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Summary AQA A level Biopsychology
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AQA A level Paper 2 biopsychology essay plans
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Describe and evaluate the fight or flight response.AO1 the fight or flight response activates when put in a stressful or dangerous situation
- activates limbic system (associates sensory signals with emotions of fear etc)
- This sends a signal to the hypothalamus (command centre of brain) which is responsible
for controlling and releasing hormones
- The hypothalamus alerts the endocrine system which releases the hormone adrenaline
(from the adrenal medulla gland) into the bloodstream
- The release of adrenaline informs the body to divert blood away from unnecessary
systems, such as the digestive system, to conserve energy in preparation to fight
or flight. Adrenaline also increases respiration and sweating.
- The sympathetic autonomic nervous system prepares for the f/f by increasing blood
pressure, heart rate, dilating pupils, etc
- After the threat has been dismissed, the parasympathetic autonomic NS returns the body
back to its normal state by decreasing the arousal
AO3 androcentric research
- research into the f/f was typically conducted on males
- Consequently, it was assumed the findings could be generalised onto females
- Highlights beta bias as it assumed that females respond in the same way as men
There are differences in men and women’s ‘flight or fight response’
- The fight or flight response is typically a male response to danger
- Recent research suggests that females adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ response in situations.
- Taylor et al:
- women are more likely to tend and form alliances with other women (befriend),
rather than fight or flight.
- Therefore the original fight or flight response was incomplete as it incorrectly described
females reactions to stressful or dangerous situations
There are negative consequences of flight or fight response
- The stressors of modern life don't require such a physical reaction that gives us energy to
fight or flight.
- The problem for modern humans arises when the stress response is repeatedly activated.
- E.g. increased blood pressure that is characteristic of the SNS activation can lead to
physical damage in the blood vessels and eventually to heart disease.
- Furthermore, too much cortisol, despite assisting the body in fighting a viral infection or
healing damaged tissue, suppresses the immune response, shutting down the process
that fights infection.
Outline and evaluate localisation of function in the brain.
AO1 localisation means that specific regions of the brain have specific functions
1. The visual cortex (located in the occipital lobe) is responsible for processing visual
information.
2. The auditory cortex (located in the temporal lobe) is responsible for auditory processes.
3. The motor cortex (located in the frontal lobe) is responsible for coordinating movement.
4. The somatosensory cortex (in the parietal lobe) processes information relating to touch
pressure pain and temperature
Other important areas of the brain are the language centres, located in the left hemisphere.
- The Wernicke area is responsible for speech perception
- The Broca area is responsible for speech production.
- The Wernicke area receives sound impulses and processes its meaning. These messages
travel to the Broca’s area where sounds are assembled, then to the motor cortex which
sends signals to the speech muscles.
AO3 supporting evidence from case study of Phineas Gage
- he experienced huge changes to personality as result of damage to frontal lobe
, - before accident he was calm and reserved after accident, he was rude, hostile and quick
tempered
- Demonstrates that there are localised areas of brain as the area that Gage damaged links
to reasoning, control and mood.
Opposing research from Maguire
- she analysed london taxi drivers brains compared to control subjects who did not drive
taxis
- MRI scans showed hippocampal volume was larger in taxi drivers due to high dependence
on spatial navigation skills
- incomplete explanation as can't account for the fact that brains can develop differently
depending on use.
It has inconsistencies
- Dronkers et al. (2007) found that when re-examining the preserved brains of Broca's
famous patients, including Tan, lesions extended significantly beyond the areas Broca
initially highlighted (into the medial regions of the brain).
- There were inconsistencies in what is now called Broca's area.
- These inconsistencies raise significant issues with the validity of this area and the
functional associations.
Describe and evaluate evidence of plasticity and functional recovery after trauma in the brain.
AO1 Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to create new neural pathways and alter existing ones in
response to changing experiences.
- most plastic and most synaptic connections at infancy.
- Synaptic pruning = connection is getting weaker over time. However, this results in fewer
but stronger connections
The brain also appears to show evidence of functional recovery:
- the transfer of functions from a damaged area of the brain after trauma to other
undamaged areas.
- It can do this through a process termed neuronal unmasking where ‘dormant’ synapses
(which have not received enough input to be active) open connections to compensate for
a nearby damaged area of the brain.
- This allows new connections in the brain to be activated, recovering damage occurred in
specific regions
AO3 There is further research to support the notion of brain plasticity.
- Maguire et al (16 male taxi drivers, control group of 16 non taxi drivers)
- found that the posterior hippocampal volume of London taxi drivers was positively
correlated with their time as a taxi driver and that there were significant differences
between the taxi drivers’ brains and those of controls.
- This shows that the brain can permanently change in response to frequent exposure to a
particular task.
However, some psychologists suggest that research investigating the plasticity of the brain is
flawed.
- For example, Maguire did not test the taxi drivers before they became taxi drivers so a
clear change in the structures of the brain as a result of their experiences cannot be
concluded.
- It could be that they already had larger hippocampus before becoming taxi drivers.
- Therefore, as a cause and effect relationship between experience and changes in the
brain cannot be definitively established, further research into plasticity is necessary.
Research support for functional recovery
- taijiri et al
- Found that stem cells provided to rates after facing brain trauma showed a clear
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