Chapter 1: Biology and Behavior

Question 1

What behavior is the result of dopamine?

Answer 1

• smooth movements
• postural stability

**Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia -> delusions, hallucinations, and agitation associated with schizophrenia arise from either too much dopamine or from an oversensitivity to dopamine in the brain.

** Parkinson’s disease -> is associated with a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.

Question 2

What is the behavior result of serotonin?

Answer 2

• mood
• sleep
• eating
• dreaming

**over supply of serotonin is thought to produce manic states; an udersupply is thought to produce depression**

Question 3

What is the behavior result of both glycine and GABA?

Answer 3

• brain “stabilization”

**GABA exerts its effects by causing hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic membrane.

**Glycine -> serves as inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system by increaseing chloride influx into the neuron. Hyperpolarizes the postsynaptic membrane.

**Both are inhibitory neurotransmitters

Question 4

What is the behavior result of glutamate?

Answer 4

• brain excitation
• glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter

Question 5

What is the behavior result of endorphins?

Answer 5

natural painkiller - have action similar to morphine or other opioids in the body

Question 6

What is the behavior result of epinephrine and norepinephrine?

Answer 6

• “fight-or-flight” response
• wakefulness
• alertness

**low levels of norepinephrine are associated with depression

**high levels are associated with anxiety and mania

Question 7

What is the behavior result of acetylcholine?

Answer 7

• voluntary muscle control
• paarasympathetic nervous system
• attention
• alertness

**loss of cholinergic neurons connecting with the hippocampus is associated with Alzheimer’s disease, an illness resulting in progressive and incurable memory loss**

Question 8

What hormones are released from the adrenal cortex?

Answer 8

• cortisol (corticosteroids)
• testosterone
• estrogen

Question 9

What hormones are released from the adrenal medulla?

Answer 9

• epinephrine
• norepinephrine

Question 10

Within the nature vs. nurture classical debate, what 3 relative effects can be studied?

Answer 10

• family studies -> look at the relative frequency of a trait within a family compared to the general population.
• twin studies -> compare concordance rates between monzygotic (identical) and dizygotic (fraternal) twins.
• adoption studies -> compare similarities between adopted children and their adoptive parents, relative to similarities with their biological parents.