Brain and neuropsychology overview: how to study the AQA GCSE Psychology topic

This overview maps the AQA GCSE Psychology brain and neuropsychology topic (3.7), examined in Paper 2, Social context and behaviour. The topic is largely factual: the structure of the nervous system, the workings of neurons, the parts of the brain, and how the brain is studied.

What the topic covers

AQA breaks the topic into four connected areas, each with its own answer page on this site.

• The nervous system. The central and peripheral nervous systems, the autonomic nervous system, and the fight or flight response.
• Neurons and synapses. The three types of neuron and how messages cross the synapse using neurotransmitters.
• Brain structures. The four lobes of the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum and the brainstem.
• Localisation and scanning. Localisation of function, Penfield's work, and CT, PET and fMRI scanning.

The facts examiners reward

This topic rewards precise labels and clear functions.

1. The divisions of the nervous system. CNS, PNS and the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.
2. The three neuron types and the synapse. Electrical impulse along the neuron, chemical transmission across the synapse.
3. The lobes and their functions. Frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital, plus the cerebellum and brainstem.
4. The scans. CT for structure, PET and fMRI for activity.

How to study this topic

This topic rewards careful learning of labels and functions.

1. Build a map of the nervous system. Work from CNS and PNS down to the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.
2. Learn fight or flight as a sequence. Threat, sympathetic activation, adrenaline, action, then parasympathetic calming.
3. Match each lobe to its function. A wrong match loses easy marks.
4. Compare the scans. Know which show structure and which show activity.

The dot points in this topic

Each area has a dot-point answer page and a quiz. Browse the full set at /gcse-aqa/psychology/syllabus.

For the official specification

AQA publishes the full specification (8182), past papers and mark schemes at aqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and AQA's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.