Physiological Psychology Quiz: Test Your Knowledge with Flashcards

Study Notes

Physiological psychology studies the physical operation of the brain and its connection to our thoughts, speech, and actions.
It involves understanding brain cells, structures, components, and chemistry, and their relationship to our behavior.

The modern history of physiological psychology combines experimental methods of psychology and physiology to study various psychological issues.
Topics of study include perceptual processes, control of movement, sleep and waking, reproductive behaviors, ingestive behaviors, emotional behaviors, learning, and language.

Early knowledge was gained by observing changes in behavior due to brain damage.
Animal experiments, including removal or cutting of brain parts, have been used to study behavior.
Brain surgery, including prodding parts of the brain, has provided insights into brain functioning.
Study of brain chemistry, including the effects of drugs, has been used to understand brain functioning.
Modern scanning systems, such as fMRI and PET, have given further insights into brain activation.

Behavior is the process of responding to environmental stimuli by an activity generally useful to life.
A stimulus is a form of energy that affects the organism.
The brain and spinal cord function as a switchboard, connecting millions of central neurons.
The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and neurons.
A nerve impulse is electrical information transmitted in the CNS.

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) branches out from the spinal cord and brain, extending to the body's extremities.
The PNS carries information to and from the CNS.
The PNS has two divisions: somatic and autonomic.
The somatic system controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles and communicates with sense organs.
The autonomic system is concerned with maintaining the body's automatic functions, such as heart rate, blood vessels, and glands.