Mat's Psychology Revision

FUNCTION OF NEURONS PROCESS OF SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION DENDRITES pick up message (NT) and send an impulse (AP action potential) through the cell body, along axon to terminal buttons (TB) At the end of TB there are synaptic vesicles which contain and store the NT, NT converts impulse into a message which is transferred to the next neurone As the impulse (AP) travels to the end of the neurone at the TB it reaches the synaptic vesicle which releases the NT and crosses the synaptic gap between the pre and postsynaptic neurone NT diffuses across synaptic gap, binds to specialised receptors on the surface of next cell dendrites which recognise it and match that cell Once the next cell is activated the receptor molecules either have an inhibitory effect (weakens impulses by decreasing AP) or an excitation effect (strengthens impulses by increasing AP) Synaptic Transmission is completed (done in a fraction of a second) by the process of reuptake, where leftover NTs are taken bac...

THE BIOLOGICAL APPROACH ASSUMPTION is that all behaviour is driven by physiological factors like genetics, biological structures and neurochemistry. Focuses on NATURE shaping our behaviour. EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR (suggested by Charles Darwin) Evolution - Gradual change within a species over time in response to environmental pressures Natural Selection - Inherited characteristics which enhance survival, passed on to the next generation Adaption - A behaviour or trait which increases successes or survival and reproduction Survival of the Fittest - Only those best suited to the environment will survive and reproduce Sexual Selection - When individuals possess features that make them attractive to the opposite sex and helps them compete with the same sex for mates, increases reproductive success Phobias such as arachnophobia can be seen to be adaptive as it increases survival. Living as a social species offers advantages, survival would decrease ...