Summary: Biological

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• 1 Biological

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• What does the brain do in the CNS?

  The brain guides human behaviour through neurotransmitter functioning.

• What does the CNS do regarding our behaviour?

  It guides our behaviour by governing incoming messages from the body and also sends messages from the brain to the body by passing electrical impulses around the body through nerve fibres made up of tracts of neurones, it co-ordinates the bodies activities.

• What is dopamine and what is it's function?

  It is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure feelings, they may be wanted, so dopamine is linked to addiction, as the individual carries out actions to get those feelings. Dopamine in this way can be linked to drug addiction such as heroin.

• What is serotonins function?

  It is the neurotransmitter for happiness and goodness mood. Low levels of serotonin link to depression and anxiety. SSRI's are prescribe drugs for mental disorders like depression. SSRI's work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, this leaves more serotonin at the synapse to be taken up again by the receptors of other neurons this improving mood.

• What is the function of GABA?

  Is an inhibitor in the brain, meaning it blocks messages rather than taking a message on. It is to calm the nerves that are firing and give relaxation.

• What is the function of norepinephrine?

  Also known as noradrenaline is associated with the fightand flight response and with attention, being ready for action.

• What is the mode of action for nicotine?

  It's an agonist which means it stimulates neurons so they are more likely to act the same as another one. It stimulates the ACh synapse, which causes neurons to fire regularly. This leads to alertness and quicker reaction times. It also increases dopamine in the reward pathway, which leads to pleasurable, positive feelings. Nicotine also activates the sympathetic nervous system, so adrenaline is released, increasing glucose, blood pressure and heart rate.

• Strengths of the argument of the effects of drugs on synaptic transmission?

  Olds and Milner, showed rats could stimulate their own nucleus accumbens by pressing  bar in the skinners box, they would press it as many as 2000 times a minute, and would do so for hours, until they collapse. There is also credibility in the fact that those who take recreational drugs, they gain pleasure from taking the drugs, creating more dopamine in the reward system, they then need the drug to continue achieving the same effects.

• Weaknesses of the argument of the effects of drugs on synaptic transmission?

  The explanation is too simplistic, because there is more than one reward pathway in the reward system, and more than one region of the brain is used when taking drugs. 
  A lot of the evidence comes from studying animal brains and it is unlikely to represent the same effects drugs have on humans brains.

• What is the frontal lobe in control of?

  Reasoning, planning, parts of speech and movement, emotions and problem solving.