Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Unit 1 Psychology AOS 1: How does the brain function?
- The role of mental processes and behaviour
- Approaches over time to understanding the role
of the brain, including phrenology, first brain
experiments and neuroimaging techniques
- Development of
psychology
- Phrenology - the relationship
between features on the surface
of a skull and a person’s
characteristics.
- Franz Gall - different parts of
brain have different functions
- localisation of brain
function - the size of the
area on the skull was how
developed was also the
amount of influence a
characteristic is
- Spurzheim furthered his work
by developed ‘faculties’. There
were originally 27 but updated
to 35.
- • Affective = Feelings
(Destructiveness,
hope, self-esteem)
• Intellectual =
Perceptive (Time,
melody, language)
- Brain Experiments
- Electrical stimulation of the brain =
initiate or inhibit activity in the brain
using an electrode
- Penfield mapped the
cortex, using epilepsy
patients using this
- Brain ablation =
disabling/destroying/removing selected
brain tissue and assessing behavioural
changes
- • Flourens removed small bits
of cortex to observe recovery,
understanding of a holistic view
of the brain
- Lashley
theories
- Lashley = a healthy part of cortex
can take over function of
damaged area
- Lashley = Mass action theory
that large areas of brain that
can function in complex
functions
- Corpus callosum = a bundle of nerves that
connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres
and serves as the main communication pathway
- Hemispherical specialisation: Left
controls language and logical
thinking, right controls visual-spatial
awareness
- Communicate through the
corpus collosum to create
a coordinated response
- Sperry and Gazzinga’s Split Brain
Experiment
- Neuroimaging
Techniques
- Structural = produces
scans to look at the brain
structure and anatomy
- Functional = analyse a
function of the brain ‘at
work’ and brain structure
- The basic structure and function of the central and peripheral
nervous systems and the body’s internal cells and organs
- Nervous system functions by receiving,
processing and coordinating a
response to information.
- CNS and PNS
- Central nervous system (CNS) consists
of the brain and spinal cord.
- Peripheral nervous system (CNS) consists
of the network of nerves outside CNS.
- Sympathetic and parasympathetic responses
- Sypathetic
- Pupils dilate, HR
increase, Increase
perspiration
- Parasympathetic
- Pupils contract, HR
decrease, Decrease
perspiration
- The role of the neuron, and the role of glial cells in
supporting neuronal function
- Neuron is an individual nerve cell. Specialised to
receive, process and/or transmit messages.
- Sensory neurons located in the
PNS and send sensory
information to the CNS. They are
specialized to respond to a
stimulation
- Motor neurons carry
messages from CNS to cells
in skeletal
muscles/organs/glands
- Interneurons are
connecting neurons and
are in the CNS only.
- Parts of the Neuron
- Dendrite receives information from a
nearby neuron.
- Soma is the cell body which combines
information from the dendrites and sends
it to the axon.
- Axon transmits information from the
soma towards axon terminal.
- Axon terminal hold and release
neurotransmitters substance.
- Axon terminal hold and release
neurotransmitters substance.
- Myelin is the white and fatty substance that
insulates an axon increasing speed of
neural transmissions
- Myelin sheath protects against
interference from nearby neurons. It is
not continuous and is separated by
small gaps called nodes of Ranvier.
- Glial cells are specialised cells that
are involved in insulation,
nutrients, repair and eliminate
waste in the nervous system.
- Synaptic transmissions
- Structure and function of
the brain
- Forebrain higher order thinking such as
thinking, learning, memory, perception,
- Hypothalamus: maintains homeostasis
and regulates pituitary gland (hormones)
- Thalamus: filters information from sense
receptor sites (except the nose), and
directs it to the appropriate lobes
- Cerebrum: made up of the four lobes
- Midbrain controls functions such as
movement; processing of: visual, auditory
information, sleep and arousal (‘alertness’)
- Reticular formation is a network of
neurons that runs through the centre
of the midbrain, hindbrain and brain
stem towards the forebrain.
- Reticular activating system (RAS)
screens incoming sensory
information and regulates arousal
- Hindbrain controls motor function and
vital and automatic responses such as
breathing + heart rate + sleep + arousal
- Pons is involved with
sleep, dreaming and
arousal
- Medulla controls vital
body functions
- Cerebrum coordinates
movement, balance and precision
- The role of the cerebral cortex
- Cerebral cortex is
divided into 4 lobes
- Frontal Lobe function is to initiate
and execute voluntary motor
activity, planning and speech
- Primary motor cortex responsible for
the planning, initiation and
performance of specific movements
- Broca’s area responsible
for articulate speech
- Parietal Lobe receives and
processes sensory information
- Primary somatosensory cortex receives and
process sensory information from the skin
and body parts.
- Temporal Lobe processes auditory perception
and has a role in memory, visual perception
including facial recognition and emotional
responses to sensory information.
- Primary auditory
cortex receives and
processes sound from
both ears
- Wernicke’s area is responsible
for speech comprehension
and interpreting the sounds
of human speech
- Occipital Lobe receives and
processes visual information
- Primary visual cortex is the largest area
of the occipital lobe and responsible for
processing visual information
- Brain plasticity and brain
damage
- Development and changes in brain
structure and function
- Development
- Myelination is the growth
and development of
myelin
- Synaptogenesis is the formation of new
synapses between the brain’s neurons.
- Synaptic pruning is a process where synaptic
connections are eliminated which is designed
to fine tune the neural connections
- Neural pathways and connections
- Frontal Lobe development
- Brain Plasticity = the ability
for the brain to change in
response to experience
- Adaptive plasticity is the ability of brain to
compensate for loss of function or maximize
the remaining functions
- Rerouting = undamaged neuron
that has lost a connection will
seek a new active neuron
- Sprouting = growth to form
new connections. This
process involves rerouting
- Developmental plasticity is the
development and consolidation of neural
pathways in the foetal stage as well as in
babies, children and adolescents
- 1. Proliferation = A foetus’s cells develop
into neurons. Approx. 250,000/min
- 2. Migration = newly formed neurons move
outward to their destination. The neuron’s
role is determined by its location.
- 3. Circuit formation = axons of new
neurons grow out to target cells and form
synapses with them.
- 4. Circuit pruning = elimination of excess
synapses and neurons
- 5. Myelination
- Sensitive period is a time when an
organism is more responsive to certain
stimulation
- Critical period is a narrow period
where in development an animal is
preprogrammed for learning to occur
- Brain injury is any brain damage that impairs/interferes with the
normal functioning of the brain, either temporarily or permanently.
- Biopsychosocial
changes
- Biological changes are primarily
physical. E.g. prefrontal cortex
injury would affect motor
activities
- Psychological changes are primarily emotional,
personality and cognition which in turn can
impact on behaviour. Persistent apathy,
inability to plan (severe cases)
- Social changes are a breakdown in relationships,
difficult to establish new relationships. Due to the
combined biological and psychological changes.
- Neurological disorders
- Spatial neglect is a neurological
disorder where individuals are unable
to notice anything on either their left or
right side. Patients believe there is
nothing wrong with them
- Parkinson’s disease is a progressive
neurological disorder that has both motor
and non-motor symptoms
- Motor Symptoms: Tremors,
Muscle rigidity, Slowness of
movement, Postural inability
- Non-motor symptoms: Speech,
Anosmia, Slow cognitive processing,
Mental Health problems
- Treatments - Two types of dopamine-based
medication to help people manage:
Medication that is converted to dopamine by
the brain called L-dopa. Based on levodopa
which is a chemical converted to dopamine
by neurons (a pre-cursor). Effectively
stimulate the reception site of dopamine