Biopsychology -

divided into two main components central nervous system, peripheral nervous system

consists of the brain and the spinal cord - it maintains life

role is to relay messages from the CNS to the rest of the body. Consists if the somatic and the autonomic nervous system and in the autonomic nervous system there is sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

voluntary actions - facilitates communication between the CNS and the outside world. it is made up of sensory receptors that carry information to the spinal cord and the brain, and motor pathways that allow the brain to control movement.

involuntary actions - plays an important role in homeostasis which maintains internal processes like body temperature it also consists of motor pathways and has the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system.

involves the responses preparing the body for fight or flight. impulses travel from the sympathetic nervous system to organs in the body to prepare for action - increase of blood pressure and heart rate for example.

this is to relax the body and return us to our normal resting state - it slows heart rate and decreases blood pressure.

S - brain stem and the spinal cord both control involuntary processes. Brian stem - breathing, spinal chord - involuntary reflexes

D - the brain provided conscious awareness and allows for higher order thinking while the spiral cord allows reflex responses.

D - brain consists of multiple regions responsible for different function, whereas the spinal cord has one main function.

S- the sympathetic responds to external stimuli preparing the body for fight or flight. and the somatic nervous system responds to external stimuli

D - autonomic consists of two sub components whereas somatic only has one

D- somatic has sensory and motor pathways whereas the autonomic only has motor pathway

found in receptors in our eyes, ears and tongue. carry nerve impulses to the brain and spinal chord. when they reach the brain they get turned into sensations like vision or taste. some don’t reach the brain and stop at the spinal chord - as they are quick reflexes

found between the sensory input and Motor output, found in the brain and spinal chord and allow sensory and motor neurone to communicate

found in the CNS and control muscle movements. motor neurones are stimulated they release neurotransmitters that bind to the receptors on muscles to trigger as respond, which leads to movements

information is passed down the axon of the neurone as a electrical impulse known as action potential. one the action potential reaches the end of the axon it needs to transfer to another neurone or tissue. vesicles contains neurotransmitters at the axon terminal when the electrical impulse has reached the neurotransmitter get release and they bind to receptor sites on the post synaptic neurone it then becomes activated. They either produce excitatory or inhibatory effects. excitatory neurotransmitters make the post synaptic neurone more likely to fire resulting in excitatory post synaptic potential opposite of inhibitory.

it is a network of glands across the body that secrete chemical messages called hormones. it uses blood vessels to transmit information. each gland produces different hormones

hypothalamus is connected to the pituitary gland and is responsible for stimulating or controlling the release of hormones from the pituitary gland

known as the master gland - all the hormones it releases control and stimulates the release of hormones from other glands

oxytocin - uterus contraction

melatonin - biological rhythms - sleep-wake cycle

thyroxine - regulating metabolism

two parts - adrenal medulla ( adrenaline and noradrenaline) and adrenal cortex ( cortisol, release of glucose).

testosterone

oestrogen

if someone is in a potentially stressful situation - the amygdala is activated -responds to sensory output and connects to sensory input with emotions associated with the fight or flight response

if its deemed stressful or dangerous the amygdala sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus which communicates with the body through the sympathetic systems - if it requires a short term response the Sympathomedullary pathway os activates triggering a fight or flight response

increase energy

more oxygen intake

increase light energy - enhance vision

regulates temperature

increase energy for other essential functions

when faced with a dangerous situation our reactions not limited to the fight or flight response some suggest humans can also have a freeze response - Gary suggests this, animals and humans are hyper vigilant. and usually know what is the best action for certain situations

fight or flight usually a male response - researches say that females are more likely to tend and befriend - more likely to protect their off spring and form alliances

early research with fight or flight was conducted with men - they generalised to females - highlight beta bias

while gift or flight may have been useful for ancestors as a survival mechanism - we rarely face these - more stress - suggests fight or flight response is a maladaptive response in mored day life.

idea that certain functions have certain locations within the brain

the fact that the two halves of the brain are functionally different and that each hemisphere has functional specialisations (left is dominant for language)

split -brain patients are individuals who have undergone a surgical procedure where the corpus callous which connects the two hemispheres is cut

brain plasticity refers to the brains ability to change and adapt because of experience

is the transfer of functions from damaged area of the brain after trauma to other undamaged areas

experienced a drastic accident in which a piece of iron went through his skull, although he survived his personality changed - inhibition and anger - 4 key areas - motor, somatosensory, visual and auditory areas

located in the frontal lobe and is responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles in the body. Hitzig and Fritsch first discovered that different muscles are coordinated by different areas of the motor cortex. both hemispheres

located in the parietal lobe and receives incoming sensory information from the skin to produce sensations related to pressure, pain and temperature. both hemispheres

• stressful situation

• amygdala ( part of the limbic system) activated and sends signal to the hypothalamus

• hypothalamus activates sympathomedullary pathway - pathway running through the adrenal medulla and the sympathetic nervous system

• SNS stimulates the adrenal medulla - part of adrenal gland

• adrenal medulla secretes the hormone adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream

• adrenaline causes physiological changes to prepare body for fight or flight

in the occipital lobe is in the visual area, receives and processes visual information. both hemispheres

located in the temporal lobe and is responsible for analysing and processing acoustic information. both hemispheres

left frontal lobe involved in language production and in the left hemisphere

broca’s aphasia - slow and inarticulate speech - and produced the word but links to the questions

found in the left temporal lobe and it is thought to be involved in language processing/ comprehension. wernicke’s aphasia - speaks fluently but struggle to comprehend language often producing sentences that are fluent but meaningless. - left hemisphere