VCE Psychology Question Thread!

[amanaazim]

So neurotransmitters go to the receptor sites of the post synaptic neuron by the lock and key process. So my question is , where does the excitatory/inhibitory process start from, does it start at the lock and key process (the neurontransmitters make the decision to fire from one neuron to the other then) or does it start after it is attached to a receptor site and then decides whether to fire or not.

Mod Edit: removed the quote of the first post and added in the question posted on your proflie

[Evolio]

Hey!
Inhibitory neurotransmitters and excitatory neurotransmitters both diffuse across the synapse and bind to the receptor site.
This means that whether an excitatory effect or inhibitory effect is produced is decided at the post synaptic neuron after the binding has occurred as the binding triggers the neuron to either fire or not to fire.

[Bri MT]

So neurotransmitters go to the receptor sites of the post synaptic neuron by the lock and key process. So my question is , where does the excitatory/inhibitory process start from, does it start at the lock and key process (the neurontransmitters make the decision to fire from one neuron to the other then) or does it start after it is attached to a receptor site and then decides whether to fire or not.

Mod Edit: removed the quote of the first post and added in the question posted on your profile

I'm adding in an explanation outside the scope of VCE in case that helps your understanding:

-> The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and fit with the receptors like keys in locks
-> This fit occurring then triggers further reactions which influence the flow of ions across the post-synaptic membrane.
-> Since ions are charged, this changes the voltage across the membrane
-> If a certain threshold of charge is reached, the neuron will fire
-> Since ions can be positive or negative, they can make the neuron more or less likely to reach that threshold

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

I’m looking at the answers for a question and it says “....the release of stress hormones leads to physiological changes that activate fight or flight system”

I thought the release of hormones activated the fight or flight system which is the physiological changes that enable an organism to either fight or flee?

[whys]

I’m looking at the answers for a question and it says “....the release of stress hormones leads to physiological changes that activate fight or flight system”

I thought the release of hormones activated the fight or flight system which is the physiological changes that enable an organism to either fight or flee?

Hi. This might be a bit more detail than you are expected to know, but here is what happens:

➜ Amygdala sends a signal to hypothalamus.
➜ Hypothalamus responds to the stressor by activating the sympathetic nervous system in 1/20th of a second.
➜ The sympathetic nervous system then stimulates the adrenal medulla (inner part of adrenal gland).
➜ It secretes adrenalin and noradrenalin into the bloodstream and activate organs. They also occur as neurotransmitters; can be released to have an excitatory effect.
➜ Once stressor is removed, parasympathetic nervous system becomes dominant and restores body to pre-threat state.

This is known as the sympathetic adreno-medullary system (SAM), which is the brain-body pathway that activates the fight or flight responses. The fight or flight responses are initiated by the dominance of the sympathetic nervous system when confronted by a perceived stressor/threat. So, the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline are released as a result of the activation of the fight-flight response. This then causes the physiological changes (e.g. dilated pupils, relaxed bladder, etc) as a result of the body diverting energy to the body systems that need it most and the effect of the stress hormones.

[amanaazim]

Can someone help me with this question please

Scenario: Tobias and Elizabeth are both stressed out about an upcoming Psychology SAC. Tobias copes with his stress by staying up late studying his psychology notes for the week before the exam. Elizabeth copes with his stress by calling her best friend and chatting about how she is feeling. Have Tobias and elizabeth used either problem or emotion focused coping strategies and why are they likely to use these types of coping strategies?


So i just don't know what to write for the why part

[amanaazim]

Hey I just wanted some tips on how to tackle your first ever unit 3 sac. I have it next week so just some advice on how to tackle it. My teacher gave us last years sac to practice and I also did edrolo practice questions and marked them so that it refreshes my understanding of the content . And I’ll probably do cue cards of my notes that I already wrote. What else is key ?

[Evolio]

Hey I just wanted some tips on how to tackle your first ever unit 3 sac. I have it next week so just some advice on how to tackle it. My teacher gave us last years sac to practice and I also did edrolo practice questions and marked them so that it refreshes my understanding of the content . And I’ll probably do cue cards of my notes that I already wrote. What else is key ?

Hey!
I think it would also be highly useful to do Checkpoints questions as they do have questions in there that are likely to come up on SACs and those questions really challenge your understanding in that they make you think deeper about the content and apply the content to real life scenarios. I also did the 2019 SAC of my school's and I marked myself harshly and tried to analyse where I lost the marks and why? Why didn't I get full marks on this question? Was it the wrong answer or did I have a not-detailed-enough answer that addressed all parts of the question?

Can someone help me with this question please
Scenario: Tobias and Elizabeth are both stressed out about an upcoming Psychology SAC. Tobias copes with his stress by staying up late studying his psychology notes for the week before the exam. Elizabeth copes with his stress by calling her best friend and chatting about how she is feeling. Have Tobias and elizabeth used either problem or emotion focused coping strategies and why are they likely to use these types of coping strategies?
So i just don't know what to write for the why part

Hey, just a heads up that my teachers have said that emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies aren't on the study design, so we don't have to know it for the exam. BUT, you may need to know this for your SACs if your teachers have said that they'll test this.
However, in addressing the why component, I would talk about how emotion-focused coping strategies focus on dealing with your emotions which is what Elizabeth is doing as she is chatting to her best friend about how she is feeling about the exam. Tobias is using problem-focused as he is directly trying to solve the problem of the stressor of the upcoming exam, by studying his psychology notes, thus making him feel more prepared for the exam.

All the best for your first ever unit 3 sac!   

[Katherinet123]

Could someone tell me if a spinal reflex is considered to be under the somatic or autonomic nervous system? I originally thought autonomic but then had a teacher tell me it was somatic even though it was an involuntary  unconscious response.
Thanks in advance

[whys]

Could someone tell me if a spinal reflex is considered to be under the somatic or autonomic nervous system? I originally thought autonomic but then had a teacher tell me it was somatic even though it was an involuntary  unconscious response.
Thanks in advance

It is most definitely the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for coordinating voluntary skeletal muscle movement by receiving information from sensory receptors, so it cannot control any type of reflex.

[pahm]

Could someone tell me if a spinal reflex is considered to be under the somatic or autonomic nervous system? I originally thought autonomic but then had a teacher tell me it was somatic even though it was an involuntary  unconscious response.
Thanks in advance

Yeah I agree with you and whys, I believe it's autonomic too - you should ask your teacher to clarify next time, maybe it was a misunderstanding or something.

[whys]

Hi, how can I improve my responses to these questions?

Give an example of when you may respond to an external stimulus before you know that you have responded.
Formulate a definition for a reflex.

A reflex is an involuntary, unconscious and automatically occurring response to certain stimuli, without involvement of the brain. An example of when one may respond to an external stimulus before they know they have responded is the spinal reflex. In the spinal reflex, sensory receptors detect sensory stimuli and send a message along the afferent neuron to the spinal cord, where it synapses either directly to the efferent neuron, or through an interneuron to the effector muscle, causing a reflex. We only know we have responded after it has occurred due to the speed of the reflex being faster than the message being relayed to the brain via collaterals from the interneuron.

Hi there, sorry for not getting back to you! I think your responses to other questions were great, but I quoted this one because the example you have provided is not specific enough. When a question asks for an example, it requires a specific scenario, not just a description. You say spinal reflex, but don't mention the exact scenario. An answer with full marks would explicitly state a scenario, such as a person touching a very hot stove and immediately retracting their hand, which is the spinal reflex, and would feel pain later due to the message being sent to the brain taking longer than the entirety of the spinal reflex. Your explanations were thorough and accurately worded though, it just lacked a specific example to go with it!

[MoonChild1234]

Hi there, sorry for not getting back to you! I think your responses to other questions were great, but I quoted this one because the example you have provided is not specific enough. When a question asks for an example, it requires a specific scenario, not just a description. You say spinal reflex, but don't mention the exact scenario. An answer with full marks would explicitly state a scenario, such as a person touching a very hot stove and immediately retracting their hand, which is the spinal reflex, and would feel pain later due to the message being sent to the brain taking longer than the entirety of the spinal reflex. Your explanations were thorough and accurately worded though, it just lacked a specific example to go with it!

thank you so much! ill keep that in mind

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

So I’m really having trouble understanding neural basis of learning so I’m wondering if thsi “basic” understanding I have is correct:

So rerouting:
-occurs during injury
- neurons are stimulated to reroute around damaged cells to connect with other active cells.

Axon sprouting:
Injury
They make new connections

Dendritic branching
Learning
Stimulated by excitatory NT, glutamate


Yeah could somebody please explain this to me in detail. All three of them. I’m really sorry

[Bri MT]

Could someone tell me if a spinal reflex is considered to be under the somatic or autonomic nervous system? I originally thought autonomic but then had a teacher tell me it was somatic even though it was an involuntary  unconscious response.
Thanks in advance

So I'm only just seeing this but I agree with your teacher. The somatic nervous system has control of your skeletal muscles (the ones used in voluntary movement) which are also the ones used in the spinal reflex. Reflexes occur in both the somatic and autonomic nervous system. Look up "somatic reflexes" if you want to read a few sources on this