AQA A-level Psychology · 4.2.2

Biopsychology

Exam-style questions with answers for 4.2.2 Biopsychology in AQA A-level Psychology (spec 7182). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 4.2.2 · Nervous system
Outline the main divisions of the nervous system. [3 marks]
Answer:
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord (1); the peripheral nervous system (PNS) sends information to and from the CNS (1); the PNS is divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems (1).
Question 2 · Spec 4.2.2 · Nervous system
State two functions of the spinal cord. [2 marks]
Answer:
Relays information between the brain and the rest of the body (1); controls simple reflex actions without involving the brain (1).
Question 3 · Spec 4.2.2 · Nervous system
Outline the function of the somatic nervous system. [2 marks]
Answer:
It controls voluntary muscle movements (1); and carries sensory information from the senses to the CNS (1).
Question 4 · Spec 4.2.2 · Nervous system
Outline the function of the autonomic nervous system. [3 marks]
Answer:
It governs vital involuntary functions such as breathing, heart rate and digestion (1); it has two divisions (1); the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body for action, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which returns the body to its resting state (1).
Question 5 · Spec 4.2.2 · Neurons
Describe the structure and function of a sensory neuron. [2 marks]
Answer:
Has long dendrites and short axons (1); carries messages from sensory receptors in the PNS to the CNS (1).
Question 6 · Spec 4.2.2 · Neurons
Describe the structure and function of a relay neuron. [2 marks]
Answer:
Has short dendrites and short axons (1); connects sensory neurons to motor or other relay neurons within the brain and spinal cord (1).
Question 7 · Spec 4.2.2 · Neurons
Describe the structure and function of a motor neuron. [2 marks]
Answer:
Has short dendrites and long axons (1); connects the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands (1).
Question 8 · Spec 4.2.2 · Neurons
Label four parts of a neuron and give the function of each. [4 marks]
Answer:
Dendrites: receive signals from other neurons (1); cell body (soma): contains the nucleus and genetic material (1); axon: carries the electrical impulse away from the cell body, covered in a myelin sheath that speeds transmission (1); terminal buttons: at the end of the axon, communicate with the next neuron across the synapse (1).
Question 9 · Spec 4.2.2 · Synaptic transmission
Outline the process of synaptic transmission. [4 marks]
Answer:
An electrical impulse (action potential) reaches the presynaptic terminal (1); this triggers the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles (1); the neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft (1); it binds to receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron and is converted back into an electrical impulse (1).
Question 10 · Spec 4.2.2 · Synaptic transmission
Explain the difference between excitation and inhibition at a synapse. [2 marks]
Answer:
Excitatory neurotransmitters, e.g. adrenaline, make the postsynaptic neuron more likely to fire by increasing its positive charge (1); inhibitory neurotransmitters, e.g. serotonin, make it less likely to fire by increasing its negative charge (1).
Question 11 · Spec 4.2.2 · Synaptic transmission
What is summation? [2 marks]
Answer:
The excitatory and inhibitory influences on a postsynaptic neuron are added together (1); if the net effect is excitatory, the neuron is more likely to fire (1).
Question 12 · Spec 4.2.2 · Synaptic transmission
Explain why synaptic transmission only takes place in one direction. [2 marks]
Answer:
Neurotransmitters are only released from vesicles in the presynaptic neuron (1); and receptor sites are only on the postsynaptic neuron (1).
Question 13 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endocrine system
Outline the function of the endocrine system. [2 marks]
Answer:
It works alongside the nervous system to control vital functions, but more slowly (1); glands release hormones into the bloodstream, which travel to target organs (1).
Question 14 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endocrine system
Identify the role of the pituitary gland. [2 marks]
Answer:
The 'master gland' that controls the release of hormones from all other endocrine glands (1); it is controlled by the hypothalamus (1).
Question 15 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endocrine system
Match each gland to a hormone it releases: adrenal gland, thyroid gland, testes, ovaries. [4 marks]
Answer:
Adrenal gland: adrenaline (1); thyroid gland: thyroxine (1); testes: testosterone (1); ovaries: oestrogen (1).
Question 16 · Spec 4.2.2 · Fight or flight
Outline the fight or flight response. [4 marks]
Answer:
When a stressor is perceived, the hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland (1); the sympathetic nervous system changes from its resting state to an aroused state (1); the adrenal medulla releases adrenaline into the bloodstream (1); this produces physiological changes that prepare the body to fight or flee (1).
Question 17 · Spec 4.2.2 · Fight or flight
State three physiological effects of adrenaline in the fight or flight response. [3 marks]
Answer:
Any three from: increased heart rate (1); increased breathing rate (1); pupil dilation (1); sweating (1); reduced digestion and salivation (1).
Question 18 · Spec 4.2.2 · Fight or flight
Explain what happens when a threat has passed. [2 marks]
Answer:
The parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to its resting state (1); it acts as a brake, e.g. slowing heart rate and restarting digestion (rest and digest) (1).
Question 19 · Spec 4.2.2 · Fight or flight
Explain one limitation of the fight or flight explanation. [2 marks]
Answer:
Taylor et al. (2000) suggested women are more likely to show a 'tend and befriend' response, protecting offspring and forming alliances (1); so fight or flight may be beta biased, based on male research (1).
Question 20 · Spec 4.2.2 · Localisation of function
What is localisation of function? [2 marks]
Answer:
The theory that different areas of the brain are responsible for different specific behaviours, processes or activities (1); if a certain area is damaged, the function associated with it will be affected (1).
Question 21 · Spec 4.2.2 · Localisation of function
Outline the location and function of the motor and somatosensory areas. [2 marks]
Answer:
Motor area: at the back of the frontal lobe, controls voluntary movement on the opposite side of the body (1); somatosensory area: at the front of the parietal lobe, processes sensory information from the skin, e.g. touch and pain (1).
Question 22 · Spec 4.2.2 · Localisation of function
Outline the location and function of the visual and auditory areas. [2 marks]
Answer:
Visual centre: in the occipital lobe, processes visual information; each eye sends information from the right visual field to the left hemisphere and vice versa (1); auditory centre: in the temporal lobe, analyses speech-based information (1).
Question 23 · Spec 4.2.2 · Language centres
Outline the location and function of Broca's and Wernicke's areas. [4 marks]
Answer:
Broca's area is in the left frontal lobe (1); it is responsible for speech production, and damage causes Broca's aphasia: slow, laborious speech lacking fluency (1); Wernicke's area is in the left temporal lobe (1); it is responsible for language understanding, and damage causes Wernicke's aphasia: fluent speech that lacks meaning, with nonsense words (1).
Question 24 · Spec 4.2.2 · Localisation of function
Explain one strength of localisation of function. [2 marks]
Answer:
Brain scan evidence supports it, e.g. Petersen et al. (1988) found Wernicke's area was active during a listening task and Broca's area during a reading task (1); case studies such as Phineas Gage also show damage to a specific area changes specific behaviour (1).
Question 25 · Spec 4.2.2 · Localisation of function
Explain one limitation of localisation of function. [2 marks]
Answer:
Lashley (1950) removed areas of the cortex in rats learning a maze and found learning required every part of the cortex (equipotentiality) (1); so higher cognitive functions may be distributed holistically rather than localised (1).
Question 26 · Spec 4.2.2 · Hemispheric lateralisation
What is hemispheric lateralisation? [2 marks]
Answer:
The idea that the two halves of the brain are functionally different (1); certain processes are controlled by one hemisphere, e.g. language is lateralised to the left in most people (1).
Question 27 · Spec 4.2.2 · Split brain research
Outline Sperry's (1968) split brain research. [4 marks]
Answer:
11 participants had had their corpus callosum cut to treat severe epilepsy (1); an image was projected to one visual field while the other was covered (1); when an object was shown to the right visual field (left hemisphere) the participant could describe it (1); when shown to the left visual field (right hemisphere) they could not name it but could select it with their left hand, showing language is in the left hemisphere (1).
Question 28 · Spec 4.2.2 · Split brain research
Explain one limitation of split brain research. [2 marks]
Answer:
The sample was small (11) and they had epilepsy, which may have caused unique changes in their brains (1); and the control group had no epilepsy, so findings may not generalise to people without the condition (1).
Question 29 · Spec 4.2.2 · Plasticity
What is brain plasticity? [2 marks]
Answer:
The brain's tendency to change and adapt as a result of experience and new learning (1); new neural connections are formed and rarely used ones are deleted (synaptic pruning) (1).
Question 30 · Spec 4.2.2 · Plasticity
Outline one study showing plasticity in adults. [2 marks]
Answer:
Maguire et al. (2000) found London taxi drivers had more grey matter in the posterior hippocampus than a control group (1); this was positively correlated with time in the job, suggesting the brain adapted to learning 'the Knowledge' (1).
Question 31 · Spec 4.2.2 · Functional recovery
Explain how the brain can recover function after trauma. [3 marks]
Answer:
Unaffected areas of the brain can take over functions of damaged areas (1); axon sprouting: new nerve endings grow and connect with other undamaged nerve cells (1); denervation supersensitivity and recruitment of homologous areas on the opposite hemisphere, e.g. language moving to the right hemisphere (1).
Question 32 · Spec 4.2.2 · Functional recovery
Explain one factor that affects functional recovery. [2 marks]
Answer:
Education: Schneider et al. (2014) found patients with more years of education were more likely to achieve disability-free recovery (1); this is called cognitive reserve (1).
Question 33 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Outline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). [3 marks]
Answer:
It detects changes in blood oxygenation and flow in the brain (1); active areas need more oxygen, so blood flow increases there (haemodynamic response) (1); it produces 3D images showing which areas are involved in particular mental processes (1).
Question 34 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Explain one strength and one limitation of fMRI. [2 marks]
Answer:
Strength: it is non-invasive, does not use radiation and has high spatial resolution of 1–2 mm (1); limitation: it has poor temporal resolution, about a 5-second lag behind activity, and it is expensive (1).
Question 35 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Outline the use of electroencephalograms (EEGs). [3 marks]
Answer:
Electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the brain (1); the result is a recording of brainwave patterns generated by millions of neurons (1); it is used diagnostically, e.g. for epilepsy and sleep disorders (1).
Question 36 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Outline event-related potentials (ERPs). [3 marks]
Answer:
ERPs use EEG equipment, but statistical averaging filters out extraneous brain activity (1); this leaves the responses linked to presenting a specific stimulus or task (1); they have very high temporal resolution, so can measure processes such as attention and perception (1).
Question 37 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Explain one limitation of EEGs. [2 marks]
Answer:
They give a general signal from thousands of neurons (1); so it is hard to identify the exact source of neural activity; they have poor spatial resolution (1).
Question 38 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Outline post-mortem examinations as a way of studying the brain. [3 marks]
Answer:
The brain is analysed after death to find structural abnormalities (1); these are linked to behaviours shown by the person while alive (1); e.g. Broca found damage to the frontal lobe of 'Tan', who could only say one word (1).
Question 39 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ways of studying the brain
Explain one limitation of post-mortem examinations. [2 marks]
Answer:
Causation is an issue, as observed damage may be linked to other factors such as illness or drug use (1); and there are ethical issues of consent, as patients may not have been able to give informed consent before death (1).
Question 40 · Spec 4.2.2 · Biological rhythms
Distinguish between circadian, infradian and ultradian rhythms. [3 marks]
Answer:
Circadian: a cycle of about 24 hours, e.g. the sleep/wake cycle (1); infradian: a cycle longer than 24 hours, e.g. the menstrual cycle (1); ultradian: a cycle shorter than 24 hours, e.g. the stages of sleep (1).
Question 41 · Spec 4.2.2 · Circadian rhythms
Outline Siffre's cave study. [3 marks]
Answer:
Siffre spent long periods underground with no natural light or sound (1); he woke, ate and slept when he felt like it (1); his free-running biological rhythm settled to just over 24 hours, but he lost track of time (1).
Question 42 · Spec 4.2.2 · Infradian rhythms
Outline research into the menstrual cycle as an infradian rhythm. [3 marks]
Answer:
The menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days and is controlled by hormones (1); Stern and McClintock (1998) applied pads with sweat from donor women to the upper lips of 29 women (1); 68% experienced changes in their cycle towards that of their donor, suggesting exogenous factors (pheromones) can influence it (1).
Question 43 · Spec 4.2.2 · Infradian rhythms
What is seasonal affective disorder (SAD)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern, often called the 'winter blues' (1); it is an infradian (circannual) rhythm thought to be triggered by increased melatonin during longer nights (1).
Question 44 · Spec 4.2.2 · Ultradian rhythms
Outline the stages of sleep as an ultradian rhythm. [3 marks]
Answer:
Sleep follows a cycle of about 90 minutes, repeated through the night (1); stages 1 and 2 are light sleep with alpha and theta waves, and stages 3 and 4 are deep (slow-wave) sleep with delta waves (1); stage 5 is REM sleep, where the body is paralysed but the brain is active and dreaming occurs (1).
Question 45 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endogenous pacemakers
Outline the role of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) as an endogenous pacemaker. [3 marks]
Answer:
The SCN is a tiny bundle of nerve cells in the hypothalamus (1); it receives information about light from the optic chiasm, even when the eyes are closed (1); it passes this information to the pineal gland, which controls melatonin secretion, so regulating the sleep/wake cycle (1).
Question 46 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endogenous pacemakers
Outline one study showing the role of the SCN. [2 marks]
Answer:
Ralph et al. (1990) bred mutant hamsters with a 20-hour sleep/wake cycle (1); when their SCN cells were transplanted into normal hamsters, those hamsters developed a 20-hour cycle (1).
Question 47 · Spec 4.2.2 · Endogenous pacemakers
Outline the role of the pineal gland and melatonin. [2 marks]
Answer:
The pineal gland increases production of melatonin at night, in response to darkness (1); melatonin induces sleep by inhibiting the brain mechanisms that promote wakefulness (1).
Question 48 · Spec 4.2.2 · Exogenous zeitgebers
Explain the role of light as an exogenous zeitgeber. [2 marks]
Answer:
Light is the key zeitgeber that resets the SCN, keeping the sleep/wake cycle at 24 hours (1); Campbell and Murphy (1998) shone light on the backs of participants' knees and shifted their sleep/wake cycle by up to 3 hours, showing light can act indirectly (1).
Question 49 · Spec 4.2.2 · Exogenous zeitgebers
Explain the role of social cues as exogenous zeitgebers. [2 marks]
Answer:
Infants' rhythms are entrained by schedules imposed by parents, such as meal times and bedtimes (1); and the advice for jet lag is to adapt to local eating and sleeping times to entrain rhythms (1).
Question 50 · Spec 4.2.2 · Biological rhythms
Explain one practical application of research into biological rhythms. [2 marks]
Answer:
Shift workers suffer desynchronised rhythms, which link to accidents, e.g. Chernobyl, and heart disease (1); understanding rhythms helps design shift patterns, e.g. rotating shifts forward rather than backward (1).

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