Chapter 1 - Biological Psychology

Question 1

interactions between brain and behavior are ____________

Answer 1

Interactions between brain and behavior are reciprocal. The brain controls behavior and, in turn, behavior alters the brain.

Question 2

neuron

Answer 2

Also called nerve cell. The basic unit of the nervous system.

Question 3

biological psychology

Answer 3

Also called behavioral neuroscience. The study of the biological bases of psychological processes and behavior.

Question 4

Contemporary Issues

Answer 4

Man Controls Robotic Hand with Mind Controlling video games with your mind

Question 5

Exploring the Biology of Behaviour Aka Five Viewpoints

Answer 5

In our pursuit to understand the biological bases of behavior, we use several different perspectives. Because each one yields information that complements the others, the combination of perspectives is especially powerful. The five major perspectives are: 1. Describe behaviour 2. Evolution of behaviour 3. Development of behaviour over the lifespan 4. Biological mechanisms of behaviour 5. Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Question 6

Thinking about Biopsychology

Answer 6

1. Thinking about biopsychology Becoming a critical thinker Becoming a creative thinker 2. We are the same and different Environmental pressures on human evolution Comparative approach (other species) 3. Neuroplasticity Brain growth and restructuring 4. Clinical implications Study of diseased or damaged brains leads to new knowledge New knowledge leads to new treatments

Question 7

Diversity in Biopsychological Research:

Answer 7

Human and nonhuman subjects Experiments and non-experiments Pure and applied research

Question 8

Darwin’s theory two rather different emphases:

Answer 8

Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection is central to all modern biology and psychology. From this perspective emerge two rather different emphases: (1) the continuity of behavior and biological processes among species because of our common ancestry (2) the species-specific differences in behavior and biology that have evolved as adaptations to different environments.

Question 9

Why Study animals

Answer 9

Once particular features of the body or behavior evolve, they may be maintained for millions of years and may be seen in animals that other-wise appear very different. For example, the electrical messages used by nerve cells are essentially the same in a jellyfish, a cockroach, and a human being. Some of the chemical compounds that transmit messages through the blood-stream (hormones) are also the same in diverse animals

Question 10

conserved

Answer 10

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

Question 11

ontogeny

Answer 11

The process by which an individual changes in the course of its lifetime—that is, grows up and grows old.

Question 12

somatic intervention

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Three Main Approaches to Studying the Neuroscience of Behavior

Answer 13

(A) In somatic intervention, investigators change the body structure or chemistry of an animal in some way and observe and measure any resulting behavioral effects. (B) Conversely, in behavioral intervention, researchers change an animal’s behavior or its environment and try to ascertain whether the change results in physiological or anatomical changes. (C) Measurements of both kinds of variables allow researchers to arrive at correlations between somatic changes and behavioral changes. (D) Each approach enriches and informs the others A correlation often stimulates investigators to formulate hypotheses and to test them by somatic or behavioral intervention.

Question 14

behavioral intervention

Answer 14

An approach to finding relations between body variables and behavioral variables that involves intervening in the behavior of an organism and looking for resultant changes in body structure or function.

Question 15

correlation

Answer 15

The covariation of two measures.

Question 16

neuroplasticity or neural plasticity

Answer 16

The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment. For example, parts of neurons known as dendritic spines appear to be in constant motion, changing shape in the course of seconds In almost all in animal subjects, show that experience can affect the number or size of neurons, or the number or size of connections between neurons.

Question 17

Cooke et al. (2000) took young rats, just weaned from their mother, and either raised each male in a cage alone or raised them with other males to play with. FIGURE 1.4 page 9

Answer 17

Examination of these animals as adults found only one brain difference between the groups: a region of the brain known to process odors was smaller in the isolated males than in the males raised with playmates. Was it the lack of play, the lack of odors to investigate, or the stress of isolation that made the region smaller? Whatever the mechanism, social experience affects this brain structure.

Question 18

moderately hot water (Rainville et al., 1997) FIGURE 1.5 page 9

Answer 18

Here’s an example of how social influences can affect the human brain. When people were asked to put a hand into moderately hot water (47°C), part of the brain became active, presumably because of the discomfort involved (Rainville et al., 1997). But subjects who were led to believe the water would be very hot had a more activated brain than did subjects led to believe the discomfort would be minimal, even though the water was the same temperature for all subjects. The socially induced psychological expectation affected the magnitude of the brain response, even though the physical stimulus was exactly the same

Question 19

reductionism

Answer 19

The scientific strategy of breaking a system down into increasingly smaller parts in order to understand it.

Question 20

levels of analysis

Answer 20

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

Question 21

At least ______ person in _______ around the world currently suffers from neurological and/or psychiatric disorders

Answer 21

At least one person in five around the world currently suffers from neurological and/or psychiatric disorders that vary in severity from complete disability to significant changes in quality of life.

Question 22

Animal Research Makes Vital Contributions

Answer 22

Psychology students usually underestimate the contributions of animal research to psychology because the most widely used introductory psychology textbooks often present major findings from animal research as if they were obtained with human subjects t 93% of the mammals used in research are laboratory-reared rodents

Question 23

Ancient Ideas about the brain

Answer 23

When Egyptian pharaohs were mummified important organs were preserved in alabaster jars. The heart was preserved in its place within the body. The brain, however, was thrown away. Neither the Hebrew Bible nor the New Testament ever mentions the brain. However, the Bible mentions the heart hundreds of times and makes several references each to the liver, the stomach, and the bowels as the seats of passion, courage, and pity, respectively. The heart is also where Aristotle, located mental capacities. We still reflect this ancient notion when we call people kindhearted, openhearted, fainthearted, hardhearted, or heartless and when we speak of learning by heart. Aristotle considered the brain to be only a cooling unit to lower the temperature of the hot blood from the heart. Around 350 BCE, the Greek physician Herophilus (called the “Father of Anatomy”) advanced our knowledge of the nervous system by dissecting bodies of both people and animals. He traced nerves from muscles and skin into the spinal cord and noted that each region of the body is connected to separate nerves. A second-century Greco-Roman physician, Galen (the “Father of Medicine”), treated the injuries of gladiators. His reports of behavioral changes caused by injuries to the heads of gladiators drew attention to the brain as the controller of behavior. Galen advanced the idea that animal spirits—a mysterious fluid—passed along nerves to all regions of the body. But Galen’s ideas about the anatomy of the human brain were very inaccurate because he refused to dissect humans.

Question 24

Renaissance scientists began to understand brain anatomy

Answer 24

Leonardo da Vinci Renaissance anatomists emphasized the shape and appearance of the external surfaces of the brain because these were the parts that were easiest to see when the skull was removed. It was immediately apparent to anyone who looked that the brain has an extraordinarily complex shape. To Renaissance artists, this marvelous structure was God’s greatest gift to humankind. So, in Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, God seems to ride the form of the human brain when bestowing life to Adam.

Question 25

Leonardo da Vinci

Answer 25

The eminent Renaissance painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) studied the workings of the human body and laid the foundations of anatomical drawing. He especially pioneered in providing views from different angles and cross-sectional representations. His artistic renditions of the body included portraits of the nerves in the arm and the fluid-filled ventricles of the brain

Question 26

René Descartes

Answer 26

In 1633, René Descartes (1596–1650) wrote an influential book (De Homine [On Man]) in which he tried to explain how the behavior of animals, and to some extent the behavior of humans, could be like the workings of a machine. In addition to tackling other topics, Descartes proposed the concept of spinal reflexes and a neural pathway for them (FIGURE 1.11). Attempting to relate the mind to the body, Des- cartes suggested that the two come into contact in the pineal gland, located within the brain. He suggested the pineal gland for this role because (1) whereas most brain structures are double, located symmetrically in the two hemispheres, the pineal gland is single, like consciousness, and (2) Descartes believed, erroneously, that the pineal gland exists only in humans and not in animals. As Descartes was preparing to publish his book, he learned that the Pope had forced Galileo to renounce his teaching that Earth revolves around the sun, threatening to execute him if he did not recant. Fearful that his own speculations about mind and body could also incur the wrath of the church, Descartes withheld his book from publication. It did not appear in print until 1662, after his death. Descartes believed that if people were nothing more than intricate machines, they could have about as much free will as a pocket watch, and no opportunity to make the moral choices that were so important to the church. He asserted that humans, at least, had a nonmaterial soul as well as a material body.

Question 27

dualism

Answer 27

The notion, promoted by René Descartes, that the mind is subject only to spiritual interactions, while the body is subject only to material interactions This notion of dualism spread widely and left other philosophers with the task of determining how a nonmaterial soul could exert influence over a material body and brain. Biological psychologists reject dualism and insist that all the workings of the mind can also, in theory, be understood as purely physical processes in the material world, specifically in the brain.

Question 28

phrenology

Answer 28

The belief that bumps on the skull reflect enlargements of brain regions responsible for certain behavioral faculties. Started in the nineteenth century and was the first time that localization of function was thought about

Question 29

Thomas Willis (1621–1675

Answer 29

By the end of the 1600s, the English physician Thomas Willis (1621–1675), with his detailed descriptions of the structure of the human brain and his systematic study of brain disorders, convinced educated people in the Western world that the brain is the organ that coordinates and controls behavior

Question 30

localization of function

Answer 30

Today we know that the whole brain is indeed active when we are doing almost any task. When we are performing particular tasks, however, certain brain regions become even more activated. Different tasks activate different brain regions. Modern brain maps of these places where peaks of activation occur.

Question 31

Paul Broca (1824–1880)

Answer 31

Even as far back as the 1860s, the French surgeon Paul Broca (1824–1880) argued that language ability was not a property of the entire brain but rather was localized in a restricted brain region. Broca presented a postmortem analysis of a patient who had been unable to talk for several years. The only portion of the patient’s brain that appeared damaged was a small region within the frontal portions of the brain on the left side—a region now known as Broca’s area. The study of additional patients further convinced Broca that language expression is mediated by this specific brain region rather than reflecting activities of the entire brain.

Question 32

Bigger Better? The Case of the Brain and Intelligence

Answer 32

Brain size does seem to explain many species differences in complex behavior, as well as the remarkable expansion of the human brain over the past few million years Sir Francis Galton (1822–1911), stated that the greatest disappointment in his life was his failure to find a significant relationship between head size and intelligence. But Galton had to use head size, when he really wanted to measure brain size. In addition, he had to rely on teachers’ estimates of their students’ intelligence, and every student knows that teachers can be quite wrong. Other investigators in the nineteenth century measured the volumes of skulls of various groups and estimated intelligence on the basis of people’s occupations or other doubtful criteria. The development and standardization of intelligence quotient (IQ) tests in the twentieth century provided invaluable help for one side of the question, and these scores indeed correlate, (0.08 to +0.22, ) Newer, noninvasive techniques to visualize the brains of living subjects now make it possible to directly measure brain size. One study found a significant correlation oefficient of about +0.26 between brain size and IQ (Posthuma et al., 2002). In another study, brain scans were used for measuring the sizes of different brain regions. After correction for body size, the correlation between brain size and IQ scores was +0.38 (Andreasen et al., 1993). IQ seems to correlate better with the volume of the front of the brain than that of the back (Colom et al., 2009). Another brain-imaging technique revealed correlations between IQ scores and the extent of connectivity between brain regions the long-standing controversy appears to have been settled in favor of a significant correlation between brain size and intelligence. Note, however, that the modest size of the correlations, while statistically significant, indicates that only about 10% of variability in IQ is accounted for by brain size. many people dispute whether IQ tests really measure a general property of intelligence Historically, scientists have misused information about brain size in racially or ethnically prejudicial ways

Question 33

Modern biological psychology arose in the twentieth century

Answer 33

The end of the nineteenth century brought many important developments for biological psychology. Hermann Ebbinghaus Edward L. Thorndike Ivan P. Pavlov Shepard I. Franz (1902) Donald O. Hebb

Question 34

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Answer 34

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus showed in 1885 how to measure learning and memory in humans.

Question 35

Edward L. Thorndike

Answer 35

Edward L. Thorndike demonstrated how to measure learning and memory in animals.

Question 36

Ivan P. Pavlov

Answer 36

Early in the twentieth century, Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov announced research in his laboratory on conditioning in animals.

Question 37

Shepard I. Franz (1902

Answer 37

Shepard I. Franz (1902) sought the site of learning and memory in the brain by removing different brain regions in animal subjects. This work started a search for the traces of experience in the brain—“search for the engram.”

Question 38

Donald O. Hebb

Answer 38

Canadian psychologist Donald O. Hebb (1904–1985). In his book The Organization of Behavior (1949), Hebb showed, in principle, how complex cognitive behavior could be accomplished by networks of active neurons. He suggested how brain cell connections that are initially more or less random could become organized by sensory input and stimulation into strongly interconnected groups that he called cell assemblies. His hypothesis about how neurons strengthen their connections through use gave rise to the concept of the Hebbian synapse, a topic much studied by current neuroscientists

Question 39

consciousness

Answer 39

The state of awareness of one’s own existence and experience.

Question 40

In his review of theories of consciousness, Adam Zeman (2002) notes that almost all scientists agree on some aspects of consciousness:

Answer 40

• Consciousness matters; it permits us to do certain important things, like planning and mentally “simulating” what might happen in the future. • Consciousness is bound up somehow with the activity of the brain. • We are not aware of all of our brain’s activities. Some brain activity, and therefore some of our behavior, is unconscious. • The deepest parts of our brain are important for arousal. • The topmost parts of the brain are responsible for whatever we experience from moment to moment.

Question 41

Neuroscience Is Advancing at a Tremendous Rate

Answer 41

This incredible pace of research is driven, in part, by talented young scientists who are more excited by neuroscience than competing fields. Excitement about understanding the brain is also the reason that undergraduate majors in neuroscience are debuting in dozens of colleges and universities around the United States and the world.

Question 42

Human Subjects ADVANTAGES? DISADVANTAGES?

Answer 42

Advantages - Generalize to other human subjects - Large brain - Ability to communicate with researchers Disadvantages - Risk of damage - Thick skull - Availability of subjects - Ethical limitations - Expensive

Question 43

Non-human Subjects ADVANTAGES? DISADVANTAGES?

Answer 43

Advantages - Availability - Lack of ethical concerns - Cheaper - Similar brain structures Disadvantages - Can’t communicate - Cant generalize results to humans

Question 44

Biological Psychology (behavioural neuroscience) of the brain is _________ and _______________

Answer 44

Eclectic and Interdisciplinary

Question 45

Why do we have both Neurological and Psychiatric categories? Why not just one category?

Answer 45

Because the way psychology developed without the focus on the brain. Also we can’t yet trace all the psychiatric disorders to brain yet. The two do potentially could be combined in the future but it would require convincing people who were not taught to think of them as the same.

Question 46

Can a rat brain fly a jet plane?

Answer 46

Yes, well sort of as show by the guy who put brain neurons from a rat in to a dish and combined it with fluid to keep it alive. Then using electrical equipment and a flight simulator taught the neurons to fly the plane. I can’t quite believe this but I don’t think you would lie to us.

Question 47

Can we control a computer wirelessly with our brains?

Answer 47

Yes. By measuring brain waves and training ourselves to control them we can control a computer like the guy in the video who was paralyzed or the girl who played the computer game with her mind.

Question 48

What is NeuroSky?

Answer 48

A tool that measures brain waves from outside the head. It can be used to play games or as a tool for psychological health.

Question 49

Can we understand the wishes of a dog with an EEG headset?

Answer 49

Most likely not. We lack the ability to communicate with them to gain the necessary information to map brain activation patterns.

Question 50

What types of backgrounds do individuals come from that work in the field of biopsychology? What is the advantage of this variety?

Answer 50

Biological psychology is a field that includes many players who come from quite different backgrounds: psychologists, biologists, physiologists, engineers, neurologists, psychiatrists, and many others.

Question 51

What are the five viewpoints for the exploration of the biology of behaviour? Be prepared to give an example of how these can be applied to the study of a behavioural question. TABLE

Answer 51

Question 52

Be familiar with the concepts in Box 1.1. We Are All Alike, and We Are All Different

Answer 52

We Are All Alike, and We Are All Different Each person has some characteristics shared by… - All animals use DNA to store genetic information. - All vertebrates have a backbone and spinal cord - All mammals suckle their young. - All primates have a hand with an opposable thumb and a relatively large, complex brain. - All humans use symbolic language to communicate with each other. - Some people like to eat beets (no one knows why). - No two people, even identical twins, are alike in each and every way, as individual experiences leave their unique stamp on every brain.

Question 53

What is ontogeny? Why is it important to study the nervous systems control of behaviour over the lifespan? Do you think it would be appropriate to study diseases of aging in a child/young animal? Why or why not?

Answer 53

The process by which an individual changes in the course of its lifetime—that is, grows up and grows old. Observing the way in which a particular behavior changes during ontogeny may give us clues to its functions and mechanisms. For example, we know that learning ability in monkeys increases over several years of development. Therefore, we can speculate that prolonged maturation of brain circuits is required for complex learning tasks. In some case it would be appropriate to study diseases of aging in a child/young animal if there are similar functions that could be observed that would give insight in to the location or nature of the human disorder. It not give any concrete answers but point researchers a direction to continue studies in.

Question 54

How can the research that Biopsychologist do in non-human animals apply to the study of human problems?

Answer 54

Most study in animals are not directly transpherable to human problems but the similar structures and elements can be studied to give clues on how they might work in humans and point researchers a direction to continue research in.

Question 55

What are the three main approaches to the study of the neuroscience of behaviour (1.2 in text)?

Answer 55

Question 56

Please come up with an example of each of the three main approaches to the study of the neuroscience of behaviour (not the ones in the textbook)

Answer 56

1. Manipulating the body to effect behavior. Somatic intervention – administer a drug Behavior affected – working memory 2. Experience affects the body and brain. Behavior intervention – expose to threat of harm Somatic effects - measure levels of neurotransmitters 3. Body and behavioral measures covary Somatic variables – activation in brain when looking at art Behavior variables – art training and ability

Question 57

What is neuroplasticity? How does the environment affect our nervous systems?

Answer 57

The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment. Experience can affect the number or size of neurons, or the number or size of connections between neurons.

Question 58

How are social psychology and biopsychology related?

Answer 58

Cooke et al. (2000) took young rats, just weaned from their mother, and either raised each male in a cage alone or raised them with other males to play with. Examination of these animals as adults found only one brain difference between the groups: a region of the brain known to process odors was smaller in the isolated males than in the males raised with playmates (FIGURE 1.4). Was it the lack of play (N. S. Gordon et al., 2003), the lack of odors to investigate, or the stress of isolation that made the region small- er? Whatever the mechanism, social experience affects this brain structure. Here’s an example of how social influences can affect the human brain. When people were asked to put a hand into moderately hot water (47°C), part of the brain became active, presumably because of the discomfort involved (Rainville et al., 1997). But subjects who were led to believe the water would be very hot had a more activated brain than did subjects led to believe the discomfort would be mini- mal (FIGURE 1.5), even though the water was the same temperature for all subjects. The socially induced psychological expectation af- fected the magnitude of the brain response, even though the physical stimulus was exactly the same. In most cases, biological and social factors continually interact and affect each other in an ongoing series of events as behavior unfolds.

Question 59

What are some of the common levels of analysis that are used to study nervous system function?

Answer 59

The scope of experimental approaches. A scientist may try to understand behavior by monitoring molecules, nerve cells, brain regions, or social environments, or some combination of these levels of analysis. Levels • Social level • Organ level • Neural system level • Brain region level • Circuit level • Cellular level • Synaptic level • Molecular level

Question 60

If I was to design a new drug what types of information could I gain by studying behaviour at the various levels of analysis that are listed in the textbook (1.5)?

Answer 60

New Depression Medication Social level – effect on mood, attention, motivation Organ level – side effects in the digestive system Neural system level – the changes in the overall activation patterns in the brain Brain region level – the changes in the brain regions associated with depression Circuit level – changes in the circuits in the areas of the brain that are most affected by the drug Cellular level – transmission speed changes in a single neuron Synaptic level – the changes in the levels of neurotransmitters released or reabsorbed Molecular level – changes in sodium levels

Question 61

What is consciousness – what do we know about the brains control of it? Will we ever understand how the brain generates it?

Answer 61

• It is the state of awareness of one’s own existence and experience. • Consciousness matters; it permits us to do certain important things, like planning and mentally “simulating” what might happen in the future. • Consciousness is bound up somehow with the activity of the brain. • We are not aware of all of our brain’s activities. Some brain activity, and therefore some of our behavior, is unconscious. • The deepest parts of our brain are important for arousal. • The topmost parts of the brain are responsible for whatever we experience from moment to moment.