Biological Psychology Chapter Quiz

Introduction to Psychology

• This document is related to Understanding Psychology, 15th Edition, by Robert S. Feldman.
• Learning changes everything.

Chapter 3: Neuroscience and Behavior

• Psychology explores the brain and nervous system.
• Behavioral neuroscientists (biopsychologists) study how the biological structures and functions of the body influence behavior.

Module 7: Neurons: The Basic Elements of Behavior

• Psychologists study the brain and nervous system to understand behavior.
• Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system.
• Neurons have a cell body with a nucleus (containing hereditary material).
• Glial cells support neurons and provide nourishment, insulation, and repair of damage.
• Neurons transmit messages over relatively long distances and communicate with other cells.
• Impulses generally move in one direction.
• Dendrites receive messages from neighboring neurons.
• Axons carry messages to other neurons.
• Terminal buttons at the end of axons send messages to other neurons.
• Myelin sheath wraps around the axon to increase the speed of electrical impulses. Axons involved in urgent/important information have more myelin.
• Neurons communicate via electrical and chemical messages

How Neurons Fire

• Neurons operate using an all-or-none principle; they are either on or off.
• The resting state is characterized by a negative electrical charge (-70 millivolts).
• Action potential: a brief reversal of electrical charge that travels down the axon (from negative to positive) when triggered.

Where Neurons Meet: Bridging the Gap

• Synapse: the space between two neurons where chemical messages are transmitted.
• Neurotransmitters: chemicals that carry messages across the synapse to the dendrite (or sometimes the cell body) of a receiving neuron.
• Neurotransmitters fit into precise receptor sites on the receiving neuron to transmit the signal.
• Reuptake: neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the terminal button, ending the message.
• Enzymes deactivate neurotransmitters.
• SSRIs are a type of drug that increase neurotransmitters to treat depression.
• Excitatory messages raise the neuron's firing potential, while inhibitory messages lower it.

Neurotransmitters: Multitalented Chemical Couriers

• Neurotransmitters are important links between the nervous system and behavior.
• Crucial for vital brain and body functions.
• Deficiencies or excesses can cause severe disorders.
• More than a hundred chemicals function as neurotransmitters.
• Scientists expect more to be discovered.

Module 8: The Nervous System and the Endocrine System: Communicating Within the Body

• The nervous system's structures are interlinked.
• The endocrine system's role in behavior.

The Nervous System: Linking Neurons

• Neurons can connect with many others which means there is a large number of potential connections.
• The nervous system utilizes the central and peripheral nervous systems for communication.

Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems

• Central Nervous System (CNS): contains the brain and spinal cord.
• Spinal cord: carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body; controls simple behaviors independently of the brain, via reflexes.
• Reflexes are automatic, involuntary responses to stimuli.
• Sensory neurons (afferent) detect information and relay it to the nervous system and brain.
• Motor neurons (efferent) transmit information from the brain and nervous system to muscles and glands.
• Peripheral nervous system: made up of the somatic (voluntary) and autonomic (involuntary) divisions.
• Somatic division controls voluntary movements and communication with sense organs.
• Autonomic division controls involuntary movements (heart, glands, lungs, and other organs) which further splits into sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic responses.

Activating the Divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System

• Sympathetic division: prepares the body for action in stressful situations (often called "flight-or-fight").
• Parasympathetic division: calms the body after an emergency.
• These divisions work together to regulate bodily functions.

The Evolutionary Foundations of the Nervous System

• Evolutionary psychology studies behavior patterns related to genetic inheritance from ancestors.
• Behavioral genetics investigates the impact of heredity on behavior.

The Endocrine System: Of Chemicals and Glands

• Endocrine system: sends messages via the bloodstream.
• Hormones: chemicals that circulate in the blood and regulate bodily functions/growth.
• Pituitary gland: the "master gland" that controls other endocrine glands.

Module 9: The Brain

• Research methods for identifying brain parts and functions include EEG, fMRI, PET, TMS, optogenetics, and hydrogel-embedding methods.
• The brain has major parts including the central core and cerebral cortex.

Studying the Brain's Structure and Functions: Spying on the Brain

• EEG records electrical activity in the brain.
• fMRI provides detailed, three-dimensional images of brain structures and activity.
• PET scans image biochemical activity in the brain.
• TMS interrupts electrical activity in a brain region.
• Optogenetics and hydrogel embedding methods allow observation of neurons and brain circuitry.
• Neuropixels enable simultaneous reading of activity in multiple neurons.

The Central Core: Our "Old Brain"

• The central core controls basic functions like eating and sleeping; common in vertebrates.
• Medulla controls critical body functions (breathing, heart).
• Pons is a bridge, transmitting motor information.
• Cerebellum controls balance.
• Reticular formation controls arousal level.
• Thalamus relays sensory information.
• Hypothalamus maintains homeostasis, regulating behavior critical to the species' survival (eating, drinking, sexual behavior).

The Limbic System: Beyond the Central Core

• Limbic system controls eating, aggression, reproduction, emotions, and self-preservation.
• Includes amygdala and hippocampus (important for learning and memory).
• Sometimes called the "animal brain" due to similarities in other mammals.

The Cerebral Cortex: Our "New Brain"

• Cerebral cortex: responsible for sophisticated information processing.
• Lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital) are major sections of the cortex., physically separated by grooves.
• The motor area (in frontal lobe) is concerned with voluntary movement.
• Sensory area (in parietal lobe) encompasses touch and pressure perception.
• Auditory area (in temporal lobe) handles hearing.
• Visual area is located in the occipital lobe.

The Association Areas of the Cortex

• Association areas: focus on high-level mental processes like thought, language, memory, and speech.
• Injuries can lead to aphasia (language problems).
• Broca's aphasia: difficulty speaking.
• Wernicke's aphasia: difficulty understanding and producing language.

Neuroplasticity and the Brain

• Neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to change throughout life through the addition of new neurons, new interconnections, and reorganization.
• Neurogenesis: creation of new neurons in select brain areas, even in adulthood, is possible.

The Specialization of the Hemispheres: Two Brains or One?

• Brain divided into left and right hemispheres that control the opposite sides of the body.
• Left hemisphere (verbal areas) handles information sequentially.
• Right hemisphere (nonverbal areas) processes information globally.
• Lateralization: one hemisphere's dominance in specific functions, like language, though considerable interdependency exists.

The Split Brain: Exploring the Two Hemispheres

• A split-brain surgery severs the corpus callosum to treat severe epilepsy.
• Studies show separate functioning abilities within the two hemispheres in split-brain patients.