

controls coordination and balance

brain stem

regulates unconscious activity

4 main lobes of the brain

frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe

central sulcus

the valley between the motor and somatosensory area

Split-brain research

Sperry separated the brain hemispheres of 11 epileptic patients

Corpus callosum

A bundle of fibres joining together the brain hemispheres

fMRI scan

A method of measuring brain activity using magnetic fields

EEG scan

A method of studying the brain showing overall brain activity/recording electrical polarity changes in neurons

ERP

Isolates specific responses of neurons to specific stimuli from an EEG scan

Post-mortem exams

Studies of the physical structures of the brain on dead patients

Plasticity

The brains ability to adapt to new experiences

Functional recovery

The brain adapting to new experiences as a result of trauma

Synaptic pruning

Unused neural connections shrink allowing new connections to form/grow

Maguire’s study

Found a positive correlation between volume of grey matter in the brain and length of job

Draganski’s study

Medical students developed changes to their posterior hippocampus and parietal cortex when studying for final exams

Mechelli’s study

Bilingual people have a larger parietal cortex than non bilingual people

Axonal sprouting

The growth of new nerve endings connecting with other undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways

Reformation of new blood vessels

New blood vessels form alongside the new neurons supplying oxygen

Recruitment of homologous areas of the opposite side of the brain

Areas on the opposite side of the brain allow tasks to be performed after the original area becomes damaged

Constraint induced movement therapy

Stroke patients repeatedly practise using the affected area of the body whilst the unaffected area is restrained

10 men and 1 woman

how many people did Sperry study

a communissurotomy/the severing of the corpus callosum

what procedure did the people who Sperry studied have done

he projected an image to participants left or right visual field only and observed their response

what was the scientific method of Sperry’s experiments

when an image was projected to the participants left visual field they could not explain what the image was but they could identify it from a set of images using their left hand whereas when the image was projected to a participants right visual field they could describe what they had seen

what were the results of Sperry’s study

that certain brain functions are lateralised in the brain

what did Sperry’s research provide evidence for

that split-brain participants perform better than other participants at certain tasks

what did Gazzangia’s study show

it’s hard to generalise the results of the study as all the participants had epilepsy and so this may have become a confounding variable/causal relationships are hard to establish

what is a limitation of Sperry’s study

A rhythm that occurs approximately once every 24 hours

What is a circadian rhythm

A rhythm that occurs less frequently than once every 24 hours

What is an infradian rhythm

A rhythm that occurs more frequently than once every 24 hours

What is an ultradian rhythm

An internal factor that influences biological rhythms

What is an endogenous pacemaker

An external factor that influences biological rhythms

What is an exogenous zeitegeber

When the optic nerve senses changes in light intensity it triggers the release of certain hormones that control circadian rhythms

How does light influence your circadian rhythm

It chemically induces drowsiness and lowers core body temperature

What is the role of melatonin

In the pineal gland

Where is melatonin produced

In the adrenal gland

Where us cortisol produced

To form glucose/enable anti-stress responses/enable anti-inflammatory responses

What are uses of cortisol

In the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) in the hypothalamus

Where is the circadian clock located

Sending signals to other areas of the brain to regulate the sleep-wake cycle, core body temperature, hormone production and other functions

What is the role of the SCN

Michel spent two months in the caves of the southern alps deprived of light and sound, his circadian rhythm remained between 24-25 hours

What is the case study of Michel Siffre

By understanding circadian rhythms we can determine the best time to administer drugs e.g. heart attacks are more likely in the early morning so medication can be taken at night that becomes effective in the morning.

What is a pharmaceutical application of siffres study

The study only focused on one individual and there was no control of exogenous zeitegebers such as torches/phones which may have affected Siffre’s circadian rhythm and Czeisler has provided evidence that dim artificial light still adjusts circadian rhythms between 22-28 hours

What is an issue with Siffre’s study