CH1: An Introduction to Brain & Behavior

Question 1

Neuroscience

Answer 1

Study of nervous system; central nervous system (CNS) & peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Question 2

Rene Descartes

Answer 2

Described spinal reflexes and their neural pathways; He gave the idea of dualism

Question 3

Dualism

Answer 3

The notion, promoted by Rene Descartes that the mind is separate from the body and the mind

Question 4

Phrenology and why is it important

Answer 4

The belief that bumps on the skull correspond with specific behavior, feelings and personality traits. It has been debunked (false), but brought out the idea of localization of function.

Question 5

Localization of function

Answer 5

The concept that different brain regions specialize in specific behavior.

Some parts of the brains are more active when doing certain behavior or activities

Question 6

What are the modern day theoretical perspectives?

Answer 6

1. Systematic description of behavior
2. The evolution of brain and behavior
3. Life-span development of the brain
4. The biological mechanisms of behavior

Question 7

Systematic description of behavior

Answer 7

Biological psychologists are interested in behavior and describe the behavior as actual “acts, results” depending on the person

Question 8

The evolution of brain and behavior

Answer 8

Biological psychologists evaluate similarities among species due to shared-ancestry and by looking for species-specific differences in behavior and biology that have evolved as adaptations to different environments.

Conserve traits; ex all species have dopamine.

Differences; humans use language vocally to communicate

Question 9

Concerved

Answer 9

In context of evolution, referring to a trait that is passed on from a common ancestor to two or more descendants of species

Question 10

Life-span development of the brain and behavior

Answer 10

Biological psychologists observe the way a particular behavior changes during ontogeny may give them clues to its functions and mechanism.

Ex. Language acquisition, pleasure seeking behavior

Question 11

Ontogeny

Answer 11

The process by which an individual changes in the course of it lifetime-that is, grows up and grows old

Question 12

The biological mechanisms of behavior

Answer 12

Biological psychologists study an individual’s behavior to see how his/her present body works, separate from evolutionary or developmental concerns. Look at an individual as a “machine” that is made up of lots of nerve cells or neurons

Look at electrical or chemical activity of cells.

Question 13

Neuron

Answer 13

Or nerve cell. The basic unit of the nervous system

Question 14

Neuroplasticity

Answer 14

The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment.

Ex. We are able to learn skills and form memories because our brain physically changes in some way to encode and store that information.

Question 15

Adult neurogenesis

Answer 15

The creation of new neurons in the brain of an adult

Question 16

Social neuroscience

Answer 16

The field of study that uses the tools of neuroscience to discover both the biological bases of social behavior and the effects of social circumstances on brain activity

Question 17

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 17

A field of study devoted to asking how natural selection has shaped behavior in humans and other animals

Question 18

Epigenetics

Answer 18

The study of factors that affect gene expression without making any changes in the nucleotide sequence of the genes themselves

Question 19

Gene expression

Answer 19

The turning on or off of specific genes

Question 20

Neuroeconomics

Answer 20

The study of brain mechanism at work during economic decision making

Question 21

Consciousness

Answer 21

The state of awareness of one’s own existence, thoughts, emotions, and experiences

Question 22

What are the three kinds of studies examine brain-behavior relationships?

Answer 22

Somatic intervention, behavioral intervention, and correlation

Question 23

Somatic intervention

Answer 23

An approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves manipulating body structure or function and looking for resultant changes in behavior.

Has IVs, DVs, a control group.

Can be a within-participants experiment or between-participants experiment.

Somatic Intervention —> behavior affected

Question 24

Independent variable

Answer 24

The factor that is manipulated by an experimenter

Question 25

Dependent variable

Answer 25

The factor that an experimenter measures to monitor a change in response to changes in an IV.

Question 26

Examples of somatic intervention

Answer 26

1) giving hormones to some animals, but not others, and compare the later sexual behavior of both groups.
2) electrically stimulating a specific brain region and measure the alterations (changes) in movements.

Question 27

Control group

Answer 27

In research, a group of individuals that are identical to those in an experiment (or test) group in very way except they do not receive the experimental treatment or manipulation. The experimental group is the compared with the control group to assess (analyze, or see) the effect of the treatment

Question 28

Within-participant experiment

Answer 28

An experiment in which the same set of individuals is compared before and after an experimental manipulation. The experimental group thus serves as its own control group

Question 29

Between-participants experimetn

Answer 29

An experiment in which an experimental group of individuals is compared with a control group of individuals that have been treated identically in every way except that they haven’t received the experimental manipulation.

Question 30

Behavioral intervention

Answer 30

Scientist alters (changes) or controls the behavior of an organisms and looks for result changes in body structure or function.

Has IVs and DVs.

Can be within-participants or between-participants group designs

Somatic effect

Question 31

Examples of behavioral interventions.

Answer 31

1) allowing adults of each sex to interact, and measuring subsequent changes in sex hormones.
2) having a person perform a cognitive task while in a brain scanner, and measuring changes in activity in specific regions of the brain.

Question 32

Correlation

Answer 32

Measure how closely changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variables. This study doesn’t tell us which causes the other (causality). Helped establish which things are link.

Question 33

Examples of correlational studies

Answer 33

1) observing the extent to which memory ability is associated with the size of a certain brain structure.
2) noting that increases in a certain hormone are accompanies by increases in aggressive behavior

Question 34

Causality

Answer 34

The relation of cause and effect

Question 35

Reductionism

Answer 35

The idea of understanding complex systems by breaking down into smaller parts in order to understand it. Aim to identify levels of analysis

Question 36

Level of analysis

Answer 36

The scope of experimental approaches. A scientist may try to understand behavior by monitoring molecules, nerve cells, brain regions, or social environments or using some combination of these levels of analysis.