Bio psychology

• What is the endocrine system?

  A major information system that instructs glands to release hormones directly into the bloodstream
• What are the four lobes of the brain?

  Frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
• Stages of the reflex arc: 1-3

  Sensation detected at sensory receptors at sensory neuron

  Electrical signal rushes along dendrite to axon terminal

  Signal converted to chemical and crosses synaptic cleft
• Stages of the reflex arc: 4-7

  Detected by relay neuron in the spine

  Reflex response passed to motor neuron

  Signal reaches the effector

  Causing the movement away from pain/danger
• What is the problem for circadian rhythm research caused by owls and larks?

  Individual differences - preference plays a role in when someone wakes up
• What evidence is there that exogenous zeitgebers can affect infradian rhythms?

  Light exposure can affect the timing of sleep-wake patterns
• What is the grey matter in the brain made up of?

  Neurons and glial cells.
• Where is Broca’s area and what does it do?

  Frontal lobe; language production.
• What are the axon and dendrite lengths like on a motor neuron?

  Axon: Long Dendrites: Short
• What takes place in the body when it is in the parasympathetic state?


  Rest and digest
• What is the function of the autonomic nervous system?

  The ANS controls involuntary functions, it regulates heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, respiration and body temperature
• What is the auditory area of the brain and where is it?

  Temporal lobe

  On the side of the brain
• The process of synaptic transmission:

  Action potential travels down to axon terminal

  Causing vesicles to merge with membrane of presynaptic cell

  Releases neurotransmitters into synaptic cleft

  These neurotransmitters diffuse across synaptic cleft to postsnyaptic cell
• What are the stages of the fight or flight response?

  1. Alarm 2. Resistance 3. Exhaustion
• What is the somatosensory area of the brain and where is it?

  Parietal lobe

  Upper back part of the brain
• What is a hormone?

  Chemical messenger
• What is the name of the setup used to experiment with split brain patients and how did it work?

  Split-brain setup" - It involved presenting stimuli to only one side of the brain to study the functions of each hemisphere independently
• What is a gland?

  An organ that produces and releases substances, such as hormones or enzymes, into the body
• What are the axon and dendrite lengths like on a sensory neurone?

  Varied
• How do we use post-mortem in psychology?

  To study links between brain abnormalities and specific psychological traits or disorders