Biopsych Unit 1 PPT PDF

Biopsychology Dr. Nidhi Malik, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Indraprastha College for Women Syllabus Unit 1: Introduction: Nature, Scope and Applications Unit 2: Neuron: Structure and Functions of Neurons, Action Potential/Nerve Impulse, Synaptic Transmission Unit 3: Bra...

Biopsychology Dr. Nidhi Malik, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Indraprastha College for Women Syllabus Unit 1: Introduction: Nature, Scope and Applications Unit 2: Neuron: Structure and Functions of Neurons, Action Potential/Nerve Impulse, Synaptic Transmission Unit 3: Brain and Behaviour: Methods (EEG, CT, fMRI), CNS and Behaviour (Spinal Cord and Brain Functions) Unit 4: Endocrine System: Endocrine Basis of Behaviour, Structure, Functions and Abnormalities (Pituitary, Adrenal, Thyroid, Gonads) Primary Readings Carlson, N. R. Foundations of Physiological Psychology (Latest ed.) Pearson Education. Pinel, J. P. J. (2016). Biopsychology (9th ed.). Pearson Education. Khosla, M. (2017). Physiological Psychology: An Introduction. Sage Texts. Leukel, F. (1976). Introduction to Physiological Psychology. Pearson. UNIT 1 Introduction to Biopsychology Chapter Outline ▪ Nature and Scope ▪ Divisions of Biopsychology ▪ Applications What is Biopsychology? ▪ Biopsychology is defined as “the branch of psychology that studies the biological foundations of behavior, emotions, and mental processes” (Pickett, 2000). ▪ According to Kalat (2001), “Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental mechanisms of behaviour and experience”. ▪ The term biopsychology emphasizes that the goal is to relate biology to issues of psychology. It denotes a biological approach to the study of psychology. What is Biopsychology? ▪ It is synonymous with the terms biological psychology, psychobiology, behavioural biology and behavioral neuroscience. ▪ A biopsychologist uses an eclectic approach; combines theories and research from many different areas such as psychology, biology, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, anatomy and related fields to better describe, understand and predict behavior. ▪ They study how the brain and the rest of the nervous system determine what we perceive, feel, think, and do. What is Biopsychology? ▪ The key element of biological psychology is that behaviour is caused by identifiable events within the nervous system. It typically investigates at the level of neurotransmitters, brain circuitry, hormones and basic physiological processes to explain behavior. ▪ It also describes how a structure or behavior develops, including the influences of genes, nutrition, experiences, and their interactions. ▪ It attempts to reconstruct the evolutionary history of a structure or behavior, and describes why it evolved as it did. What is Biopsychology? ▪ Important areas of focus include sensation and perception; motivated behaviour (such as hunger, thirst, and sex); control of movement; learning and memory; sleep and biological rhythms; and emotion. ▪ As technical sophistication leads to advancements in research methods, more advanced topics such as language, reasoning, decision making, and consciousness are now being studied. ▪ Biopsychology has also had a strong history of contributing to the understanding of a variety of medical and psychological disorders including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and autism. What is Biopsychology? ▪ It aims to answer questions such as: ▪ How does the brain play a role in our everyday experiences…like hunger? Anger? Sexual desire? ▪ What genes predispose some people to develop psychological disorders? ▪ Do regular users of cocaine experience cognitive/ behavioural problems? Why is it addictive? ▪ How does prenatal development affect someone’s life as an adult? ▪ Can brain abnormalities explain why some people - such as serial killers - feel no remorse or empathy for their victims? What is Biopsychology? ▪ Research methods of biopsychology include examining behavioral change after lesions and experimental ablation, studying human cases of brain damage, histological techniques, electrical and chemical stimulation of the brain, and neuropharmacological methods. ▪ Methods also include brain imaging techniques (e.g. PET, fMRI), psychophysiological recordings during behavior, genetic analyses of behavior, and comparisons of behavior in different species. Biopsychology as a Discipline of Neuroscience Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system; neuroscience includes many different approaches such as: ▪ Neuroanatomy ▪ Neurophysiology ▪ Neurochemistry ▪ Neuropharmacology ▪ Neuroendrocrinology ▪ Neuropathology ▪ Biopsychology Biopsychology as a Discipline of Neuroscience ▪ Biopsychologists try to discover how the various phenomena studied by other neuroscience researchers produce psychological phenomena such as perception, learning, memory, emotion, and language. ▪ Thus, biopsychology can be viewed as an integrative discipline. Biopsychologists draw together knowledge from the other neuroscientific disciplines and apply it to the study of behaviour. ▪ It serves as a bridge between the disciplines of psychology and neuroscience. Assumptions of Biological Approach Biological psychologists make the following assumptions while providing explanations of behavior: Behavior is determined by biology – Our cognitions, emotions and behaviors are products of the anatomy and physiology of our nervous and endocrine systems, i.e. there is a direct relationship between behavior and biology. When you fall in love with your best friend, get angry at someone who runs a red light, or decide to buy a new cell phone - there’s something going on in your brain that’s responsible! Assumptions of Biological Approach Patterns of behavior have a genetic basis – Human behavior is subject to genetic variations. The ways in which individuals differ in their intellectual abilities, personalities, and mental health are, to a large extent, functions of their inherited genetic predispositions. Decades of research on twins, adoptees, and families have led to the conclusion that most psychological characteristics and behaviors are influenced by genes. Assumptions of Biological Approach Most behaviors have an adaptive/evolutionary purpose – Biopsychologists explain why a structure or behavior evolved as it did. The answer is that it reflects what was adaptive to the animals’ ancestors. For example, many species have an appearance that matches their background. This camouflaged appearance makes the animal inconspicuous to predators and ensures their survival. Assumptions of Biological Approach Organisms share biological and behavioral similarities - A great deal of the experimental literature in biopsychology comes from the study of non-human species, most frequently rats, mice, and monkeys. As a result, a critical assumption in biopsychology is that organisms share biological and behavioral similarities, enough to permit extrapolations across species. This allies behavioral neuroscience closely with comparative psychology, ethology, evolutionary biology, and neurobiology. Diversity of Biopsychological Research ▪ Biopsychologists use a variety of research approaches in their studies; to understand what biopsychology is, you must understand what they do. ▪ This diversity can be illustrated by discussing three dimensions along which their research varies: ▪ human vs. non-human subjects ▪ experimental vs. non-experimental studies ▪ applied vs. pure research Non-human & Human Subjects Advantages of non- human Advantages of human subjects: subjects: ▪ can follow instructions ▪ have simpler nervous systems ▪ can report subjective experiences ▪ possible to use comparative, ▪ have a human brain cross-species approach ▪ fewer ethical constraints Experiments & Non-Experiments Biopsychological research can involve experiments and non-experimental studies (quasi-experimental designs and case studies). Experiments: ▪ determine cause-and-effect relationship ▪ between-subjects design, and within-subjects design ▪ presence of confounding variables may make experiments difficult to interpret ▪ sometimes it is impossible to conduct controlled experiments Experiments & Non-Experiments Non-Experiments: ▪ In a quasi-experimental design researchers examine subjects in real world situations who have self-selected into the specific conditions (e.g., excessive alcohol intake). ▪ A quasi study cannot control for potential confounding variables; do not allow a researcher to establish direct cause-and-effect relationships. Experiments & Non-Experiments Non-Experiments: ▪ Another non-experimental design is called a case study. ▪ Case studies are scientific studies that focus on a single subject. ▪ Main problem with case studies is their poor generalizability. A Key Point: Quasi-experiments and case studies can both make valuable scientific contributions, particularly when they are used to complement each other and experiments. Pure and Applied Research ▪ Pure research is motivated by the desire to find out how things work; focuses on establishing building blocks or basic concepts that may provide information salient to many problems. ▪ Applied research is motivated by an attempt to directly use the building blocks of basic research to answer specific questions; human and animal problems are specifically addressed. Diversity of Biopsychological Research ▪ The strength of biopsychology as a science is attributable to this diversity. ▪ Its diversity also makes biopsychology an exciting and challenging field to study. DIVISIONS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY ▪ Physiological Psychology ▪ Psychopharmacology ▪ Neuropsychology ▪ Psychophysiology ▪ Cognitive Neuroscience ▪ Comparative Psychology Physiological Psychology ▪ Focuses on the direct manipulation of the nervous system in controlled laboratory settings (e.g., lesions, electrical stimulation, invasive recording) ▪ Thus, subjects are usually laboratory animals. ▪ Strong focus on pure research.  Psychopharmacology ▪ Similar to physiological psychology except that the nervous system is manipulated pharmacologically. ▪ Focuses on effects of drugs on behavior and how these changes are mediated by changes in neural activity. ▪ Many psychopharmacologists favour pure research and use drugs to reveal the nature of brain-behavior interactions; many others study applied questions (e.g., drug abuse, therapeutic drugs).  Neuropsychology ▪ Focuses on the behavioral deficits produced in humans by brain damage, typically cortical damage. ▪ Can’t be studied in humans by experimentation; deals almost exclusively with case studies and quasi-experimental studies. ▪ Most applied of the bio-psychological sub-disciplines. ▪ Neuropsychological tests of brain-damaged patients facilitate diagnosis, treatment, and lifestyle counseling.  Psychophysiology ▪ Focuses on the relation between physiology and behavior by recording the physiological responses of human subjects. ▪ Because humans are used, all brain recording is noninvasive (i.e., from the surface of the head). ▪ Usual measure of brain activity is the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG). ▪ Muscle tension, eye movement, heart rate, pupil dilation, and electrical conductance of the skin are other common measures.  Cognitive Neuroscience ▪ Newest division of biopsychology. ▪ Focuses on the neural bases of cognitive processes like learning and memory, attention, and complex perceptual processes. ▪ Often employs human subjects; key methods are noninvasive, functional brain imaging techniques. ▪ Often involves collaborations between researchers with widely different backgrounds (e.g., psychology, linguistics, computer science).  Comparative Psychology ▪ Comparing the behavior of different species in order to understand the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior. ▪ Features laboratory research as well as studies of animals in their natural environments (ethology). ▪ Includes evolutionary psychology (understanding behavior by considering its evolutionary origins) and behavioral genetics (study of genetic influences on behavior). Converging Operations ▪ The methods of the six divisions are not without their weaknesses; thus, biopsychological issues are rarely resolved by a single experiment or study, or by a single approach. ▪ Progress is greatest when several different approaches, each compensating for shortcomings of the others, are used to solve the same problems; this is called converging operations.  Converging Operations ▪ Example: Consider the relative strengths and weakness of physiological psychology and neuropsychology. ▪ Neuropsychology’s strength is that it deals with humans, but this is also its weakness because it precludes experimentation. In contrast, physiological psychology can bring the power of the experimental method and invasive neuroscientific techniques to bear on the question, but it is limited to the study of laboratory animals. ▪ Because the two approaches complement one another, together they can provide evidence for points of view that neither can defend individually. Converging Operations Using Multiple Approaches to Address a Single Question: Example: Korsakoff’s Syndrome ▪ Korsakoff’s syndrome is a condition characterized by severe memory loss and most commonly seen in alcoholics (it was first described in the late 19th century by S.S.Korsakoff, a Russian physician)  Converging Operations ▪ Korsakoff’s syndrome was initially believed to be a direct consequence of the toxic effects of alcohol on the brain. ▪ Subsequent research showed that Korsakoff is largely caused by the brain damage associated with thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. Converging Operations Support for the thiamine-deficiency interpretation: ▪ Korsakoff’s syndrome is also seen in malnourished persons who have had little or no alcohol. ▪ Thiamine-deficient rats exhibit memory deficits. ▪ Alcoholics often develop Korsakoff’s syndrome because most of their caloric intake comes in the form of alcohol, which lacks vitamins,and because alcohol interferes with the metabolism of what little thiamine they do consume. Converging Operations Progress in biopsychology typically comes from converging operations; in this case, from the convergence of: ▪ neuropsychological case studies (case studies of Korsakoff patients), ▪ quasi-experiments with human subjects (comparisons of alcoholics with people who do not drink alcohol), ▪ controlled experiments on laboratory animals (comparison of thiamine-deficient and control rats). Scope of Biopsychology The scope of biopsychology includes, but is not limited to, the following domains: ▪ Evolution of brain and behavior ▪ Genetics of human individual differences ▪ Development of the nervous system and behavior over the life span ▪ Sensory and perceptual processes ▪ Control and coordination of movement and actions ▪ Control of behavioral states (motivation), including sex and reproductive behavior, and regulation of internal states  Scope of Biopsychology ▪ Sleep and biological rhythms ▪ Emotions, stress and health ▪ Learning, memory and intelligence ▪ Lateralization, language and cognition ▪ Neurological and mental disorders ▪ Drug addiction ▪ Brain damage and neuroplasticity ▪ Psychopharmacology Applications of Biopsychology Biopsychology focuses on investigating the connections between brain functioning and human behavior. It has applications in diverse fields and settings: ▪ Cognitive: Biopsychologists evaluate the brain structure and its connection to cognitive abilities. They have developed models to understand and explain how humans gain and exercise their abilities to speak, recall, learn, memorize and perceive things. ▪ They have also explored the consequences of brain injuries and neurological diseases on speech, reasoning, perception, memory and language acquisition. Applications of Biopsychology ▪ Clinical: Biopsychology has made significant contributions to our understanding of a wide range of conditions, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, autism, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), among others. ▪ By examining the cognitive and emotional changes associated with these conditions, researchers can develop tailored interventions and rehabilitation programs to enhance patients’ quality of life. Applications of Biopsychology ▪ Forensic: Biopsychology plays a crucial role in forensic settings. ▪ It helps in assessing cognitive functioning in legal contexts, such as determining an individual’s competency to stand trial, evaluating the impact of brain damage on criminal behavior, or assessing the veracity of eyewitness testimonies. Applications of Biopsychology ▪ Education: Biopsychology has promising applications in curriculum development, classroom design, and the integration of differentiated instruction based on brain-behavior principles to provide an optimal learning environment for every child, including children with special needs. Applications of Biopsychology ▪ Sports: Biopsychologists are increasingly playing a role in the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletes who suffer from concussion. They can provide early intervention in the form of education and reassurance, monitor an athlete’s return to play, and treat emotional problems that might arise during the recovery period. ▪ They are also designing interventions and training programs based on individual cognitive profiles to help athletes achieve optimal performance. Applications of Biopsychology As technology advances and our understanding of the brain deepen, the field of biopsychology is poised to make even greater strides. Emerging fields like computational neuroscience are expanding the boundaries of biopsychological research. By integrating computer modeling and simulation techniques, researchers can develop virtual brain models that help elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying human behaviour and cognitive processes.