Unit 3 AP Psychology FRQ
Following a brain injury, Mike struggles to control his emotions and has difficulty establishing new memories. What parts of Mike's brain have most likely been affected by his injury?
Damage to the amygdala would make it difficult for Mike to control his emotions. Damage to the hippocampus would affect Mike's ability to establish new memories.
Explain the role each of the following plays in sending a message through a neuron. • Dendrites • Axon • Myelin sheath
Dendrites receive messages from other neurons. The axon is an extension that makes it possible for the neuron to carry information over greater distances. The myelin sheath covers the axon of some neurons and serves to speed up the action potential.
Doctors sometimes have to remove a portion of the brain to control life-threatening seizures. Describe what the results of the removal of a portion of the motor cortex would be and explain how this procedure might be affected by brain plasticity.
Removing part of the motor cortex will result in paralysis in the parts of the body associated with the removed tissue. Because of brain plasticity, the person's brain may be able to change and reorganize new pathways based on experience. This is more likely if the person is a child.
what does a high heritability mean
A high heritability, close to 1, indicates that genetics explain a lot of the variation in a trait between different people; a low heritability, near zero, indicates that most of the variation is not genetic.
Explain the three major influences on individual development, according to the biopsychosocial approach.
Biological influences: the prenatal environment or individual genetic influences. Psychological influences: gene-environment interaction or beliefs. Social-cultural influences: parental or peer influences.
While hiking, Ken stumbled and fell down a 10-foot drop-off. Upon landing, he sprained his ankle badly. Ken was surprised that he felt very little pain for the first half hour. Explain how the following helped Ken feel little pain in the moments after the injury. • Endorphins • The synapse
Endorphins are natural, opiate-like neurotransmitters linked to controlling pain. The synapse is the space between neurons where neurotransmitters like the endorphins carry information that influences how Ken feels.
Dr. Nation is a biopsychologist interested in studying genetic infl uences on brain development. Briefly describe a twin study Dr. Nation might design to investigate the research question: "How do genetics and early environmental influences interact to impact how brains develop?" Use the following terms in context in your description: • Genes • Heritability • Epigenetics • Fraternal or identical twins • fMRI
Genes In the study, Dr. Nation would be interested in identifying sets of genes, functional segments of DNA strands, that infl uence how brains develop. Heritability One of the major goals of Dr. Nation's study would be to focus on how much the diversity of brain development within a group can be attributed to genetic factors. If Dr. Nation can describe this, he will be describing the heritability of brain development. Epigenetics Because Dr. Nation is a biopsychologist, he knows that brain development, like all physical and mental development, occurs through the interaction of environmental and biological factors. Dr. Nation will probably use fi ndings in the fi eld of epigenetics to describe environmental triggers that turn genes on and off and infl uence brain development. Fraternal or Identical Twins Because Dr. Nation is using a twin study, he might use the different characteristics of fraternal and identical twins to try to isolate the impact of genetics on brain development. Because identical twins are genetically identical, and fraternal twins share half of their genetic material, these 2 groups can be used in twin studies to isolate the impact of genetics on specifi c characteristics. fMRI Because Dr. Nation is studying brain development, he may want to use an fMRI machine; it can look at both the structure of the brain and the activity level in parts of the brain during specifi c tasks.
What does it mean to say that the heritability of height is 90 percent? What does that tell us about the contribution of genetics to any one person's height?
Heritability refers to how much of the variability in the heights of a group of people can be attributed to genetics. Heritability tells us nothing about how much of a person's height is caused by genetics. Heritability only applies to groups.
Brain lateralization means that each hemisphere has its own functions. Give an example of both a left hemisphere and a right hemisphere function. Then explain how the two hemispheres communicate with one another.
Left hemisphere functions include language, math, and logic. Right hemisphere functions include spatial relationships, facial recognition, and patterns. The corpus callosum carries information back and forth between the two hemispheres.
Explain the two positions in the nature-nurture debate
Nature refers to the contributions of heredity and inborn, biologically determined aspects of behavior and mental processes. Nurture refers to the contributions of environment and the way individuals are raised.
If a person accidentally touches a pan filled with hot water on the stove, they will immediately move their hand away from the hot pan before yelling out in pain. Use the following terms to explain what is involved in this reaction. • Neurotransmitters • The endocrine system • Thalamus • Amygdala • Sensory cortex • Pain reflex
Nerve cells in your fingers send pain signals to your brain, and your brain sends signals to your muscles telling them to move your hand away from the stove and neurotransmitters send the message Hypothalamus is a structure in the brain that links the endocrine and nervous systems so it would make the signal from the nervous system go to the endocrine Thalamus would send sensory signals to the brain to make you remove amygdala can make you fearful of what would happen if you left your hand there sensory cortex would tell you through the touching region that you are touching something at an extreme temperature pain reflex is when sensory neurons travel to interneurons in your spinal cord (burn yourself =quick reactions)
Explain four of the important ideas behind natural selection.
Organisms' varied offspring compete for survival. Certain biological and behavioral variations increase an organism's reproductive and survival chances in a particular environment. Offspring that survive are more likely to pass their genes to ensuing generations. Over time, population characteristics may change.
While walking barefoot, you step on a piece of glass. Before you have a chance to consciously process what has happened, you draw your foot away from the glass. Identify and explain the three types of neurons that deal with information regarding this painful stimulus.
Sensory neurons carry information from the point of the injury to the central nervous system. Interneurons are neurons within the brain and spinal cord. Interneurons would help you interpret the pain and enable your brain to send out marching orders. Motor neurons carry the instruction from the central nervous system to activate the muscles in your leg and foot.
Name and describe the components and subcomponents of the peripheral nervous system.
Somatic nervous system. The somatic nervous system controls voluntary movement of the body. Autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls the glands and the internal organs. Sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body in times of emergency (fight or flight). Parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body when no emergency exists (rest and digest).
Because Jerry suffered severe seizures, his neurosurgeon decided to "split his brain." What does this mean? How might a psychologist use people who have had split-brain surgery to determine the location of speech control?
Splitting his brain involves severing the corpus callosum, so information cannot travel between the 2 brain hemispheres. Language is a left-hemisphere function. When an image is projected to the left visual field, it is processed in the right hemisphere of the brain. Jerry would not be able to say what he saw, because the severed corpus callosum prevents the information from traveling from the right hemisphere to the speech center (Broca's area) in the left hemisphere
Identify the role of each of the following in listening to and taking notes during a psychology lecture. • Hippocampus • Cerebellum • Cerebral cortex
The hippocampus would play a role in transferring information obtained during the lecture from short-term to long-term memory. The cerebellum would help the student by providing the fine motor coordination necessary to take notes or type on a laptop during the lecture. The cerebral cortex is responsible for the higher-order thinking necessary to understand a college lecture.
Charlotte is 88 years old and is feeling the effects of her long life. She suffered a stroke five years ago, which left the right side of her body limp. She also sometimes has trouble understanding when she is asked questions. Her doctors believe that she also may be suffering from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease. Define each of the following terms and explain how each might contribute to Charlotte's current circumstance. • Motor cortex • Acetylcholine • Association areas • Plasticity • Epigenetics
The motor cortex is responsible for directing movements. The left motor cortex controls the right side of the body while the right motor cortex controls the left side of the body. Because Charlotte's right side is limp, the damage from her stroke most likely occurred in the left hemisphere and potentially in her left motor cortex, which would leave her with little muscular control over the right side of her body. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in muscle action, learning, and memory. If Charlotte suffers from Alzheimer's disease, it is possible that the neurons responsible for producing acetylcholine have deteriorated. Association areas are the areas of the cerebral cortex not directly involved in motor or sensory functions; rather they are involved in higher-order thought processes such as learning, memory, and thinking. If Charlotte's association areas have been damaged, it may be diffi cult for her to integrate new ideas. She may also have trouble retrieving memories that were once easily recalled. Plasticity is the brain's ability to create new neural pathways. This often occurs in response to brain injuries and occurs most effi ciently in children. Because of Charlotte's age, her brain will not have the ability to build an abundance of new neural networks, and if she has not recovered from her injury in a few months time, she is likely to make little progress in her recovery. Epigenetics is the study of environmental infl uences on gene expression, which occur without DNA change. Perhaps Charlotte has a predisposition for Alzheimer's disease. If she was in an environment which was not enriching and cognitively engaging, it may have made Alzheimer's disease more likely. On the other hand, despite having a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer's disease, if Charlotte was exposed to an enriching environment, her disposition may not have been expressed.
Anthony attends a high school band concert. First, identify and explain which two lobes of his brain are most important for watching and listening to the concert. Second, explain which lobe of the brain is most responsible for analyzing the music and finding personal meaning.
The occipital lobes comprise the visual processing center that allows Anthony to watch the concert. The temporal lobes comprise the auditory processing center that allows Anthony to listen to the concert. The frontal lobes are the home of the higher-order thinking skills that allow Anthony to analyze the music and find personal meaning
