Introduction to Physiological/Biological Psychology PDF

St. Dominic College of Asia School of Arts, Sciences and Education INTRODUCTION TO PHYSIOLOGICAL/ BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Lara Janea D. Lorenzo, RPm, MAP Faculty Member  LEARNING OBJECTIVES A. To be able to define Physiological/Biological Psychology (Biopsychology). B. To...

St. Dominic College of Asia School of Arts, Sciences and Education INTRODUCTION TO PHYSIOLOGICAL/ BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Lara Janea D. Lorenzo, RPm, MAP Faculty Member  LEARNING OBJECTIVES A. To be able to define Physiological/Biological Psychology (Biopsychology). B. To explore the history of Biopsychology as a discipline and through the ages. C. To identify the six major divisions of Biopsychology. D. To understand the application of Biopsychology in research.  PHYSIOLOGICAL/BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY The scientific study of the biology of behavior. Also known as Biopsychology, Psychobiology, Physiological Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Behavioral Biology, and many more. Concerned primarily with the relationship between psychological processes and the underlying physiological events—or, in other words, the mind-body phenomenon.  HISTORY OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY  BIOPSYCHOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE William James (The Principles of Psychology, 1890) - argued that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in an understanding of biology. Knight Dunlap (An Outline of Psychobiology) - used the term “psychobiology” to explain the role of biology in behavior. Donald Hebb (The Organization of Behavior, 1949) - introduced the first comprehensive theory on how the brain might create and control complex psychological functioning, such as thought, memories, emotions, and perceptions.  BIOPSYCHOLOGY AS A DISCIPLINE Even before biopsychology was formally recognized as a branch of psychology or as a discipline, the connection between psychology and biology was recognized. In modern times, famous case studies such as Phineas Gage, and the invention of methods such as the electroencephalogram (EEG) and computed tomography (CT) scans, have contributed to the rise of biopsychology as a discipline.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Early Views of Brain and Behavior ○ Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) - believed that one’s mind resided in the heart, and that since our blood started from the heart, the soul also originated there. ○ Plato (428-347 B.C.E.) and many ancient cultures (Chinese, Indian, Egyptian) - argued that the executor of reason was the heart, and our animalistic desires and emotions were controlled by the liver. ○ Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.E.) - believed that it was the brain and not the heart where the locus of the mind resided.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Early Views of Brain and Behavior ○ In Alexandria (3rd Century B.C.) - a science museum was established, wherein the study of the human body flourished due to the volume of human dissection practiced in that city. ○ Herophilos (335-280 B.C.E.) - distinguished the cerebellum (at the very base of the back of the brain) and the cerebrum (the two cerebral hemispheres). ○ Erasistratos (335-280 B.C.E.) - continued the work of Herophilos, and proposed that human intelligence was related to the number of convolutions (ridges) in the brain, wherein the more ridges you have, the more intelligent you are.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Early Views of Brain and Behavior ○ Galen (A.D. 130-200) - believed the brain to be the site of sensation and thought, and the controller of movement. He stated that the spinal cord was an extension of the brain and chronicles the relationship between the spinal nerves and specific muscles each controlled. Promoted the typology of human temperaments or the Four Humours (i.e. Melancholic, Phlegmatic, Choleric, Sanguine).  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Early Views of Brain and Behavior ○ Galen (A.D. 130-200)  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Middle Ages ○ Avicenna (980-1037 C.E.) - a Persian physician who regarded biological psychology in his treatment of illnesses that involved emotions. Wrote about neuropsychiatric disorders in his book, The Canon of Medicine.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Renaissance ○ Andreas Vesalius (16th Century) - through his dissection of human cadavers, found problems with the Galenic view of anatomy. He successfully described the cerebral membranes, the ventricular system, and the cerebrum.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Renaissance ○ René Descartes 1596-1650) - proposed the reflexive theory in terms of our behavior, which explained that reflexive behavior as an “external stimuli” that would move the skin, in turn moving the filaments, releasing the animal spirits and innervating the muscles.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 19th Century ○ Localization of Function Jean-Cesar Legallois (1811) - discovered that when he destroyed tissue in the medulla (lesioning), there was an immediate cessation of respiration. Charles Belle and Francois Magendie - discovered the different function of spinal cord nerves where the ventral roots transmitted motor impulses and dorsal roots received sensory input.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 19th Century ○ Localization of Function Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Spurzheim - formulated phrenology where measurement of the skull was used to determine personality characteristics of an individual. John Martyn Harlow (1848) - treated and documented the case of Phineas Gage.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 19th Century ○ Localization of Function Paul Broca (1861) - presented a case where a young man had sustained damage to the left frontal lobe, and as a result, was unable to produce spoken speech but was able to comprehend heard speech and had average intelligence. His numerous studies and autopsies have inspired others to link more brain regions to sensory and motor functions. The Broca’s Area, which is located in the frontal lobe as a critical region in speech production, was named after him.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 19th Century ○ Localization of Function Carl Wernicke (1874) - suggested that the Wernicke’s Area, an auditory comprehension center located in the left temporal lobe, is responsible for comprehending others’ speech or use words correctly.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 19th Century ○ The Neuron Camillo Golgi (1873) - was able to reveal that the neuron has three distinct features: dendrites, cell body, and axon. The Golgi Stain technique was named in his honor.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 20th Century to Today ○ The Synapse Charles Scott Sherrington - coined the term “synapse”, meaning “binding together”, which is the point of functional contact between neurons. Otto Loewi - investigated chemical communication between neurons, which was later found to be called the neurotransmitters.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 20th Century to Today ○ Neural Conduction Julius Bernstein - the first researcher to discover the action potential, the unique electrical signal traveling the length of an axon. John Z. Young (1936) - located a neuron in the body of a squid, which much of our understanding of neural functioning came from.  ORIGINS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY Discoveries of the 20th Century to Today ○ Brain Activity and Brain Imaging Several techniques and machines, like the EEG, CT Scan, and MRI, were invented, which has significantly forwarded research on the brain and its function in behavior and cognition. MAJOR DIVISIONS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY  PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY The study of the neural mechanisms of behavior by manipulating the nervous systems of nonhuman animals in controlled experiments. Also known as Animal Psychology. Protected by a code of ethics (i.e. Committee on Animal Research and Ethics [CARE])  PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Example: ○ Maryland Psychologist Severed Spinal Cords, Repeatedly Shocked Monkeys (1958–1981) At the Institute for Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland, psychologist and animal experimenter Edward Taub—a man with no medical or veterinary training—kept 17 monkeys in cramped wire cages that were caked with feces. The animals were subjected to debilitating surgeries in which their spinal nerves were severed, rendering one or more of their limbs useless. They were then forced to try to regain function in their impaired limbs through cruel methods such as electric shocks and pinches with pliers.  PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY The study of the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior. This division has become so specialized, that it is regarded as a separate discipline. One of the most famous cases is the release of the medicine OxyContin by Purdue Pharma, which was then investigated due to several severe side effects of the long-term use of the medication, which includes drowsiness, loss of appetite, addiction and dependence, depression or mania, delirium, and many more.  NEUROPSYCHOLOGY The study of psychological effects of brain damage in human patients. It is the most applied of the biopsychological subdisciplines. Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Inc., suffered a TBI in 1981, when he crashed his plane while attempting an emergency landing. The accident left him with impaired memory and concentration for several months. Fortunately, he made a full recovery after extensive physical and mental rehabilitation.  COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE The study of the neural mechanisms of human cognition, largely through the use of functional brain imaging. Phantom Limb Pain (PLP):  COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY The study of the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior, largely through the use of the comparative method. Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution relates to psychology because it applies the notion that natural selection happens to all creatures, including humans. Humans and all creatures have arrived at their current biological state through an inherited change of traits through genetic mutation. BIOPSYCHOLOGY AND RESEARCH  HUMAN AND NONHUMAN SUBJECTS The greatest advantage of humans as subjects is that they have human brains (evolutionary continuity of the brain). Nonhuman animals have three advantages over humans as subjects in biopsychological research: 1. The brain and behavior of nonhuman subjects are simpler than those of human subjects, hence, it is more likely to reveal fundamental brain-behavior interactions.  HUMAN AND NONHUMAN SUBJECTS Nonhuman animals have three advantages over humans as subjects in biopsychological research: 2. Comparative Approach - the study of biological processes by comparing different species. 3. It is possible to conduct research on laboratory animals that, for ethical reasons, is not possible with human subjects.  EXPERIMENTS AND NONEXPERIMENTS Experiments - the method used to study causation. ○ Groups Between-Subjects - a different group of subjects is tested under each condition Within-Subjects - the same group of subjects under each condition  EXPERIMENTS AND NONEXPERIMENTS Variables Independent Variable (cause) - the difference between the conditions Dependent Variable (effect) - measured by the experimenter to assess the effect of the independent variable  EXPERIMENTS AND NONEXPERIMENTS Nonexperiments ○ Quasiexperimental Studies - studies of groups of subjects who have been exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world. These studies have the appearance of experiments, but they are not true experiments because potential confounded variables have not been controlled.  EXPERIMENTS AND NONEXPERIMENTS Nonexperiments ○ Case Studies - studies that focus on a single case or subject; often provide more in-depth picture than that provided by an experiment or a quasiexperimental study. An excellent source of testable hypotheses. A major problem with all case studies is their generalizability, the degree to which their results differ from one another in both brain function and behavior.  PURE AND APPLIED RESEARCH Pure Research - research motivated primarily by the curiosity of the researcher; done solely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge. Applied Research - research intended to bring about some direct benefit to humankind.  ANY QUESTIONS? Email me at [email protected]  SEATWORK List at least ten (10) pairs of Independent and Dependent Variable/s ○ Example: IV: Use of AI tools in subject activities (i.e. essays, etc.) DV: Academic Motivation Submit through iClass until 11:59PM the following day.  NEXT WEEK Topic: ○ Neurophysiology: The Neuron and Synapses Assignment: ○ Case Analysis (4) Division Subject/s and Variable/s Type of Nonexperimental Study ○ Deadline: 1 week from today Thank You!