The Nervous System & The Brain
Neurons and Neurotransmitters
Visual Perception 1
Visual Perception 2
Memory
Learning
Readings
Random
100
Identify the two parts that make up the peripheral nervous system.
the somatic and autonomic nervous systems
100
Describe the structure of a neuron.
There are many types of neurons, but generally they are made up of dendrites, the soma, the axon and the axon terminals. Most axons are coated with myelin.
100
Explain what absolute threshold is and describe the absolute threshold for vision.
Absolute threshold is the minimum level of energy required for a stimulus outside our body to be detected by our internal senses.
The absolute threshold for vision is the flame of a candle 50 kilometres away on a dark, clear night.
100
This is an example of what?
An ambiguous figure.
100
Explain the capacity and duration of long-term memory.
The capacity and duration of long-term memory are both potentially unlimited.
100
Describe classical conditioning.
Classical conditioning is a simple form of learning based upon the repeated association of different stimuli. It demonstrates how an organism (i.e. animal or human) can passively learn to show a naturally occurring reflex action, such as salivation, in response to any stimulus. It is learning through association, and can also be referred to a Pavlovian conditioning.
100
What did Cialdini's 2006 study find?
- Use of descriptive normative information was more likely to increase theft
- Use of injunctive normative information was more likely to decrease theft
100
What is aphasia?
The impairment of language caused by damage to the brain.
200
Determine what the actions of someone who has damage to the primary motor cortex might be like.
If damage occurs to the right primary motor cortex, a person will be unable to move parts of their body on the left side such as their left and leg, the reverse will happen if the left primary motor cortex is damaged.
200
Differentiate between dopamine and serotonin.
Dopamine is involved in thoughts feelings, motivation and behaviours, whereas serotonin is involved in the regulation of mood, sleep, eating arousal and pain.
200
Identify the stages of visual perception.
1 Reception
2 Transduction
3 Transmission
4 Selection
5 Organisation
6 Interpretation
200
What is the role of the optic nerve in visual perception?
The optic nerve transmits impulses to the brain from the eye.
200
Explain the process of encoding, storage and retrieval.
Encoding is the process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory; storage is maintaining encoded information in a memory store so that it can be used later; retrieval is the process of getting information back from our memory storage for use.
200
Describe operant conditioning.
Operant conditioning is a form of learning in which punishment and reward drives behaviour.
200
What topic does the Rat-Man experiment go under?
Visual Perception
200
What is aversion therapy?
A form of treatment using classical conditioning to cause an undesired behaviour to create an unwanted response, thereby reducing the incidence of the behaviour.
300
Explain the spinal reflex.
Reflexes are responses to sensory stimuli, which are unlearned and innate. Many of these are controlled within the spinal cord without involving the brain and are therefore referred to as spinal reflexes. This enables organisms to respond faster to situations, particularly those that are necessary for survival.
300
Compare GABA and glutamate.
GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter that calms nervous activity, and glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter throughout the nervous system, necessary for changes in synapse that occur with memory formation, both are associated with insomnia.
300
Describe transmission.
It is when neural impulses are transferred from photoreceptors in the retina to the occipital lobe in the brain.
300
Explain the ways in which ageing can impact visual perception, and identify two disorders associated with ageing.
Ageing can affect our visual perception system, including the development of presbyopia, floaters, cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. Ageing affects our ability to perceive and interpret stimuli from our environment. Two disorders are cataracts and glaucoma.
300
Describe the multi-store model of memory.
The multi-store model of memory is a model that suggests that memory consists of three memory stores; a sensory store, a short-term memory store and a long-term memory store.
300
Explain social learning theory.
Social learning theory describes the way in which people acquire certain behaviours by watching and learning from role models; the initial focus of observational learning.
300
What is the name of the study that aimed to establish whether memory is context-dependent by placing experiment groups in noisy or silent conditions when studying for a test and what were the findings?
- Context-dependent memory
- Groups studying and being tested in matching conditions (noisy-noisy + silent-silent) resulted in better results
300
What did Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow 1972's study find?
This research found that the way that some Africans piece together information from a picture suggested that 'some form of learning is required to recognise pictures'.
400
Differentiate between a monosynaptic reflex arc and a polysynaptic reflex arc.
The monosynaptic reflex arc involves only one synapse, where an affective neuron brings a sensation from the receptors in the body and an affective neuron carries motor messages to the muscles of the body. A polysynaptic reflex arc involves interneurons connecting the affector and effector neurons, and, therefore, at least two synapses.
400
Compare neurotransmission in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Patients with Alzheimer’s disease have abnormally low levels of several neurotransmitters, most importantly acetylcholine, whereas patients suffering Parkinson’s disease have low levels of dopamine.
400
Compare impossible figures and ambiguous figures.
They are both illusions. Impossible figures work by exploiting perceptual cues so that we are forced to see images that should not be possible; ambiguous figures also exploit similarities in the image and aspects of the way our visual system interprets between two or more different but unchanging images. They highlight the way visual perception operates.
400
Differentiate between monocular and binocular depth cues.
Binocular cues are used with two eyes and monocular cues can be used with one eye.
400
Compare the roles of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.
The phonological loop is auditory, it is the storage of what we hear, whereas the visuospatial sketchpad is visual, and stores information about what we see. Both storage systems are in working memory, and are accessed by the central executive.
400
Define neutral stimulus and provide an example using Pavlov's dogs.
A neutral stimulus is not associated with any learnt response prior to conditioning. For example, in Pavlov’s experiments a bell does not initially have any effect on salivation.
400
George Miller conducted research into memory in 1956. What were his findings?
Short term memory:
has a limited capacity
has a limited duration
uses a process called encoding.
400
What is hippocampus responsible for?
Regulation and expression of emotion and memory.
500
Describe the three regions of the brain involved in voluntary movement.
The basal ganglia is a group of structures in the brain that includes the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the globus pallidus, and the subthalamic nucleus. The basal ganglia enables voluntary movement by operating a complex feedback loop.
The cerebellum is located in the hindbrain. It stores sequences of movements that have been previously learnt. It also coordinates and integrates information about movements from other areas in the brain to help us move in ways that are smooth.
The primary motor cortex is located at the rear of each frontal lobe. It is responsible for movement of the body’s skeletal muscles, and activates the neural impulses that execute voluntary movement.
500
Explain how some neurotransmitters are also hormones.
Although hormones and neurotransmitters are different kinds of chemical messengers, some molecules function as both hormones and neurotransmitters. For instance, norepinephrine is excreted as a hormone by the adrenal glands, but it can also be excreted as a neurotransmitter by nerve endings.
500
Name two Gestalt principles and explain them.
500
Identify the differences between rods and cones.
There are 125 million rods in each eye, concentrated at the edges of the retina. They are responsible for vision in low light and for peripheral vision. There are 6.5 million cones in each eye, concentrated in the middle of the retina. They are responsible for fine, detailed vision and for colour vision.
500
Compare the capacity and duration of iconic memory and echoic memory and identify which part of memory they belong to.
They both sort incoming information; echoic memory uses auditory images stored in raw form in the inner ear and has a duration of 3–4 seconds, whereas iconic memory uses visual images stored in raw form in the eyes with a duration of 0.3 seconds.
500
Compare modelling and vicarious learning.
Modelling is when a person copies the behaviour or attitude demonstrated by another person; vicarious learning is similar as it is when a person copies a behaviour or attitude demonstrated by another person, though part of vicarious learning is that you are more likely to copy a behaviour if the person is rewarded for the behaviour or attitude.
500
State one limitation of Hudson W's research (1960) about pictorial depth perception in sub-cultural groups in Africa.
The differing perceptions were not investigated and may not have been solely cultural.
500
Describe the role of Broca's area and where it is located in the brain.
Broca's area is located in the frontal lobe of the dominant hempisphere (usually the left).
It is essential in speech production.
600
Discuss how the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are involved in the fight-flight-freeze response, using an everyday example of when the two systems may be activated.
The fight-flight-freeze response is activated by both the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is like an emergency system that becomes active when the organism is threatened. It prepares the body for action, such as running away or fighting the threat. In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system controls the freeze response. This is activated when you are aware that you are unable to fight or outrun the threating stimulus.
600
What are some factors that can cause an increase in the production of serotonin?
It could include the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as well as diet and exercise.
600
Explain what feature detectors are and where they are found.
Feature detectors are cells that individually respond to lines of a certain length, lines at a certain angle or lines moving in a certain direction. Feature detector cells are found in the optic nerve and in the primary visual cortex.
600
Describe how the carpentered world theory relates to the Müller-Lyer illusion. Use an example from a cultural perspective.
It propose our familiarity with the right angles and straight lines of the built environment informs our interpretation of linear perspective in pictorial depth perception. Zulu people who live in round huts with rounded doors and windows did not perceive the lines to be different lengths because they had never learnt to judge distance from corners or angles. Zulu people living in cities in South Africa were fooled by the illusion like everyone else.
600
Compare the roles of the hippocampus in memory and in emotion.
The hippocampus is involved in establishing the background or context for each new memory such as the location, situation and memory of places. The hippocampus plays an important role in the relationship between emotion and memory, including both the emotions that are generated by particular memories and memories that are triggered by emotions.
600
Using the language of classical conditioning, explain exactly how Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell.
Prior to Pavlov’s conditioning, the dogs did not elicit a response to the bell, but naturally salivated at the presentation of food.
Therefore:
NS: Bell, no response
UCS: Food
UCR: salivation at the presentation of food.
During conditioning, the NS (bell) was repeatedly paired with the UCS (food) to produce the UCR (salivation when presented with food).
After conditioning, as a result of the pairing the CS was now the bell, and the CR was salivation at the sound of the bell.
600
What was the aim of the "little albert' experiment?
The purpose of the Little Albert experiment was to assess whether classical conditioning processes can be shown in humans, which is the association of a stimulus or behavior with an unrelated one after repeated exposure.
600
What is proactive interference and retroactive interference? (memory)
Proactive - when learnt material inhibits our ability to retrieve new material
Retroactive - when newly learnt material inhibits our ability to retrieve learnt material