Biopsychology PSYC 222 Course Overview

Course Information

• Course: Biopsychology (PSYC 222)
• Attendance: Mandatory, 9 absences (twice weekly) or 11 (three times weekly) result in an "F"
• Laptops: Mandatory for classwork, assessments, and exams
• Cell phones: Must be on silent and out of sight, except when used for activities
• Drinks: Allowed; food and feet are not
• Artificial Intelligence: Allowed for use as a tool, but plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

Expectations

• Plagiarism will result in disciplinary action, reported to the university.
• All submissions must be original work.

Course Requirements

• Lecture material: Presentations, videos, and activities available on MyCourses
• Resources: Cengage textbook (mandatory), laptop (mandatory)
• Platforms: MyCourses (lecture material, course info, attendance, grades), Cengage (textbook, homework, assignments, activities)

Assessment Details

• Homework Assignments: 5 activities (30 minutes each), worth 10% of the course grade, accessible through Cengage
• In-Class Assignments: 5 pair/group assignments, worth 10% of the course grade, original submissions required
• Quizzes: 5 quizzes (top 4 scores count), worth 20%
• Midterm Exam: 1 exam, worth 30%
• Final Exam: 1 exam, worth 30%

Detail of Assessments

• Homework Assignments: 5, Value 2 points, Weight 10%, Completion grade
• Quizzes: 4, Value 5 points, Weight 20%, Score grade (5 offered; lowest dropped)
• In-Class Assignments: 5, Value 2 points, Weight 10%, Completion grade
• Midterm: 1, Value 30, Weight 30%, Score grade
• Final: 1, Value 30, Weight 30%, Score grade
• Total: 100

Introduction

• All psychology is biological.
• Biological psychology studies the evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior and experience.
• Cultural, social, and cognitive influences, genetics, evolution, hormones, body physiology, and brain mechanisms are involved.

Biological Explanations of Behavior

• Physiological: Explains behavior by relating it to the brain and other organs.
• Ontogenetic: Describes how behavior develops.
• Evolutionary: Reconstructs the evolutionary history of a behavior.
• Functional: Explains why a behavior evolved.

Neuroethics

• Several ethical disputes exist, including abortion and animal use.
• Biological psychologists study nonhumans when behaviour mechanisms are similar across species or when it's easier to study in a nonhuman species, to learn about human evolution (animal studies), and when legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain research on humans
• The legal standard emphasizing the "three Rs": reduction, replacement, refinement.

Neuroscience

• Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852-1934): Spanish investigator who demonstrated that individual nerve cells in the nervous system are separate. Golgi initially believed the nervous system is one continuous network.

Knowledge Check

• Lists of different nervous system components

Animal Cell Structures

• Membrane, Nucleus, Mitochondria, Ribosomes, Endoplasmic Reticulum

Neuron Structure and Function

• Motor neuron function in spinal cord
• Sensory neuron functions
• Interneurons function in the spinal cord)
• Afferent axon brings information; efferent axon carries away information

Glial Cells

• Astrocytes: Pass chemicals between neurons and blood
• Microglia: Remove waste, viruses, fungi, and dead/damaged neurons
• Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells: Build myelin sheath that surrounds/insulates certain axons
• Radial glia: Guide neuron migration/growth during embryonic development

Blood-Brain Barrier

• A mechanism that surrounds the brain and blocks most chemicals from entering.
• The immune system doesn't effectively destroy damaged or infected cells in the brain due to the blood-brain barrier.
• Active transport is involved in pumping necessary chemicals (glucose, hormones, amino acids, etc.) into the brain.

Nourishment of Vertebrate Neurons

• Vertebrate neurons depend almost entirely on glucose.
• Glucose is one of the few nutrients that pass through the blood-brain barrier; allows visualization via PET scans
• Neurons need a steady supply of oxygen (20% of all oxygen consumed by the body)

Action Potential

• The resting potential remains stable until the neuron is stimulated.
• Threshold, all-or-none law, depolarization, repolarization, hyperpolarization, absolute/relative refractory periods are key concepts.

Molecular Basis of the Action Potential

• Sodium ions are mostly outside, while potassium ions are inside, due to the sodium–potassium pump.
• Depolarization opens sodium/potassium channels, which draw the positive ions into the cell.
• At the peak of the action potential, sodium channels close.

Propagation of Action Potential

• Action potential starts at axon hillock.
• Action potential transmission occurs along the axon, not by directly traveling down the axon
• Neurons experience absolute and relative refractory periods during this process.

The Myelin Sheath

• Myelin sheaths of axons are interrupted by short unmyelinated sections called nodes of Ranvier.
• Myelin is an insulating material composed of fats and proteins
• Action potentials are regenerated at nodes of Ranvier, resulting in "jumping" of impulses along the axon.