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1. biological psychology. Definition: a branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior. Application: When something was wrong with Tommy's left hemispherical lobe, they immediately began to search for biological psychologists. 2. neuron.
Oct 4, 2024 · Neuron. a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system. Dendrites. Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information. Axon. the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers, through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands. myelin sheath. A layer of fatty tissue segmentally ...
Circadian rhythms are different in animals, herbivores eat food with low nutrients so they have long sleeps as they lack energy to stay awake. Weakness of circadian rhythms is individual differences. Research shows that circadian rhythms varies with different people e.g babies sleep more than people on average but elderly people sleep less.
- AO1: Definition of Biological Rhythms
- AO1: Description of Endogenous Pacemakers (EPS)
- AO1: SCN Suprachiasmatic Nucleus and Pineal Gland
- AO3: Research to Support The Role of Endogenous Pacemakers (EP’s)
- AO1: Description of Exogenous Zeitgebers (EZS)
- Examples of Exogenous Zeitgebers
- AO3: Evaluation and Key Research to Support The Role of EZS
- AO1: Biological Rhythms Circadian Rhythms
- AO3: Evaluation of Research Into Circadian Rhythms
- AO1: Biological Rhythms Ultradian Rhythms
Biological Rhythms are cyclical changes in the way that biological systems behave. Examples of biological rhythms include: Ӣ Circadian Rhythms (a rhythm that occurs once every 24 hours (e.g. sleep/wake cycle). Ӣ Ultradian Rhythms (a rhythm that occurs more than once every 24 hours (e.g. stages of sleep) Ӣ Infradian Rhythms (a rhythm that occurs ...
The role of endogenous pacemakers is to set the free-running internal rhythm. It is an internal biological ‘clock’ that allows organisms to control their internal rhythms and helps animals to anticipate cyclical events (e.g., the coming of night). These are innate. The SCN is the endogenous pacemaker that controls the circadian sleep/wake cycle. Th...
The SCN is made up of a small cluster of neurons (approx’ 10,000) located in the hypothalamus in the brain. The SCN obtains information about the presence of light (an exogenous zeitgeber) from the optic nerve in the eye (even when the eyes are shut; through the eyelids). Morning light activates the SCN, which signals to the pineal gland to decreas...
Strengths: (1) Point: Key research to support the role of the SCN comes from Morgan (1995). Evidence: Morgan found that if the SCN of a hamster is removed, then their circadian rhythms will disappear completely. Furthermore, it was found that the rhythms can be re-established by transplanting SCN cells from foetal hamsters. Elaboration: This resear...
Any cue that acts as an external time giver. Light is the main exogenous zeitgeber for humans. Their role is to entrain the otherwise free-running biological rhythms to keep the individual in synchrony with the external world (e.g., awake during the day and sleepy at night). Daylight therefore resets the biological clock (SCN) at the beginning of e...
(1) Light: ”¢ Receptors in the SCN are sensitive to changing light levels. ”¢ The SCN uses this information to synchronise the activity of the body’s organs and glands. ”¢ Light resets the internal body clock each day keeping it on a 24-hour cycle. ”¢ Rods and cones in the retina of the eye help to detect changes in light. (2) Social Cues: ”¢ Socia...
Strengths: (1) Point: Key research to support the role of EZs in controlling our biological rhythms comes from Michel Siffre (1975). Example/Evidence: For example, Siffre carried out an isolation study in which he spent 6 months in a cave with no external cues (EZs). It was found that his biological sleep/wake rhythm extended (he operated on a 25-h...
Circadian Rhythm definition: a biological rhythm that occurs once every 24 hours. An example of this is the sleep/wake cycle. Our circadian rhythms are driven by our body clocks found in all of the cells in our body and synchronised by the master circadian pacemaker the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), found in the hypothalamus. This pacemaker must c...
Strengths: (1) Point: There is research to support the interaction between endogenous pacemakers and exogenous zeitgebers in the control of circadian rhythms. Evidence/Example: For example, Ӣ Aschoff and Wever (1976) placed participants in an underground WWII bunker with artificial light but no natural light and a complete lack of environmental an...
An Ultradian Rhythm is a rhythm that occursmore than once in a 24 hour period. An example of an Ultradian rhythm is the stages of sleep. Discovering the rhythm of sleep: Hans Berger (1919) developed the electroencephalograph (EEG); this records electrical activity in the brain.
1 day ago · Quick Reference. The period of time between the detection of a stimulus at a sensory receptor and the performance of the appropriate response by the effector organ. This delay is caused by the time taken for the impulse to travel across the synapses of adjacent neurons. The reaction time for a reflex response, involving only a single linking ...
Oct 1, 2021 · Sleep is a state that is characterized by changes in brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and other physiological functions. Depending on the sleep stage, different physiological functions may be more active and variable (for example, during REM sleep), or less active and more stable (for example, during NREM.
Jan 1, 2022 · A time-dependent behavioral outcome is one of the distinguishing features of the critical period. These changes often reflect a shift in the brain plasticity, usually at the level of synapses. Such chain of events unfolds to morph a system which is highly receptive towards a particular stimulus till the desired connectivity of neurons is established.
