OxfordAQA International A Level Psychology 3.2.1 Biopsychology Exam Questions

About OxfordAQA International A Level Psychology 3.2.1 Biopsychology

Biopsychology is the first section of Unit 2, Biopsychology, development and research methods 1, on the OxfordAQA International AS Psychology course. You learn the divisions of the nervous system, the structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurons, and how synaptic transmission works with excitation and inhibition. You also study the endocrine system and the fight or flight response, including adrenaline. The second half covers localisation of function in the brain, including Broca's and Wernicke's areas, hemispheric lateralisation and split brain research, and brain plasticity and functional recovery after trauma. Examiners often ask you to label or describe processes and to evaluate localisation using research evidence.

What you need to know

• Nervous system The central nervous system is the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system has the somatic system (voluntary movement and senses) and the autonomic system, with sympathetic (arousal) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) divisions.
• Neurons and synapses Sensory neurons carry messages to the CNS, relay neurons connect within the CNS, and motor neurons carry messages to muscles and glands. At the synapse, neurotransmitter is released from vesicles, crosses the gap and binds to receptors. Excitatory neurotransmitters make the next neuron more likely to fire; inhibitory ones make it less likely.
• Endocrine system and fight or flight Glands such as the pituitary and adrenals release hormones into the bloodstream. In fight or flight, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal medulla releases adrenaline, raising heart rate and breathing and diverting blood to muscles.
• Localisation of function The motor area is in the frontal lobe, the somatosensory area in the parietal lobe, the visual area in the occipital lobe and the auditory area in the temporal lobe. Broca's area (left frontal lobe) is linked to speech production and Wernicke's area (left temporal lobe) to language comprehension.
• Lateralisation and split brain Language is lateralised to the left hemisphere in most people. Sperry's split brain research showed that when information was presented only to the right hemisphere, patients could not say what they saw but could select the object with the left hand.
• Plasticity and recovery The brain can change structure with experience: Maguire et al. (2000) found London taxi drivers had larger posterior hippocampi. After damage, functional recovery can occur as other areas take over, through axon sprouting and recruitment of similar areas.

Common mistakes in 3.2.1 Biopsychology

• Saying the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are part of the somatic system. They are divisions of the autonomic nervous system.
• Describing synaptic transmission as an electrical signal jumping the gap. It is chemical: neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft.
• Swapping Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Broca's is production (frontal); Wernicke's is comprehension (temporal).
• Writing that the left hemisphere controls the left side of the body. Each hemisphere controls the opposite side.
• Claiming split brain findings apply directly to everyone. Split brain patients are a small, unusual sample, often with a history of epilepsy.

Try three 3.2.1 Biopsychology exam-style questions