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Biopsychology 2 - Coggle Diagram
Biopsychology 2
Localisation of function in the brain
Motor cortex:
Moves right/left sides of the body
Somatosensory cortex:
leg, hip, trunk,
neck, arm, elbow, hand, fingers, mouth, throat
Auditory cortex:
hearing
Visual cortex:
right eye/left eye
Broca's area:
forming sentences
Wernicke's area:
Understanding sentences
Evaluation:
:check: Sperry's research led to the
understanding of brain function lateralisation
:check: Split brain procedures use
standardised procedures (scientific methods)
so there's a high level of control and internal validity
:red_cross: In the current day and age
split brain patients are very rare
:red_cross: Lacks population validity
Functional recovery
Following brain injury or trauma, unaffected
areas of the brain can adapt to compensate for
the damaged areas
Recruitment of homologous areas:
When similar areas on the opposite side of the brain perform the task e.g. if the Broca's area was damaged the equivalent side in the right hemisphere would carry out its functions.
Denervation supersensitivity:
When axons that do a similar job to the ones that are damaged become aroused to a higher level, to compensate for the ones that are lost/damaged.
Axonal sprouting:
The growth of new nerve endings which connect to undamaged nerve cells to form new neuronal pathways.
Evaluation:
:check: Helps the practical application of neurorehabilitation
:check: Plasticity has been found to continue with age, despite the fact that the brain can recognise itself more in childhood (Bezzola et al)
:red_cross: The brains ability to rewire itself can have maladaptive/harmful consequences (phantom limb syndrome)
Hemispheric lateralisation
The brain is contralateral (opposite sides)
The left brain controls the right body
The right brain controls the left body
What you see in your right visual field is processed by your left brain
What you hear in your left ear is processed by your right brain
Plasticity
Refers to the brains ability to change
and adapt both physically and functionally
Bridging:
Where new connections
are created due to use and new stimulus
(during the first 2 years)
Pruning:
Where connections are
eliminated due to lack of use helping
the brain function more efficiently
(more common in newborns and adolescents)
Evaluation:
:check: There is evidence
in London taxi drivers that the brain can
change when skills are learnt
:check: Kuhn (2014) supports the evidence
of plasticity when playing video games
:red_cross: Plasticity may have negative
behavioural consequences (e.g. prolonged drug use)
Ways of studying the brain
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRIs)
Machine detects changes in
oxygenated blood flow in the brain,
when the brain area is active.
Helps our understanding
of localisation of function.
:check: Doesn't rely on radiation
:check: Virtually risk free
:check: Non-invasive
:check: High spatial resolution
:check: 3D image
:red_cross: Poor temporal resolution (delay)
Electroencephalogram (EEGs)
Electrodes are fixed to skull cap to
measure electrical activity from neurons,
represented as brain waves. Diagnoses
abnormal patterns of activity
:check: Helpful for diagnosis
:check: High temporal resolution
:check: Non-invasive
:red_cross: Poor spatial resolution
Event related potentials (ERPs)
Detects electrical activity associated
with specific stimuli. EEG recording
is adjusted to remove extraneous activity
in order to isolate activity to a specific stimuli
:check: High temporal resolution
:check: Non-invasive
:red_cross: Lacks
standardisation
:red_cross: Difficult to entirely
remove extraneous noise
Post-mortem examinations
Analysis of the brain after death, likely to have had a rare condition. Compared to a normal brain and a cause is established for the disorder.
:check: Vital in providing foundation
knowledge regarding localisation of function
:red_cross: Causation issues
:red_cross: Lack of informed consent