Biopsychology

• What is a strength of localisation of function?

  There is supporting research evidence from Broca who identified patient ‘ tan ’. He could comprehend language but had impaired speech production called Broca’s aphasia. A post mortem revealed damage to his left frontal lobe now called Broca‘s area suggesting the language centre for speech production is localised to one area as the theory predicts.
• What is a strength of localisation of function?

  There is case study evidence of Phineas Gage who injured his left frontal lobe in a railroad explosion and turned from being reserved to rude and aggressive. This suggests the front lobe is responsible for regulating mood which supports this theory.
• What is a limitation of localisation of function?

  It has been challenged by evidence from Joseph Dejerine who found a case of where loss of ability to read occurred due to damaged connection between the visual cortex and Wernicke’s area. This suggests complex behaviours involve connections between regions and not just isolated to one area
• What is a strength of FMRI?

  It is non invasive meaning it is painless with few side effects as it uses no radiation like CAT and PET scans
• What is a strength of FMRI?

  It has excellent spatial resolution which is the ability to accurately localise function as it provides clear and accurate images within 1-2 mm of changes in brain activity
• What is a limitation of FMRI?

  It has poor temporal resolution which is the ability to precisely measure timing of brain activity as there is a 5 second time lag between activity and the image so it is difficult to identify which area is responsible for certain tasks
• What is a strength of EEG?

  It has excellent temporal resolution which is the ability to precisely measure timing of brain activity as it can detect brain activity within 1 millisecond of occurring
• What is a strength of EEG?

  It is invaluable in the diagnosis of conditions like epilepsy as the disorder is characterised by random bursts of activity in the brain and these scans clearly present bursts of activity on the screen making it able to diagnose conditions easier
• What is a limitation of EEG?

  It has poor spatial resolution which is the ability to accurately localise function as it produces a generalised picture for thousands of neurons meaning the exact source of activity it difficult to identify
• What is a strength of ERP?

  It has excellent temporal resolution which is the ability to precisely measure timing of brain activity as it is able to match a stimulus to a response as they occur close together in time
• What is a strength of ERP?

  It directly measures neural activity allowing researchers to identify many types of event related potentials and describe their precise role in cognitive functioning like the P100 wave is thought to be involved in the maintenance of working memory
• What is a limitation of ERP?

  It has poor spatial resolution which is the ability to accurately localise function because it doesn’t identify exactly where brain activity is occurring and it is often difficult to eliminate general activity
• What is a strength of post mortem?

  They provided early knowledge and understanding of effects of brain trauma on functioning which was the only way for hypotheses to be generated before advances in scanning techniques meaning findings were vital in providing foundations for early understanding of key processes in the brain
• What is a limitation of post mortem?

  It is difficult to establish cause and effect meaning it is impossible to establish a causal relationship between two variables as data shows a difference in observable behaviour due to structural abnormality but other factors may contribute to this
• What is a limitation of Sperry’s research?

  There are individual differences because there is variability between the participants. This means the disconnection between hemispheres is greater in some patients than others after their commissurotomy which undermines the internal validity of research into hemispheric lateralisation
• What is a limitation of Sperry’s research?

  There is low external validity as it is difficult to generalise findings to wider populations. Only 11 participants were used so it’s hard to make generalisations to neurotypical patients but this is impossible to overcome as so few commisurotomy patients exist.
• What is a limitation of Sperry’s research?

  There is a high level of extraneous variables and if these are not controlled it could affect the dependent variable. Some patients had drug therapies to reduce epileptic symptoms longer before their commissurotomy so it’s not certain that the surgery is what has caused the results.
• What is a strength of hemispheric lateralisation?


  There is supporting research evidence from Sperry who found commissurotomy patients could only comprehend and speak words represented to them in the right visual field which shows language comprehension and spoken production must be lateralised in the left hemisphere.
• What is a strength of hemispheric lateralisation?

  There is supporting research evidence from Sperry who found commissurotomy patients could only identify faces which were presented to them in the left visual field which shows facial recognition must be lateralised in the right hemisphere.
• What is a limitation of hemispheric lateralisation?

  There is contradicting research evidence from Turk who found patient J.W recovered from damage to his left hemisphere by developing the ability to speak from his right hemisphere which shows the brain can recruit a similar area in the opposite hemisphere in functional recovery which challenges lateralisation.
• What is a strength of plasticity?

  There is supporting research evidence from Maguire who found an MRI scan showed London taxi drivers had a larger posterior hippocampus which is responsible for navigation. This shows the brain can rewire itself based on experience.
• What is a strength of functional recovery?

  There is supporting research evidence from Turk who found patient J.W recovered from damage to his left hemisphere by developing the ability to speak from his right hemisphere. This shows the brain can recruit a similar area in the opposite hemisphere to take over lost functions.
• What is a limitation of plasticity and functional recovery?

  There is individual differences as Elbert found the brain has a greater tendency for reorganisation in childhood which challenges the concept of plasticity and functional recovery occurring in all age groups.
• What 2 branches extend off the nervous system?

  Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System
• What is the CNS made up of?

  brain and spinal cord
• What does the spinal cord do?

  Transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body
• What does the brain do?

  Controls and coordinates all bodily functions
• What are the 2 branches of the PNS?

  Somatic and autonomic
• What does the somatic nervous system do?

  Controls voluntary movements and transmits sensory information
• What does the autonomic nervous system do?

  Controls involuntary motor processes
• What are the 2 branches of the autonomic nervous system?

  Sympathetic and parasympathetic
• What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

  Maintains or decreases bodily activity to a state of homeostasis
• What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

  Increases bodily activity
• What is the cell body?

  Contains the nucleus and organelles
• What is the nucleus?

  Contains genetic material
• What do dendrites do?

  Receive signals from neurons and send them to the cell body as impulses
• What do axons do?

  Send signals away from the cell body to the axon terminal
• What occurs at axon terminals?

  Impulses pass to the next neuron across the synapse
• What does the myelin sheath do?

  Schwann cells wrap around axon which protect and insulate it to speed up the transmission
• What are nodes of ranvier?

  Gaps of exposed axon to speed up the impulse as the signal jumps