Bio Psych Midterm

Biopsychology as a Neuroscience

Q: What are the six disciplines of neuroscience?
A: Neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neuroendocrinology, neuropathology, neuropharmacology, neurophysiology.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using animal research?
A: Advantages: Greater control, simpler nervous systems, ethical considerations. Disadvantages: Ethical concerns, generalizability to humans.

Q: What are the advantages of non-human research?
A: Greater control, simpler nervous systems, ethical considerations, and fewer confounding variables.

Q: What are the 3 Rs that animal committees emphasize?
A: Reduction, Refinement, Replacement.

Q: What is the difference between an experiment and a quasi-experimental study?
A: Experiment: Controlled variables and random assignment. Quasi-experiment: Lacks full control over variables.

Q: What is the difference between within-subjects and between-subjects study designs?
A: Within-subjects: The same participants experience all conditions. Between-subjects: Different participants experience different conditions.

Q: Can you explain the difference between an independent variable, dependent variable, and confounding variable?
A: Independent variable: Manipulated. Dependent variable: Measured. Confounding variable: Unwanted variable affecting results.

Q: What is a case study?
A: An in-depth analysis of a single subject or small group.

Q: Can you explain the difference between pure and applied research?
A: Pure: Conducted for knowledge. Applied: Conducted to solve practical problems.

Divisions of Biopsychology

Q: What are the divisions of Biopsychology?
A: Physiological psychology, psychopharmacology, neuropsychology, psychophysiology, cognitive neuroscience, comparative psychology.

Q: What is meant by converging operations?
A: The use of multiple approaches to study a single problem in neuroscience.

Q: What is scientific inference?
A: Using empirical data to infer unseen processes in the nervous system.

Q: Why is critical thinking important in Biological Psychology?
A: To avoid flawed conclusions, as seen in cases such as José Delgado’s bull and lobotomy practices.

Evolution, Genetics, and Experience

Q: What is Cartesian dualism?
A: The idea that mind and body are separate entities.

Q: What is Behaviorism?
A: A theory that behavior is shaped by environmental stimuli and reinforcement.

Q: What is ethology?
A: The study of animal behavior in natural settings, focusing on innate behaviors.

Q: What is interactionism?
A: The interplay of genetics, experience, and current environment in shaping behavior.

Q: What was Darwin’s theory of evolution?
A: Species evolve through natural selection based on survival and reproductive advantages.

Q: What is meant by fitness in evolution?
A: An organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.

Q: What is social dominance?
A: The ability of an individual to exert control over resources and others.

Q: What are courtship displays?
A: Behavioral patterns that help individuals attract mates.

Q: What are chordates?
A: Animals with a dorsal nerve cord, including vertebrates.

Q: How has the human brain evolved?
A: Increased complexity, cortical convolutions, and specialization.

Genetics

Q: What did Gregor Mendel’s pea plant studies reveal?
A: The inheritance of dominant and recessive traits.

Q: What are dichotomous traits?
A: Traits that appear in only one form or another (e.g., purple vs. white flowers).

Q: What are true-breeding lines?
A: Organisms that always produce offspring with the same traits.

Q: What is the difference between phenotype and genotype?
A: Phenotype: Observable traits. Genotype: Genetic makeup.

Q: What is an allele?
A: A variant form of a gene.

Q: What are homozygous and heterozygous alleles?
A: Homozygous: Identical alleles. Heterozygous: Different alleles.

Q: What are dominant and recessive traits?
A: Dominant: Always expressed. Recessive: Expressed only when both alleles are recessive.

Q: How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have?
A: 23 pairs (46 total).

Q: What is meiosis?
A: A process of cell division that produces gametes (sperm and eggs).

Q: What is epigenetics?
A: The study of changes in gene expression caused by environmental factors.

Nervous System

Q: What are the two main divisions of the nervous system?
A: CNS: Brain and spinal cord. PNS: All other nerves.

Q: What is the difference between the autonomic and somatic nervous systems?
A: Autonomic: Involuntary (e.g., heart rate). Somatic: Voluntary movements.

Q: What is the difference between afferent and efferent nerve pathways?
A: Afferent: Sensory signals to CNS. Efferent: Motor commands from CNS.

Q: What are the four lobes of the brain and their functions?
A: Frontal: Decision-making. Parietal: Sensory processing. Occipital: Vision. Temporal: Hearing and memory.

Neural Conduction & Synaptic Transmission

Q: What is the resting membrane potential?
A: -70mV.

Q: What ions are involved in the membrane potential?
A: Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+).

Q: What is the sodium-potassium pump?
A: A mechanism that maintains resting potential by moving sodium out and potassium in.

Q: What is depolarization vs. hyperpolarization?
A: Depolarization: Cell becomes more positive. Hyperpolarization: Cell becomes more negative.

Q: What are EPSPs and IPSPs?
A: EPSPs: Excitatory signals increasing likelihood of firing. IPSPs: Inhibitory signals decreasing likelihood of firing.

Q: What is spatial vs. temporal summation?
A: Spatial: Signals from multiple synapses. Temporal: Repeated signals from one synapse.

Q: What is a neurotransmitter?
A: A chemical messenger that transmits signals across synapses.

Q: What are the steps in neurotransmission?
A: Synthesis, storage, release, receptor binding, inactivation (via enzymatic degradation or reuptake).

Q: What is enzymatic degradation vs. reuptake?
A: Enzymatic degradation: Enzymes break down neurotransmitters. Reuptake: Neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the neuron.