psych unit 3

most of unit 3, didnt do23/24

what are the two components of the CNS?

brain and spinal cord

what are the two systems in the PNS?

the autonomic and somatic

what are the three sections of the brain?

forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain

what is the midbrain responsible for?

coordinating sleep, movement and arousal

what is the forebrain responsible for?

receiving and processing sensory information and for higher order thinking processes, including problem-solving, planning, memory, language and emotions

what is the hindbrains purpose?

links the spinal cord and the rest of the brain and is important for movement and balance

what is the cerebral cortex?

outermost layer of the cerebrum, responsible for receiving information from the environment, controls our responses and higher order thinking processes

what divides the cerebrum into the two hemispheres?

the longitudinal fissure

what is brocas area responsible for?

speech production

what is wernickes area responsible for?

understanding speech

what does geschwinds territory consist of?

bundle of nerve fibres connecting brocas and wernickes areas

what does geschwinds territory enable?

multimodal processing (how words sound, look and what they represent) and the brains ability to interpret and classify things

what are the signs of brocas aphasia?

difficulty expressing themselves in words or sentences however their ability to comprehend speech is largely unaffected; often frustrated; aware of their condition but unable to express themselves

what are the signs of wernickes aphasia?

difficulty understanding written and spoken language; difficulty producing written and spoken language that makes sense to others; generally seem unaware that they do not make any sense

what is voluntary movement?

self generated, will actions that are performed as a result of the brain gathering, coordinating and integrating information and then using it to activate movement

what are the three steps in voluntary movement?

basal ganglia → cerebellum → primary motor cortex

what is the basal ganglia responsible for?

enables voluntary movement by gathering information and channelling it to the motor cortex; acts to block movements that may not suit the end goal

what is the cerebellum responsible for?

stores previously learnt sequences of movement; coordinates and integrates information to help us move in ways that are smooth and effortless; communicates with the primary motor cortex

what is the primary motor cortex responsible for?

activating neural impulses that initiating voluntary movement of skeletal muscles

what is the limbic system responsible for?

the interpretation, production and regulation of emotion, including behaviour and motivation; located on both sides of the thalamus; includes the hippocampus, hypothalamus and amygdala

what is Le Doux’ biological model of emotional appraisal?

identifies that the amygdala and surrounding brain processes play a central role in determining and controlling emotional responses in the brain.

what are the two biological pathways as proposed by Le Doux?

Short route (Terrified Ants) & long route (Thoughtful Snails Have Alternatives)

what is the short route in Le Doux’ pathway of emotion?

the emotional stimulus goes from the thalamus to the amygdala for induction of emotional response

what is the long route in Le Doux’ pathway of emotion?

the emotional stimulus passes via the cerebral cortex and hippocampus before reaching an emotional response

what are the advantages of having a direct and indirect pathway to the amygdala, according to Le Doux?

flexibility in responses

* short response is useful in situations involving danger as its saves time
* the long response allows for a more useful evaluation of a situation that helps people avoid an inappropriate response

what role does the hippocampus play in the limbic structure?

involved in the regulation and expression of emotion, and memory; when emotionally charged stimuli emerges, the hippocampus aids in recalling relevant information to the situation

what is the function of dendrites?

receive information from communicating neurons

what is the function of the soma?

to control metabolism and maintenance of neuron

what is the function of the nucleus?

it contains genetic material

what is the function of the axons?

to propagate information as an electrical impulse called an action potential from soma to communicating neuron

what is the function of the myelin sheath?

to protect and insulate axons to enhance transmission of electrical impulses

what is the function of schwann cells?

to produce myelin

what is the function of the nodes of ranvier?

to facilitate rapid conduction of nerve impulses

what is the function of the axon terminal?

transmits information (as neurotransmitters) across the synapse to the next neuron

what is neurotransmission?

occurs when a neuron is activated; if the level of stimulation is high enough, the neuron converts the stimulus into an action potential; an action potential is an electrical impulse

what do the terminal buttons (axon terminals) do?

release a neurotransmitter (chemical) that crosses the synaptic cleft (the gap) and ‘fits’ a receptor on the dendrite

what does an excitatory synapse do?

causes the target cell to become excited and more likely to fire and cause an action potential

what does an inhibitory synapse do?

causes the target cell to become inhibited and less likely to fire and cause an action potential

what is glutamate?

the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS

what are characteristics of glutamate?

increases the odds of an action potential; plays an important role in learning and memory; excessive amount can cause seizures

what is GABA?

the main inhibitory neurotransmitter

characteristics of GABA?

dampens neural activity; helps you feel calm and relaxed; important in regulating anxiety; plays a role in attention span, arousal and sleep

what is a neurotransmitter?

the chemical messenger of a neuron

what is acetycholine?

a neurotransmitter in the brain, spinal cord and PNS involved in muscle contractions (breathing, digestion, cardiovascular system), learning and memory (alzheimers) and REM sleep

what is epinephrine?

* a neurotransmitter and hormone involved in stress responses
* also known as adrenaline and secreted by adrenal glands
* can increase heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory functio

what is norepinephrine?

a neurotransmitter and hormone involved in stress responses, alertness, arousal, emotional regulation and attention

what is dopamine?

a neurotransmitter involved in thoughts, feelings, motivation and behaviours

what is serotonin?

a neurotransmitter in the brain involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, eating, arousal and pain

what causes parkinsons disease?

a decline in levels of dopamine

what areas of the brain are affected by parkinsons disease?

cells in the basal ganglia typically produce dopamine, which is located in the middle of the brain

what can a lack of dopamine result in?

an impact on your sense of smell & bowels, slowed thinking, parkinsons disease and depressed mood

what is alzheimers disease?

a **physical and progressively, degenerative brain disease that causes dementia**, a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life

what cause and effect of alzheimers?

decreased acetylcholine receptor leads to impaired memory, emotions and behaviour; can also create too much GABA and too little glutamate

what changes in the brain to cause alzheimers?

an abnormal build up of a protein called beta amyloid, forms plaques around the brain cells

what are the three processes of memory?

Encoding, storage and retrieval

define encoding

putting information into a form that will allow it to fit with your personal storage system

define storage of memory

keeping information in the brain so that we can use it later on

define retrieval

the process of getting information back from memory so that we can use it

who proposed the multi-store model of memory?

Atkinson and Shriffrin (1968)

what are the two types of sensory memory and what sensory system do they relate to?

iconic memory (visual) and echoic memory (auditory)

what is sensory memory and its purpose?

information taken in by sensory receptors that has a brief duration but is long enough for our brain to determine whether it is important enough to be transferred to our short term memory - acts like a filter for what is relevant to what we are doing or thinking at any given moment

duration, capacity, and form of encoding of iconic memory?

0\.3 seconds, unlimited, and visual

duration, capacity, and form of encoding for echoic memory?

3-4 seconds, unlimited, and acoustic

what is the duration and capacity of short term memory?

12-30 seconds and only 5-9 pieces of new information

what are the four parts of working memory?

The phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, the central executive, and the episodic buffer

what is the phonological loop?

Our **auditory working** memory **storage**.  This is the store that helps us to understand a sentence of more than a few words.

what is the visuospatial sketchpad?

Our **visual short-term** memory **storage**.  This is the storage of what we see.  We use this to help picture something e.g. what a room would look like if we shifted the furniture around.

what is the central executive?

**Puts together** the sounds and vision of working memory and controls our attention, which enables us to perform mental manipulation of data.

what are the three aspects of the central executive function and their roles?

*Inhibition*: an aspect of attention; screening out irrelevant material

*Switching*: changing attention from one item to another

*Updating:* Modifying items brought in from LTM before re-committing them to memory

what is the episodic buffer?

**Helps retrieve information from LTM** to associate with information that is in working memory, and to select and encode information to LTM. It acts as a bridge and filter.

what is the working memory model and who proposed it?

a system for working with the information we are aware of at any given time. since we are consciously working on this information, psychologists now refer to this component as working memory BADDELEY & HITCH (1974)

what are the strengths of the working memory model?

* it is supported by empirical and scientific evidence; can be applied to real life tasks
* it suggests short-term memory is more than just ‘temporary’ storage, rather it is a system for working with information we are consciously aware of
* it enhanced our understanding of why people differ so much in their working memory capacity

what are the weaknesses of the working memory model?

* the model only emphasises the structure of memory rather than the process
* visuospatial system contradicts some work already known about visual perception
* executive functioning systems are lacking direct evidence

what is the levels of processing model and who proposed it?

CRAIK AND LOCKHART (1972)

* suggests that memory does not comprise any specific number of seperate memory stores but instead is a continuous dimension
* levels of processing refers to the number and types of associations made between new knowledge and previous knowledge
* there are three levels of which we encode for material

what are the three types of encoding and their types of processing?

1. structural; words are learnt by remembering their physical features, such as whether they were in upper or lower case, started with a vowel or consonant, or were long or short; SHALLOW
2. phonemic; words are learnt by their sounds; MODERATE


1. semantic; words are encoded by their meaning, which allows them to be placed directly in our semantic networks; DEEP

what is the recall rate for each types of encoding?

structural: about 20%

phonemic: about 50%

semantic: 80%

what are the two different types of long term memory?

declarative and procedural

define explicit memory?

info you consciously work to remember

define implicit memory?

info remembered unconsciously and effortlessly

what is the hippocampus?

* structure in the brain most closely aligned to memory formation
* early storage place for long term memory
* involved in the transition of long-term memory to even more enduring permanent memory
* involved in establishing the background or context for each new memory

symptoms of alzheimers disease are possibly caused by a decrease in the production of?

acetycholine

mercury poisoning causes neurological damage, which leads to an inability to coordinate muscle movements. the region of the brain affected by this damage is the?

cerebellum

define recall

requires a person to retrieve stored information using minimal cues

what are the three main types of recall and what are they?

**free recall**: is involved in a task in which the participants are required to retrieve as much information as they can in any order

**serial recall**: involves recalling information in the order in which it was presented

**cued recall**: uses various prompts to assist the retrieval process

define recognition

identifying the correct information among a list of incorrect pieces of information; for example being able to select the correct answer to a multiple choice question from a list of four alternatives

define relearning

refers to learning again something that has previously been committed to memory, is easier than learning something for the first time

what are the three types of memory techniques?

1. chunking
2. rehearsal


1. maintenance rehearsal
2. elaborative rehearsal
3. mnemonics


1. the method of loci
2. SQ4R method

define chunking

* the grouping together of items that can be remembered
* a chunk is a group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit
* each chunk occupies only one location and therefore frees up the other locations

what is rehearsal (maintenance rehearsal)

* simply repeating information over and over
* does not add meaning to the information

define rehearsal (elaborative rehearsal)

* the best chance for encoding information in LTM
* a process by which we give meaning to information and link it to other information already in the memory
* personal relevance is another way we can improve encoding of information
* involves using effort to make meaningful associations

define mnemonics

* strategies to help improve our ability both to encode material into memory and to retrieve it when needed
* forms of mnemonics include visualisation, verbalisation, rhythm and rhyme

what is the method of loci?

a mnemonic method that requires one to visualise a series of locations that they know well and use that to memorise something

people are inherently good at remembering spaces and visual stimuli

what is the SQ4R method?

* survey, question, and read, recite, relate and review
* form of mnemonic that aides people in reading well for study

why do we forget thing?

* if we cant access a cue or retrieval prompt or the cue is wrong
* the levels of processing was too shallow
* interference effects

what are some context dependent cues and their associated environment?

* EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
* brightness of light
* smells
* noises

what are some state dependent cues and their associated environment?

* INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
* mood
* level of anxiety
* state of tiredness

what is interference in regards to memory?

* when one memory ‘interferes’ with our recall of another
* likely to be most pronounced when the two sets of material are very similar

when other memories cause problems with the retrieval of information from long-term memory, this is known as?

interference effects

what is classical conditioning?

where an animal or other organism can passively learn to show a naturally occurring reflex action, such as salivation, in response to any stimulus– learning through association

what is association?

a learnt connection between two (or more) objects or events– especially significant in classical conditioning