Approaches and biopsychology common mistakes

Common mistakes

• Confusing glands and hormones

  Students often mix up the functions of glands with the hormones they produce.

  Fix itRemember that glands are the organs that produce hormones, while hormones are the chemical messengers that affect target organs.

• Confusing adrenaline with cortisol

  Many students confuse adrenaline with cortisol, thinking both are involved in the fight or flight response.

  Fix itRemember that adrenaline is the immediate response hormone, while cortisol is related to long-term stress responses.

• Confusing EEG with ERP

  Students often state that an ERP is a separate recording technique rather than a derived measure from EEG data.

  Fix itClarify that an ERP is obtained by averaging the EEG waveform across many trials to isolate the brain’s response to a particular event.

• Confusing motor and somatosensory cortex locations

  Assuming the motor cortex is in the parietal lobe and the somatosensory cortex is in the frontal lobe

  Fix itThe motor cortex is located in the frontal lobe, specifically the precentral gyrus, while the somatosensory cortex is in the parietal lobe, specifically the postcentral gyrus.

• Confusing Broca’s and Wernicke’s functions

  Students often think both areas are involved in the same language process or that damage to either leads to the same type of aphasia.

  Fix itClarify that Broca’s area is linked to expressive (speech production) deficits, whereas Wernicke’s area is linked to receptive (comprehension) deficits. Use the classic aphasia examples to illustrate the difference.